"Miss, we've got clothes from three different stores. Will this be enough variety?" Nancy - her aunt's personal all-around assistant, asked.
She looked at the clothes presented in front of her and was confused about why all the clothes are quite formal. Something that you'd wear in an office. Fashionable yes, but why would her aunt have her assistant get her these kinds of clothes.
"Uhm, aren't you making a mistake? She asked.
"No, young miss. It was ordered four days ago."
Dana thought four days ago was the day she told her mother she was coming to China. Being brought here at the hotel by a driver who picked them up at the airport, her aunt went out as soon as they checked in. And now her assistant is here, telling her that she has to wear these clothes and be ready within two hours to go somewhere. What the heck is happening? She feels like she got played by her aunt.
"Young miss, we don't have enough time." Nancy's voice pulled her back to the situation at hand.
"I don't know which dress is good enough for the place we're going." she smiled impishly. "These clothes are not the usual kinds I wear." she honestly added.
"What kind of shoes do you have?" she asked, giving her a kind smile for she must see her uneasiness.
"Uhm, my converse shoes. I didn't bring a lot because aunt Joy said I should pack lightly." she can't help herself justifying everything with her, because she has a very serious face, and it feels like she shouldn't make any mistakes.
"Your shoe size is five, right?" she asked back to her monotone, business like voice.
"Yes," she answered blushing, she's sensitive with her twenty-four centimeters shoe size, because it's a give away to her height. She always wears a two inches height lifting insert in her shoes. If Japan isn't very particular about what shoes are acceptable for her age, she would have been wearing high heels now.
"This pair of high waist plaid mini skirt will elongate your legs, it might be too short but you have shapely legs and this double-breasted jacket blazer will take care of that. To keep it fresh and your age, wear any of your plain black t-shirts."
"Wear these black suede ankle boots, and you're good to go."
She quietly picked up all the clothes and went inside the bathroom to change. She's worried about the cut and texture of these items, for it looks like a formal office worker's two-piece suit, even if the skirt is too short, she doesn't think it would look like someone her age would wear on a daily basis.
She just finished putting on everything and didn't have time to check how she looks in the mirror when she hears an insistent voice outside the door. She sighed thinking, she will never get used to this assistant's very demanding tone. She feels like she is being ordered around all the time!
"Sit here," she said, motioning the dresser chair.
Like a puppet on a string, she crossed the room and sat without a word.
She feels the surprising soft hands of Nancy raking and twisting her hair into a messy low bun just below her nape. Then she holds her shoulder and twists her to face her, she feels disappointed that she's done too quickly with her hair. It's so good she thought she's getting a head massage.
"You have very nice skin, but you're too pale. Let's dust some blush on your cheeks to give it some color, and a lip balm is enough for you since you have naturally red lips." "Okay, stand up and put on your shoes," she said and rummaged the mountain of shopping bags on the bed looking for something.
Dana was standing speechless and gawking at her reflection in the mirror when Nancy turned around to hand her a white Dior Oblique Jacquard saddle bag, that was a gift from Ellise.
"Do you like it?
"Yes! Oh my! I look so, so pretty! I mean, I didn't expect these styles of clothes would fit me." she said babbling in excitement.
"You are very pretty, indeed," Nancy affirmed, gently.
Dana's face reddens in embarrassment, "I mean,..uhm.." she stuttered trying to find words to deny the compliment.
"Here, it's a gift from Miss Ellise, she's quite busy with her training, and can't be here to welcome you. But she wishes for you to use your birthday gift early on.
"It's beautiful!" she said gushing at the purse.
"Uhm, Nancy may I oblige you to take my photo?" she suddenly felt shy towards this woman.
Nancy secretly smiles with the sudden change in the demeanor of the girl, "Miss Dana, there is no reason to be too formal. Give me your phone, let's snap some photos."
Dana eagerly handed her phone and sat on the armchair near the window.
"The lighting is a little off from that side, why don't we move the chair to the far side of the wall and draw the curtain to diffuse the light," Nancy suggested, with the flair of a professional photographer, but she doesn't understand any of those things and just does what she was told.
"Here you are! Would you like more shots?" handing the phone back to Dana, she said.
Upon quick scrolling to check the photos, Dana smiled satisfied, and said, "These are enough, thank you, Nancy. The photos came out so lovely."
Another restrained smile escapes Nancy's lips as she finds the young miss quite amusing in shifting tone and antics from a bubbly teenager to a learned young adult of proper etiquette befitting her social status.
"Can I give you the rundown of what's on schedule for you?" Nancy asked the girl, busy sharing her photos on social media.
"I have a schedule?" Dana asked, surprised, but can't take away her eyes from her phone. "I'm on vacation, why would aunt Joy give a schedule?"
Dana didn't hear a reply and the silence dragged longer than necessary. She quickly looked up from her phone screen and came face to face to Nancy's professional smile, she winced in embarrassment and quickly put her phone away and sat properly.
"You'll visit the branch office of your aunt's company situated here in Shanghai, your aunt is already there. You'll be sitting down in some informal meeting with a team in the music department." "There will probably be a small dinner, it depends on how early or late the meeting will end."
As Nancy continues with the briefing on what are the things that could happen in the company visit, for her to be prepared on things that are expected of her, and how she should act later on.
Dana is scowling in dismay, for it now clear that she was played by her aunt by bringing her here in China, it looks like her aunt Joy is actually being with her mother's side, for what reason could it be that she is now being pushed to sit down on a meeting of some music department of her aunt's production company if not her aunt changed sides!
Besides when did her aunt become hands-on with all those companies she owned or co-owned, to begin with? She always has a business manager to do the menial jobs for her. She just sits down on her office table to sign the final documents, and even those things are mostly done outside the office, handled efficiently by Nancy! Dana thought fuming.
"When you're done with the company visits, you'll have time to meet Ellise, because by then she'd be done with her training."
Company visits my butt, she thought, feeling aggravated.
"What time can I meet Ellise?" she asked. After hearing all those nonsense, meeting Ellise is all that matters. Will he be there? She's giddy with the thought of finally meeting the guy.
"Most probably late in the evening, she is training for a competition at the end of the month."
"Not on my birthday I supposed!" she exclaimed.
"The match will be on the 29th to 31st of August," Nancy informed her after checking her notebook.
"My birthday is on the 28th," she said in dismay. "I don't think Ellise will be able to have an off a day before her first game."
"I wasn't privy to the details of Miss Ellise's schedule be it personal or work unless I was asked to do some task, and those tasks are very specific in nature," she told her with regrets.
"You don't have to feel sorry, Nancy." "It's not part of your job. It's just that I was expecting other things for this trip," she said with a sigh.
"Miss Jess will arrive the day after tomorrow, she'll be here to accompany you starting this weekend. We will be staying here until the end of the month, there is plenty of time for whatever it is that you want to do with Miss Ellise and Miss Jess."
"You don't have to console me, Nancy, it's my fault in believing an adult's promises. I never learned."