Peering into the mirror Gabby laughed to herself. The last time that she had
worn the tiniest bit of makeup was the night of her senior prom. Long blond
tendrils of her hair were wrapped tightly in large curlers which were placed
uniformly in her scalp. A woman with brown hair and piercing green eyes stood
in front of her applying eyeliner. One of her tiny hands was extended to the side,
a young man working on French tipping her nails. The “Evil Eyeliner Lady” was
not speaking, because she was too busy poking Gabby in the eye with the
eyeliner pencil. The “Little Hunny” that was working on her nails, however, was
chattering away.
“Girl, I hear from the man himself that you’re just a little diva in training!”
Gabby laughed, “People have a tendency of over exaggerating.”
“The Hunny” smacked her hand lightly and said, “Shame on you, girl.
Johnny Wright has never exaggerated a day in his life! So...Gabby, what are
you going to go by in the business? Gonna do an ‘I’m too important for you to
know my last name’ like Cher and Madonna? Or just Gabby Reynolds? Or
Gabrielle Reynolds?”
She shrugged, causing the “Evil Eyeliner Lady” to poke her in the eye yet
again. The “Hunny” grinned at the expression Gabby made and then Gabby
asked, “What do you think sounds best?”
He thought seriously and said, “I’d go with Gabby Reynolds. That’s what
people are going to call you anyway. It sounds friendly. Kiki, Sunshine, Becca,
Gabby. All happy names!” She made yet another face at him, and he said, “I
really do need a camera to catch these face you are making little miss Gabby.”
Gabby pouted, “Hey, that’s not fair. You know my name, and I don’t know
yours!”
Extending his hand to her unpolished one, he greeted her, “My name is
Aaron. Aaron Peterson. Nice to meet you Gabrielle Reynolds.”
“Well, it’s certainly very nice to meet you too Aaron. If you don’t mind me
calling you that...”
He grinned and replied, “That’s my name, isn’t it?”
The “Evil Eyeliner Lady” was becoming quite agitated, so she switched to
eyeshadow. By then, Gabby felt like she was caked in eyeliner. As if she was
not surrounded by enough people, the hairdresser then came forward. “Okay.
Aaron, you can move with Gabby to the hairdryer, but Shana,” she looked at the
Evil Eyeliner Lady, “You’re gonna have to wait until Gabby is done under the
hair dryer. Alright?”
“Psst! Aaron!” Gabby whispered, trying to appear nonchalant.
He whispered back loudly, “YEA GABBY?”
Gabby grinned, “Is my head fried yet?”
Quickly catching on, Aaron yelled, “Yo! Marnie! Gabby’s frying like an
egg.”
Before Marnie could answer, there was a knock on the dressing room
door. Aaron announced to Gabby, “I’ll get it Gabby. They may get scared away
when they see your fried head!”
With a smile upon his face, Aaron returned with his hands behind his
back. Frowning, Gabby asked, “What are you hiding?”
Whipping his arm around, Aaron revealed a gorgeous red rose with a
card attatched with on a little string. “For you M’lady. Hand delivered by a
florist.”
Reaching for it with her unpolished hand, Gabby began reading as soon as it met her fingertips.
Gabrielle,
Johnny rushed us back into the studio, so I can’t be there at the shoot. Sorry.Smile for me! And, when you’re done this, I asked Johnny to send you in a car here. See ya soon. Good luck. And remember, don’t smile so much your face gets tired.
Justin
Gabby glared up at him, “Aaron, I’ve never met someone who managed to
be so...so... irritating in the first two hours I’ve known them! He’s not my
boyfriend.”
“I’ve got that special charm!” he stated, through laughter.
From where he sat on a nearby chair, Aaron watched as Shana finished
her makeup, then spun her around in the chair. Quickly, Aaron raised himself off
of his chair and put out his arm for her, “My dear. You do look beautiful. You’re
a superstar in training, girl. You do have the look.” Gabby felt her face flush,
and Aaron commented, “Now, I.. I don’t think we have an outfit to match that
color of red.”
Gabby truly did look like a princess. As she was walking out the door to
go to the next room to get changed into her first outfit, she glanced in the mirror.
What she saw was a face that she had never seen in her life. It was not,
however, the makeup that made the change so drastic. It was something inside.
Gabrielle Reynolds was glowing. It was the first time in her 19 year old life that
she was truly happy. She felt as though the world was hers, opportunities
endless.
