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 Posted: Fri Jan 13, 2023 6:45 pm
It was Brooklyn’s first big trip out with her glasses, and she still hadn’t told anyone about them. Not Elliot or Atticus and not Cara. Soleiyu didn’t know, but…
She wondered if he could make her an invisible pair so she didn’t look like a nerd…
But…whatever. Today was about research. To see just how different the world was going to be with her glasses…and even though she didn’t have much money on her…it seemed like the perfect time to go to the fancy make up store…just to see what was there and maybe make a list to see what she could pick up for a more affordable price at the local pharmacy.
There was a soft voice in the back of her head that told her she could get away with just one or two small things if she was smart about it, but she was trying very hard to tell that voice to shut up and vanish to the void, thank you very much.
She couldn't risk making Atticus cry if she got caught.
Hurrying into the store, Brooklyn felt a sense of relief as the warmth washed over her and she shivered, trying to expel the last bit of cold that tried to cling to her.
Taking a moment to let her eyes adjust to the lighting in the store and nodding at the smiling woman behind the counter, she headed towards the section with the eyeshadows, hoping to find something that was bright…or filled with enough glitter that it could be seen easily from behind her glasses.
There was another girl of about her age in the aisle and she let out a soft sigh, both relieved and a little disappointed that someone else was there…that would make any sticky fingers hard to do…which. Was a good thing.
“Hi! I’m Booklyn…you…seem like you know what you’re doing. Do you have any advice for someone who just got glasses and now looks like a nerd? What would you use, I mean?”
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Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2023 11:41 am
Destiny City was weird. Maisie knew this when she moved there. She’d visited before, to see her aunt and her uncle and her cousins, but she hadn’t bothered to pay attention to how weird it was until she knew she’d be staying on a more permanent basis.
It was in the news, sometimes. Unexplained events and strange happenings. There were even conspiracy theories online. She’d read them all after Dad said they’d be moving there, went deep into a rabbit hole about magic and monsters, then told her Dad so he’d be reminded of his guilty conscience and subsequently buy her the Louis Vuitton bag she’d been eyeing.
It’s a city full of weirdos, she’d said.
Maisie supposed it was better than Raleigh, which tried too hard to be all hipster and cool, to the point where it stumbled into the categories of boring and lame instead. But, she couldn’t let Dad know she didn’t actually mind a fresh start in a more exciting place, not when the I miss my old room and I miss my friends earned her access to Dad’s credit card.
A voice startled Maisie out of her thoughts. She’d been standing in one of the aisles, looking between her phone and the shelves, trying to find a specific palette she’d seen recommended online. If she was going to a new school, she was going to look her best. She was going to be cool and trendy and popular, and all those airheaded Crystal girls would be jealous.
That was the plan, anyway.
Maisie looked at the girl who’d spoken to her. She blinked, momentarily at a loss, because wanting to be cool didn’t make Maisie cool, and it took a moment for her to put on her confident mask when she was caught unawares.
“Oh.. hey,” she said, like she was approached by girls her age looking for advice all the time. (She wasn’t.) “I’m Maisie.” She pushed some of her hair out of her face in a way she thought might look particularly posh. “Glasses are pretty trendy right now, aren’t they?” That was a mistake. She should sound confident, decisive, like she definitely knew what she was talking about. “I mean, with makeup you want to highlight the features you like, and use stuff that compliments your coloring. Like, if you want to make your eyes stand out, or if you’re trying to get a certain effect. You have to take your skin type into account, too. Like if it’s oily or dry. And then it all depends on how much makeup you actually want to wear.”
She was rambling now. That was deeply uncool, wasn’t it?
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Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2023 12:23 pm
Brooklyn paused and couldn’t stop a confused but pleased smile from crossing her face. “Wait, you think that my glasses are trendy? I mean…” She tilted her head and peered into one of the small mirrors that sat on the shelf, admiring herself for a moment. “...They really aren’t that bad, I guess.”
It was…neat that someone her own age thought that she was trendy but. “Of course I want to make sure my eyes stand out, I was hoping to get something bright and with enough sparkles to really be seen through the glasses…but it still has to match with my uniform, you know?”
