"It's ugly." said Padma flatly. She stared at herself unhappily in the mirror. Cho and Marietta frowned in frustration, though Padma didn't notice. She was far too busy wiping the makeup off her face, which in her opinion, made her look like some terrible, over-rouged ghoul. Cho clicked her tongue and rapped her fingers on the counter and Marietta proceeded to lecture Padma for what seemed to be the millionth time.

"We've done your makeup over and over again, Padma. When are you going to be satisfied?"

"I don't know..." said Padma dully, "maybe when you fix me something I'll actually like."

Marietta's cheeks went red with fury and Cho cut in before her friend continued with some ill intentioned action.

"Well," she stated calmly, "what would you like?"

Padma curled a strand of hair around her finger and looked expressionlessly at the ground. Cho tapped her foot impatiently, waiting for Padma's answer. Padma was contemplating her question seriously though, and wasn't really sure what kind of makeup job she wanted. It couldn't be anything like what she had tried on so far—she couldn't go to Roger looking like a clown.

Funny, Padma thought, Marietta and Cho both insisted that they wore the exact same kinds of makeup jobs that Padma had previously sampled, yet they didn't look anything like they had just broke out of a circus.

Padma was starting to think that she wasn't really suited for femininity or cosmetics and was ready to forget this whole thing when Cho spoke edgily,

"Well?"

Padma looked at her reflection, "Um...well..."

"Ugh!" cried Marietta, "Why don't we just blow this whole thing, Cho?"

Cho shushed her friend and waited expectantly for Padma's answer.

"Can you give me something..." started Padma, "mild...?"

"Mild?" repeated Marietta, "What's she talking about, Cho?"

Cho did not answer. She seemed to be in deep thought while at the same time examining Padma's face. Padma stared at the bottles and tubes of makeup on the counter so to avoid her steely gaze.

Finally, Cho spoke coolly.

"Yes," she said, "I think we can fix that..."

Marietta was looking clueless, and Padma was looking a little nervous. What exactly was Ms. Chang going to do to her? She watched Cho whisper into Marietta's ear, who smiled approvingly. Padma's heart sped up a few counts as they both closed in on her.

Padma knew it had only been minutes, but somehow her mind had morphed that small amount of time into several hours, which dragged by sluggishly. During this span, Padma had sat uncomfortably in her chair, brushes and other things dancing about her face, things being pricked and pulled here and there, and some sort of concoction rubbing across her lips, cheeks, and eyelids.

After a few more minutes (or hours), Cho and Marietta drew back looking at their work admiringly. Padma couldn't decide what kind of face to put on—whether to be scared of what she was going to see once she was handed the mirror, or relieved that the whole thing was finally over.

"Well then," said Padma, a slight bit of eagerness in her tone, "how is it?"

Cho smirked and handed her the mirror, "See for yourself."

Padma gulped as she took the mirror in her grasp and resisted the urge to close her eyes in fear. When she gazed into the glossy glass, she was stunned.

What on earth had they done to her...

...to make her look so good!

Her heart almost stopped in her chest as she looked at her gorgeous reflection.

Her dark skin tone had been evened out so deliciously. Her complexion was smooth like caramel, and the apples of her cheeks held a faint peachy-rose color, almost like a ghost since it was barely there, but noticeable enough to flow along with the rest of her face. The simple black mascara they had used had done wonders, as her fair-length lashes elegantly framed her eyes. The light reddish-orange eye shadow they had used added lovely color to her face, though it wasn't even very strong. Her lips were a maroon color that Padma absolutely adored.

Yes, Padma thought admittedly, Cho and Marietta had given her exactly what she had wanted.

Everything about the makeup was mild, but it was enough to make her look beautiful.

Marietta asked abruptly, "So what? Do you like it or not?"

Padma shakily set the mirror down and looked up at the both of them.

"I love it." she breathed.

Cho smirked, "I knew we would find something that suited you. Just leave it to my astounded genius and you'll come out looking fabulous every time."

"I helped too, you know." mumbled Marietta.

"Well, it was under my guidance..."

Padma smiled at them. All her thoughts of not being fit for makeup she had had before were easily eradicated. She looked so amazing and not remotely like a clown! Cho and Marietta had made everything look so natural, and Padma not-so-modestly compared herself to an Indian princess.

"I can't thank you enough." said Padma gratefully.

"Uh huh..." grumbled Marietta callously.

Cho smiled warmly, "Don't mention it."

Without thinking, Padma sprang up from her seat and hugged the both of them. It was awkward because Cho was returning the hug and at the same time Marietta was pushing Padma away. She didn't mind it though. She really was sincerely thankful to the both of them. She had never really felt beautiful that much in her life and to feel it at that moment definitely felt good.

She broke away and looked at them happily.

"Well thanks again," she said, "I guess I should get going—"

As Padma reached for the door, Cho grabbed her wrist.

"What do you mean you're going?" she asked, "Your date doesn't start for another hour."

"Yes but punctuality is a good quality to—"

"And besides," said Marietta deviously, "we haven't even gotten started on your clothes."