Post by MARIANA ROGERS on Jul 2, 2012 19:43:10 GMT -5
Like half the city, Mariana Rogers was going to the masquerade. Originally, she had tossed the invitation under her desk without a second thought. A masquerade? That wasn't her kind of thing. Unfortunately, all the other cheerleaders had dragged her along dress shopping. The first few times, Mariana had sat moodily in the corner, giving her opinion, which was usually a negative one. "Does this make me look big?" Was usually answered with "It makes you look like you swallowed a watermelon", which in hindsight, Mariana knew was cruel, but she had no interest in some fancy dance.
Then, as cliche as it was, she saw the dress. Not just any dress, but the dress. The maroon color was perfect and complemented her hair and skin perfectly and it fit her curves just right. She nearly pitched a fit that her scars would show clearly, but every time she saw herself in the mirror, Mariana would think of a different excuse for it. "Oh, I can wear my hair down." "I can find a cover-up." That kind of thing. Mariana bought the dress and immediately dug out the invitation from a massive pile of trash. Even though she wasn't sure if she would enjoy herself, Mariana was going to the masquerade.
--
Standing in front of her mirror, Mariana looked at what her "friends" had done. A few of the other girls on the squad had come over to get ready together and had jumped Mariana like a gang when she just looked at them blankly and said she wasn't doing anything special to her hair or makeup. Even though she knew it was her, Mariana could barely recognize herself anyone. Her hair was in curls, half of it pulled back with jeweled clips instead of the natural waves it usually hung in. Mariana thought this was silly at first because her face would be covered, but her makeup was done expertly. She had a soft dust of blush on her cheeks, making her look like she'd just spotted her one true love. The eye shadow was crafted amazingly; Mariana's eyes were dramatic, sexy and beautiful, even behind the mask. It took a moment for Mariana to remember who she was, what she had been through. A moment for her to remember how unattractive she was.
Just a glance down at her completely exposed shoulder had shattered the allusion for Mariana. Thanks to a little makeup, the puckered scar tissue wasn't such a stark contrast from Mariana's skin tone. It was still there, though, and Mariana found herself tearing up over all that had happened to her. This should have been a joyous moment; her mother should have been fussing over her hair, her father uncomfortable to let her out looking so elegant. The accident shouldn't have happened, Mariana shouldn't have been so bitter. Wiping stubbornly at her eyes, being careful not to smudge the makeup, of course, Mariana grabbed her bag and left the dorm room. All thoughts of her godawful mother and sweet sister Bianca had to stop for the evening. It was time for the dance and dammit, she was going to enjoy herself for how much this dress had cost.
--
Wow. That was all she could think. Mariana wanted to laugh at her earlier stupidity. Who wouldn't want to be here?! Everyone was dressed amazingly, masks were extravagant and the atmosphere was just...magical. Yeah. If Mariana believed in that, anyways. She had danced a few times with several different men who completely differed in age, from what she could tell. No names were given and there was barely anything spoken; a true masquerade, where all the identities were hidden and all you knew was the music and the movements. A new dance was about to begin, though,and no one had yet asked Mariana. Standing on the edge of the dance floor, Mariana sipped her water (damn age/drinking laws) and gazed out at the crowd. Hopefully, someone would ask her for the next dance. Maybe, just maybe, she'd even have a Cinderella situation where she would magically fall in love and wonder if she would ever be able to find her dream guy ever again.
Mariana scoffed. Like that would happen.
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tagged, PASCAL / words, 800
muse, I Won't Give Up by Jason Mraz / outfit, click! / credit, zie @ caution
