The sound of an airhorn yanked me from sleep and sent me shooting up in bed, screaming at the top of my lungs. My heart slammed into my ribcage, my throat burned from my howl of panic. "WHAT THE HALIBUT?!?"

I scrambled from bed, legs tangling in the sheets, and hit the ground, shoulder first. I was halfway to the door before I spotted the source of the air horn that continued to ring in my ears. 

Allie sat on the edge of my bed, wearing a mischievous smile. "Good morning. Sleep well?"

Sliding against the wall, I slunk to the ground, utterly wrung out from the panic, even as rage bubbled up inside. ""Allie!?! What are you doing here?!?"

"Today's lesson.." she said, ignoring my tone. "...is how to look fabulous after waking up late." She looked down at her glistening silver watch. "You shouldn't be surprised. I told you I was coming over. You have five minutes to look acceptable. Go."

"It's three in the morning! You said you would be here at five! How did you even get in here?!?"

"Your roommate let me in—"

Jumping to my feet, I threw open the door to my room. "BEX!!!" I shouted, slamming my first against her door before bursting inside. 

Bex, who was nearing the end of her night shift of working from home, glanced up from the corner of her room where several screens sat before her. One was crunching code, another showcased a side scrolling game with Mario jumping over a Goomba, a third was playing Lofi Girl music with dozens of shopping tabs open. Bex's hands hovered over her backlit neon keyboard, large headphones pulled down around her neck, short hair poking up in several directions from hours of being subjected to headphones. She wore a large nacho cat hoodie, sweatpants and fuzzy slippers. 

"You're awake? That's weird," she said, blinking up at me, her eyes attempting to focus on my face after so many hours sitting before her screen. "You're normally asleep... and far less angry... why are you looking at me like you want to murder me?"

"YOU LET A PSYCHOPATH INTO OUR HOUSE!!!" I yelled. 

Bex looked past me, confused. "You are the one that told me she was coming... why are you still looking at me with your angry face?"

"Because I'm angry, Bex!"

She continued to look confused. "Ooookay? Can you spell it out because I'm still not sure why you're... Okay, your more angry now..."

Sucking in a breath through clenched teeth, I spun on my heels and walked out of her room, buzzing with anger, mind too muddled to explain why her letting Allie into my room at three in the morning, without questioning her carrying an air horn was a huge red flag.

Allie leaned against the wall in the living room, eyes on her watch. "Two minutes left. I'd get dressed before the timer runs out."

"I—"

"Complain while you get dressed," Allie said, eyes still on her watch. "If you don't have a new outfit on by the time your five minutes is up, I get to throw out anything I hate... and I warn you, I am very picky."

Dashing to my room, I bolted for my closet, eyes scanning my clothes in a panic. 

"One minute thirty seconds," Allie said from the other room. "And I strongly suggest you do your hair and makeup."

I let out a garbled screech of frustration as I tugged on the first thing I saw, yanking on shoes as I hopped into my bathroom. Then I quickly tugged my hair into a messy bun, and was halfway done putting on eyeliner when Allie shouted from the other room. 

"Aaaaand time!" 

Walking into the bathroom, she paused in the doorway, taking me in through the reflection in the mirror. 

"Okay... so you chose to wear... a grey shirt with what I hope is marinara stains instead of blood, leggings with ninja cats, pink Uggs, a tangled hair bun, and eyeliner on one eye..."

She wore a look that was a cross between horrified and painfully amused. "Please tell me that this was one of those cases where you just... got dressed in the dark and had no idea of what you were grabbing."

I finally really looked at myself in the mirror and laughed. "Yes. Let's go with that. What was the point of this stressful exercise?"

"To see what you do in a hurry," Allie replied, seeming surprised that it wasn't immediately obvious why she broke into my room and used an air horn to give me a heart attack. 

"The first rule I have for you is to ALWAYS have an outfit in your closet for emergencies. You do not wear it unless you are running late. It should be easy to put on, be wrinkle resistant, and most of all, be comfortable. On late days you need the extra comfort. And when you get home, you do laundry without question so you are never without something to wear. Or else you get..." she glanced at all of me. "This... ensemble."

Allie sighed, fighting a smile as she looked away. "We have a long way to go..."

She waved at all of me. "Please burn those clothes, put something on that won't blind my eyes and join me in your room when you are done."

Five minutes later, I was wearing the most neutral pieces of clothing I owned. A black tank top and black sweatpants. Black didn't seem to anger Allie, and she didn't immediately glare when I came out of the bathroom, so I took it as a win. 

But I found her at my closet, staring inside like she had discovered a massacre. 

"This..." she trailed off, seeming at a loss for words. "Did you throw anything away? Or is this the throwaway pile?"

"I found her contraband," a voice said from the living room. 

