CLAIREMBER 2022
Day 4 - pink

"No red? You're kidding me."

Claire thumbed through the denim zip-up vests again and then their matching shorts just in case someone had mixed a red vest in with the red shorts.

No! The vests are finally on sale – 75% off, no less – and all the red ones are gone. Now what am I gonna get Chris's angel embroidered on?

"Psst. Hey, Claire."

She looked up.

Smiling, Elza held up one of the pink vests.

Claire wrinkled her nose.

"Oh, come on. It's cute. It'd look adorable on you."

"No pink, Elza."

"Why not?"

"No pink, Elza."

"Oh, for God's sake, come here."

Elza steered her to the nearest mirror, which hung on a store column, and held the vest in front of her. "What do you think?"

Claire sighed. Elza Walker was her racing partner, roommate, and best friend, and Claire loved her dearly. But Elza refused to acknowledge that everyone had their colors and pink was just not one of Claire's.

"Well?" Elza pressed.

"I think it'd look better on you."

"Why? Because I'm blond?"

"No. Because you effortlessly look good in everything."

"Trust me: it takes a lot of effort to look good effortlessly."

Today, Elza wore sneakers, old black cargo pants, a ripped white shirt, and her black biker jacket with flames on the sleeves. Per usual, she wore her hair in a ponytail, much like Claire's, with her aviator glasses pushing back her bangs like a headband. Claire couldn't imagine what kind of effort she had put into her outfit, but the fact remained: Elza looked good.

"Now give me your jacket." Elza held out her hand.

"Why?"

"Because I need you to see what I see."

Rolling her eyes, Claire shrugged out of her blue denim jacket and gave it to Elza, who passed her the pink vest. Claire slipped it on. In the mirror, she stared at the pink vest and cut-off shorts combo she now wore.

"What exactly am I supposed to see?"

"How good you look. See how your turtleneck makes the pink pop? It's subtle, because it's like a dark magenta kind of pink, but it's there. And it works so well for you."

From the waist up, Claire could see what Elza was talking about. The black turtleneck with its t-shirt-length sleeves not only made the vest color pop, it provided an extra layer of warmth at night while staying cool during the day.

"You see it, don't you?" said Elza.

"Okay, you have a point. But what would I wear with them?"

Smiling, Eliza held up a pair of the pink shorts.

"Can't I at least stick with black?"

"You are sticking with black – the black biking shorts you got on under your denims, but with these over them. Go on – try them on." Elza handed Claire the pink shorts.

"Right here?"

"Why not? We're the only ones in this part of the store."

Claire looked around and then quickly changed into the pink shorts.

"Now picture them cut-off. Like these." Elza held up Claire's blue shorts. "With that white belt you wear with your leather pants – the ones with the flames. And your flat brown knee-highs."

Claire watched her reflection as she pulled up the shorts' legs until they reached her blue shorts' length.

Not bad. Cute but tough. I like it.

"And now, for the cherry on top." Elza turned Claire around so her back faced the mirror. She pulled the folded print-out of Chris's angel – the one he'd had professionally screened on the back of his brown bomber jacket – out of Claire's jacket and pressed it to the vest back. "What do you think?"

Claire grinned. "Elza, I think you're a genius."