Pausing, Brooklyn turned to the girl again and gave a bright smile, extending a hand. “I’m Brooklyn, and it’s nice to meet you. My favorite things to wear are eyeshadow and lip color mostly, but…I’m trying to dabble more…it’s just hard with…ah. Super limited funds. But…I figured it’s a good day, come here and see what I like and try to get it cheaper elsewhere, you know?”
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Posted: Thu Jan 19, 2023 6:22 am
“I’m… Maisie?”
Maisie was not doing too well at the whole “seeming cool” thing so far, at least according to her own standards. Hadn’t she already introduced herself? Maybe… s**t, now she couldn’t remember. Maybe she hadn’t. <********>, could Brooklyn tell how lame she actually was beneath the veneer of pretend confidence?
Chill, Maisie told herself. Be cool.
She could absolutely do this.
Maisie cleared her throat to cover any awkwardness. She looked at the shelves for a moment, then turned her gaze toward Brooklyn again once she was able to summon another smile. Not too small, not too wide. She didn’t want to look too timid or too enthusiastic. She had to be just the right amount of relaxed.
“Your eyes don’t look much darker than mine. I usually use dusty roses and browns or some sparkly gold shadow when I want to make them stand out. You could do a smokey eye. Or if you wanted to go with something a little more vibrant, purple would be a good complimentary color.”
She searched the shelves and picked up the first eyeshadow palette she recognized.
“I have this Natasha Denona palette already,” she said. “The shimmers are amazing. But I guess it might be kinda pricey for some people?” Maisie flipped it over to check the price. Was $69 pricey for an eyeshadow palette? “You could probably find a decent dupe of some of these colors somewhere else for cheaper, though.”
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Posted: Sat Jan 21, 2023 7:11 am
Brooklyn paused for a moment, opening her mouth to give her name once again, but then…oh. No, this was not going to be an endless loop of awkward introductions. But. “I’m…yeah I guess that is true!” She had pretty eyes, Maisie did, at least. Brooklyns always looked to her like someone who was super dehydrated and needed to drink more water but…
Eh. Most people hated their own features, right? It was just normal.
Nodding, Brooklyn took the palette from the shelf as well, and copied Maisie in checking the price, giving a definite wince. “Oh…um. Yeah that’s a bit more than I can spend, but the colors are really nice. I have about twenty that I can use for right now, at least until I can find another odd job…I mean, like…It’s stunning…and it might definitely be one to save for…”
The colors were so bold and just…oh. She wanted it.
“...Okay, I’m convinced. I’ll save for it.” She grinned at Maisie. “What else would you recommend, my makeup guru friend?”
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Posted: Sun Jan 22, 2023 12:45 pm
Maisie fumbled with the palette while returning it to its proper spot. Almost seventy dollars wasn’t expensive to her, but she rarely ever checked prices when she was buying things. That’s what Daddy’s credit card was for. She didn’t know what to do about having to take price into consideration, so she began rifling through palettes in a hurry, trying to find something below twenty dollars.
In this store, it wasn’t easy.
“Oh, there’s this one,” she said, showing Brooklyn one of the smaller palettes with only four colors. “These rose-y colors are nice. This might actually be a sample size of a larger palette. And it’s on sale for ten. I don’t know about the quality, though, I’ve never used this one.
“What else were you looking for?” she asked in return. “Blush? Bronzer? Highlighter? Mascara? Or maybe something for your lips? If you were trying to draw attention away from your glasses, you could probably try a bolder lip color. You know, draw the eye downward or something. I like lip stains for a more long lasting color. They probably have a lot more samples for cheap in the bins near the checkout line if you want to try a few different things instead of committing to one.”
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Posted: Thu Jan 26, 2023 5:51 pm
Ten dollars was good. Brooklyn could swing ten dollars. She grinned at Maisie and nodded. “I love these colors, you’ve got a good eye for finding pretty things…I’ve never really done much with lip color before, teach me your ways in that too? I have another ten dollars to spend so…maybe we’ll get lucky once again…”
Puckering her lips, she tried to look at them by rolling her eyes downwards, but…all that did was make her look like a really stupid duck, so she used her brain for a moment and looked into the mirror. “What color do you think I should get? Like…I don’t want anything too dark…but…maybe a dark red would go pretty well with the St. Mags uniform…that’s what I wear most of the time anyway…where do you go to school?”
