Chapter 27

"A woman's greatest asset is her beauty"- Alex Comfort

~~~~~~

"You have amazing skin." Isa commented for which the facialist nodded. We were in a recliner chair and had several people attend our faces.

"This is a mask." The woman showed me a piece of paper and stuck it to the contours of my face. We have been here for a while. The facialist was doing a bunch of things. The cucumber in my eyes was taken away, more like stolen.

"Isa." I hissed, she shrugged and ate it

"What? I am hungry." She did the same to Penny. Since she didn't have access to the cucumber covering my other eye, I ate it. There is no point in having one cucumber as an eye patch. After some time, the mask was removed and the women put two more products on my face.

"All done." the facialist grinned, proud of her work. I saw myself in the mirror and my face was glowing. "Now I will give you the list of products you should use according to your skin type."

"Do I have to do this often?" I asked. It's tiresome

"Beauty is pain Cassi," Isa whispered, answering my question. "Beauty is pain."

The next thing was our nails.

"What color should we choose?" Penny tapped her fingers at her chin. There were many colors to choose from.

"Me and You as we want, but you Cassi-" Isa pointed to me. "You will only have a French manicured nails from now on."

"Why?" French manicured is boring.

"It's classy." Isa winked and we stretched our hands, Isa giving a strict order for the manicurist to paint my nails French.

"This is exciting." Penny giggled, admiring her nail art. She chose yellow. Bright like her soul. My manicure looks better than I had anticipated. It does look classy but not in a flashy way. We stopped in the hair salon next. Isa greeted the hair stylist like they were good friends. Now that I think about it, she looks like she knows everyone here. She must have come here a lot.

"My friend Cassi." Isa introduced me to the bald man.

"Cassi." he kissed my knuckles. He is about 50 or so. That put me at ease. It's easier to put my faith in someone who has experience. "What do you want?" He asked me, fluffing my hair, measuring the stands and thickness. I have waist length, straight brown hair. I had never cut it and I style it the same.

"I will tell you Eric," Isa chimed in before I relay my preference. "I want her to dye a few of her hair strands blond and lighter brown, and curl her hair at the ends." Eric looked at me through the mirror for confirmation. I shrugged. It's not like I had a say in this.

"I think that will go really well with her face." He smiled.

"Of course it does." Isa kissed my cheeks and sat at the waiting chair besides Penny, who kept on smiling at her nails. My hair was washed, dyed and dried for the next hour. When the time came for Eric to style it, I was sweating.

"It's beautiful!" he commented, curling the tips of my hair. My eyes connected to Isa through the mirror. She was recording me.

"Smile." she said and got back to work. I am too exhausted to think let alone smile. She put the phone down and started to make faces. I can't control my giggles. She would contract her lips and widen her eyes. She took the opportunity to take pictures.

"Finished." Eric announced and I am impressed. My hair was longer in the back and shorter at the front. The shortest strands, coated in blonde, falling to my breast. There were many shades of brown and blond in my hair, but it worked really well that it robbed my breath.

"Thank you." I said, hugging Eric. I don't know what came over me but what he did was magnificent. He patted my back and I let go. He is not in to touching I gathered.

"Your hair is beautiful. I barely did anything." I admire how humble he was.

"Wow Cass, you are gorgeous, and Eric, you are a genius," Isa said.

"Ya Cassi, you look pretty." Penny abandoned her book and started to finger my hair. Isa collected the prescribed hair product I should use from Eric, and we went out.

"I can't." I stopped mid way. Both Isa and Penny whipped their heads to see me. I know Isa was thinking over bored, so I imminently added, "I am too hungry." They both sighed in relief.

"This is our cue for a break then." We settled in a restaurant and ordered our meal. "You have to take care of your calorie intake." Isa said.

"Why?" I asked baffled.

"What you eat will not only affect your weight, it will also affect your skin. So there is no sugar or fat for you." she said. I don't think I can live with that; I like chocolate cake and Chips. Other things aside, those are the only meals I enjoy. When the waiter brought our food, Isa swapped mine and her order. I ordered Burger since I was famished, and she ordered Caesar salad. "Eat." she said and took a huge bite from my burger. I saw Penny for help, but she is eating her pasta as if nothing happened. I shoved the green in my mouth. I am not a fan of greasy food; I am not a fan of food at all, but there are some days I want to eat like an uncivilized cavewoman, and Isa decided to pick today to control my diet.

"We need to do something about your legs."

"What's wrong with my legs?" I asked. Isa gave me a disinterested look

"They look weak. You need some muscle in there. I will do something about it." I know what she is implying. She decided I should stop eating chocolate cake, now I need to exercise too? No way I will do that.

The next stop was a boutique. Now I am excited. The smell of the shop was intoxicating. It smelled like money, beauty and all the fancy things in the world. Isa led us to the lingerie shop. My cheeks flamed.

"Isa, what are we doing here?" She continued moving the rack

"Shopping." She brought a pink lace lingerie set and analyzed it. "This will do." She put it in the cart she brought. When I saw the size, it was my exact size.

"How do you know my size?" I asked mortified.

"I am your friend. I know worse things about you than your bra size." Isa continued to put proactive fabrics in her cart. I searched for Penny and there she stood, outside the shop. She gave me a wave. I gestured to her to come with my hands. She shuddered, pointing to the skimpy fabrics displayed. That makes the two of us.

"Why would you buy that?'' I asked Isa once she started to pick pajamas. But they are not the usual type of night wear. They are short silks, with furry edge.

"You need to embrace yourself in your sleep,'' Isa said, continuing and completely ignoring me. At last, Isa was satisfied with the pile of barley covering clothing she bought me, and we got out making our way to the next shop. Penny joined us. If Isa felt Penny missing in the previous shop, she didn't comment on it. Good thing the next shop was a cloth shop. "Follow me." Isa said and we made our way to the dress section. Isa grabbed a short dress and held it for a moment before she started to shop.

"I can't wear these." I pointed to the mini dresses with similar color repetition: white, pink and purple. Isa faced me.

"Having a signature clothing style is really important. It will distinguish you from the rest of the students. Your signature clothing is short dresses with cotton shirts. Then you will add bow ties." Isa grinned. "It will give you, 'I am smart and modest' look."

"But I don't like dresses. I am a pants girl."

"It's time to say bye to the pants girl and welcome the miniskirt girl. Shall we?" I nodded, and got into the changing room. I tried a simple white cotton shirt and pink miniskirt. I was afraid to get out. The cotton shirt was longer than the sorry excuse of a dress!

"Should I help you move?" I heard Isa's voice. "It seems like you are considering living there with the amount of time you're spending there." I took a huge breath and got out. Isa tusked. She came to me and tucked the shirt. "Better." She pushed me to the mirror. I tugged the dress. "No." Isa imprisoned my hands. "It's like that. You have beautiful legs." She cooed, and I saw past the discomfort. I do look good. Isa added a pink bow tie to my neck and fluffed my hair. "Picture time." She handed me her phone.

"Come Penny." I called and we took mirror selfies. We tried sexy looks and failed miserably. You need to be born with it.