Elle looked at herself in the mirror. Okay, today she would be proactive! She would do her best today. Ren came in and looked her up and down in the mirror.
"Oh, no. Absolutely not." she shook her head and began to rework her entire outfit. Ren was a master at make-up and fashion. She had to be. Elle knew that it was a good idea to leave her wardrobe tonight in Ren's hands, but as she looked in the mirror she realized that she no longer recognized the person staring back at her. Ren's monologue about being yourself began to fade into nothingness. Tonight was… important… she had to make sure that this worked. That's…what was expected of her. She took another look in the mirror and nodded, pretending she heard everything.
"Alright. Now go out and have a great time!" she was escorted out the door and as she made her way to the elevator tried her best not to trip in the heels that Ren had her barrow.
It felt like ages just coming to the bus, and once it did pull up, she wasn't sure if she was even getting on it. Not even when she paid the fare, or when she tried to find a seat, or when someone cat called the stranger walking by, or when she saw her reflection again in the window. Her hair had been done up, waves falling across her bare shoulders, her smaller than average breast barely creating any cleavage that would entice a man even if it was peaking out from the blazing red v-neck. The scarf the was thrown around her shoulder to create a "I-Don't-Care-At-All-About-My-Looks-But-I-Live-and-breathe-fashion" look. The tight skinny jeans with the rips in all the right places and the platforms. The make-up that was originally just chapstick and some light blush had now been turned into full on war paint by her sexy fairy godmother that lived in her room at the dorms. The person in the reflection looked hot, but the eyes peeking out from underneath the mask of make-up looked terrified. The bus pulled up to her stop, and as she descended from the steps, made her way to the restaurant, and tried not to bite her lips as she willed her body to move step by step into the restaurant they were all meeting at.
She sat down, trying not to cringe from the surprised looks she got from the girls who had invited her to this mixer, and not to look away. Fear had no place here. Ren had prepared her for this, but what happens after the magic wears off? When the fairy godmother placed a spell on Cinderella making her all sparkly and beautiful, did she ever think about what came after that? When the prince found out that his princess was really just an average girl… would he really still want to be with her? As the mixer started, Elle felt a little more of the person she was fade away as she sat before someone who might be the person she spent her life with. A mixer was the beginning of a life changing event… one step closer to the edge and all the darkness that went with it…