Caught between a rock and a high heel 02

Having previously stumbled past the doorway three times while searching for the place, Kieron rang the intercom, still not entirely sure he was in the right place. Now, well and truly sloshed, he wobbled around in an understated doorway showing no obvious signs that a business operated out of the premises. The only thing he had to go on was a sticker above the intercom button that said CTB, which he assumed stood for Costume Transformation Boutique.

Catching his breath, Kieron leaned into the wall. It had been a mad rush to get over there, and as a result, he felt exhausted. As he stood there panting, he thought about what he would discover inside the grey, five-story building. Would Mimi have already started getting ready? And if so, was the appointment booked in her name or in that of her company? Somehow or another, he'd have to talk his way in. His plan depended on it.

A loud buzzer suddenly sounded, making the young Irish man jump before the heavy metal door clicked open as its electromagnet released. Kieron entered and climbed three flights of stairs before finding a door marked with the letters CTB. Inside he discovered a small but busy room filled with loudly talking people that somehow reminded him of a dentist’s waiting room. Most sitting, but some standing, the groups of people appeared to be mainly comprised of women in their early twenties, with the odd guy thrown into the mix here and there.

Navigating his way through the crowded room, Kieron approached the front desk to find a woman dressed as a sexy kitten chatting away on the phone. “One minute,” she said as she saw Kieron approach, placing one hand over the receiver and the other in the air to signal a one with her index finger. She then went back to chatting.

Rolling his eyes, Kieron sighed. He hated to be kept waiting and even more so when he was in a place he didn’t want to be.

“I just wondered if…” he was cut off by a loud shushing sound from the woman on the phone, who raised her finger again and told him to wait.

Folding his arms in frustration, Kieron turned to examine his surroundings. Scanning the faces in the crowd, he couldn’t see Mimi. But then again, as much as he had hurried to get there, he was twenty minutes late. She was most likely already inside.

“Ok, how can I help you?” the woman snapped, having finally finished her phone call. “Do you have an appointment?”

Spinning back around, Kieron found himself staring into the angry-looking eyes of the kitten behind the desk and couldn’t help but find it arousing. “Yeah, but I’m not sure who booked it. In fact, I’m not even sure what I’m doing here. you see, I came because…” The girl cut him off.

“What’s your name?” She stated bluntly. “If you hadn’t noticed it’s Halloween evening, our busiest time of the year. You've probably noticed we're a little busy here. Meaning, I don’t have time for your life story.”

“Erm… Kieron,” the man snarled, taken aback by how rude this girl was while wondering if the place had a complaints department."

Without another word, the receptionist started typing away on her keyboard before finding what she thought was Kieron's appointment. She then looked back at the inebriated man and shook her beautiful head. “You’re late,” she stared as if she was telling off a naughty child.

“Yeah, I had a little trouble finding the place, and the buses were…” he was again cut off. “Ok. Ok. Nevermind. You’re here now. If we get you in quick, you’ll be done at the same time as the rest of your party.” Said the girl in a scolding tone. “But five more minutes, and we would have had to cancel your appointment.”

“Is Mimi already here?” Kieron asked as the girl moved from behind the counter to stand by his side.

“If that’s who you’re with, then I guess so,” the woman said. “It's not like I go around memorising every customer name, you know? Now quickly, follow me.”

Setting off through the waiting area, the pair passed through a side door, and entered a rather plain-looking corridor as Kieron, in his drunken state, struggled to keep up with the spritely woman. Stopping at the end of the hall, she turned to face him. “Ok, get undressed in there," she said while pointing. "There are robes on the rack, and you can store your belongings in the lockers if you want? They’ll be safe, but just so you know. We take no responsibility if anything goes missing. When you're done, go to room five.”

“Undressed?” Kieron said, taken aback as he looked where the woman was pointing to see a small changing room area. “In there?”

The woman looked at him for a second with an expression that made him feel foolish. “Or in the corridor. I really don't care,” she snapped. “Just hurry, will you? You’ve got two minutes before we pick someone off the waiting list to take your place.” She then turned and walked away, leaving Kieron feeling angry and confused.

