16
Several days later, the new Stevie Bitts, tourist from Manticore, although originally from Meyerdahl, was ready to make her debut. They’d chosen this backstory for a variety of reasons. It let Stephanie disguise her speech with Meyerdahl slang and accent, while not necessarily being up to date on the latest trends. She’d been called “Stevie” by some of her friends on Meyerdahl, so would automatically respond to it. And short-term tourist IDs were widely available and easy to alter.
“And, if anyone notices it’s been altered, they’re just going to think I’m younger than I’m claiming to be,” Stephanie said, looking with satisfaction at the end result.
They’d researched, and learned that while Enigmatic Riddle was open to all hotel guests, children under fourteen were excluded unless in the company of their guardians. “Stevie,” at the edge of seventeen, should have no difficulties.
The club’s evening dress code encouraged “dressy” attire, which suited their purposes perfectly, since Stephanie Harrington expended her clothing budget on clothing that wore well outdoors. Indeed, footwear had been a problem, since she owned exactly one pair of very neutral flats for when hiking boots wouldn’t do. Attempts to get her to walk in high heels were a disaster. However, it turned out that low dress boots were back in style, especially when worn with ankle-length skirts.
Jessica, who, because of her family’s size and lack of disposable income was skilled in getting good deals second hand, put herself in charge of costuming for the project, while Cordelia—who was also the “outdoorsy” type, and nearly as hopeless as Stephanie when it came to dressing up—snitched some of her sister, Dana’s, cosmetics and brought them along when the three girls met in “Stevie’s” room at the hotel to do the final preparations.
The outfit Jessica had designed was built around a black ankle-length skirt worn with a sleeveless top in an abstract “leopard” print in a shimmery, silky fabric and a golden vest. Over this ensemble, Stephanie would wear a black, cropped-waist jacket that, for now, waited on a hanger. On her feet were black suede ankle boots, whose six-centimeter wedge heel made Stephanie feel amazingly tall, but which had proven much easier to walk in than the ten-centimeter spike heels Jessica had initially offered.
Waiting on the dresser were a pair of three-centimeter diamond-shaped hammered gold earrings, and five bangles, similar in size, but with distinctly different textures that caught the light in fascinating ways. There were also fingerless net gloves to disguise what even an hour-long manicure had been unable to repair regarding Stephanie’s work-hardened and scratched hands. But, before she would don these, came hair and makeup.
Stephanie had always worn her curly brown hair relatively short, because she didn’t want to be bothered “messing with it.” Jessica had come up with a surprisingly easy-to-use set of extensions, in a shade similar to Stephanie’s natural hair, so that the two could be blended. The longer hair worked amazingly well to change Stephanie into someone else.
“The best is yet to come,” Jessica cackled. “Cordelia, my paints, please.”
Cordelia produced several flat boxes that, even unopened, promised beauty. With a flourish, she handed them to Jessica.
“Here they are. As you requested, an ample selection from Dana’s chest of wonders.”
“Dana won’t mind?” Stephanie asked nervously.
“She probably won’t even notice,” Cordelia assured her. “She loves buying the new color palettes each fashion season, and then rarely looks at the others.”
“These are pretty,” Stephanie admitted, looking over a selection of glittery pastel and metallic hues. “Like butterfly wings.”
She stretched her hand out to dab a vibrant blue eye shadow on a sponge applicator, but Jessica intercepted her.
“Not that! Especially not with the outfit we chose for you. That blue would really clash!”
Stephanie frowned. “But I’m not supposed to look supersophisticated, am I? And that blue’s the prettiest color there.”
“There’s a difference between ‘unsophisticated’ and completely ignorant,” Jessica countered. “Sit still. I’ll show you how even apparently muted colors can make you look amazing.”
The process of being made up tickled, so Stephanie had to resist a constant urge to rub her nose. However, if Jessica’s absorbed expression hadn’t been warning enough that such actions would be unwelcome, Cordelia’s increasingly fascinated gaze made Stephanie willing to hold still, just so she could see the end result.
“There you are,” Jessica said, adding a final touch of something to one of Stephanie’s cheekbones. “Stephanie Harrington, meet Stevie Bitts.”
Stephanie turned the mirror to face herself and saw a stranger’s eyes widen in astonishment. She’d always thought the combination of brown hair and brown eyes made her completely unexciting, but Jessica’s skillful work with the cosmetics had brought out flecks of gold she hadn’t realized were buried in the rich brown of her eyes.
For the rest, a medium beige foundation covered Stephanie’s outdoor-weathered completion. Cocoa-colored eye shadow, highlighted with soft cream near the brow bone and inner eye near the nose, made her eyes mysterious, even (dare she think it?), a little sexy. Her eyes had been further reshaped with black eyeliner that extended into a slight cat’s eye, and her lashes accented with black mascara.
Rose-colored blush and a pearlescent highlighter along the cheekbones subtly changed the shape of her face. Her lips had been lightly outlined, then tinted a glossy shade of rose like, but not identical to, that on her cheeks. Overall, her new appearance was simultaneously natural and sophisticated.
“Wow!” Stephanie said, wondering what Karl and Anders would think.
She jumped up to put on the jacket, but Jessica waved her back.
“We’ve got to work on how you move,” Jessica said. “Remember, you’re wearing a skirt, a full one, sure, but you’ve got to pull your stride in. No, no…Don’t mince, just don’t walk as if you’re trying to cover as much ground as fast as you can.”
Stephanie did her best but, in the end, both Cordelia and Jessica agreed that it was a good thing she wasn’t trying to look as if she went out dining and dancing every night.
“Steph, can you even dance?” Jessica asked. “I don’t think that’s ever come up.”
“A little,” Stephanie said. “Well, shuffle to music.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Cordelia offered encouragingly. “You’re naturally light on your feet. Trust that and the fact that ‘Stevie’ isn’t local, so she won’t be expected to know the music or the popular steps.”
“Do you dance a lot?” Stephanie asked, heart thumping a little at this unexpected complication.
“Sure! It’s fun. Mom always had us dance to work off our fidgets when the winter froze us in. Anyhow, if you look like you’re having fun and you don’t step on your partner’s feet too often, you’ll be fine.”
“Either of you want to take my place?” Stephanie asked, only half-joking. “Cordelia? You have the right coloration to wear the same things that I am.”
“Sorry,” Cordelia replied with an impish grin. “You’re stuck with it. You’re short and petite. Neither Jess nor I could wear your clothes. Anyhow, you’re going to do just fine. We believe in you.”
And she really does, Stephanie thought, heartened as she submitted to Jessica’s final primping. Treecats really do know how to pick the best humans.