667: Issue #2 "Activation"

Violet Eve

“Vi, you’re home!” Missy stood to greet me when I walked through the front door. Jeremy was gone but had been replaced by half a dozen scantily clad women.

“Yes.” Was all I could reply. I was still a bit shaken after my escape from the salon and desperately wanted to clear my head.

“So— we’re going to a big party tonight that Jeremy is throwing for us!” Missy leapt up off the sofa and came to jump in front of me.

“Great.” I feigned excitement, but I am sure it fell flat.

“Wear something sexy.” Missy winked, looking down at my tattered shorts and shirt.

“I don’t really have anything fancy, or sexy for that matter,” I admitted. I had cut down over half my wardrobe but had never been one to dress “sexy” as Missy put it.

“Take my card, buy whatever you want. Jeremy said that whatever you need, he’s got you.” Missy fished around in her purse before handing me a Centurion Black Card.

“Oh, uh—I don’t even know where to go.” I obviously didn’t know the area and didn’t want to go out alone…not after what had just happened.

“I’ll call the car to take you a few places. Get a dress, some shoes, accessories—whatever. Then you can come back here and get your hair and makeup done by Mika. She’s fantastic.” Missy gestured to a very flaxen-haired woman that was rolling a trolley of makeup into the living room.

“Let me go freshen up real quick.” I just needed a moment before heading back out again.

“You do that and I will call the car around.” Missy patted my backside as I headed to my bedroom.

I was in there long enough to wash my face and hands, pull my hair into a ponytail, and change my shoes from combat boots to sneakers before Missy was yelling at me about the car.

I trudged out of the room and waved goodbye to her as I climbed into Jeremy’s chauffeured Mercedes and sped off towards some expensive shopping.

(*)

The first three shops were a bust. The employees were rude and stuck up; not the sort of place I wanted to purchase clothing from. Besides, all of it was hideously gaudy with neon colors and animal prints that made my stomach churn.

I made the car wait for me as I wandered up and down the streets in the area, trying to find a store that suited my sensibilities. The driver had told me that I needed to be back at the car by four, but it was already three; I needed to find something and quick.

A little shop with a hand painted sign caught my attention. The scent of sandalwood and flute music lingered in the air as I almost passed it by.

“The Rabbit Hole,” I spoke the name aloud as I stepped over the threshold and into a haven for weirdos like me. Everything was draped in lush velvets and dragon tapestries with novelty knick-knacks and racks of hand-sewn clothing.

“Hello, Alice. Is there something I can help you find? The Queen of Hearts, perhaps? Or maybe the White Rabbit?” A woman with a hot pink pixie cut greeted me from behind the counter.

“Hi. I’m actually looking for a whole outfit for some fancy party tonight; my friend and I are going out for our birthday.” I stopped to check out a rack of jewel toned corsets.

“Well, happy early birthday.” She smiled, and stopped for a second to scan the outfit I wore, “I take it you aren’t a silk and chiffon type of person. No long fancy dresses, but nothing too short either. Maybe in purple?” She came around the counter and meandered through the racks that were all color coded.

“I love purple.” I smiled as I followed her through the shop.

“Let me see, let me see—I have just the dress in mind.” The pink pixie sorted through the rack before finally snagging a piece to hold out and show me.

It was gorgeous.

The fabric was soft and flowy in a print that looked very much like a swirling violet galaxy. The hemline was high in the front as it cascaded longer down the back. The sleeves were capped and the back had sheer lace corseting.

“Oh…that is just perfect,” I exclaimed, bringing my hand to my mouth.

“I figured you’d like it. Try it on.” She hung the dress from my fingers, “You said you needed shoes too? A necklace maybe?”

I followed her back to the heavily curtained changing stalls, “All of the above. I was told to get whatever I wanted.”

I thought about how fun it might actually be to dress up for once.

“Oh, yes. Since it is your birthday and she told you to get whatever you want, I am going to create you an absolutely killer outfit. How old are you going to be?” She brushed the curtain back for me to step inside one of the changing rooms.

“Thirty.” I hated saying it out loud. Thirty. It was all downhill from here—or at least it felt that way.

“You’re older than me? No way.” She didn’t believe me, “I just turned twenty-eight in April.”

“Yup. Thirty tomorrow.” I nodded, sliding the curtain back.

Thirty. Tomorrow.

I didn’t look my age, but I was starting to feel it. I was going to be thirty with nothing to show for it but a few self-published books that made me a minor amount of money and a stupid blog that no one followed. I had not met my goal of becoming a heavy hitting fiction writer like I had planned.

I slipped the dress on and checked myself out in the mirror. It surprisingly lay well on my shortened frame, but I would definitely need some sort of heel to make my legs look longer; they were so…stumpy.

“What’s your shoe size?” I heard Pink Pixie ask through the curtain.

“Six?” I think that was the right conversion for US sizes.

I heard her pad off and went back to admiring myself in the mirror. I felt like maybe I needed a new bra and a necklace or something to finish it all off, but other than that—I actually liked the way I looked for once.

My eyes fell on my slicked hair that now hung over my shoulder. I wasn’t sure how I felt about it straight; I kind of liked my unruly curls. Maybe I’d have Mika curl my hair when I got back, but even then it needed something to completely tie it all together.

A crown—a headband of crystals in hues of the night sky…

If I had had the time and prior notice, I could have possibly found the stuff to make one, but now it was too late. It’d be nice if The Rabbit Hole had something like that.

Doubtful.

“Come out here and try these shoes on; I think they will be perfect,” Pixie called out to me as I slipped through the curtain. She handed me a pair of calf high velvet boots with a rather large wedge platform.

“Almost five inches.” Pixie pointed out the height as I slipped my sneakers off and laced up the boots.

