Chapter Eleven: The Makeover
He was staring at his image in the mirror. His eyeglasses removed as well as his shirt.
Carefully studying himself, he began to recall what he's friend said.
"You don't look that bad, but you are in desperate need of repairs."
"I don't get it," Shinn said to himself.
He was thin, and his skin, pale. His face – occupied with colonies of acne and other blemishes.
He then recalled what Stellar said about his eyes.
She asked him to remove his eyeglasses. She looked at his eyes intently, ignoring his obvious blushing.
"You have sexy eyes, you know that?"
Shinn continued to study his own eyes. They're dark.
"What's so sexy about that?" he muttered.
He continued this physical dissection. He smiled. Then he saw the biggest problem.
His crooked teeth. He wore braces before but he couldn't withstand the uncomfortable feeling of screeching metal on one's mouth, plus the discomfort of brushing, so he had them removed.
Dissatisfied with everything that he saw, he fell down on his bed and stared at the ceiling.
"How can a girl like Lacus fall for someone like me?"
He sighed. Even the ceiling didn't know the answer.
He heard a knock.
"Shinn, phone call," his mom said.
He went outside to receive the call.
"Hello?"
"Shinn!"
"Stellar?"
"Yup."
"Why?"
"Our makeover starts today."
"… What?!"
"You have trouble with hearing?"
"No, it's just that… I thought you were just kidding."
"Now you know I'm not so get out of there and meet me at the train station."
"Where are we going?"
"… My place. Bye!"
"Wait!"
The dial tone answered Shinn's plea. Stellar hang up.
He was running towards the station. It's Saturday- no school. Doing this wasn't part of his plan.
Shinn isn't as intelligent as Athrun, and far from being handsome as Kira, but his skill of organizing things was definitely remarkable. He plans his daily activities and accomplishes them thoroughly. This trait in fact, is one of the reasons why Cagalli favors him over the other guys at school. He is a trustworthy and time-conscious person.
He went to the parking lot beside the train station. He saw Stellar's bodyguard and personal assistant, Bruce on the other side of the fence.
"Hello sir," Shinn greeted the man.
"Ms. Stellar is waiting for you in the car," the man said.
He guided Shinn towards the limousine. Opened the door for him.
That was the first time that he would be riding in an expensive car. He was quite uneasy with the bodyguard's attitude. It's as if he's ready for battle any time. His looks intimidated Shinn.
"Umm… hi," Shinn greeted Stellar.
"Shall we go?" Stellar asked.
"Okay."
The door was closed, and the car went off.
"What are you planning to do?" Shinn asked. He wasn't looking at her in the eye- just staring at his knees. Quite trembling.
" I'd like you to see the some of my 'collection' and then, I'll assess what's going to be done."
Her answer was quite vague.
He remained silent until they entered Stellar's kingdom.
It was an expensive mansion that was almost on the outskirts of the city.
"My parents are always busy, so I'm the one who's in charge of our home," Stellar said as the car entered the colossal gates.
"My parents and Yzak's are business partners, so I always see him company parties and other private gatherings. But we don't talk that much. My parents liked him very much; they obviously wanted him instead of Kira. But I didn't care. They couldn't possibly intervene with my love affair."
"I see." It was the first time that Stellar told anyone about her private life.
"When we went to Paris, I took Kira with me. He met my parents and they asked him about his future plans and of course, his family background. Kira isn't as rich as Yzak so he wouldn't live up to their standards. Plus the fact that he isn't an honor student- just a football captain."
Shinn listened to her story. He didn't know about the serious side of Stellar. She was always the perky one. The 'not-so-intelligent' pretty girl who loves hanging out with the geeks.
"What happened in Paris?"
"He knew my parents didn't like him, so we had a fight. He went on his own and disappeared for about two days. I searched for him, and found out that he's been staying with a model that he just met. I immediately broke up with him in front of the woman."
"That explains everything. You thought he was having an affair…well I'm not saying that he didn't."
"Yeah," Stellar whispered. Tears were beginning to flow on her beautiful face.
"Anyway, we didn't come here to talk about that. Let's go upstairs. I'll show you something."
She grabbed Shinn's hand and guided him to a long staircase that leads to her room.
He stepped inside her private hole. It was huge. To Shinn's estimation, Stellar's room is already bigger than his house.
They went to the adjacent door near the closet. Stellar unlocked to door and went inside it. Shinn followed.
