somewhere.’
‘ I thought you said we had to do the dares alone,’ said Beth. ‘That’s what you said at the first meeting.’
Couldn ’t she see how scared Juliette was? ‘Yeah, well the makeover is the dare. Going out is just an extra.’
After that, the meeting broke up. I was more than ready to leave anyway. As I left the bar, the old codger winked at me. I had an awful feeling he wasn ’t as deaf as I’d first thought.
Chapter 7: Juliette
The cosmetics department was a foreign world to me, all glossy white surfaces and shiny packaging. Those white-coated women hovered behind their counters like rows of exotic birds in an aviary and fifty perfumes mingled in the ai r– artificial versions of citrus, vanilla and rose. I’d have been more relaxed in the dentist’s chair than sitting on a stool in the middle of all that.
When I was sixteen, Poppy had wanted me to sneak into this new nightclub with her and told me to pile on the makeup so I looked old enough. I ’d gone to Coles after school to stock up then spent the rest of the afternoon experimenting. After a few disasters, I got the hang of it and didn’t think I looked too bad.
I wasn ’t expecting Dad to be home though; he always worked late on Fridays. But he was there, sorting through the mail and just waiting, as though he knew something was up.
He laughed when he saw me, like he always did when I did something stupid. Not once in his whole life did I hear Dad laugh from his belly, just that hollow, dry snigger like he had something nasty in his throat.
He looked me up and down. ‘You look ridiculous,’ he said then turned back to the mail. My eyes prickled but I wouldn’t let him see me cry. I walked back upstairs and scrubbed my face then chucked a week’s pocket-money worth of make-up in the bin.
Maybe that ’s why sitting up on a stool in the middle of the cosmetics department scared me so much.
‘ She does have good skin,’ the makeup lady told Beth. ‘You don’t need to do too much there.’
‘ I was a bit worried about her “T” zone,’ Beth replied.
‘ Mmm,’ said the woman, pursing her lips. She got a torch thing and a magnifying mirror from behind the counter. Shining the torch on my face, she peered at my face.
‘ A little oily but the pores aren’t too damaged. What skincare regime does she use?’
Beth looked at me and I turned to Imogen. I was out of my depth here; I only vaguely knew what a skincare regime was. But Imogen had escaped. I spotted her across the store standing at a rack, trying on nail polish.
‘Well, I wash my face in the shower. Usually with a bit of soap,’ I answered.
‘ Soap!’ Beth’s jaw dropped. ‘Do you know what soap does to your skin?’
‘ No?’
‘ It does… nasty stuff,’ she said. ‘You need a decent cleansing bar.’
The makeup woman produced a package from behind the counter that looked a lot like soap to me. ‘We also have the one step toner and light day moisturiser to complement and refine her complexion.’ She added the packages to a growing pile on the counter. ‘And are you looking for a foundation?’
The makeup woman dabbed different colours on my jaw line. ‘She has such a pale complexion, it’s hard to match.’ She grabbed another bottle and smeared some colour on with a little spatula. ‘This one might work. It is has luminising qualities that will enhance her skin tones.’ She held me by the chin and turned my face for Beth’s approval.
Beth scrutinised my face. ‘I’d like to see it in natural light.’
She dragged me, and my makeup splotched face, through the store until she found some natural light she liked then swivelled my head, appraising the blobs of colour. ‘Yeah, that one is the best. Now tell me. What’s up?’
I shrugged. ‘I’m fine.’
‘ You don’t seem all that fine to me. Come on, you’re having a makeover. A whole new you. You should be jumping with
‘ I thought you said we had to do the dares alone,’ said Beth. ‘That’s what you said at the first meeting.’
Couldn ’t she see how scared Juliette was? ‘Yeah, well the makeover is the dare. Going out is just an extra.’
After that, the meeting broke up. I was more than ready to leave anyway. As I left the bar, the old codger winked at me. I had an awful feeling he wasn ’t as deaf as I’d first thought.
Chapter 7: Juliette
The cosmetics department was a foreign world to me, all glossy white surfaces and shiny packaging. Those white-coated women hovered behind their counters like rows of exotic birds in an aviary and fifty perfumes mingled in the ai r– artificial versions of citrus, vanilla and rose. I’d have been more relaxed in the dentist’s chair than sitting on a stool in the middle of all that.
When I was sixteen, Poppy had wanted me to sneak into this new nightclub with her and told me to pile on the makeup so I looked old enough. I ’d gone to Coles after school to stock up then spent the rest of the afternoon experimenting. After a few disasters, I got the hang of it and didn’t think I looked too bad.
I wasn ’t expecting Dad to be home though; he always worked late on Fridays. But he was there, sorting through the mail and just waiting, as though he knew something was up.
He laughed when he saw me, like he always did when I did something stupid. Not once in his whole life did I hear Dad laugh from his belly, just that hollow, dry snigger like he had something nasty in his throat.
He looked me up and down. ‘You look ridiculous,’ he said then turned back to the mail. My eyes prickled but I wouldn’t let him see me cry. I walked back upstairs and scrubbed my face then chucked a week’s pocket-money worth of make-up in the bin.
Maybe that ’s why sitting up on a stool in the middle of the cosmetics department scared me so much.
‘ She does have good skin,’ the makeup lady told Beth. ‘You don’t need to do too much there.’
‘ I was a bit worried about her “T” zone,’ Beth replied.
‘ Mmm,’ said the woman, pursing her lips. She got a torch thing and a magnifying mirror from behind the counter. Shining the torch on my face, she peered at my face.
‘ A little oily but the pores aren’t too damaged. What skincare regime does she use?’
Beth looked at me and I turned to Imogen. I was out of my depth here; I only vaguely knew what a skincare regime was. But Imogen had escaped. I spotted her across the store standing at a rack, trying on nail polish.
‘Well, I wash my face in the shower. Usually with a bit of soap,’ I answered.
‘ Soap!’ Beth’s jaw dropped. ‘Do you know what soap does to your skin?’
‘ No?’
‘ It does… nasty stuff,’ she said. ‘You need a decent cleansing bar.’
The makeup woman produced a package from behind the counter that looked a lot like soap to me. ‘We also have the one step toner and light day moisturiser to complement and refine her complexion.’ She added the packages to a growing pile on the counter. ‘And are you looking for a foundation?’
The makeup woman dabbed different colours on my jaw line. ‘She has such a pale complexion, it’s hard to match.’ She grabbed another bottle and smeared some colour on with a little spatula. ‘This one might work. It is has luminising qualities that will enhance her skin tones.’ She held me by the chin and turned my face for Beth’s approval.
Beth scrutinised my face. ‘I’d like to see it in natural light.’
She dragged me, and my makeup splotched face, through the store until she found some natural light she liked then swivelled my head, appraising the blobs of colour. ‘Yeah, that one is the best. Now tell me. What’s up?’
I shrugged. ‘I’m fine.’
‘ You don’t seem all that fine to me. Come on, you’re having a makeover. A whole new you. You should be jumping with
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