“Wow. I’m impressed by myself.” I caught a glimpse of my figure in a full-length mirror.

“It’s perfect on you. I thought this necklace would go well with it.” Pixie handed me choker made out of velvet ribbon with a singular silver moon dangling in the middle. Now if she only had that crystal crown I dreamed up.

“I’ll take all of it.” I tugged the boots off and pulled the dress up over my head; I hadn’t even bothered to take my clothes off before trying it on.

Pixie folded the dress and snagged the shoes before carrying them back to the counter. I stuffed my feet back in their sneakers and shouldered my bag. I did want to see if she had any cute accessories that I could wear in my hair; the shocking ginger color left the whole ensemble too open for me.

“I want to wear something in my hair as a sort of finishing touch; do you happen to have any crowns or cute headbands?” I placed my hands on the counter as Pixie started to ring the dress up.

“Oh!” A light bulb went off in her head and she ducked under the counter before she slid back the door on the glass case. “This. This would be perfect.”

Pixie stood up holding a wire wrapped headband in silver, studded with purple and black crystal points.

“Rainbow and lavender aura quartz with onyx?” I breathed in question; the crown looked just like the one I had put together in my head; I had a fondness for crystals.

“I don’t remember stocking that, but we get artists who sell their work in here all the time. Maybe someone else set it up for display.” Pixie shrugged and went to ring up my shoes as I gazed at the crown in awe.

“I don’t care how much it costs; I’ll take it.” I set the band back on the counter.

Pixie finished ringing everything up and slipped it into a black bag before giving me my total. “$354.78.” She sucked air in through her teeth at the steep total. I was also shocked; I never spent over £50 on anything.

I took the Black Card out of my wallet and handed it over to Pixie.

“A Black Card? What does your friend do for a living?” Pixie eyed me suspiciously for a second.

“It’s her boyfriend’s card.” Maybe that was too much information. Did I look dodgy?

“I’ll have to call and verify with him.” Pixie picked up the phone and dialed a number that was on the back of the card. After chatting with the person on the other end of the line for a few minutes, they must have put her through to Jeremy.

“Yes, Hi. My name’s Angelica and I work at the White Rabbit here in New Orleans. There is a—” Angelica paused and mouthed for my name so I told her, “Violet Quirke that is using your Black Card to make a purchase for—oh, you don’t care the cost. Alright. You’re most welcome. Buh-bye.” Angelica hung up the phone.

“Am I in the clear?” I had been nervous there for a second; I didn’t want to make Jeremy mad at me.

“He said to give you whatever you wanted.” Angelica winked and reached up to grab a crescent moon shaped bag off the wall. She rang that up too before scanning the card.

She stuffed the receipt in the bag but paused before she handed it and the card to me.

“I’m Pixie, by the way.” She smiled, the studs in her cheeks spreading wide.

“I thought it was Angelica,” I smirked. Obviously, Pixie was a nickname and, oddly enough, the one I had given her.

“That too. And you’re Violet—come back and see us soon, ok? Bye, Alice.” She winked at me and passed my bag off.

I grinned shyly before exiting the store and made my way down to the car that was thankfully still waiting for me.

(*)

My new home was a total mad house when I got back. Missy was running around with a cocktail in her hand, directing some girls to Mika and others to the kitchen for drinks. There was loud talking, even louder music, and a haze of smoke hovered in the air.

Missy stumbled over to me drunkenly and handed me a cocktail of my own before shooing me to the bedroom to bathe and get myself dressed; she wanted me to get my hair done soon.

I had no idea what to do with my makeup, so I left myself blank and donned my new dress and boots before stuffing what little things I needed into my new moon shaped bag.

When I came out of the room, two girls were standing on the bar in the kitchen, hollering at the top of their lungs as a song blared on the Bluetooth speaker in the living room.

Missy was sitting in front of Mika as she curled her bleach blond hair with a barrel iron. Her makeup and nails were already done; she didn’t look like the Missy I knew, but people did change. This new Missy, however, was very different from the one I grew up with.

“Viiiiiolet. Get over here and get your hair done. Oh, my God…” Missy jerked in her seat and Mika had to follow the movement so she didn’t burn any hair, “Your outfit. Where did you get that?” Was she impressed with my ensemble?

“The Rabbit Hole? I didn’t like any of the other places.” I scrunched up my nose.

“This is definitely you. And those shoes make your legs look so long.” Missy let Mika finish the last curl and spray her down with hair spray before she got up from her seat and patted it for me.

“Can you just make it less flat?” I asked the hairdresser as Missy flopped over the couch, drinking a martini.

“Did someone just straighten your hair?” Mika asked me and I murmured with a yes.

“Besides shopping, where did you go today?” She was suddenly interested in what I had been doing since I got here last night.

“Off with the man that found my phone; it’s complicated.” I closed my eyes, hoping that Missy wouldn’t be asking me any more questions.

“You haven’t even been here twenty-four hours and you are already getting into trouble.” She clucked at me.

“No trouble. Just—New Orleans is a weird city.” I replied. That was the best I could do without word vomiting about all the other crap that was going on.

“You should invite him to the party.” Missy winked at me; she didn’t care about my personal drama.

“I don’t have his phone number, besides— I don’t think it would work out.” I was still very shaken from earlier.

“Either way; you’re the last one to get ready. Let Mika do your makeup real quick and then meet us out front. Jeremy got us a stretch Hummer!” Missy clapped her hands and leapt up off the sofa.

She gathered up all the other women and started steering them to the front door while Mika got to work on my makeup.

Why did I have the sinking feeling that something was wrong tonight? Maybe the moon was full—or maybe it was just this city.

I just hoped that this birthday celebration didn’t end in chaos.