Blindsided 18

“Hey, that’s not too bad,” Shar said with a smile on her face. “A little too much blush perhaps, but you look a hundred times better than when you this morning with that clown face.”

“Thanks, I guess,” Robbie answered in a gloomy voice. Instructed by Shar, he had just done his own makeup in the style of her choosing, and now staring at the result, it was hard to believe it was the same face he had been looking at most of his life. But that was the point, right? It was supposed to look different.

Curled and styled, his long blonde hair, once again, framed his darkened face. A face that looked different from when he walked in. Not drastically different, but enough! The delicately arched brows screamed girl! But it was perhaps the eyelash extensions below that drew the attention. Long, dark, and curling upwards, the monstrous things fluttered wildly in front of his vision, annoying the hell out of him in the process.

“You’re a natural, I’d say,” Shar said, praising the young man. “Now, I’ve bagged up all the products you just used and put them in your little blue purse. A little more practice, and you’ll easily be able to recreate this look.”

“Great, just what I want to hear,” Robbie moaned as he batted his long lashes, hoping they might fall out if he tried hard enough.

“It was a tight fit, but I managed to fit all the products in there,” Shar announced as she placed his purse onto the counter in front of him. “Well, apart from your phone. You’ll have to carry that, I’m afraid.” She added before chuckling a little as she passed it over.

Taking the phone from her, he instinctively turned it on to see a new message notification. Opening it, it read, “put in the earpiece.” He didn’t need to read the name above to know who it was from. Reaching over, he picked up the earpiece and popped it into his ear. “Now, you really are ignoring me,” an annoyed-sounding Agatha remarked. “Perhaps, you need to be reminded who’s the boss in this relationship.”

“What! No, I wasn’t,” Robbie stammered. “I was just in the salon, doing the changes you asked for. I’m done now. I can send you a picture if you want?”

There was a moment of silence before Agatha burst out laughing. “I’m just fucking with you. Blondie. I know where you are,” she said as an unimpressed Robbie dropped his shoulders and pouted. “But I do want a picture. Before you leave, get your friend to snap a few pics and send them through.”

With Robbie refusing to speak, Agatha (after another moment of silence) continued the conversation. “Ok, fine. If you’re ready. Time to move on. The next stop is a five to ten to minute walk. Well, it would be if you hadn’t decided to wear such tall heels today. I respect how a girl like you needs to look good, but rather you than me," she added before chuckling. "I’ll send you the address. And no cheating now, you hear? You walk over there in your sexy pumps. I’ll know if you cheat.”

“It was the only blue pair that Ruby girl had in the house,” Robbie complained, “Can I change them? My feet are killing me.”

“No, this is what you get for making me wait this morning,” Agatha replied, lecturing the pathetic-sounding man. “And remember, they are your shoes now, Ruby. So, get dressed and get moving.”

Biting his tongue, Robbie resisted the urge to argue further. “Fine, send the address.” He said in a depressingly sad voice.

“Just did,” Agatha replied as his phone beeped almost simultaneously. “Now, hurry. You need to be there in thirty minutes.”

Puffing out his cheeks, Robbie folded his arms and looked up past his thick lashes to see Shar smiling down at him. “Problem?” She asked.

“No,” Robbie groaned. “No problem.”

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With each mincing step accompanied by a loud clicking sound, Robbie felt incredibly nervous as he tottered down the supermarket aisle. Looking down at his phone, he reread the list of items that Agatha had sent him. Bread, milk, cereal, the usual household essentials. For once, her suggestion to go food shopping wasn’t something he was opposed to. He had hardly eaten anything in the last few days, and with barely any food in his new house, the thought of a decent meal sounded very appealing. Even as the pains and cramps were starting to return.

Nothing on the list was going to be difficult to find. But the challenge would be conjuring up the courage to pay using Ruby James’s card. The contactless limit was a hundred pounds, but if he was asked for a pin, he was screwed. And that’s if he could even get the card out of his bag to start with. Given the length of the horrific claws-like nails now sprouting from the end of each of his fingers, the previously simple task no longer seemed so trivial!

(See image 27)

He was finding it hard to hold his phone! How was he supposed to do anything more delicate, like prising a small plastic card from a purse full to bursting with cosmetics? But somehow, he would have to get used to his new nails as the acrylic was now dry and firmly bonded to his real nails below. Grimacing as he wiggled the impractically long nails and wondered if he could have done anything differently in the nail salon to avoid the outcome.

Arriving at the address given to him by Agatha just in time, he walked into the nail salon on tired wobbly legs feeling completely out of place. Following Agatha’s instructions, he told the receptionist he was Ruby James and was instantly seated in front of a nail technician. The young brunette introduced herself before confirming with him what he wanted doing that day. It seemed that instructions had already been given when the appointment was made, and as the words she said meant nothing to Robbie, he just agreed. The only thing he did have a choice in was the colour. Embarrassed and annoyed, he told the woman to just do what was popular, thinking that if he had to have his nails done, at least they wouldn’t stand out as much if they looked on-trend.

Oh, how wrong he was. He wished he could go back and ask for neural tone instead of the bright fire engine red he had ended up with, but now it was too late!

“Come on, Barbie. Stop admiring your nails and hurry up,” came the voice of Agatha down the earpiece. “You’ve done surprisingly well so far today. It would be such a shame to fail the challenge over a little grocery shopping now, wouldn’t it?”

Robbie knew she was right, even as a voice in his head urged him to sit down and rest his aching body. Wondering if she could actually see him or had just made a lucky guess, he stuck his long, red-nailed middle finger in the air and pushed out his tongue. “Give me a break, will you?” he moaned. “I’ve only just arrived.”

“Ohh, did I touch a nerve, princess?” Agatha replied before laughing.

Stamping his high-heeled pump so hard he almost broke the heel, Robbie breathed in deeply. “I’m moving, ok?” he said in a frustrated tone. “The sooner this day ends, the better,” he added as stumbled forward.

“You’ve got ten minutes until the next bus. Miss it, and you’re walking,” Agatha warned. “Oh, and who said anything about the day being over!" She added with an evil chuckle. “We're far from done today, my silly little bimbo!”