Chapter 3: Fashion emergency.

One month I've been in this school, and let me tell you it all have been wonderful. My teachers aren't too bad and I'm quite advanced in many subjects, one of the advantages of being taught at home. Also, all of my friends promised me they won't do anything bad to anyone, and, at the moment they're still keeping their promise. Talking about my friends, my relationship with them is going on very well, though at first I thought they were kind of possessive towards me, I mean, they won't leave me alone for one second when I'm not in my class, so I just get to be with Rapunzel during history and on my way home (It turned out we're almost neighbors, how cool is that?), however, when I confronted my friends about their possessiveness, they said they just wanted to get to know me better, so the most time they spent with me, the soonest they would know me. I figured out it would best to drop the subject since they could think I don't want to be with them if I insist them to give me more privacy, so I decided to just let it be.

That's also a reason of why I haven't talk to Elsa as much as I wanted to. I've had some conversations with her during English class (I started sitting beside her), but they're mostly me talking and her listening. She's very good at listening and paying attention to two things at the same time. At first I thought she was ignoring me when I was telling her something and she continued taking notes, just nodding from time to time as a sign of being listening, but then at the end of the class, while we were putting our belongings on our backpacks, she told me her opinion about what I had told her and said it was a welcomed distraction from the boring class. She also said she liked hearing my voice.

That's how our interactions have been since then. I really like taking to her. She's very polite, but she'd still tell me her opinion if she doesn't agree with me, and sometimes she'd give me good advices. I can say with no doubt that English is my favorite class of the day. However, as much as I like being listened by Elsa, she still is so expressionless and cold; I haven't been able to get another smile from her since the day I gave her the chocolate, so even if I appreciate her company (partially because of her gorgeous appearance that, for some strange reason, makes butterflies appear on my stomach every time I look at her), I don't really consider her my friend and I don't think she sees me as a friend either. We're just good classmates and that's all.

The ones who have been nicest to me, besides Rapunzel, are Hans and Meg, though whenever I am with one of them, the other would never speak to me till the other leaves. It's kinda weird actually, I thought they were friends. Whatever, the point is, even if things with Meg have been very well, let me tell you things with Hans are a lot better, and I think I prefer his company, though maybe it has something to do with the fact that I like him… well I like Meg too, but you know what I mean when I say I like Hans.

¿How do I know I like Hans? Well, he is handsome, and nice, and intelligent and a dream come true. I'm supposed to like him. Plus, Hans has been spending every single opportunity he gets with me, he's even skipped some classes (and make me skip some too) so we can be together. On those times we'd just sit somewhere and speak about many things. He's very smart, which is an extra point, actually he's smarter than me, though he says it's normal because I'd never attended to school before. However he admits I'm more intelligent than most girls, and we'd laugh about Snow and the others' stupidity (At first I felt bad for that, because it's kinda mean, but what they don't know won't hurt them, right?).

To be fair, I don't have anything against Snow White or the other girls, at first I was afraid of them stealing Hans from me, but none of them want anything to do with him in a romantic way, they say he is just their friend and that it'd be weird to like him like that. I remember when I told them about my feelings towards Hans, they reacted very well.

"Sooo, Anna." Ariel said casually one time when we were talking about boys (y'know, saying that most of them are ugly and only a few from the football team are actually handsome). "Do you have someone special?"

"M-me?" I stuttered. They nodded waiting expectantly for my answer. "Oh… mmmh…" I trusted them enough to tell them, but I didn't know how they were going to react, so I was a little nervous. "Yeah… there is someone…" I blushed at the admission.

"Is he handsome?" Cinderella asked excitedly.

"You bet he is." I answered. "He has auburn hair, dreamy green eyes, very attractive facial features, big enough muscles…"

"Wait." Meg interrupted. "Are you talking about Hans?" She asked irritated.

"Well… yes." I answered, surprised about her tone of voice.

"Oh, that's fantastic Anna!" Ariel screamed jumping on excitement.

"Yes, it is." Aurora said. "Hans is very handsome."

"And chivalrous." Cinderella added.

"And an asshole." Meg stated with a sour tone of voice. I concluded she had something against him. Maybe they weren't friends after all?