Oh, she hoped that they could be friends and do this more often…this…was fun.
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Posted: Mon Jan 30, 2023 6:39 am
Maisie was relieved she hadn’t totally embarrassed herself yet. That would be tragic.
“I start at Crystal on Monday,” she said. Maisie rolled her eyes like this was worthy of derision. From what she’d heard about Crystal girls, it was. She dropped her voice into a mocking drawl and continued, “Crystal Academy for Young Ladies of Quality. Or whatever it used to be called. I just moved here, so I’m not totally sure what to expect. At least the uniform won’t clash with my new hair color.”
That was the only redeeming factor as far as she could tell. The rest of it seemed like a bore.
Maise led the way to the discount bins near the check out line, digging through them for any samples that might work for Brooklyn.
“Is St. Mag’s any good?” she asked, showing her a small, black tube of sample lipstick in a bold raspberry pink. “The social scene, I mean. Academics are tedious at every school.”
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Posted: Tue Feb 07, 2023 7:34 pm
“Ohh, a Crystal girl, hm?” Brooklyn was a little impressed in spite of herself…that was the fancy rich kid school…and…well. Yeah. It made some sense that Maisie would go there, wouldn’t it? She seemed to have a lot of money by how she was looking at and talking about the different brands of makeup…but…
Other than that, she just seemed like she had it together...and honestly?
Brooklyn envied that a lot.
“I think it’s great, yeah. It’s the best place I’ve ever lived, and things are strict, but not as bad as other places…and we get a lot more freedom than I expected. Like, I’m able to earn a bit of money on the side…and most of the girls who go there are my kind of…well. Most of us have had pretty crappy lives so…it’s good to have a group that I can complain about my lot with.”
She forced a grin, though it grew more genuine as she looked at the lipstick. “Oh, that’s nice!” Checking the price, she nodded. “I think I can just manage to get this and the eyeshadow. You have really good eyes for this, Maise! Must be because you don’t have to wear glasses.”
A joke, she wasn’t sure if it would land…but the attempt was made.
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Posted: Wed Feb 08, 2023 7:19 am
Maisie wondered if she should feel bad for Brooklyn. Not that she went to a place like St. Mag’s, which seemed fine, but that she had a crappy life. (Her words, not Maisie’s. Maisie didn’t know enough to judge. She could, though, if given the chance. She just didn’t see the point right now.) Brooklyn must be poor. That was fine. Some people were poor, some were rich, and some were in between; that was life. Maybe she had shitty parents? Maybe her dad was gone all the time or her mom was a garbage person…
Okay, that was hitting a little too close to home, wasn’t it?
Oh, well. C’est la vie, or whatever.
Maisie laughed. It was short and quiet, like she wasn’t sure if she should laugh, like she didn’t know if Brooklyn was trying to be funny or if she was serious or… something. Maisie was pretty sure she was failing at being cool. She just got lucky that Brooklyn was easy to impress.
She wished everyone else was as easy to impress. Maybe then she wouldn’t feel like she had to try so hard all the time.
“Your glasses are cute,” Maisie told her. It wasn’t a lie. They definitely weren’t the worst glasses she’d ever seen. “And, like, they wouldn’t make fake glasses for people to wear if glasses weren’t trendy, right? I can’t even remember the last time I heard anyone get made fun of for having to wear them, so…”
She trailed off awkwardly, a smile stuck on her face. She almost turned away, almost looked around for something to occupy herself with, to cover the weird moment, but she kept a firm hold on the scraps of her confidence.
“Do you want to exchange numbers?” Maisie asked. “I could send you some makeup tutorials I’ve used.”
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Posted: Sat Feb 11, 2023 7:43 pm
Brooklyn wrinkled her nose, but it was hiding a smile. “I didn’t realize that fake glasses were actually a thing…people are so strange with what’s cool and what’s not…well, people are just strange, I guess! But, thank you.”