He was shocked at what he saw.
The room was filled with garments- both for men and women.
He went closer to see each one.
"You may touch them, don't worry," she said to him.
"Did you buy all these?" he asked.
"Some of them yes. The others- I designed them and have them made… and quite a few were done by me."
Shinn was in awe of Stellar's talent. All of the garments look expensive and are crafted in such sophistication.
"I'm not academically gifted, but I can say I have the potential in the fashion industry," she said proudly.
"What do all of these dress have to do with me?" Shinn asked.
"You are gong to be my first model."
"What? A model?"
"Yup!" She was smiling sweetly at him.
"Stellar, are you out of your mind?"
"No."
"Okay, are you insane?"
"No."
"Then what the hell made you think that I could pull off with these clothes? I haven't worn anything decent except my uniform!"
"That's why you're perfect as a model!"
"I … I don't understand you."
"You will, later."
They went towards the closet and Stellar picked some of the men's garments. She told Shinn to wear them and 'present' himself to her.
Dressing up in a woman's closet isn't comfortable at all for Shinn. He was so shy, that he told Stellar to go somewhere while he tries the clothes on.
When he's finished, he stepped outside.
Stellar was there, she didn't leave. The sight of him made her smile.
He was wearing a coffee brown pinstriped suit with a beige undershirt. He was standing awkwardly in front of her. She left her seat and went towards him. She unbuttoned the top, removed his glasses, and raked through his hair, using her hand.
"Your haircut doesn't match the shape of your face. Let's see…"
She examined his face. Her nose was almost touching his. Shinn closed his eyes. Once again, he was blushing.
"You have a lot of pimples, but you're lucky they're not that big."
She ran her hands through his shoulders, assessing if the suit nearly swallowed them. Surprisingly, it didn't.
"The coat matches your built perfectly! You know, Kira once tried this on, but it didn't suit him."
" Because he has muscles, and I only have bones," Shinn concluded.
"Probably," Stellar answered. "He never likes my designs. He says they're too fancy that he couldn't wear them on the field."
"Probably right," Shinn commented.
"Now, go on and try the other one." Stellar gave him a set of more casual garments.
Shinn once again, went behind the closet to change.
Then, he's out again.
It took him about an hour- tried everything that she gave him.
"Let's have a break. Tea perhaps?"
"Whatever you have in mind."
After some snacks she told him about her plan.
"We're heading to the saloon. We'll fix your hair, plus some facial treatment, and then we're going to the spa."
"Stellar, you know I can't afford those!' Shinn protested.
"Who says I'm going to make you pay? I'll finance everything because…" she held her words.
"Because?"
"Because you are my first real art project!"
Shinn couldn't believe his ears. She referred to him as her real art project.
"So, any complaints?"
"Whatever," he answered.
They spent the whole day together. They went to the saloon and Shinn had his haircut.
Stellar had her nails done.
The facial treatment was painful that Shinn was cursing while his face was being 'scrubbed', but it did have a surprising effect. The pimples were removed, and the other blemishes were markedly reduced.
Then they went to the spa.
They had lunch in an expensive restaurant. Stellar paid everything.
The next destination was the optical shop. Stellar said she wanted Shinn to get rid of his huge eyeglasses because he has lovely eyes. Special pair of contact lenses was done for him.
That afternoon, they decided to stroll in the park.
"So, has anything changed with me?" Shinn said as he examined the shadows being cast by the afternoon sun.
Stellar stopped walking and looked at him.
It took a while for her to answer.
"Yeah…" she said meekly.
"The only thing that's left for repairs are your teeth. You used to wear braces right?"
"Yes, but they're so uncomfortable."
"My uncle is a dentist. I'll contact him, so he could examine if there are other ways to improve that teeth of yours."
"Stellar, don't you think this is already too much?"
Stellar gave him a sincere look. "No."
"Tell me Shinn, how do you feel, I mean now that you look far different from before?"
Shinn once again blushed. He was ashamed to admit that he'd never felt anything better.
"Honestly… I… feel very good. You see, I've never felt like this before. Strange but, I feel like I really am attractive."
"Yes you are!" Stellar's eyes were shining. " I hope Lacus sees you right now."
"Thank you," Shinn said.
"Anything for a friend," Stellar answered.
"Want some ice cream?" he offered.
"Very much,' she replied.
"My treat," he said.