Page 112 of Veil of Lies

Tessa disappeared early on, so it had just been me and Marie. She was good company though and once I got over my natural reserve, I’d really enjoyed chatting to her. Like Tessa, she was easy to get along with and full to the brim of good humor. Now, though, she looked serious.

My stomach clenched as she stared at me. “Are you ready for the big reveal?”

“I dunno, should I be worried?”

Marie cracked a smile. “Maybe,” she teased. “I might have taken some creative liberties…”

“Oh god, what have you done?”

“Nothing too bad. I just added some highlights.”

My shoulders relaxed a little. I trusted her not to have done anything too crazy. “So the foil treatment wasn’t a deep conditioner?”

“Ha, not quite, although I did use a conditioning treatment.”

“Hmm, OK, show me. How bad can it be? You’d have to be really talented to beat the green/brown color I ended up with before.”

She snorted. “Yeah…that color took a lot of skill to achieve. Now close your eyes.”

I did as I was told, ignoring the butterflies in my stomach. It had been a while since blond Stella stared back at me in the mirror. I wasn’t sure I would recognize her anymore.

Marie swiveled my chair around. “Open your eyes, honey.”

The girl in the mirror was me, yet also not me. The red tresses I’d grown used to had disappeared and my natural pale blond hair was back, with the addition of pink streaks. Marie had chopped a lot of the damaged ends away and feathered the rest. My hair was now cut in a stylish ‘lob’: long enough to tie back into a ponytail but short enough to frame my face.

Tears pricked my eyes and Marie’s smile morphed into an expression of horror. “Oh my god, you hate it!”

“No,” I sniffed, smiling. “These are happy tears, promise. I just wasn’t expecting to look so like someone else a lot more glamorous than me.”

“Oh honey,” Marie said, hugging me tightly. “You’re gorgeous. All I did was brighten up the exterior to match your inner glow.”

“You can’t say shit like that, my mascara isn’t waterproof!”

“Here, wipe your face before the others come in, we wouldn’t want to ruin the effect.” She shoved a wet wipe into my hand and I quickly rubbed away the black streaks from around my eyes. They were still red but at least I no longer looked like a panda.

“You look like Elsa!” Savannah leaped into my arms and clung on like a little koala.

“Elsa has long hair,” Marie pointed out with an eye roll. Savannah stuck her tongue out and scowled. “Well I think she looks like Elsa. She’s pretty like Elsa.”

“Yeah, I like you as a blond,” Tessa said with a grin. “You’ve nailed the Barbie Core look.”

“Maybe I should change my name to Ken?” Harley teased. His hazel eyes drank in my new hair, and from the heated look he gave me, I got the distinct impression he liked it.

“I’ll give you one of my Barbies if you like?” Savannah piped up, beaming at Harley. “Then you can play Barbie with Stella.”

“That’s not the kind of game Stella likes—”

“Harley!” Marie glared at him, and he instantly shut up, looking suitably chastised. I didn’t miss the faint smile Marie tried to hide though, so I knew she wasn’t really mad at him.

“That would be very kind, Savannah,” he told the little girl, “But I would hate to steal away one of your precious Barbie dolls, so you hang on to them and I’ll promise to play Barbie games next time we visit. OK?”

“Yesss!” Savannah yelled. “You’re great at organizing Barbie’s Dreamhouse.”

I tried not to laugh as he looked somewhat embarrassed. “Well that’s Christmas sorted,” I said with a deadpan expression while Tessa and Marie giggled.

“You look gorgeous,” Harley whispered as we said goodbye to Marie and Savannah. “Looks like Cinderella is going to the ball after all!”

“She still needs a dress,” I pointed out.

---