“Are you ready yet, Rachel?” My best friend, Viviane, called through the doorway of our cheap hotel booking. There she stood, applying a thin layer of gloss to her plump lips using her phone screen as a mirror.
“Almost, give me a sec!” I retorted instantly, scrambling through my makeup pouch I had brought along with me on our Washington D.C trip, with the final stop in New York City. We were sharing a room with two other girls who were already done with their looks for the night and were chatting happily on the two queen-sized beds in the center of the room- Madeline and Amy. Throughout the past six days we had been together, we all became close friends instantly. Madeline was the fashionista and Instagram-holic of the group while Amy was the food connoisseur and moral-support. I was the photographer and Viviane was the navigator. We all had important roles that we took very seriously.
After what felt like pointless hours of digging into my black hole of a bag, I let out a heavy sigh and tossed it onto the sink of the bathroom carelessly. My reflection stared back at me in the large, illuminated mirror. Despite the late time at night, the world outside our hotel room was loud and boisterous. New York, Times Square. The Crossroads of the World. It was almost unbelievable that we had made it this far on our fieldtrip. One moment, we were at school listening to the P.E teachers give out details for the once in a lifetime vacation, and the next, we were getting ready to go watch a Broadway show.
Being a thirteen-year old, awkward teenager, I was so bad at makeup. My face was a mess. I had practiced at home with my mom and got to bring some of her treasured supplies with me, only to look like an absolute clown. I had applied too much concealer that made my face look white like a ghost and my eyeliner… Yikes! It made me look like a Japanese Kabuki doll. Behind me, Viviane had gotten impatient and entered the bathroom. The moment we locked eyes through the mirror, she burst out laughing.
“Girlie! What happened to your face?” She said, pointing at my eyeliner. I felt my cheeks heat up in embarrassment as I suddenly found the clean floor of the bathroom interesting.
“...I thought it looked good.” I lied.
“You cannot go to watch Aladdin like that! You’d probably scare everyone there like a horror actor.”
Just as I thought it couldn’t get worse, Madeline’s voice joined the conversation.
“Oh my god.” Was all she said, staring at me with horror on her face. Madeline, being the one who was absolutely amazing at makeup, was so disappointed with how I looked. Amy, who stood behind Madeline, blinked twice at my appearance.
“Wow… Rachel, you look-” Terrible, was what I thought she wanted to say. But since Amy was a kind, soft-hearted girl, she simply smiled and gave me a thumbs up. “-Different than usual, but I like it!”
Before I could say anything in return, Madeline clicked her tongue and shook her head.
“Absolutely not.” She approached me. Despite being taller than her by four inches, she seemed very intimidating at the moment. Her perfectly manicured hands reached out to my makeup pouch, digging through the contents before letting out a heavy sigh. “You don’t have setting powder and your concealer doesn’t match your skintone. Wait here, let me go get mine.” She turned quickly like a scout on a mission and quickly rushed out of the cramped bathroom to get her tools from her suitcase. I squeaked out a thank you. Viviane also left the room for a moment and returned with an eyeshadow palate with an assortment of colors. Amy, being the only one in our group to not own or wear any makeup, helped me clean my face by lending her toner pads that she used for skin care.
Like an assembled fleet, the two older girls helped me with my look for the night. Viviane pulled up reference photos from her phone, questioning Madeline if I was a cool or warm tone kind of person. Madeline, without hesitation, declared me a cool tone as she applied a new layer of concealer on my face. Our skin tones weren’t that similar at first glance, but it was better to be darker than it was to have pale white as a base. With a few touchups there and a couple dabs here, my friends had redid my face completely.
“Ooh! So pretty!” Amy squealed in delight, watching the masters at work. Viviane swabbed different pigments onto her wrist, before settling on a shimmering gold and lightly rubbing it on my eyelids. Within just a few minutes I went from circus clown to absolute runway diva. I couldn’t believe I was looking at the same girl a couple moments back when I saw my reflection in the mirror.
“Wow.” Was all I could muster. I never felt this beautiful in my life.
“Much better.” Madeline said, nodding in approval. “Close your eyes and don’t breathe this in.” I did as she commanded and let her spray the setting mist onto my skin. When I reopened them, I saw my friends stare directly at me, bright smiles and soft giggles leaving their lips. For a moment, the world blurred and slowed down. My heart hammered in my chest, an unknown warmth seeping into my soul. I felt grateful for them- for how they helped me. I felt so grateful that I could cry. This moment made me realize how precious these girls were to me. They weren’t just middle school friends, they were my ride or dies.
“Thank you so much-” I tried to thank them, only to be cut off by Amy’s alarmed panic.
“GUYS! We have to leave, NOW! The show starts soon and our chaperone is about to leave without us!” She shoved her phone in our faces, showing the message and time. Shoot, we were running late!
Without time to lose, we scrambled to grab our purses and last minute essentials before scurrying out of our hotel room. We ran through the busy hallways, shoving through bystanders in our way and slamming the elevator button the moment we made it in. Fortunately, we had made it on time and joined up with the other students on the trip. I stood with Viviane while Madeline stayed back with Amy. The cold air of Times Square slapped me in the face, causing a shiver to run down my spine. My best friend’s arm linked through mine as we walked down the streets of New York behind our chaperones, reminding me that I was not alone.
That night was the best experience I’ve ever had. Not just because of watching Aladdin on Broadway, but because I got to watch it with my closest friends. We laughed, gasped, and applauded together. I never forgot the girlhood I experienced before the show began. It was a reminder of the wonderful people I had near me, who were more than just my friends; my sisters.
💗