‘Take it and go forth with my blessing, for now you know are a man, my son. The wings will guide you on your path.’
‘I kind of want to try eyeliner,’ David said. ‘Would it be weird if I tried it?’
‘Maybe not winged eyeliner,’ Laura said. She looked at him critically. ‘I don’t think it would suit. But smudged out would look better. Kind of grungy and messy, a bit punk, a bit rock. That would suit your bone structure.’
‘Aren’t punk and rock two different things?’ David asked, grinning at me.
‘Pff, like I know.’
‘Smudged is really easy,’ I said. ‘You just have to blend it until you’re happy.’
He raised his eyebrows. ‘Like, with a brush?’
‘Well, yeah, what else are you going to use?’
‘I don’t know,’ he grinned. ‘I thought it just kind of happened like that.’
I gave an outraged gasp. ‘I’ll have you know that smudged eyeliner takes far more skill and concentration than people would expect. It’s talent, pure, raw smudging talent that keeps me looking so fabulous day after day.’
‘Talent,’ David said, grinning.
His voice made me feel warm inside, but I covered it by smirking back at him and sticking out my tongue.
*
The winged eyeliner seemed to take a very, very long time.
‘You can’t rush art,’ Laura said in a creaky old-man voice like the guy from Toy Story 2 . She was so close to my face that I could see the faintest blending lines in her foundation. ‘Close your eyes again.’
‘If it’s going to take this long, I think I might just stick to smudging it out.’
‘Not tonight you’re not. Now hush. Keep still.’ The brush tickled along my eyelashes. ‘Open. Now close.’ Then finally she said, ‘Okay. Perfect.’
I opened my eyes and peered at my reflection. It actually looked really good, in my humble opinion. The thick black liner was crisp and sharp, tapering at a beautifully cat-like angle. It made my eyes look rounder, and their blueness somehow brighter. ‘Wow.’
‘Yeah, I know.’ Laura grinned at me, wiping the brush off on a wipe. ‘I should chuck this course in and study to become a make-up artist.’
David raised his eyebrows in a very flattering way when we came downstairs. ‘So this is the famous cat eyeliner?’
‘Yup,’ I said, and even dared to bat my eyelashes at him.
He looked a little surprised, then came closer, saying, ‘Can I look?’
I closed my eyes briefly, then opened them. His face was very close to mine, his gaze tracing the lines of my makeup. Then he looked at me properly, and smiled. ‘Looks nice,’ he said softly. ‘I like your normal smudgy stuff as well. But this is also nice.’
‘Thanks,’ I said, also softly. For a moment, he still stayed there in my space, very close to me as though he was still examining my eyeliner. But he was looking at me, not my makeup, and it felt oddly special, as though he were looking past the makeup into everything that lay behind it. It was scary. It was freaking terrifying. But I didn’t look away. I smiled slightly, meeting his gaze.
‘Right,’ Dmitri said. ‘If we’ve stopped admiring everyone’s makeup, I thought we were going out?’
David leaned back, and I grinned, but I felt my face burning red. My heart was beating very fast. Laura gave me an encouraging smile, and lightly patted my hand as we headed out of the dorms across campus.
The Fish Tank was noisy and crowded as usual, full of students like us who were celebrating finishing their coursework. Most of the deadlines were this week, so there were a few people still working on their projects, but most of us had already finished.
I bought a jug of strawberry daiquiri, and sat on the bar stools with David. We each had a straw, and we drank slowly. Laura had decided that she wanted to dance, so she’d grabbed a guy she recognised from one of her creative writing classes
‘I kind of want to try eyeliner,’ David said. ‘Would it be weird if I tried it?’
‘Maybe not winged eyeliner,’ Laura said. She looked at him critically. ‘I don’t think it would suit. But smudged out would look better. Kind of grungy and messy, a bit punk, a bit rock. That would suit your bone structure.’
‘Aren’t punk and rock two different things?’ David asked, grinning at me.
‘Pff, like I know.’
‘Smudged is really easy,’ I said. ‘You just have to blend it until you’re happy.’
He raised his eyebrows. ‘Like, with a brush?’
‘Well, yeah, what else are you going to use?’
‘I don’t know,’ he grinned. ‘I thought it just kind of happened like that.’
I gave an outraged gasp. ‘I’ll have you know that smudged eyeliner takes far more skill and concentration than people would expect. It’s talent, pure, raw smudging talent that keeps me looking so fabulous day after day.’
‘Talent,’ David said, grinning.
His voice made me feel warm inside, but I covered it by smirking back at him and sticking out my tongue.
*
The winged eyeliner seemed to take a very, very long time.
‘You can’t rush art,’ Laura said in a creaky old-man voice like the guy from Toy Story 2 . She was so close to my face that I could see the faintest blending lines in her foundation. ‘Close your eyes again.’
‘If it’s going to take this long, I think I might just stick to smudging it out.’
‘Not tonight you’re not. Now hush. Keep still.’ The brush tickled along my eyelashes. ‘Open. Now close.’ Then finally she said, ‘Okay. Perfect.’
I opened my eyes and peered at my reflection. It actually looked really good, in my humble opinion. The thick black liner was crisp and sharp, tapering at a beautifully cat-like angle. It made my eyes look rounder, and their blueness somehow brighter. ‘Wow.’
‘Yeah, I know.’ Laura grinned at me, wiping the brush off on a wipe. ‘I should chuck this course in and study to become a make-up artist.’
David raised his eyebrows in a very flattering way when we came downstairs. ‘So this is the famous cat eyeliner?’
‘Yup,’ I said, and even dared to bat my eyelashes at him.
He looked a little surprised, then came closer, saying, ‘Can I look?’
I closed my eyes briefly, then opened them. His face was very close to mine, his gaze tracing the lines of my makeup. Then he looked at me properly, and smiled. ‘Looks nice,’ he said softly. ‘I like your normal smudgy stuff as well. But this is also nice.’
‘Thanks,’ I said, also softly. For a moment, he still stayed there in my space, very close to me as though he was still examining my eyeliner. But he was looking at me, not my makeup, and it felt oddly special, as though he were looking past the makeup into everything that lay behind it. It was scary. It was freaking terrifying. But I didn’t look away. I smiled slightly, meeting his gaze.
‘Right,’ Dmitri said. ‘If we’ve stopped admiring everyone’s makeup, I thought we were going out?’
David leaned back, and I grinned, but I felt my face burning red. My heart was beating very fast. Laura gave me an encouraging smile, and lightly patted my hand as we headed out of the dorms across campus.
The Fish Tank was noisy and crowded as usual, full of students like us who were celebrating finishing their coursework. Most of the deadlines were this week, so there were a few people still working on their projects, but most of us had already finished.
I bought a jug of strawberry daiquiri, and sat on the bar stools with David. We each had a straw, and we drank slowly. Laura had decided that she wanted to dance, so she’d grabbed a guy she recognised from one of her creative writing classes
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