CHAPTER XXX: Reflections of the Eyes

"Haru! Oh my gosh! Congratulations!" Solar greeted him happily.

"T-Thank you…" Hari scratched his head shyly.

"I'm still not used to seeing you in a jersey, still congrats Haru!" I ruffled his hair.

He enthusiastically welcomed the gesture.

"How about we take a picture?" Ross interrupted out of nowhere.

"Duh! Of course! How can we not? Come here, Haru! You need to lift me up, got it?" Solar exclaimed and began to pull him away.

"Huh? W-What?" Was Haru's only response as he had no choice but to be whisked away.

I followed closely behind them with Ross by my side.

However, before we could even go far, Ross' phone rang.

When he brought it out of his pocket, his facial expression slightly faltered upon seeing the caller.

"Hey, go ahead first. I just need to receive this call." He told me.

Confused for a second, I still nodded and left him to his call.

Walking farther, I couldn't help but look back at him.

He was visibly showing an expression of agitation so, whoever this person may be, must be talking about something stressful to Ross.

But it's not something I can easily pry on, so even though I felt that something was amiss, I still respected his privacy and decided to leave alone.

We took a few shots with Haru and some of his teammates who wanted to take a picture with me.

Solar kept teasing me that I was some kind of hard to reach celebrity.

If it wasn't for the numerous people watching us, I would have kicked her already for her persistent teasing.

A couple of shots more, Ross finally came to join us.

His facial expression returned to normal, as if nothing was making him feel awry earlier.

That was some good masking he had there.

After the abrupt photoshoot session, we decided to hang out together at the garden.

We were all just cozying around when a thought suddenly came to mind.

"Ross, when is that stupid pageant going to take place?"

"Tonight, eight pm." He shouted out.

"I see."

…

"What the fuck?! Tonight?!" I turned towards him in shock.

"I'm kidding. It's tomorrow." He grinned mischievously.

I glared at him and grabbed my shoe.

I hoisted it to him at full power. He, unfortunately, managed to dodge the first one.

That's right, the first one.

What he didn't expect is that there was another show coming in his direction.

He was only able to realize it once it hit his shoulder.

My shoes could definitely be a weapon during times of necessary violence. Like this one in particular.

"Hey, as a peace offering, I'll tell you that it's not really a pageant with all the questions and stuff. It's just like a runway or a showcase to see who represents their department the best."

"That sounds like an insult to my intellect."

"You caught on?" He scratched his head.

The next thing he knew, another shoe was flying in his face.

"Where are all these shoes coming from?!" Ross shouted at the same time as Solar exclaimed loudly, "What the freak? Where's my shoe?"

We spent the rest of the time bickering amongst ourselves. Completely forgetting what was to happen for the day to follow.

The next day, I found myself having a debate with myself.

The topic revolves on whether or not I go with this stupid plan.

Rationality is leaning more onto the 'no' side.

"Oh, you're not about to back out now." Solar suddenly appeared at my side.

I almost had a heart attack from that.

"Why are you even supporting the enemy?" I questioned.

"I'm supporting my FRIEND." She stated as a matter of fact.

I rolled my eyes at her.

"I still don't identify myself as such."

"Yada, yada, look here I'm Dia and I have severe allergy to the word friends. Nye, nye." I looked at her in astonishment.

"Or I'm just allergic to you. We'll never know." I shrugged with a small grin on my face.

"Whatever. Just hurry up and make your presence known, sister. I'm not going to waste my effort in bringing a large and expensive camera for it to remain void of any pictures. Nuh-uh, not today. So, hurry it up or I'll kick you inside."

My mouth almost dropped. Solar was terrifying when she's supportive.

I wouldn't doubt her literally kicking me just to go inside.

Before that happens, I decided to straighten myself up and walk towards the door of the room I was in a couple of days ago.

Yeah, it was the same changing room for that goddess-maid act.

This time, Haru and Ross are not with us because Ross had to deal with the showcase tonight and Haru tagged along with him because Solar didn't want anyone to see what I would be dressed as.

When I entered the dressing room, the first thing I felt was its cloud of gloominess.

What the hell happened here?

It was like a dark aura was suffocating the entire room.

Solar leaned in and whispered to me, "Are we in the right room?"

This attracted the people who were inside. From their miserable state, a hopeful glow emerged once they saw me.

The change was so fast that I almost didn't catch it.

They all rushed to me shouting my name like I was some sort of celebrity.

In the middle of this rowdy swarm, Gwenne came in between the sea of bodies and grasped my hand.