Entering the room, he stood for a moment, trying to comprehend what was happening. But seeing as he was there to get a costume, it made sense that he’d have to get changed, even if the thought of doing so sounded like hell on earth.

A minute later, with his clothes stored, Kieron knocked lightly on door number five as his bare feet felt cold against the tiled floor beneath. Feeling naked, with only a short robe and his underwear beneath to cover his modesty, he took a deep breath as the door swung open.

“Hi, you must be…” The woman who answered the door said before stopping to look the man up and down.

“Kieron,” the man mumbled, pulling the rope of his silky robe tighter around the midsection as the woman's gaze opposite made his cheeks turn beet red. “I’m here for my appointment.”

Sensing the man’s embarrassment, the woman stepped aside. “Oh, I'm sorry! That sounded rude, didn't it? You're just not what I was expecting, that's all. Please come in and take a seat.”

“Erm… sure,” Kieron nervously announced before stepping into the room. On the back wall, he saw the chair the woman must have been referring to. Deciding it was better to sit than stand, he plodded over and made himself comfortable.

He watched as the woman walked over to examine some notes. And after scanning through for a few moments, she looked up with a smile. “Ok, we're doing body paint. That means we’ve got a lot to do if we want to get you out of here by eight. But I’ve got all the details here. All you have to do is sit back and let me work my magic, ok? It’s a cool costume idea you’ve come up with here. And very fun of you to wear it!”

“Body paint!” Exclaimed Kieron as he frowned back at the woman. “What is it that I’m going to be, exactly?”

The question seemed to surprise the woman who tilted her head to one side and slightly screwed up her eyes. “A zombie! Didn’t you pick it out?”

“Erm… well, it’s a bit of a long story, you see. This girl, Mimi picked it, and I didn’t get chance to ask her what it was,” Kieron blurted out while looking down embarrassed at the ground. “I didn’t think I was going to come, you see? But then we… ahh, never mind, as you can see, I’m a bit nervous. You wouldn’t happen to have a drink around here, would ya?”

“I see,” the girl said, nodding her head, “And no. Sorry! No alcohol here I’m afraid. But seeing as we have a lot to do, I could give you something to relax. If you want?”

“Like what?” Kieron said, perking up.

“Well, Mum picked these up while she was in Mexico,” the girl replied while reaching into her handbag to reveal a blister pack of pills. They’re like Xanax but much more chill. I take one when I’m feeling stressed or sometimes when I'm bored."

Having taken Xanax before, and with the thought of having to sit through an hour of this woman chatting away while she painted him up to look like a fucking zombie, Kieron gladly agreed.

Given a bottle of water from a mini fridge, he swallowed the pill before turning back to face the woman. “Thanks," he announced with a smile on his face. "How long til it kicks in?”

“Oh, it should be pretty quick,” the woman replied as she moved towards him. “Shall we get started with the body hair first? I’ll need a clean slate before I start spraying.”

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Feeling as though he was riding a rollercoaster, Kieron giggled. There was a muffled sound in his ears, and his whole body felt floaty and light. Lifting his arm, it moved through the air, leaving a blurry, blue streak behind like the tail of a comet.

“Kiera! Kiera! Snap out of it,” the beautician yelled as she shook Kieron roughly by his shoulders. “It’s time to go. You’re done.”

“What?” Kieron mumbled as he looked up at the hazy outline of a person. “Where am I?”

(See image 3)

The girl tutted in frustration. “Here, let me help you up,” she said, sounding worried. It had suddenly dawned on her that perhaps giving this drunken man one of her pills while on the job, perhaps wasn’t the smartest move she’d ever made. Now fearing for her job, she needed him out of her workspace, and quickly at that!

“Wee-eee,” Kieron sang out as he felt himself flying towards the ceiling. A cloud of blue mist had clouded his vision, and what felt like slippery hands were rubbing at his legs.

With the girl’s arm around his waist, Kieron somehow placed one jelly leg out to take a step and again felt the smooth feeling of someone rubbing at his legs. “You’re touch feels so good.” He mumbled as the girl lugged him from the room. Huffing and puffing, she then, struggled down the corridor while dragging the crossdressed zombie bride weighing her down. She knew she had messed up, but if she could get him to the waiting room and find his friends, perhaps everything would be ok.

