With that smirk I knew too well, she pushed it towards me from the opposite end of the table. Reluctantly, I reached into Sadie’s bag of secrets and pulled out a fashionably black tube. “FULL AND SOFT,” it read. One might think they were promoting good hair, I thought to myself. “Go on,” Sadie said, her voice dripping with temptation, “what could it hurt? You don’t even have to use that much.”
With one final glance at the table, I unscrewed the cap and walked nervously to the bathroom.




* * * * * *
The night was finally over, my body hurt from dancing, and my face hurt from smiling.
A text from James:
“You looked really hot tonight ;)”
As I read it, I noticed the similarity to the many other texts freshly placed in my inbox. What was it about tonight, I asked myself. I walked towards my full length mirror and stared at the tiger-eyed girl staring back. What was so different me, I asked, but this time aloud. I had darkened my eyes with powder and outlined them in ink, “paying special attention to the outer lashes,” as I had been carefully instructed to do, and painted my lips red and glamorous. Is this what it took to be noticeable, I whispered to myself. The vixen in the mirror gave me a silent yet confident answer.
So this is what I need to be, I thought to myself. I need to wear a mask; something that is not myself. This is what- no; this is WHO I need to be.
“Full and Soft,” I said aloud….