Almost,’ I said, rolling a stocking onto my leg. I was trying to get dressed as fast as I could but I didn’t want to ladder my stockings. And I didn’t want to destroy the picture I was building in my head. A picture of someone who looked a bit like me but who was sparkling and glowing, with sexy legs and glamour eyes. Someone who looked a little like me, but a whole lot like Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
I squirmed my feet into the boots and zipped them up. Then I pulled the tight black t-shirt over my head, taking care not to muss my hair.
I took a deep breath and walked into the kitchen. If I looked stupid, I could always take the stuff back to the shops, although I didn’t think the g-string would be returnable.
I stood in the doorway. ‘Do I look OK?’ I asked.
Beth and Imogen stopped talking and both stared at me.
‘I think she’ll do, don’t you Beth?’ said Imogen.
Beth laughed. ‘You’re a babe, Juliette.’
‘ I want to see. Can I look now?’
‘ OK,’ said Beth. ‘Close your eyes though.’ She led into the bedroom, to the full-length mirror.
‘ Now you can look,’ she said.
When I opened my eyes, I couldn ’t breathe for a moment. That girl in the mirror, she was sexy. She was raunchy. The girl in the mirror wasn’t me. Well, wasn’t the old Juliette Mackenzie that’s for sure.
I squealed with delight. I tried to thank Beth but only a gargling, choking noise came out.
‘Don’t you like it?’ she asked.
Like it? Like didn’t even begin to describe it. Where had Beth found this new me ?
Beth patted my hair. ‘I did bleach it, just a little. You don’t mind, do you?’
I shook my head. My hair was perfect. I had to touch it. I combed a lock between my fingers and ran it down over my eyes just to prove to myself that it really was me. Like I couldn ’t trust that reflection in the mirror. It was so blonde. Bleaching had always made me think of some strawy bottle-blonde biker’s moll. But this was shiny, golden blondey-blonde.
My hair hung down in a sleek straight curtain, curling under slightly at the ends that finished just below my neck. I never imagined I could look so cool.
Beth stood behind me and grabbed a layer from the top of my head. ‘When I dried it, I wrapped the brush around the roots like this –’ She demonstrated with her hand. ‘That gives you volume here at the top where you need it. Then you need to pull down tightly with the brush to get the straightness.’ She pulled some hair between her fingers. ‘Then just roll the brush under a little at the ends. Then just mess it up a little at the roots for more volume.’
I nodded. She made it sound so easy.
‘Of course, you have to do it in very small sections. That’s the key. Never try to do too much at once.’
I swirled my head like a girl in a shampoo commercial. It smelt expensive and lush. Suddenly, I loved the feeling of my hair brushing against my neck and shoulders.
‘Hey, careful you don’t want to mess up your new “do”,’ said Beth. ‘It looks good parted in the middle like that, don’t you think? Now what do you think of the rest of the look.’
I hadn ’t noticed much else but my hair to be honest. Stepping closer to the mirror, I checked out my eyes. They were glamour eyes – smoky and seductive. I batted my eyelashes. It was worth sitting though all those coats of mascara to have such long eyelashes.
I stepped back again so I could see all of me. The outfit looked fantastic. I was still a bit worried about how short the skirt was, but my legs looked great in those stockings. If I hadn ’t known it was me, if I saw someone else that looked like I did, I would curse her out from jealousy.
The t-shirt fitted perfectly – it had seemed so plain in the shop, just an ordinary black t-shirt – but it hugged against my body and pulled tightly over my boobs. I turned around and checked out my profile. Wow, that new bra made a difference. It was amazing the difference it made
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