That was wishful thinking, as all hell broke out as soon as the pair stumbled in through the waiting room door.

“That’s my costume, a girl screamed,” as she saw Kieron propped up on the beautician's arm.

“I told you, you'd messed up,” another girl screamed at the kitten behind reception. The receptionist pursed her lips and pulled a face, suddenly realising that in her haste earlier that night, she may have inadvertently messed up the appointments.

As a group of four women (three in costumes) argued with the receptionist, the beautician took the opportunity to plonk Kieron down on an empty chair and make her escape. “Mandy, I’m going to take my break now,” she called out.

“Don’t you dare!" Mandy, the receptionist, shouted back. But it was too late! The beautician had already vanished back out the door from which she came.

As the heated discussion at the front desk raged on, Kieron was starting to realise that something was very wrong! Where was Mimi? And why did his body feel so weird? Looking down at the light dancing off a sea of white fabric before his eyes, he tried to focus. Then, suddenly, something clicked in his mind, sending him into a panic. He was wearing a dress! What the fu…” he murmured as he twisted his blue-painted hand over to gasp at the sight of shiny black nail polish covering his fingernails.

With his fight or flight senses kicking in, he tried to stand but failed as his body refused to move. Panicking, he started moaning loudly as he waved his arms furiously through the air.

“Hey, calm down. It's ok,” said a girl in a soothing voice as she took up an empty chair beside the hysterical man. “So, I hear you're also called Kiera?”

“No! There’s been a mistake. I shouldn’t be here. I need to find Mimi,” he whined in a high-pitched voice.

“You're right about a mix-up. You're wearing my costume," said the girl before sniggering. "I was running late, you see. And when I got here, that horrible receptionist woman refused to help me. But it’s ok. My sister is an amazing negotiator. They’ve already agreed to refund us and find me a replacement costume. My sis is now trying to get some compensation out of them. So, where’s this Mimi you need to find?”

“I don't know! Probably gone to Wax by now,” Kieron mumbled as he extended out a leg from beneath the flowing white skirt, shuddering at the sight of a set of painted toenails peeking out from the open toe of a two-inch wedge sandal.

Suddenly looking very excited, the girl clapped her hands together with glee. "For real? Wax? For the big Halloween party? That’s where we're headed.” She said before turning her head towards the front desk. “Becca, she needs to go to Wax to find her friend. Shall we take her with us?”

The girl at the counter turned to face her sister and shrugged. “Sure, whatever you want, Lil sis.”

The girl then jumped to her feet. “Ok, perfect. You girls go have a drink at the pub by the park while I get into my costume,” she said before turning to face Kieron, leaning down to touch the back of his blue-painted hand. “Don’t worry, Kiera. We’ll find your friend. I’m Kiera too, by the way, but you probably guessed that already, right?" She then bounded off to join the other girls at the reception desk, leaving Kieron dazed and confused.

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“Girls, slow down a bit, will ya? Other Kiera can't keep up. Bless her.” Kieron looked up in response to the name he'd been recently christened with and forced a smile.

Up the path which dissected the park about twenty paces in front stood three women chatting and giggling. One dressed as a tiger, one as a butterfly, and the other a bee. Shaking his head in disbelief, he staggered towards them, just about holding it together as he was experiencing something of a sensory overload.

His primary feeling was that of being cold. It was a chilly night, and his costume dress wasn't much of a shield against the freezing wind.

Its billowing skirt also felt strange against his smooth-shaven legs as it fluttered and swished back and forth with every step. But perhaps the strangest feeling of all was that below the dress. Hidden beneath layers of soft material, the hazardous wedge sandals had locked his feet into an uncomfortable angle. The unfamiliar sensation of having his tightly strapped feet raised a few inches off the ground felt very unnatural, and it was majorly hindering his usual stride.

(See image 4)

“Hurry, girl,” Shouted the bee. “We need to start on the shots now! Otherwise, I’ll still be sober at the club.”

“The club! This has got to be a nightmare!" Kieron's hazy mind thought as he minced along, still in a state of shock and not yet fully lucid. Something that would surely change once he got a glimpse at his decoratively made-up face framed by a flowing blue and pink wig in the bathroom mirror at the nearby pub.