The rest of the day was fairly uneventful. From what I gathered by the jealous stares directed toward me in the hallways and in classes from the rest of the female population, Renee and the other girls were one of the two the "popular" groups and I was now one of them on my first day of school. The other popular group was a group of guys I had yet to meet, but included Will, Mary's future husband, and Charlie, who I was pretty sure liked Renee.
We spent all of lunch planning the sleepover. So far, we had a list of movies to get that none of us had seen, another list of favorite snacks, and yet another list of some stuff we wanted to do. It was going to be so much fun! Growing up with a guy for a best friend didn't allow for very many sleepovers and girl talk.
The girls also said that they had a surprise for me. I was a little apprehensive at first, with the way they were looking at each other, but they had been nice to me so far, so I figured I'd trust them.
The week passed by quickly, and soon it was Friday and I was packing for a night of fun. I heard a honk outside and found that Renee and her brother were already here to pick me up. I threw in some last minute stuff, then ran downstairs and out the door. My parents weren't home yet from their jobs as a lawyer and a chef, so I locked the door behind me as I left. I tossed my bag in the backseat and we were off.
Renee's house was a beautiful two story castle. The outside of the house was decorated with stone blocks and on one corner there was a spiral tower that I assumed was Renee's when she was a child. The inside was even better than the outside. Renee's parents had a lot of money and apparently let their children spend it on whatever they wanted. I didn't have a lot of time to ogle the design before I was dragged upstairs to her bedroom. Her brother just laughed and wished me luck. They seemed close.
Anna, Mary, Evelyn, Liz, and Cynthia were already there and set up. As soon as I was in the room, I was tackled and pinned. Duct tape was place around my hands, ankles, and mouth. I was shocked to say the least. I tried to resist at first, but learned that it was useless and gave up. Once they discovered that I wouldn't fight, they took the tape off my mouth.
"We're going to be giving you a make-over. This is your surprise. You have no choice. It's our version of initiation. Welcome to our group." Anna then proceeded to take out a make-up case. She looked like she knew what she was doing as she held certain colors up to my face. She wouldn't, however, let me see what she was doing.
At the same time that Anna was doing my make-up, Liz and Mary fought with my hair. I felt a lot of tugging and twisting and heat as they struggled to make it cooperate. I couldn't tell what they were doing, but they wouldn't cut it would they?
Evelyn painted my nails and Cynthia chose an outfit for me. At the same time, they were getting themselves and each other ready. I wasn't sure what we were getting ready for, but I was fine as long as the tape was off. I still didn't know what the fuss was all about, but I was happy just to be included. I was even asked for help by Liz in deciding which color of eye-shadow to go with. I chose a gold that would bring out the golden streaks in her hair and gold flecks in her eyes.
"Okay girls. Are you all ready for a night to remember?" asked Renee once we were all done.
"What's so special about tonight, other that the fact that Esme's coming?" asked Anna.
"That's just it! That and the fact that this is the first night out of ninth grade!" exclaimed an excited Mary.
"Exactly, so let's do a quick check up, then leave. Esme, go ahead and see how you like your new look." Evelyn concluded before all six of them walked to the bathroom. I made my way over to the vanity in Renee's room and gasped at the girl I saw staring back at me.
They had curled my caramel colored hair into beautiful cascading spirals and pinned it back out of my face. They had only done a small amount of cutting, but they gave me side sweep bangs that fell into my face constantly, in a cute way. Anna had given me gold eye shadow and brown eye liner that highlighted my eyes and made them pop. The outfit chosen by Cynthia was perfect. None of these were my clothes, but they fit perfectly. I wore a white tank top with a black blazer over it that showed off my seemingly nonexistent curves nicely. A pair of dark skinny jeans and white Vans slip-ons finished off the simple, yet beautiful look.
"Alrighty! Let's grab James, and head out!" exclaimed Renee.
"Who's James?" I whispered to Cynthia.
"James is Renee's older brother. Their really close, with him being only two years older and their parents never being around. He knows every secret she has and vice versa, "she answered back just as quietly.
We found James asleep on the sofa watching reruns of some dramatic doctor show. Renee woke him up and asked if he could take us to the mall. So that's where we're going, I thought. This'll be interesting.
He finally got up, groaning a little, and led us out to his huge Expedition. We climbed in and filled up the car perfectly.
The mall was a two hour drive from Forks, so we passed the time with Truth or Dare. It was getting pretty crazy.
"Anna, Truth or Dare?" Evelyn asked in an overly dramatic voice that got us all laughing.
Anna put on her I'm Not Afraid of You face and answered, "Dare."
"I dare you to try to get a guy's number using only pick up lines."
"I get to pick the guy, right?"
"Nope. We choose."
"Fine. Consider it done. Okay, Esme. Truth or dare?" she asked, turning to me.
"Um… truth?" I was unsure of which was safer, so I went with truth. She nodded her head.
"How many boyfriends have you had?" she asked.
"I haven't had any, but I think I was coming close to getting my best friend to like me after my four year crush on him," I admitted with some shy reluctance.
"Well, that's all gonna change this year. All of us will end up with someone or another. I can tell." When Liz said that, everyone laughed. It was highly unlikely for all of them to get a boyfriend in the next few months.
"Um, Renee. Truth or dare?"
"Dare."
"I dare you shamelessly flirt with a boy that we pick, then walk away like nothing happened after you get his number." Apparently my dare was popular with everyone because they started cheering. James just laughed and shook his head before announcing our arrival.
We all piled out of the car and headed toward the main entrance, leaving James to go to his own stores. Mary led the way to the food court. Once we got there, we all froze at what we saw.
Oh my gosh!
