Chapter 9: Fixed Up

Having escaped from my room like a fugitive, I stumbled down the landing, heading for the shower which Lexi showed me earlier.

I bumped into someone.

"Sorry," I murmured.

"Oh my goodness, where are you looking? Don't sleepwalk here, girl!" that someone said shrilly.

I wanted so badly to thrash her, and her two friends if they were interested, but I restrained myself. "Excuse me," I said impatiently.

"Hell no! Get back here and apologize," she said, grabbing my arm and pulling me back to face her.

My brown eyes clashed with steely grey orbs. I have to admit, she was very beautiful. But she was also haughty and pretentious and carried a privileged air. I stared at her for a full minute before she dropped her gaze.

"I thought you had ears," I sneered. "What's the first thing I said to you? Or were you too busy worrying about your pretty satin boots to notice?"

Her eyes widened in disbelief and fury. She lunged at me, but I caught her and twisted her arm up behind her. Her friends gasped but didn't move. She grimaced and stamped on my foot, so I let her go. When I did, she whipped round and sent a punch my way. I snarled, truly furious now, and sidestepped. I grabbed her neck and forced it under my arm. Then I repeatedly rammed my knee up into her middle.

She sputtered. I let her go and dealt her a sharp slap to the face for good measure.

She staggered back with her hands around her tummy. She looked at me with a defeated but vengeful glare.

"How dare you mess with me?" she hissed from behind her glossy brown hair. "Do you know who I am?"

"You know what I don't know? Whether I would care when I found out."

"You bitch!"

I shrugged and walked away, continuing into the bathrooms.

Luckily, this shower was simple, and I managed to get out of it without event.

On my way back to my room, I passed a door that was slightly ajar, in which the occupants were holding a heated discussion. I couldn't help overhearing morsels of their talk.

"Look it happened to me. I know what it's like. And I don't want such to happen to you."

"But you were there, right? You knew there was the possibility, but you braved your fear. Right?"

"But then it happened!"

"Look I'm not going to back down. I'm scared as shit, yeah, but I'm gonna be there. I'm not that bad a coward. Even if we aren't mates, think just how much he'd despise me for shying away. Hell, he would bless the Luna for not mating him to me."

I hurried on. I had no idea what those girls were talking about, so I decided to ignore.

I knocked on the door, then opened cautiously.

Dylan smiled at me. Rudy wasn't there.

Phew.

I grinned sheepishly and fell onto my bed. The mattress was much better than any I had ever lain on.

A knock sounded and another girl poked her head in. She looked at me. "Lucinda?"

"Y-yes?"

"Luna's calling you," she chirped. "I see you have a roommate now, Dylan," she smirked.

Dylan rolled chocolate brown eyes.

"See ya tomorrow," the girl said and left.

"Who was that?" I asked Dylan.

"A friend of mine," she answered vaguely. "You got a cool name. Come on, Luna called you. You don't keep her waiting."

"Okay so how do I find her?"

She glanced at me, then launched herself up. She grabbed a scrunchie from her dresser and handed it to me. "I'll show you."

I followed her to a big bedroom. Luna stood in the middle of it. She beamed at us.

"Hello Cindy, Dylan," she greeted us.

"Hi, Luna," we replied smoothly.

"Okay, time to get you fixed up. Come over here."

I followed her to the closet. I don't know why I was surprised that it was gigantic. Because these people were obviously super rich.

"Pick what you like," she invited.

What?!

I gaped at the room. How was I expected to just pick?

Dylan volunteered to help. "Like, do you like dresses, skirts, or pants? Or all of the above?"

"I don't like skirts," I admitted.

"Okay, what kind of colors do you like? Bright, neutral, dark?"

"All of the above," I said.

Luna giggled. "Wow, you are not picky at all. Why don't we look at the jeans first?"

She showed me the jeans. I loved most of them and chose a few. Next came pants, and again I loved them all. Then Dylan ran me through the tops: tank tops and crop tops, t-shirts, jackets and blazers, cardigans, sleeveless, strapless, backless, off shoulders, everything. She taught me about suits: tracksuits, jumpsuits, romper suits, everything. In the end, I had a few of everything that fit my modesty, and even that was a lot.

I thanked Luna happily.

Dylan helped me carry my new stuff to our room. We dumped them on the bed. Then she took me out again, to another closet, which Luna had moved to. It was lined with shoes. I groaned.

Shoes, shoes, and more shoes later, I flopped onto my bed, exhausted. Dylan laughed at me.

"That was a blast, Cindy. Like shopping!"

I sent her a glare. "Dylan. I thought we were getting footwear. Seriously, I didn't know there were tons of types of shoes! Even boots are not just boots; they are heeled boots, ankle boots, knee boots, and more boots. How can I wear so much? My feet will hate me."

She chuckled at my outburst. "Come on, let's go."

"Where?"

"To get you more stuff, obviously."

"More?" I gasped. "Dylan, I could wear these forever!"

"Not those, silly. The rest. Undergarments and accessories."

I groaned and peeled myself out of the room.

Undies, stockings, hairbands, hair ties, combs, brushes, purses, and all manner of cosmetics awaited me.

Now I was exhausted.

"What are you lying there for?" demanded my ruthless taskmaster— or mistress.

"What now?"

"School. You've got to go to school, and you don't have anything!"

"Mercy," I begged.

"Well there's none."

"I can't live through this! It's too much choosing!"

"Don't worry, you'll survive. Besides, this is just choosing a bag and filling it."

Choosing a bag and filling it turned out to be choosing a bag, choosing a pencil case, choosing notebooks, choosing binders, choosing pens and pencils, and choosing a big art book, which was the only one I didn't mind.

I panted weakly. "Are we done now?" I asked.

"Almost."

"No?!" I wailed in despair.

"Nope. You need a phone and a laptop. Maybe a tablet if you want."

Once again, I followed her out. We returned with a phone, a charger, a laptop, and a power bank which she insisted I take.

"Now can I go to bed?"

"No, we've got to fold all this stuff into your dresser. And organize the rest on top of it."

"And then what?"

"And then you can get some beauty sleep."

"Thank the goddess," I said mindlessly.

Dylan and I hurried to put away my stuff, and finally she let me dive under the covers. Ten minutes later, she called my name.

"Hmm?" I grunted.

"We forgot something."

"Nooo!" I cried, falling out of bed.

Dylan rolled on her bed, expiring with laughter.

I picked myself up and scowled.

"What did you forget?" I snapped.

"I just thought you might like something or other to read," she answered between hiccups of laughter.

"We could have done that tomorrow," I complained.

"I know," she chuckled.

My eyes blazed. She rolled herself into a merry ball as I clobbered her.

*Picture of Dylan*