"Hans is very nice." Snow White said, ignoring Meg's comment. "But I really don't think he likes girls like you."

Ouch. That hurts. But I suppose they're right, he is perfect and I'm so normal, I could never be at his level… But then why did he started talking to me if he doesn't like me?

The girls should have noticed how much the words hurt me, because Ariel quickly added:

"It's not as if you aren't pretty or something."

"Yeah, you're not ugly at all." Cindy said.

"Of course not, you have nice… uh… hair?" Aurora said, hesitating slightly at the last part.

"And body. Look at those curves." Meg said eying at me with a gaze I had only seen in nature documentals when predators are about to caught their pray.

"Yes, that's all true." Snow interrupted. "But she doesn't have the essential. Your hair could have a pretty color but you braid it as if you were a five year old girl. Do you think that attracts men?"

"I-I like my hair braided." I tried to defend myself.

"Yes, you do, but what about the others?" Well, definitely that shut my mouth. I never before thought about what the others would think. "And your clothes!" She screamed as if it was an offense to wear my clothes. It made me feel ashamed. "Where do you buy your clothes?"

"Uhm… I don't know?" I said with a questioning tone, feeling strange with the way they were looking at me. "My mom buys them for me."

"No, no, no, no, no." Cindy exclaimed. "She can't continue buying them for you. You're fifteen now, you have to choose them by yourself."

I thought about it for an instant.

Maybe they're right. I should be able to make my own decisions, to be more independent, to choose what I want to wear and what I don't. It's not as if I don't like the clothes my mother buys me, but still it would be nice to buy them myself.

"No!" Snow said surprisingly loudly and high pitched. "Cindy, how do you think she will be able to pick her clothes if she hasn't done it before? She can't do it, but we will help her."

"Y-you'll do?" I asked confused and surprised, but in a good way.

"Of course, silly, we are your friends." Ariel said.

"Yes, it's a 'Fashion emergency'!" Snow exclaimed excitedly. "We'll help you look pretty to impress Hans."

After that, operation 'Fashion emergency' started. They took me to the mall to buy all sorts of things, from clothes and make up to an i-phone (My cellphone was not expensive enough to be consider fancy), and even a new hairstyle. The only problem was they chose everything for me, they didn't even let me buy a chocolate ice-cream (buying me instead a sugar-free, natural yoghurt ice-cream) because they said I would get fat, even after I told them I usually eat chocolate all day without gaining even a kilogram.

'Fashion emergency' wasn't nearly as simple as I had imagined it, it wasn't just about improving my wardrobe and hair style, but it also included lessons about how to walk, how to talk, how to eat, what to eat (Yes, they said I was fat, because I had five kilograms more than Snow, and that I needed to make diet. No chocolates for me from now on, only apples), which music to listen (They said it was a crime not to have ever listened to Justin Bieber or One Direction before), which movies to see… and the list keeps going.

I didn't mind all the attention and the help the girls gave me, but something just didn't feel right, something was making me feel uncomfortable. I don't know, maybe it was the way they criticized everything about me, telling me how I had to change, how I had to stop being me. Today morning was a special occasion because of how hurtful they words were... And some other reasons.

"Anna, you can't buy that shirt." Snow said earlier today. We had gone to the mall and I was trying on some clothes.

"Why not?" I asked. "I like it. It's green, my favorite color, and it combines with my hair."

"Because it's sleeveless." Ariel answered as a matter of factly.

"So?"

"It shows your freckles."

My freckles have always been one of my most notorious imperfections. They're all over my body, but there are more on my cheeks and shoulders. We've already covered the ones on my face with makeup, but those which are on my shoulders and arms are another story. Before, I never felt ashamed of my freckles; even if I wished I had flawless skin as my mother, I never thought about covering them. However, the girls have opened my eyes, showing me that freckles are ugly and need to be concealed. It was still hurtful to hear them say it, though.

"I like her freckles." Meg defended me. "They look cute on her."

I smiled, thankful for the compliment, even if I myself didn't agree with it. Freckles are bad.

"That's because you have a very poor sense of beauty." Snow retorted. "Beauty is perfection. Freckles are imperfections. Thus, Freckles are ugliness."

