| |
Scout had that uh-oh feeling when she looked at the gleam in Briella’s eyes. “What are you formulating in that head of yours?” she asked worriedly.
“Nothing that is going to hurt either one of us,” Briella answered with a flutter of her wings. “Who knows, Scout? You might even have a little fun.”
“I have fun all the time,” she huffed defensively.
“I’m not saying you don’t,” Briella flew to her room and noticed the bedspread was missing. “I’ll have to remember to make that,” she pointed to the bed before continuing onto her wardrobe. “Now, Scout. I want you to look at the clothes in my cupboard and pick out something that you think will suit your new hairstyle.”
“What I have on now looks good.”
“I’m sorry to break it to you, Scout, but the colour of your hair and the colour of your top do not go together.”
“What do you mean? They are both shades of purple.”
“Yes, but the wrong shades to be placed against one another. Perhaps if your pants were that colour and your top was black . . .” Briella’s finger had come up to tap her lips while she considered that combination. “No, not even then,” she decided.
Scout stood in front of the mirrored side of the wardrobe and studied her reflection with a critical eye. She hated to admit that she agreed with Briella. With a sigh, she said, “I see what you mean.”
Briella sidled up beside her, “How about I start you off?” She reached into the cupboard and pulled out the most conservative outfit she owned. Scout eyed the ensemble with appreciative eyes. She had been afraid Briella would push her to wear something that showed too much skin around the waist and too much leg. Instead, she was shown a knee-length skirt in black with a blouse in sky blue that slipped over the head and had off-the-shoulder sleeves.
“When have you worn this?” Scout asked.
“Actually, I haven’t had an opportunity to wear that piece yet.”
“How long have you had it?” Scout asked, swapping her pants for the skirt, admiring the shape of her calves and the way the bottom flared when she turned.
“A while.” When Scout clicked her tongue with annoyance, Briella continued, “I’m not sure exactly. A few years maybe.”
“Don’t you like it?”
“It’s not really my style,” she shrugged, waiting impatiently for Scout to put on the shirt. She was surprised at how easy it was to get Scout to try on something new.
“Then why did you get it?” Scout asked, slipping her purple corset over her head and replacing it with the shirt Briella handed her.
“April made it for me when I was going through my Spanish phase. I immersed myself in the language, the dance, the food. I just wasn’t into the clothing. It doesn’t suit my physique.”
Scout disagreed with that comment but kept her thoughts to herself. She thought Briella would look amazing in this outfit. Scout stared at the mirror but wasn’t happy with what she saw.
The costume was comfortable but didn’t seem to suit the girl in the mirror. Briella stood behind her and fiddled with the fabric. She peered over Scout’s shoulder, bunching her hair up in her fist, creating a loose ponytail. “Hmmm, that’s better, but I think this outfit calls for curling your hair, allowing it to fall softly over your shoulders.”
Scout wasn’t comfortable with the way the conversation was going. That seemed like way too much effort to make an outfit look appealing. The clothes she wore needed to look appealing from the moment she put them on. She had more important things to worry about than the way she presented herself to the world.
While these clothes felt lovely, although the skirt was a little breezy, they weren’t her. “Do you have anything with pants?”
Briella’s grin triggered a shiver to run throughout Scout’s body. “Relax,” Briella rolled her eyes. “Such little faith.”
Scout eyed the outfit and shook her head. “No. Nah-uh. I’m not wearing that.”
“Try it on. You might be pleasantly surprised,” Briella replied. She held a bodysuit made from lycra in her hands. It was a gorgeous, jungle-green coloured fabric with blocks of black print.
“Where do those words sit?”
“Try it on and see,” Briella said mysteriously. Scout humoured her. She knew it would not be to her taste, but this way Briella couldn’t come back at her for not being open to new things. Scout chuckled quietly to herself. Who was she kidding? They both knew she wasn’t any good with change.
Still, she took the outfit from Briella’s outstretched arms after disrobing and wriggled her way inside the stretchy fabric. The colour complimented her new hair tone perfectly. It also highlighted the creaminess of her skin. As expected, the words ‘Check this out’ was written across her chest and the words ‘Hot or not? ’ were written across her backside.
Other words were strewn across her abdomen, legs and back. She wasn’t as concerned by those. “How many times have you worn this one?” Scout asked.
“Every time Queen Glitter throws a ball and insists I attend.”
“I’m guessing that is why I have never seen you at one.”
“Yep, she throws me out every time.”
“Why don’t you want to stay?”
“I’m not interested in starting a family. Here, try this one on.” She reached into the wardrobe and pulled out a shirt similar to Scout’s corset. It was a deep purple with sparkling swirls rising up like fireworks. Scout’s eyes lit up as though it was Christmas. Briella groaned, knowing her fun had come to an end. “I was trying to save this for later,” she said.
“Yeah, because you know it’s the kind of clothes I like wearing. This is beautiful,” Scout breathed. “Why have I never seen you in this?”
“I’m not wearing the same style as you when we are together, and since you never wear anything else . . .”
“Right,” Scout said a little tersely.
Briella wasn’t about to offer an apology. She understood Scout’s desire to be comfortable. It was difficult for her friend when she was placed in a position where she needed to step outside her comfort zone.
It was why Scout spent a lot of time on her own. She was able to do whatever took her fancy, and avoid whatever made her feel uncomfortable.
The thing Scout didn’t comprehend, was there were ways of creating new comfort zones, and Briella was determined to teach her that. She was beginning to realise that it was going to take longer to train Scout than she thought.
That was okay. Briella had plenty of time to transition her friend into a fashionista like her.
Scout peeled the bodysuit off and retrieved her black pants. She slid the shirt over her head and allowed it to fall into place. Her gasp when she looked in the mirror brought a tear to Briella’s eye.
“Baby steps,” Briella murmured quietly.
“Baby steps,” Scout reiterated, having read her lips in the mirror.
Briella grabbed a pin from a drawer and drew the sides of Scout’s hair back. She pinned it in place and plucked at her fringe hairs. “Perfect,” she uttered, admiring her work.
