Blindsided 14

There was once again a stillness surrounding the breakfast table as Shar and Robbie ate in silence. The swelling on Robbie's face had settled down, and the feeling had returned, but the mental trauma it had caused would take a lot longer to recover from.

As he devoured his meagre portion of granola, Robbie’s mind was fixated on the bizarre nature of his situation. What did this Agatha woman want? And what did she have to gain by torturing him? Take yesterday, for example. After sending her a selfie to prove he had gone through with the facial fillers, he was given an address. This led him to a local dog shelter, where, as instructed, he handed over the sixteen pounds he had made begging. In return, he was handed an envelope containing his tonic for the day. When Robbie questioned the man working there, he seemed completely oblivious to his situation. He said that a man had dropped off the padded envelope earlier that day and that if he passed it on to a man dressed as a schoolgirl, the shelter would receive a generous donation.

Halfway through his breakfast (at the exact same time as the previous day), Robbie’s phone suddenly rang. Plucking it from the table with his pink-nailed hands, the exhausted man groaned loudly before answering the call, once again putting it on speaker.

“Morning, Cutiepie,” Agatha sang out in a high-pitched voice that made Robbie’s blood boil. “And what a beautiful morning it is. The sun is shining, and the sky is clear. Are you ready for your next challenge?”

“No,” Robbie said as he pursed his larger lips together before looking down at them in disgust. “Can, we please stop this? Come on Agatha! Hasn’t this gone far enough?” he pleaded. “You’ve already ruined my face.”

“Ruined!” Agatha shot back. “I’d say improved. And those changes are on you. I warned you there would be a forfeit if you failed yesterday's challenge. Sixteen pounds! Those poor little pooches! But don’t you worry, I added the rest. Those cute little pups got their thousand pounds.” Lost for words, Robbie looked over at Shar, who shook her head slowly from side to side and shrugged her shoulders.

“Anyway, now that you know I’m not messing about here. Fail today’s challenge, and the consequences will be far worse!” Agatha warned. “So, let’s get on with things, shall we? Today, we’ll start easy. Make your way to the shopping centre, you know the one. When you get there, put in the earpiece, and wait by the fountain for further instructions.”

Hearing Agatha hang up, Robbie looked across at Shar once more and felt sick. “So, I guess you’ll be wanting a lift then?” Shar said before shaking her head and breathing out through her nose.

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An hour later, with his gaze fixed downwards, Robbie sat cross-legged on edge of the fountain, staring at his skirted legs. Having had enough of the stares from the shoppers flooding by, he was trying to block them out. Even if the sight of a pink stiletto dangling from the end of his baby smooth leg was more than a little unsettling.

He had complained about the outfit when Shar helped him dress that morning, but after getting a lecture about losing every other item of clothing she had lent him, he didn’t really have a leg to stand on. He needed her help, and she didn’t need to provide it. So, here he was in the school skirt from the previous day, minus the tights, and the same pink, ankle-breaking pumps he had worn to the nightclub. On top, he wore a blue T-shirt and a pink cardigan, two items Shar told him she didn’t mind if he lost.

As the agonizingly slow minutes ticked by, Robbie couldn’t help but think about the consequences of failing another challenge. It was hard to imagine anything worse than the facial fillers he’d received the previous evening, but then again, he also remembered the self-assured way Agatha spoke earlier. One thing was for sure, he had no intention of finding out what she had planned.

“Hey Lazybones, break times over,” Came a familiar voice in Robbie’s ear. “Get up. It’s time to play.”

“Where am I going?” Robbie replied as a passing man looked down at him oddly.

“Sephora,” Agatha cheerfully said. “Up on the second floor. You can’t miss it.”

With a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach, Robbie rose to his high-heeled feet and trudged forward. Reaching the escalator, he carefully stepped on, already feeling an ache in the arches of his feet. “What do I have to do when I get there?” the nervous young man asked, not really sure if he wanted to know.

“Well, that depends,” Agatha said smugly down his ear.

“On what?” Robbie shot back as he looked anxiously at the approaching end of the escalator.

“On whether or not you bothered to do your makeup today,” Agatha replied as Robbie delicately disembarked from the moving staircase. “Well, did you?” She probed. “And don’t lie to me now. Any lies you tell will be harshly punished.”

After thinking for a moment, Robbie sighed loudly. “I didn’t,” he mumbled as he clicked along loudly towards the multinational retailer of personal care and beauty products.

Agatha tutted loudly. “Oh, shame on you, girl! Going out without your face on. Well, from now on, there’s a new rule. You’re not to be seen in public without a full face of makeup. Mistress’ orders.” Scoffing, Robbie decided not to give her the satisfaction of a reply, biting his tongue as he entered the brightly lit store filled with unknown beauty products.

“And seeing as you’re currently breaking that rule, let’s fix that, shall we?” Agatha said in a smarmy voice. “First challenge today. Walk up to one of the girls working here and ask for a makeover.”

“What! A makeover!” Robbie exclaimed angrily, stopping dead in his tracks. “Come on. Haven’t you got better things to do than torment me like this?”

Hearing Agatha giggle, Robbie closed his eyes and took a deep breath to calm himself. “Oh, Blondie, you are funny,” she said while trying to catch her breath. “And to answer your question, no! There is nothing more important to me right now than tormenting you. So, let’s get you looking all pretty, shall we? I’m thinking a dark eye and a pink lip.”

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“So, what do you think?” the woman who had just plastered Robbie’s face in makeup asked.

“Thank her, and tell her you love it,” Agatha said in his ear.

“I love it,” Robbie repeated, repulsed by the image of the painted, botoxed face staring back at him. “Thank you.”

“Aww, you’re very welcome, sweety,” the smiling woman replied. “The products I used just amplify your beauty. Would you like to purchase any of them?”

“Tell her you’ll take them all,” Agatha stated in his ear.

“I’ll buy them all,” Robbie said, still mesmerised by the feminine face in the mirror.

“Oh, really. Great!” the saleswoman announced, obviously happy and surprised at the same time. “I’ll just go bag them up for you. I’ll be right back, ok?” She added before scurrying off.

Perched on a tall stool in the centre of the busy store, Robbie looked around, feeling like a mannequin on display. Clambering down, he tottered up one of the aisles to escape the looks. “Oh, I bet you look precious,” Agatha chimed out. "You’ll have to send me a selfie so I can see.”

“You know I have no money to pay for any of this gunk?" Robbie nervously stated as he looked around. "What am I supposed to say when that woman finds me?”

(See image 23)

“Yeah, that could be a problem,” Agatha said with a chuckle. “Especially since you have no money to pay for the makeover either. Better make a run for it, I reckon.”

“Run? As in run out?” Robbie replied aghast. “In these shoes!”

“Yep,” Agatha instantly answered. "Oh, but before you do that. There's the next part of your challenge to complete. Pick out a new nail colour and take it with you.”

“You mean, steal it?” Robbie shrieked in surprise. “I can’t do that!”

“Oh, Baby girl. It’s always can’t and won’t with you, isn’t it?” Agatha firmly replied. “I'm afraid this is a non-negotiable part of today’s challenge. So shut up and do it or fail. The choice is yours, sweety. But I'd decide quickly if I were you. That girl will be back soon, and I'm sure the police won't be far behind her!"