All the girls, except Meg, nodded in agreement. She just rolled her eyes but didn't say anything. I gave up, probably they were right, so I just went to try something else. I chose a very nice white summer dress with yellow flowers printed on it and went to show it to my friends and see if it'll get their approval. I really hoped it did, since I really liked it.

"You look gorgeous in that, Anna." Meg said with eyes opened wide. "I could take you against the wall here and now… If I was a man, that is." She adds after an awkward moment of strange stares from the other girls and a confused one from me.

"Calm down, you pervert dyke." Snow interfered, eying her with what could only be describe as despise, making Meg frown with anger and me with confusion. What's a dyke? Is it a bad word? "Pay attention, it doesn't fits her well."

"Why not?" Ariel asked. "The color goes perfect with her hair and skin tone, and it has short sleeves that cover most of her shoulders' freckles. Besides, it accentuates her curves."

"Yes, but look at the cleavage." Cindy answered. "It's obviously been designed for fuller breasts than hers. "

"Of course, which cup are you, A?" Asked Aurora.

"Uh…" I felt ashamed. Yes, my cup was the smallest of all, an 'A' cup. My mother had told me not to worry about it, that my breasts will eventually grow, but the prettiest girls usually have large breasts. "Yeah." I nodded defeated. "I'm an 'A' cup."

"Oh, don't be so sad." Ariel said. "It is true that breast size is half of a woman's beauty, but… you still could be half-pretty?" She said trying to sound encouraging, but failing terribly. She is at least a 'B' cup, of course she doesn't know about the misfortune of having barely noticeable breasts.

"Yes, having big boobs is very important." Aurora agreed. "That's practically all boys look at when searching for a girl, you're doomed if you are as flat as a table and still want to find a boyfriend. But you could still pray that Hans isn't too superficial." Her words were not encouraging at all. I felt pretty bad for being so full of imperfections, why did I ever think I could be with Hans in a romantic way?

"Don't worry." Snow said, probably noticing me drowning in self-despise. "Not all hope is lost. You could make them look bigger."

"Really?" I asked hopefully. "How?"

"Using a padded bra, of course." I stare at her dumbly, not knowing what a padded bra is. "Or if you don't want people seeing you buying something like that, you could still put something inside your brazier."

"Like paper balls." Cindy suggested.

"That would look strange. Lemons are better." Ariel said.

"Or unicel balls." Aurora said.

"Do you use all of those?" I ask.

"No, of course not!" They all say simultaneously, clearly upset by my question.

"That's only for girls who don't have boobs." Snow clarified.

I supposed they were right, I mean, they all are B or C cups, but it still hurt that they all agreed I have small boobs. Even Meg, who usually defends me, didn't say anything this time.

"Well, then I think I shouldn't buy this dress." I said defeated. I really wanted to buy it.

"Well maybe the cleavage isn't perfect for you, but the dress shows your legs, and they look very nice." Meg tried to lift my spirits. "Maybe you should try with something similar; another dress or a skirt."

Well, at least a part of my body is attractive. I should follow her advice.

"Don't be ridiculous Meg." Snow almost screamed. "Her legs are too short to be attractive, and not slim enough. Besides, they also have freckles, and there are scars at the knees."

"I'm a little bit clumsy." I muttered, though 'a little bit clumsy' is an understatement; my knees have scars over scars, but I really thought they were not noticeable, I mean, they're the same color the rest of my skin. However, the rest of the things she said are absolutely true and it made me wonder, how could I ever think I was pretty before? I have nothing beautiful on me. I almost wanted to cry there and then.

"Also…" Snow continued. "Her legs have hairs. Anna, dear, how long has it been since the last time you depilated your legs?"

"Mmmmhhh… never?" I said feeling ashamed. The strange looks they all gave me only worsened the situation. "I shaved them… a long while ago." The last time I shaved them was the day before the classes started.

"At least she was honest." Ariel said, looking closely at my legs. "A long while ago."

"You shouldn't shave them." Aurora chastised me. "It'll only make the hairs grow thicker the next time."

