C23: Megan
Yesterday night, I gave my local cellphone number to Eve so that when she buys a local sim card, she can text me easily. We settled that we're going to the mall after my class and she allowed me to skip the day of my work in the restaurant, with Lance covering for me.
Up to this point, I get confused with the thought of him – Lance is a cold person, yet when it comes to Eve, he's completely a different person. Maybe he likes her? Hmm. I can be wrong. He doesn't seem to be the kind of guy who falls for people that easily, because what's obvious is, he's been hiding his heart from everyone, making him mysterious. Meanwhile, as I reflect on Lance's existence, my phone from my bag beeped.
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+639xxxxxxxxx: Hey stranger, guess who.
Me: My best friend.
+639xxxxxxxxx: You know me well! I'll see you at the mall we agreed to meet. I can't drive dad's car, because I don't have a license. I need to work on that when I'm in the mood. I don't know how to get to that mall, so I'll just book a car.
Me: You better learn your way around here, because booking a car would be expensive!
Eve: Says who?
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Ugh. Eve is hopeless. I know that money is never a problem for her, but it would be great if she'll learn to save money. She said she worked on a magazine back in the US, and knowing that their restaurant is popular, she'll never run out of money. Who am I kidding?
Now that I thought of it since she's a shopaholic and is great at squandering money, then that might also mean that she's the one who'll shop for me, and all I have to do is to fit and choose which is which. This is embarrassing. I appreciate her generosity, like that time when she sent me a gift, but maybe I can teach her how to be wiser financially since that's something I'm good at.
Suddenly, my phone vibrated again, and the message was from someone I wasn't expecting – Vincent.
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Vincent: You're coming to our party on March 14, right?
Me: Of course.
Vincent: Good. I'd like to tell you something – If you can't be my queen, I won't let you be his woman.
Me: What the heck are you saying?
Vincent: We both know what. You'll see.
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I want to believe that he's not serious, but Vincent isn't the type who'll joke around. If there's anything he's good at, it's about messing with people, which makes me think if he'll do something that can ruin the party. I hope not.
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"So, go pick a gown. You said it should be blue, right? What kind of blue exactly? Baby? Sky? Navy? Cobalt? Teal? Azure? Cerulean? Sapphire? Admiral? Ocean? Aegean? What?" Eve asked as we walk around the gown section in the department store.
"You sure know a lot of shades. If I were you, it'll be light, medium, dark alone. Anyways, it wasn't specified, but they only said that it's either blue or red. Since blue is Arthur's color, I'll go for that one. My favorite color is red, but that'll be Vincent's color so, you get the idea." I explained as I canvass among the gowns placed on the rack. Eve was doing the same, until she pulled a hanger out of the rack, revealing a sleeveless blue, halter evening gown with side slit.
"So, this is an azure, A-line gown. This kind of gown can fit any body size, whether your body size is an hourglass, rectangle, apple, pear, or an inverted triangle," Eve looked at me from head to toe, as if analyzing my shape. "Your body is an hourglass, but if you'll wear something that's too fitting, you might get too uncomfortable. Anyway, consider this one. We're going to find some more so that you'll have options."
Truly I can tell that she knows a lot about this. She probably memorized the entire gown and shoe dictionary, which isn't surprising, knowing how fond she is when it comes to fashion. As Eve checks different racks, I also found a gown that fascinated me – a one-shoulder slit sleeve gown, with side slit too, similar to the one earlier. Gee, I'm not planning to show my leg, am I?
"Here! Look at this! It's gorgeous, right?" Eve giggled, showing me a V-neck, open back glitter tulle gown – sleeveless, slender shoulder straps, and lace. "This is made of glitter tulle fabric. You now have three gowns to choose from. Go try them all!"
It's hard to say no to Eve because she sounds like she's the one who's planning for you. Funny thing is, she's like my fashion adviser as if I hired her to do the job. But clearly, this is voluntary.
I tried on each gown, and I opened the door of the dressing room so that Eve can see – first, I wore the first gown that she found: sleeveless blue, halter evening gown with side slit.
"You look lovely! Adorable, even. Wearing that gives the impression that you're simple, yet someone who deserves respect," Eve winked, a grin written on her face. "What are your thoughts about that?"
"I like this gown. Although I haven't tried the others so, I'll leave this for now," I entered the dressing room once again and closed the door behind me, changing my attire to wear the second gown that I found – the one-shoulder slit sleeve gown, and just like the first gown, with a side slit too.
