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Why?
I can't believe this. You're such a hypocrite—this is exactly what you sneer at Lili Frond for. And feminist tomboys are supposed to hate make-up, the colour pink, and all those other girly things.
Holly glared at her reflection. I'm defying stereotypes! she protested—reasoned. She proceeded to try to remove some of the make-up from her face. It was a bit too much... She ended up with pink blobs of the disgustingly greasy stuff on her fingers, and pink smears on her cheeks which stubbornly refused to come off no matter how much she tried. Now her cheeks were even rosier from the vigorous scrubbing. Idiot, Holly told herself. Why again am I wasting my time with this?
Oh yeah. Because if a girl has to be anti-girly to get into the LEP, it's still sexist.
She gave up on trying to get rid of the make-up, which now looked like far, far too much. She sighed as she left the bathroom. With any luck, no one would see her with her brilliantly rosy cheeks—
"Holly!" D'Arvit. Standing right in front of her was Trouble Kelp. I swear, the gods have something against me today.
"Hey, how's it going?" Holly tried to act normal.
Trouble stared at her face in concern. "Holly? Are you feeling alright? You look really flushed." Over Trouble's shoulder, Holly could see Lili Frond walking down the corridor. Lili saw them (and Holly's badly made-up face) and stopped in shock. Holly could feel herself blushing. Why, oh why, did I do this?
"Oh no, I'm fine, Trouble." A statement greatly at odds with her now bright red face. Behind Trouble's back, Lili was shaking with a fit of (thankfully silent) giggles. Holly felt like throwing something at her, and then mind wiping everyone in the vicinity, including—especially—herself.
Trouble began to smile awkwardly. "Holly...why are you wearing make-up?" Holly resisted the urge to bury her face in her hands. Good question, Trouble. Good question.
Lili rushed up to the pair of them. "Ohmigosh, Holly, I never thought you'd really do it! You're sooo brave!"
Somehow, Holly managed to keep a look of bewilderment from crossing her face. Maybe there was a way out of this...
Lili turned to Trouble and gushed, "It was a dare, y'know? I wanted to see her like totally decked out in make-up." She giggled madly. Holly stared at her in shock. Why was Lili Frond covering for her? Lili winked at her.
It was unnerving, Holly reflected. Lili was clearly faking all the giggling and squealing, but this was exactly the way she always talked. Obviously, she was a much better actress than Holly had thought.
Suddenly, Holly found herself being grabbed and dragged into the washroom by Lili, who was calling a cheery goodbye to Trouble.
For a moment the two of them just stared at each other. Then, Lili reached up and expertly wiped off the smears on Holly's face. "You owe me," she smirked, and swept out the door.