"Also, the skin feels scratchy." Cindy added.

"Depilation is better. Each time there will grow less and less hairs." Snow concluded.

"But depilation hurts." I protested, knowing in advance that it wouldn't matter to them.

"It's a little sacrifice you must do. No one said being beautiful was easy." Ariel answered. I sighed in resignation.

"Fine." I sighed. "I will depilate my legs, and now I think I should take off this dress and find something else." I sighed again. "I really liked this dress."

"Some clothes are just not for you, and you must accept it." Snow said.

I turned towards the fitting rooms, ready to change into my own clothes, but I stopped when I heard a beautiful voice, it was soft, confident and shy at the same time. Just loud enough to be heard. I knew that voice.

"I-I think she looks gorgeous in that dress."

I turned around to face the owner of the voice, the other girls doing the same. It was Elsa. Yes, Elsa Frost (If you're wondering how I knew her last name, the English teacher always calls her that), the one and only, the most beautiful girl on Arendelle High School and probably any other high school on the world. The Ice Queen. She was standing behind my friends, her arms crossed and the same cold face as always, though her cheeks were a little pink.

"What are you doing here, Ice Queen?" Snow asked in a hostile tone.

"I was just buying something." She answered looking at the other girl at the eyes. I've never seeing her that confident with something not related to school.

"Well, no one here wants your useless opinions, dyke." Cindy spat. Elsa's expression fell only for a moment, but then her mask promptly showed up again.

That word again: 'dyke'. I wonder what does it means, it seems to be used as an insult. Should I ask them? Would I look too stupid?

"Yes, Anna won't listen to a stupid nerd who doesn't know the first thing about fashion, so fuck off." Ariel shooed her away. I wondered what reason do they have to be so rude to her, I mean, she was only giving an opinion.

Elsa looked at me expectantly, her gaze softening a little, as if wanting to see if I also wanted her to go away.

"Do you really think I look fine with this dress?" I asked her.

She looked at me from head to toes, her eyes studying my every curve and suddenly I felt really nervous, almost as if I was standing completely naked in front of her, and I desperately wanted to hear her opinion, to know if I was attractive enough for her… n-not as if she could be attracted to me, I mean, we're both women, that would be strange, b-but… you know what I mean. Finally she took her eyes off of me, blushing deeply and smiling shyly.

"No, you don't look fine with that dress." She said. I almost felt like throwing myself out of the window that instant (and we were at the second floor), before hearing what she said next. "You look very beautiful… even more than you usually do."

My heart started running in my chest at a pace so fast I thought I was going to pass out. A smile appeared on my face. I wanted to jump over her in that instant and hug her tightly. She made my day.

Suddenly our eyes found each other and none of us broke the contact. She was so beautiful, even without makeup or expensive clothes and having her hair braided. She didn't need anything to improve her appearance, just her shy smile and blush at her cheeks, it was natural beauty. I could have almost been jealous if I didn't prefer to see such beauty in someone else. It pleased my eyes.

"Hello? Earth to Anna!" Ariel said, moving her hand up and down in front of me to catch my attention.

"S-sorry… W-what?" I asked, suddenly surprised of noticing the others' presence.

"I was saying you should take that dress off so we can go to find something else on another shop." Snow said.

"Y-yes, of course." I stuttered. "I'm gonna change then."

I did as I told them and, once I got out of the fitting rooms wearing my normal clothes and with the dress on my right hand, I found the girls taking to each other, completely ignoring Elsa, who was standing awkwardly a few feet away from them. I smiled, glad that she didn't leave while I was changing my clothes.

"Should we get going?" I asked. Instantly they all looked at me and nodded.

We all headed to the shop's exit, Elsa walking behind the other girls, so I slowed my pace to be beside her. She looked at me confused and I only gave her a little smile. I was very thankful towards her, if it wasn't for her I would have keep thinking I was an ugly monster, but I know she is always sincere, so I can trust her opinion.

We were almost arriving at the line to pay when Elsa opened her mouth as if trying to say something to me, but she was interrupted by Ariel who asked me in that instant:

"Anna, aren't you going to give that dress to an employee, since you're not buying it?"