Pulling out her phone, she handed it out to Maisie. “Yeah! If you want to put your number in, I’d love that! I don’t have any like…real friends who are girls my age so…I’m really excited that we got to meet, Maze!” She paused, wincing slightly as she thought about how Atticus had reacted to a nickname. “...If it’s okay to call you Maze? Cause…like…”
OKay, she was going to sound like an idiot but. “You’re Amaisieing? Get it?”
Grimacing at her horrible attempt at a joke, Brooklyn simply shrugged and scampered towards the checkout counter, embarrassed but…still pleased with how everything had gone…and hopefully…
Hopefully Maisie wouldn’t put in a fake number because of her dumb word play.
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Posted: Thu Feb 16, 2023 7:05 am
Maisie laughed again. A little awkward. A little uncertain. A little out of her depth. But it seemed to her as if Brooklyn might feel a little awkward too. Maybe? Or Maisie was projecting. Either way, Brooklyn accepted the offer. That had to mean Maisie hadn’t completely failed.
She entered her number and put herself down as “Maze” in the contact. It made her think of corn, and all those ridiculous Thanksgiving parties they had back in elementary school, with paper pilgrim hats and feathered headbands that could only be acceptable on a five year old (and even that was a stretch), but it was better than being called “idiot” or “dumbass.” It meant Brooklyn thought she was alright, didn’t it?
When she was done, Maisie texted herself so she’d have Brooklyn’s number, then followed after Brooklyn to return her phone.
“Thanks,” she said, even though she’d been the one helping Brooklyn out.
Oh, no. Did her gratitude make her seem too desperate for friendship???
“We should hangout sometime,” she said. “The only people I know here are my cousins, but they’re all old and boring, so…”
She shrugged, trying to seem like it wouldn’t bother her if Brooklyn was just agreeing to be nice.
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Posted: Sat Feb 18, 2023 5:03 pm
Brooklyn saw the name that Maisie put in her phone and utterly beamed. “Thank you! And yes please! Whenever you’re free…There’s curfews and things for my school, but I’m free most of the weekends and until ten…ish at night. I’m free whenever you want to do something! Old and boring cousins are for people who don’t have new…ah…”
Her face flushed and she shrugged. “...Self proclaimed besties…” Brooklyn rubbed her nose for a moment. “Which! I don’t have to continue to call myself, I just. You’re super nice and it just…I don’t know…Hang out soon! I’ll text you! I’ll get a picture of the makeup when I start messing around with it, my phone doesn’t take the best pictures but, I’ll do my best!”
Blabbering and talking too quickly wasn’t something that Brooklyn often did, but…she didn’t want to seem like a creep. She was just excited. This was going to be a real friend who…didn’t know anything bad about her…this was nothing that would have anything held over her head…and it felt like a fresh start.
…And it felt good.
“See you soon, Maisie! I’ve gotta get back to my dorm and start messing around with all of this!” And leave before she started to sound like some kind of desperate stalker who had no friends…but! Still!
As she left, she snapped a quick, very grainy selfie of herself with her flip phone and texted it to Maisie, along with a note of ‘Here’s my number, see you soon!’
Hopefully, that would prove to be true!
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Posted: Thu Feb 23, 2023 12:56 pm
Was it weird that Brooklyn wanted to be besties when they’d only just met? Maybe. Probably. If you asked Maisie’s old friends at her old school, yes, but Maisie didn’t care, because they weren’t there. Maisie could do what she wanted, and go where she wanted, and be friends with whoever she wanted. Brooklyn was the first person to seem the least bit interested, so… why not?
Maisie could be chill about it. Totally. Most definitely. She was so cool Brooklyn wanted her opinion, then, upon receiving it, wanted to be friends.
Yeah, Maisie was amaizieng.
“Bye!” she called after Brooklyn, offering a wave as she went. “Text me whenever!”
She got one seconds later. Maisie smiled, took a selfie of herself flashing a peace sign, and sent it back.
She’d gone to the store friendless, but, thanks to Brooklyn, she left it feeling like the coolest person in Destiny City.
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