Chapter 6

September 15, 2012 (morning)

I trudged down the stairs at seven in the morning. On a Saturday. Weekends are for sleeping, not for waking up at seven to help your evil stepsister and her dopey sidekick prepare for a school dance.

Kitty was obviously planning on winning Masquerade Queen, and if it wasn't obvious enough, I could hear her practicing an acceptance speech in her room as I passed by the door. I'm not sure what Britt was planning, but I had been assigned the job of chauffeuring them anywhere they wanted to go.

I sat in the chair opposite Sue. No sooner had I gotten comfortable than a notepad with the top sheet completely filled was slid across the table towards me.

I looked up at my stepmother. "What's this?"

"Your chores," She scoffed, as though it were obvious.

I was surprised at how much there was to do. I peered back up at Sue. "But the masquerade dance is tonight."

She nodded. "I know that."

I rolled my eyes, obviously having to spell this out for her.

"I can't do all of this before the dance."

She chuckled. "That's because you aren't going to the dance. No, there's far too much to do, and your father and I are going to spend the day in Cleveland. When we get home, everything on that list better be done." And with that, Sue stood and left me alone in the kitchen, not sure what to do. I was really looking forward to that stupid dance.

-
"WHAT ON EARTH DO YOU MEAN YOU AREN'T GOING!?" Screamed an outraged Unique. Even over the phone, she still nearly shattered my eardrum.

"That's just it, Unique. The step monster won't let me go. She gave me a crazy list of chores to do so I won't be able to go."

I sighed, tugging at the hem of my baby blue shirt.

There was a moment of silence before my best friend spoke up again.

"But what about your mystery guy?"

I thought of the sweet teenage boy that was probably super excited for tonight. I realized right then that this might break his heart.

"Have you texted him yet?" Unique asked, pulling my from my thoughts.

I shook my head signaling that no, I had yet to text him. I realized a moment too late that she couldn't see me through the phone.

Unique seemed to understand though. She sighed, understanding my predicament.

"What on earth do I tell him?" I groaned.

Unique perked up almost instantly.

"Maybe you won't have to," she said. "I'll be at your house at 7:15."

"But the dance starts at 7. Won't you be late?"

"We will only be fashionably late. I have a plan. Just trust me, miss Marley."

-

You see, I don't really do well with taking orders. I consider myself more freethinking. So was I happy to spend a perfectly good Saturday that I could've been using to write, or make fun of people on ridiculous reality shows, or even to get ready for the dance myself, on carting Super Bitch and her sidekick The Blonde Bimbo around to wherever their little icy hearts desired? Let me give you a hint: the answer is no, I was pretty pissed off.

"Kitty, are you almost done?" I yelled to her.

Currently we were inside Sarah's Hair & Nail Salon, and we'd been there for at least a solid two hours. For the first half hour or so, I'd followed orders. I'd played nice, and I had even gotten myself a little manicure and pedicure. Don't judge me. If you were finally getting to meet the guy that you couldn't get out of your head, you'd want to look as good as possible too!

Now, we were about ten minutes over the two hour mark. Yup, I was counting it. Britt and I were both finished and sitting in the nearly empty waiting room. The only other person there was a little old lady who'd walked in about ten minutes ago.

"Don't rush me, loser," kitty's shrill voice pierced through my thoughts. 'But yes, I am almost done."

When she stepped out into the waiting room, it took all of my strength not to laugh out loud. She looked like a human Barbie doll. Her blonde hair was even blonder than usual and was pulled into a low, loose side bun that had small, loose curls hanging off of it. Her eyebrows were perfectly shaped and she was holding a bag that appeared to be full of makeup.

"Marley, pay for it," Kitty demanded, turning to face her partner in crime. The blonde duo huddled close together, giggling and gossiping. I turned to give the exhausted looking girl who had emerged behind Kitty an apologetic look before handing her the credit card that Sue had given me specifically for this occasion. The petite stylist hurried off before retuning moments later with the card.

"Are you their sister?" The girl asked.

I nodded regretfully. "I'm sorry about them." I chuckled to the girl.

"No, I'm sorry for you."

-
About an hour after Kitty and Brittney left the house with their dates, there was a knock on the front door. I opened it to find three hooded figures. Unique and Tina removed their hoods, revealing perfectly styled hair.

I raised an eyebrow at the third figure. Unique groaned at the shorter person before pulling the hood down off his head.

"Marley," Unique announced, "this is my cousin Luke. He's here to clean up this wreck that your folks call a 'home'."

I turned to face Tina who smiled and pulled a makeup case out from behind her back.

Oh god, I was in for a serious ride tonight. And then I'd get to meet my mystery guy.

September 15, 2012 (evening)

I stood staring at myself in the mirror. From my spot behind the three-paneled divider, I could hear Unique and Tina gossiping excitedly. The gorgeous cream fabric fell beautifully around my legs, clinging tighter in all the right places. I smoothed down my skirt once more before stepping out into the open.

Tina gasped, Unique was beaming.

"You look fabulous darling!" Exclaimed Unique. "Now come sit so we can finish your hair and makeup."

I stepped tentatively toward the duo. They had set up a small studio at my vanity. I sat down in my rolling desk chair and sat back as my two friends started their work. I watched as Tina turned my messy brown locks into gorgeous cascading waves that fell halfway down my back.

Unique transformed my face from the bland, bored face I normally sported into one that looked like it belonged to a Greek goddess. My eyes were defined, but not over done. My lips were coated in a lovely peach colored gloss. I was ready.

I stepped into the gold heels that the girls had convinced me to purchase, almost regretting the choice as I nearly teetered over. Somehow though, I managed to steady myself enough to feel confident in the death traps that these two called "shoes".

"Almost done," Tina sighed.

Almost? I wondered. As if reading my mind, Unique sauntered over to a pale pink box that was about the size of a shoebox. She handed it to me.

I lifted the lid to find the most beautiful ivory mask staring back at me. I gasped. It was beautiful.

Tina lifted it out of the box and carefully, so as not to mess up my curls, fastened the mask around my face. She stepped back to admire her work.

"Now come on!" Unique boomed, the gentleness gone from her voice. We have a dance to get you to."

So… not really my best chapter, but it was fun to write the salon scene :P Anyways, you guys know the drill. Let me know what you think! On a happy note, I'm back to a schedule! Yayyyy! Next Chapter is the long awaited dance! Heehee I feel really bad about making you wonderful people wait so long for that Again I love you guys all soooooooo much, thank you for staying with this story, even though I'm kind of all over the place with my updates, and even when I do update, it's not that good. I LOVE YOU ALL!

XOXO

-Lauren