"Is it really you?! Are you the real thing?!" She asked hysterically.

"The real…what?"

Her disheveled appearance brightened upon hearing that.

"OH MY GOSH! I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU'RE HERE!"

I pulled my hand away and took a step back.

"Should I not be?"

She took another step forward and held my arms tightly, "Oh, you should, you should. Definitely!"

And without a second further, she signalled to someone and immediately after that, I found myself being pushed into a chair in front of a large mirror.

"We are going to make you the prettiest woman out there, that's for sure!" She declared and added a villainous laugh at the end which made me scared for what was to come.

Precisely after hours of styling my hair and makeup, we were finally done!

I thought my neck was going to be broken with how long I remained so still.

The girls were so serious in everything that they did to me wherein the slightest of movement makes them irritated.

If I hadn't had my eyes closed for the whole time, I would have smacked the person who kept on forcing my face to go in each direction she wanted.

People here just didn't know how to request their way into things.

The only thing that made me happy with those hours of torture was the final outcome I was presented with.

I had an orange to yellow ombre effect as my eyeshadow with a white eyeliner that is slightly drawn in a higher part of my lid. Then, another black winged eyeliner that blended beautifully with my false lashes.

My eyebrows were drawn carefully with a tinge of white mixed into it. My cheekbones popped out more with the soft blush it had on, especially with the blinding highlight that sits perfectly on top of it.

My lips were shaded with a glossy nude color. They also decorated my face with spots of actual gold leaf, making me look as elegant as I possibly could.

Lastly, my hair was laid down in gentle curls. With a few strands freely falling on the sides of my face. There were also pinned gold and white butterflies in some sections of my hair and instead of the laurel wreath, I would be adorning a glimmering crown that could attract anyone's attention.

They allowed me a few minutes to rest before I was asked to put on the costume they prepared for me.

I don't know how they managed to make it fit exactly on my body but they did.

I was hesitant to put it on because it was so revealing to the eyes.

The cloth wrapped around me like a blanket. It formed a v-shape on my chest, covering it individually. The knot was tied on my neck, allowing a little bit of excess cloth to flow behind me.

After it was wrapped around the chest area, it would now cross with each other in my stomach. My sides and back remained barren of any cloth. The dress then continued on until it reached my ankles, designed with two slits for each leg which was thankfully not high enough for them to see my underwear.

The final touch was probably the gold strap below my chest and the belt that snuggled my waist. They included extra jewelry on my wrists, ankles, ears, and neck which completed the mood of my outfit. One of my concerns would be that I had to walk barefooted.

I don't know if I should feel relieved that they still gave me some sandals to wear for the meantime.

"Don't goddesses have shoes?" I asked one of the girls, Sheela, who helped me with my dress.

"They do, but your legs are exquisitely long so we chose to let it shine as it is. That's one of the highlights for tonight." She giggled.

I just let the matter go because I felt exhausted already. I didn't know playing barbie was tiresome.

Argh.

Once they were done touching up a few things, I was now allowed to come outside the changing room.

When I went outside, Solar welcomed me with a dumbfounded expression.

I stood closer to her and snapped my fingers in front of her face.

This effectively removed her from her dilemma.

Without much of a word, she hurriedly grabbed her bag and brought out her precious camera.

She began to take consecutive pictures of me as if I'm some statue she's fascinated with.

I rolled my eyes and ignored her gasps of surprise with each photo taken.

"If I was a guy, I would definitely tap that." She smirked.

I cringed at what she said.

"Say that again and I'll shove that camera in your mouth." I threatened.

She pouted but still continued with capturing my photos.

I turned to Gwenne who was also awestruck beside me.

"How many more minutes before this thing starts?"

She looked at her watch, "Oh, ten minutes."

When she realized what she said, her eyebrows began to knot together.

"FUCK! WE HAVE TEN MINUTES LEFT! WE NEED TO GO!" She yelled out of nowhere.

I wanted to facepalm myself, I knew she was dazed when she answered me.

What was everyone even fussing about?

I looked at the nearby mirror and stared at my reflection.

I did look different, but not so much that people should be bewildered by it.

I always appeared the same, but I guess ignorance really makes wonders when one is dawned with recognition.

Everyone here never paid attention to me, some would even be identified as haters, yet they praise me the moment I cater to their curiosities.

People are gullible beings, indeed.

I twirled and let the dress swirl with every turn.

When I got a glimpse of what I appear to be now, I would still admit that there's something recognisable yet also distinct.

But what made me ponder was that each twirl that showed separated versions of my image, reflected a reminder of an undeniably me.