"So, how do I look?" I asked as I opened the door for Eve to see.
"That's gorgeous. Earlier, that azure gown makes you look like a lady, but this indigo gown makes you look like a madame who has a strong personality. Fancy. It's nice."
Lastly, after hearing Eve's comments on the first two, I wore the third – the V-neck, open back glitter tulle gown – sleeveless, slender shoulder straps, and lace. As I wear the gown, I realized that I can't tie the strings on my back.
"Eve, Eve," I called, the door remaining close. "Are you still there? I can't tie the strings on my back. Can you help me please?"
Eve knocked and I opened the door, letting her in. Without any more word, she tied the strings behind me, and we both look at the gown in the mirror. The gown is beautiful, yet, I'm certain that it's expensive, considering its fancy design.
"Hmm …" Eve began, looking at my reflection on the mirror. "Wearing this will make you stand out because the glitters made it sparkling. The tulle has some gold accents, and behind it is the navy blue fabric. The strings behind make you look sexy because it hugs your figure. Nice, but I don't recommend this."
"I'll go for the azure gown. Let's keep things simple," one another thing is, the last two gowns are dead expensive. Evangeline may be generous, but I don't want her to spend some fortune for me. This azure gown costs Php 1,500 alone, as opposed to the second that costs Php 2,300 and the last one that costs Php 3,300. That's like … my allowance for three weeks.
Eve left the dressing room and I had myself get changed. As I opened the door and stepped out of the dressing room, Eve wore a grin, with a pair of white sandals between her hands.
"This will match that azure gown," she assured. "Go, try it! If it doesn't fit, I'll look for a different size. What's your size, anyway?"
"It's usually size 7," I reached for the sandals and sat on the seat, removing my flat shoes. The white sandals fit me perfectly, and I stood up to test it on. As I make the first few steps, I lost my balance and slipped. Thankfully, a saleslady managed to catch me and assisted me to stand up.
"Thanks," the saleslady gave me a reassuring smile, saying, it's fine, it happens.
"Meg, are you okay? What happened? Is it too high for you? It's just 1 ½ inch. I'll teach you how to balance yourself, wearing these. It's what you call ankle strap heels. I know you can manage. Do you like it?" Eve's eyes were sparkling as if to say, just say yes, please?
"It's nice and will certainly suit the gown but … do you really think I'll survive? I don't want to embarrass myself in front of other people." My instincts are telling me that I can manage, but at the same time, I want to be realistic that it's not that easy to wear this confidently by studying it overnight. Eve sounded confident, and … perhaps I'll just see where this goes.
"You'll be fine, trust me. So, next will be my favorite – jewelry!"
"Eve, these are too much already. I don't want you to spend this much," I reminded, but as expected, she wouldn't care.
"The best pair of earrings that can go with that gown is a long one. Probably a silver one would be nice," she suggested, excitement is obvious from her voice.
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We finally found the jewelry section, and I simply don't know what to pick. Long earrings look heavy, but Eve is searching the jewelry section eagerly as if she's the one who'll wear it. A couple of minutes later, she was holding two pairs of long silver earrings.
"I think either of this can fit you. First, the long sterling silver star earrings, then second, the silver needle asymmetry zircon long earrings." She handed me the earrings and I observe its features as it lands on my hands.
The star earrings have stones surrounding the stars, and six pearls on its chain. On the other hand, the zircon long earrings aren't of the same length – the one for the right ear is shorter, while the other is longer. The shorter has several diamonds on its chain, while the longer only includes a diamond on both ends.
"I'll go for the second one. It looks unusual since they have different lengths. Not to mention, it looks more formal." I replied. After gathering the earrings, gown, and sandals, we headed to the cashier to buy all those items. Thankfully, I have a necklace, bracelets, and a bracelet watch that'll suit the outfit, so I didn't have to let Eve buy those for me. She already bought enough and even though she's not the kind who'll say that she wants me to repay her, I still want to. Question is, how.
"Let's go to my place and I'll teach you how to walk using those sandals. Also, a hair updo will suit this outfit, matching it with the crystal headband. Gosh, I can't wait to see you in that full look!" she giggled, as she pulled out her phone and booked a car.
"Wait, what? You were serious about the so-called 'lessons?'"