by Jodie Kobe
~~~
Rian deposits me in my bedroom and I sit in silence, staring at the walls. He tells me he’ll be back in a few hours so I should probably start washing up.
I finally get up and shuffle over to the bathroom, spending a few minutes trying to scrub at the tattoo on my hand and staring at my freaked out reflection in the mirror. Brown strands of hair stick out from my messed up ponytail. Did I really look like this the whole day? A few seconds of scavenging around the bathroom drawers, I finally find a brush and run it through my hair. It takes a while.
Why couldn’t someone else have done this for me while I was still dead? It wouldn’t hurt as much.
I take a quick shower and try washing up my tired face. After that, I throw myself onto my bed and sleep.
I am conscious of the voices but I don’t open my eyes right away.
“I suppose we could just leave her here and make some excuse of why she didn’t come.”
Not familiar with this voice. It’s a girl’s voice, though.
“The flu?” Rian’s voice. Definitely.
“I'm kidding.”
“And so am I.”
A shake on my shoulder brings me to pry my eyes open. I turn over onto my side and stare at the two people standing in my room.
Rian and a girl. She’s a half a head shorter than Rian, with black hair cascading down her face. I’m surprised when I see what’s she’s wearing. She has a dark, gray dress on. It reaches to her knees. She’s barefoot, but I spot a pair of heels by the door.
Rian’s wearing black pants along with a black shirt. His blond hair spikes up a little.
They look like they’re going to a party.
“Did I miss something?” I mumble through my hands as I rub them across my face. I sit up and instantly remember Jack Welds’ dinner invitation. But I don’t react.
The girl with Rian shakes her head. “No, you didn’t. But you do have an hour to get yourself ready.” She tosses something toward me and the unknown object hits my shoulder. Cloth.
“How—how did you enter my room?” That question pops into my head. I slip out of bed and try to fix my hair, which has found its way into my mouth.
The girl smirks. “You’re not the only one who has access to your room.” She holds up a white card. “Works for every single room. They have extras.”
I look down at what she had thrown at me earlier. It looks like the same dress she’s wearing.
“So we’re supposed to match?” I ask.
She gives me a wry smile. “No, of course not. You can go naked.”
I sigh and snatch the dress off the bed, stomping toward the bathroom.
“We’ll be waiting here,” the girl adds as I shut the bathroom door behind me.
In the bathroom, I lift the gray dress and hold it out in front of me, trying to imagine how I would look like before I put it on. My hair might ruin the whole look. I’ll have to put it up.
Once I struggle into the dress, I get back into the bedroom, where the girl and Rian are still waiting. They turn their heads in my direction as I enter. The girl raises her eyebrows and I anxiously start brushing the dress off as they stare at me.
“It doesn’t look too bad,” the girl says. “At least it fits.” She tosses a pair of ballet flats at me and I reach my hands out to catch them, but miss. They hit the wall and land behind the nightstand. I let out a frustrated sigh and retrieve them, pulling them on after. At least they’re not heels. “Do they fit?” the girl asks.
I nod and Rian smiles, saying, “You dress fast. Most people take forever.”
A scowl appears on the girl’s face. “She hasn’t put makeup on her face yet.”
I take a step back. “Uh...I think I’ll be fine.””
The girl shrugs. “Okay, whatever you prefer.”
