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Authors: Talli Roland
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disappeared, replaced by a full-on Scouse twang that rang out loudly as he shook his head. ‘Make-up will be out in a second. Good luck to them.’
Idiot. H ow deluded to think long hair could make you happy. Anyway, she was happy, when she wasn’t being transformed into some game show monster. True, she hadn’t been in the best mood lately, but that was understandable with her business going downhill, wasn’t it? Mattie strained to remember when she’d last been happy. With Kyle, yes. And before that?
A s a Cyndi Lauper lookalike started smearing Mattie’s face with hideous beige foundation, her mind flashed back to a time before her father had left, when she and her parents had visited Brighton. They’d mooched along the pier, gone on the rides, and got some ice cream. The sky had been so bright it had hurt her eyes and her parents hadn’t argued once. Mattie could still remember skipping across the pebbled beach while her parents walked on behind her. It had been the perfect day.
Shame her father had gone and screwed it all up by quitting his job at the bank and trying to start a birdhouse business. Imagine remortgaging your own home to provide houses for birds!
‘ Done!’ Cyndi twittered. ‘Would you like to see?’
Duh . She limited her response to a curt nod.
Cyndi passed over a mirror and watched eagerly for her response.
Mattie stared at her reflection. Everything inside froze as she took in the long copper hair falling in corkscrews past her shoulders, the sparkly green eye shadow and the false eyelashes. Mattie Johns had disappeared. And in her place was some sort of clown-type creature who looked like a recent escapee from a freak show. She couldn’t tear her eyes away from the horror.
‘ I know,’ Cyndi said. ‘It’s crazy, right? You look amazing! The power of make-up.’ She shook her head and thumped her chest. ‘Gets me right here, every time.’
Mattie didn’t answer. How on E arth was she going to go outside looking like a trashy burlesque dancer, let alone appear on TV in front of the whole nation!
‘ Aw , hon.’ Cyndi patted her knee. ‘It’s so cool, isn’t it? I mean, I saw what you looked like before. All pale, as if you were dead or something. And now you’ve come to life!’ She reached down and hugged Mattie.
Mattie shoved her away. Why did these people keep touching her? Was everyone who worked in TV a perv? ‘Can I go now?’
‘ Ouch!’ Cyndi rubbed her arm where Mattie had rammed her. ‘No, you can’t go. Production needs a few promo shots.’ She reached behind her and threw some clothes onto Mattie’s lap, smile replaced by a scowl. ‘Here. Put these on.’
Mattie’s mouth fell open as she held up the skin-tight gold lamé top and PVC leggings. No. No way! It was bad enough that her hair screamed slut. She wasn’t going to dress like one, too.
She pulled out her mobile and rang Nate again but the phone just kept ringing. If he knew what was good for him, he’d stay hidden. So much for showing him who was in control. Next time, she vowed.
Two hundred thousand pounds, she sighed as she pulled on the top and leggings – she just needed to keep that number front and centre. She hobbled over to the mirror, barely able to walk in the skin-tight black material. Every curve of her body was visible and her chest was straining to escape the top’s plunging neckline. Thank God Mum was away on her annual Mind over Soul Control cruise. If she saw this get-up she’d disown her!
Mattie stepped into the platformed red stilettos and lurched out into the studio. To keep her business afloat, she could handle a little objectification, no sweat.
*
‘ Wowee! Who’s that?’ Baz whistled as he stared at the photos of Mattie the photographer biked over. Mattie was smiling – or her lips were, anyway; her eyes looked furious – and her chest was almost spilling out of a skin-tight gold top. Bright red hair cascaded past her shoulders and shiny black
Idiot. H ow deluded to think long hair could make you happy. Anyway, she was happy, when she wasn’t being transformed into some game show monster. True, she hadn’t been in the best mood lately, but that was understandable with her business going downhill, wasn’t it? Mattie strained to remember when she’d last been happy. With Kyle, yes. And before that?
A s a Cyndi Lauper lookalike started smearing Mattie’s face with hideous beige foundation, her mind flashed back to a time before her father had left, when she and her parents had visited Brighton. They’d mooched along the pier, gone on the rides, and got some ice cream. The sky had been so bright it had hurt her eyes and her parents hadn’t argued once. Mattie could still remember skipping across the pebbled beach while her parents walked on behind her. It had been the perfect day.
Shame her father had gone and screwed it all up by quitting his job at the bank and trying to start a birdhouse business. Imagine remortgaging your own home to provide houses for birds!
‘ Done!’ Cyndi twittered. ‘Would you like to see?’
Duh . She limited her response to a curt nod.
Cyndi passed over a mirror and watched eagerly for her response.
Mattie stared at her reflection. Everything inside froze as she took in the long copper hair falling in corkscrews past her shoulders, the sparkly green eye shadow and the false eyelashes. Mattie Johns had disappeared. And in her place was some sort of clown-type creature who looked like a recent escapee from a freak show. She couldn’t tear her eyes away from the horror.
‘ I know,’ Cyndi said. ‘It’s crazy, right? You look amazing! The power of make-up.’ She shook her head and thumped her chest. ‘Gets me right here, every time.’
Mattie didn’t answer. How on E arth was she going to go outside looking like a trashy burlesque dancer, let alone appear on TV in front of the whole nation!
‘ Aw , hon.’ Cyndi patted her knee. ‘It’s so cool, isn’t it? I mean, I saw what you looked like before. All pale, as if you were dead or something. And now you’ve come to life!’ She reached down and hugged Mattie.
Mattie shoved her away. Why did these people keep touching her? Was everyone who worked in TV a perv? ‘Can I go now?’
‘ Ouch!’ Cyndi rubbed her arm where Mattie had rammed her. ‘No, you can’t go. Production needs a few promo shots.’ She reached behind her and threw some clothes onto Mattie’s lap, smile replaced by a scowl. ‘Here. Put these on.’
Mattie’s mouth fell open as she held up the skin-tight gold lamé top and PVC leggings. No. No way! It was bad enough that her hair screamed slut. She wasn’t going to dress like one, too.
She pulled out her mobile and rang Nate again but the phone just kept ringing. If he knew what was good for him, he’d stay hidden. So much for showing him who was in control. Next time, she vowed.
Two hundred thousand pounds, she sighed as she pulled on the top and leggings – she just needed to keep that number front and centre. She hobbled over to the mirror, barely able to walk in the skin-tight black material. Every curve of her body was visible and her chest was straining to escape the top’s plunging neckline. Thank God Mum was away on her annual Mind over Soul Control cruise. If she saw this get-up she’d disown her!
Mattie stepped into the platformed red stilettos and lurched out into the studio. To keep her business afloat, she could handle a little objectification, no sweat.
*
‘ Wowee! Who’s that?’ Baz whistled as he stared at the photos of Mattie the photographer biked over. Mattie was smiling – or her lips were, anyway; her eyes looked furious – and her chest was almost spilling out of a skin-tight gold top. Bright red hair cascaded past her shoulders and shiny black
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