Laliana walked in a moment later, holding two trash bags. The ones I had hidden once I learned Allie was going to force me to burn any clothes she didn't like. Laliana had discovered my hidden stash of favorite— but most likely garish— clothes.

"They were hidden under a pile of blankets."

Allie shot me a disappointed look. "Did you really think I wasn't going to bring backup? No one gives up clothes that they love without a fight."

I yanked the bags out of Laliana's hands and she had the common sense to give me an apologetic look. "What are you doing here?"

"Emotional support?" she sounded somewhat uncertain. 

"Allie doesn't need emotional—"

"It's for you," Allie said, eyes back on my closet. "You're gonna need it."

Allie let out a slow breath, hand running down her face, a pained look crossing her blood red pursed lips. "Your closet is... painful. Like physically painful."

Laliana peered in behind her, head tilted to the side curiously, before she brightened. "I don't know Allie. I kinda like this stuff... Which I now realize proves your point." Laliana shot me another apologetic look. "Sorry. You're on your own. My fashion sense has been proven to be untrustworthy." 

"Wonderful," I muttered, crossing my arms. "So how much are you forcing me to get rid of? Will I have any clothes left? I don't think my boss will like me showing up to work naked."  

"You have the basics in your closet. My job is to teach you how to pick things out that match your body type and match your style."

Laliana nodded. "She won't make you buy stuff you won't like. She's well aware that people won't wear clothes they don't like so why buy clothes they don't like."

Ten minutes later, all of my clothes were color coded and categorized. There were two piles. The 'these are acceptable to wear in public,' clothes. And the 'please never EVER let anyone see you in these... EVER,' clothes.

The acceptable pile was... three pieces of clothing. A black blazer that my mother had bought me for my first ever job interview. Black dress pants that my mother also bought for said job interview and a white blouse, also for the same job interview. 

I looked at my pile of discarded 1940's dresses, a pit forming in my stomach. "I love those." I had determined to dig them out of whatever dumpster Allie was going to dump them into. 

"You'll get to keep them. I'm going to have them hemmed and taken in. You buy things a size too big. Like you want to hide in your clothes. And don't you say you do that to be comfortable," she added quickly when I tried to interject. "I've seen you actually try to hide your head inside the collar."

"I'm not changing you. I'm helping bring out the beautiful details that you tend to shy away from."

Laliana began to pack up my 1940's dresses into a box, so Allie could take them to her office. The thought that Allie was going to let me keep the things I loved and felt beautiful in truly showcased how good Allie was at her job. She was famous for highlighting inner confidence.

Allie held up a garment back, pulling out a beautiful new dress. A 1940's yellow pinup dress with a tie bow that cinched tight at the bust. The dress flared out at the waist. In her other hand were a pair of black high-healed jazz shoes. 

The dress was beautiful. Perfect. I wanted to wear it. My fingers itched to touch it. I felt it call to me like a siren's song and I suddenly understood why people liked shopping for clothes. It looked like magic. And it made me wonder if wearing it would make me feel like magic too.

Allie held out the dress and shoes. "This... is the bar. This is you." I gently took the dress and shoes offered, loving the soft material in my hands. "No more hiding inside your clothes. Your clothes should highlight you. You aren't a hanger to showcase an outfit, to go unnoticed inside of it."

I was so enthralled by the outfit that I hadn't noticed Laliana disappear and then reappear holding all of my bathroom products. Allie began to go through them, her expression turning pained again. "Oh... wow... I didn't know that they even made twenty five cent facial scrub..."

Allie walked into the living room and came back with a large shopping bag. "We are going to have to fix a few things here..." She dropped the bag and began to hold up each item. "Use this to wash your face every morning and night. Then use this to hydrate after each wash. Then..." she held up a liquid concealer to my face and nodded. "You'll use this liquid concealer, this powder concealer and this camouflage makeup stick for your face when applying makeup..."

She grew distracted as she spotted my makeup brushes, seeming to twitch at the half bald makeup brushes. "Okay... I can't process that right now." She blinked, seeming to edit a dozen thoughts before she spoke again. "I bought you some brushes too." 

Then Allie dragged me to the bathroom, and after I had washed my face with her very irritatingly detailed instructions, sat me down in front of the mirror. She began to apply makeup, pausing after each step to explain why she did each thing, while also explaining what shortcuts to take when I was in a hurry. 

"We don't always have the time for every step. The important thing to remember is that makeup is a tool. It's the war paint you put on before you leave the house, ready to tackle the world. A literal 'game face' if you will. So focus on the aspects that give you the confidence to step out the door."

A few minutes later, my face seemed sharper, more detailed. Like I had been one of those commercials for someone with blurry vision who had just discovered contact lenses. It wasn't that I looked suddenly beautiful, but each detail that made me who I was felt suddenly on display. 

The dusting of freckles on my nose and cheeks, my wide brown eyes, my dark lashes all seemed to fit on my face. Like someone had come along and coaxed them out of hiding. 