I stared at the dress still clamped in my hands and then at Elsa. She had said I looked beautiful in it, and even if she is not a fashion expert like the other girls, I thought her opinion counted more for me, for some strange reason. Maybe it was because I wanted her to think I'm attractive, it didn't really matter to me what the other girls thought about my appearance, it was Elsa the one I wanted to impress in that moment. Why the sudden change? I don't know, but that was what I felt then.

"I'm going to buy it." I said.

"What?!" All of them except Meg screamed in disbelief. Meg only smirked as if she was finding the situation funny.

"I like it, so I'll buy it." I repeated. I had never talked to them like that, but somehow Elsa's presence gave me the confidence to do so.

"But Anna, didn't you hear a thing of what we said?" Snow asked.

"Yes, I heard you, but I still want to buy it."

With that I walked towards the cashier, even after seeing the shocked expressions of their faces, and handed the dress to the employee with a smile. Then, while he was registering it on the cashbox I turned to see Elsa behind me, waiting for her turn to buy what she had chosen (just a plain white shirt). She was giggling behind her hand, something I had never saw before, and let me tell you it was a very amazing view. After seeing that I really can't understand why they call her the Ice Queen; she is so cute. I smiled and winked at her, as if we were doing some kind of mischief, though in reality I was just buying a dress because she told me it made me look gorgeous, even if my friends didn't have the same opinion. She stopped her giggling, blushed at my gesture and diverted her gaze. I didn't think much about her strange reaction because in that moment the employee asked me to give him the cash.

After we had bought our respective clothes, we all exited the shop and then I told the girls:

"I think I should go now. It's getting late and I have homework to do, so I guess I'll see you the day after tomorrow."

"I could escort you to your house, if you want." Elsa offered. "It's on my way home and I was also leaving."

I opened my mouth to say that indeed I would like her company (I wanted to spend more time with this unexpectedly talkative and nice side of Elsa I had never seen before) when Snow interfered:

"Actually, Elsa, we wanted to ask you to hang out with us a little more."

"I'm sorry, but I also have homework to do." She replied.

"Oh, but I insist. I know we haven't treat you very nicely, but we really want to change that. We want to be your friends, right girls?" They all nodded and Elsa gulped, her face turning paler than usual. I supposed it was because she isn't used to be with other people, so I rushed to rescue her.

"She could hang out with you any other day. I want some company on my way home."

"I could accompany you if you want." Meg offered.

I wanted to say no, but it would have been rude. I still wanted to go with Elsa, though, so I came with the solution to my dilemma:

"You can both come with me."

"Don't be silly Anna." Cindy said. "Meg is more than enough to keep you company. Let us borrow Elsa for today." She placed her hand on Elsa's shoulder as she said the last part. The girl shivered a little but didn't say anything.

I wanted to protest once more, but a glare from Snow was enough to shut my mouth. I had already pushed my luck with them earlier by buying a dress they had told me not to buy, and I didn't want to taste the limits of their patience.

A walk with Meg instead of Elsa won't kill me, right? And this could be a very good opportunity for Elsa to make some friends; she so lonely sometimes. Besides, if she makes friends with them, we all could hang out together in the future.

Trying to convince myself that it was for the best, but not entirely succeeding (there was a strange sensation on my guts telling me it wasn't the right decision), I finally spoke:

"I… suppose it's a good idea. I'm sure you can become friends, don't you think so, Elsa?"

Part of me was hoping she'd make an excuse to avoid being with them and came with me instead, and for the anxious look she had I thought for a moment she would do that, but to my disappointment, she said:

"Yes, I… I suppose we can." She almost sighed while saying it, her expression fell, but she didn't protest anymore, so I supposed she was not completely opposed to the idea of staying.

"Well, then we should go now." Meg said, placing her arm around my shoulders. A frown appeared at Elsa's face for a moment, but it disappeared as quickly as it came making me wonder if it was actually real. "Goodbye, girls." She proceeded to kiss them all (except Elsa, of course) on the cheek and I did the same, though I did kissed Elsa, and it felt wonderful (her skin is so soft!).

"See you." I said.

Then Meg and I turned to leave the mall, heading towards my house.