"Now for step two. Say something nice to yourself." 

I looked myself in the mirror, and opened my mouth. "I..." 

My mind went blank. I tried to snatch a compliment out of my head, but I found nothing. Not an ounce of help from my inner thoughts. 

Think of something! 

"It can be hard to start," Laliana said, popping up over my shoulder. She looked at Allie. "Can I say something I like about her, or is that against the rules?"

Allie nodded. "Leaning on others is an option. Sometimes you need others to show you how self love works." 

Laliana spoke quickly, as if she had been brimming with a compliment that she had been excited to share. "I like that you aren't afraid to fight for what you like. You weren't afraid of telling Allie that you wanted to keep your clothes." 

I had never thought of it that way. I did feel very strongly about my favorite movies, foods, clothes and people. I looked at myself in the mirror and made a mental note... 

I like how I fight for what I want. 

"I like your determination," Allie added. "You took my offer on your own terms." 

I like how I fight for what I want. 

They both looked at me, waiting for me to say something. I took in a large breath and looked at myself in the mirror. "I like how I fight for what I want. That I am determined to do things on my own terms."

I felt something warm settle inside of me, fighting against the doubt that had made a camp inside of my self esteem. 'I am a fighter' tattooed itself like a war banner that warned the encroaching army that they would no longer go untested. 

I felt lighter. Stronger and found myself starting to smile at myself in the mirror. 

Now I just had to do it two more times. I searched my brain again... and struggled to think of anything. I closed my eyes, trying to focus but was instead bombarded by other words. 

You are boring... I want more...  

"I can't," I said quietly, feeling embarrassed. I didn't want to be vulnerable in front of Allie or Laliana. I didn't want them to see me look at myself in the mirror after all they were trying to do to help me and watch me struggle to think of anything I liked about myself. 

I never used to have this problem... Why can't I think... Why—

"You don't have to do that with us here," Laliana offered. "You don't know us very well."

Allie nodded, seeming to realize she was strong arming me into doing something that went beyond our relationship. "Makes sense."

I let out a relieved breath. "Thank you—"

"Bex can help you. You're friends, right?" 

Not for long... I thought bitterly, thinking of my traitorous roommate who let this crazy woman, and Laliana into my apartment. 

"Two more today," Allie said before picking up the box of my clothes and my now 'unacceptable' hair and face products.

"Your clothes will be ready in a few days. A few more outfits will delivered to you later today," Allie said simply, like she wasn't offering me something incredibly generous. Like she wasn't some fashionista fairy godmother of self esteem.

"If you don't like the new clothes, let me know and I can make adjustments. I expect you to wear the one I brought when you come in later today. You have a budget meeting. I'm not going to those anymore."

"What about my hair," I asked, following Allie out of my room and towards the front door. Apparently she was done for the day. And I was still wrapping my head around the fact that she had given me tons of things for free. 

I hadn't expected that level of generosity. It was overwhelming.

Allie glanced over her shoulder as she continued to make a beeline toward the front door. "I already showed you how to do it a few weeks ago. Use the products I gave you and give it a good blow dry. Trust me, you have great hair. You just need to treat it better." 

Allie threw open the door with a flourish, Laliana walking out behind her and shooting me an encouraging smile. I was about the close the door after Allie when I froze, eyes going wide as my brain caught up. I leaned out into the hallway. 

"Wait... budget meeting? With who?" 

Allie smiled over her shoulder. "Laurence. He's CFO."

OH. NO.

Allie continued down the hallway like she hadn't just inflicted a heart attack. "And I expect you to hold your ground. We need a healthy budget for our Greece shoot. Don't let him push you around. Give yourself a pep talk ahead of time and put on your clothes like you are going to fashion war. Because you are!" 

 Then she dissapeared down the hall, leaving me utterly terrified. 

"So... I'm helping you say two nice things to yourself?" Bex asked from the doorway behind me, staring down at her phone where Allie had apparently sent her a text message. 

How did Allie get her number?!?

I felt like I was going to throw up. "Yeah... and they are going to have to be really good because I need all the help I can get."

---

Thank you for reading chapter six! I hope you are enjoying the story! Or are at least curious to see where it goes! Add this story to your reading list to know when the next chapter drops!

UPDATE DAYS - A NEW CHAPTER EVERY FRIDAY!

How will Lily's meeting with Laurence go?

Will Laurence notice Lily's new look?

Want to know what Bex was listening to while she worked? Here is a link to Lofi Girl. Check it out! 

https://youtu.be/jfKfPfyJRdk

Bex's tech set up is pretty cool. I've always wanted one of her cool backlit neon keyboards. Check the video below to see what her keyboard looks like.

https://youtu.be/6FJ7W9VMAjU

What will happen next?

CHAPTER QUESTION - Have you ever had someone help you put together an outfit for a party or event? How did it go? Did they offer good advice?