Crashing down around me

“Violet! Violet Mathews! Get your butt over here!” My best friend Scarlett called me from across the cafeteria.
I turned to see her waving her arms madly, wearing a bright purple 80’s sweatshirt that matched my red one. It was twin day at Bellevue High and the Color Girls, as we were often called, just had to make a splash.
Scarlett and I had been best friends since the first day of kindergarten at Bellevue Elementary. When the teacher made us stand up and give our names, everyone laughed at Scarlett and me because our names were colors. Now, we were known for them.
I skipped through the maze of tables in my bright red spandex leggings and peacock purple sweatbands, eyes following my every move. My dark hair swayed with my hips as I jumped to a stop in front of Scarlett.
“Babe,” She greeted me. “You really need to redo your highlights. They’re dulling quite a bit.” She informed me.
“So are yours.” I told her, examining the red streaks in her wavy blonde hair. “We’ll go after school today? Cami does an amazing job and she always has time for us. Plus, we need them to be bright for the party on Friday night at Carson’s house.”
“Okay. Sounds good. Can we go shopping after? I need a new dress for that party. I heard a lot of cute college guys will be there.” She looked at me earnestly, as if getting a new dress was a matter of grave importance. I couldn’t help but laugh at the expression on her face.
Scarlett had to stand out, it was just the way she was. If she wasn’t the center of attention she wouldn’t know what to do with herself. We were always getting our streaks redone or buying new outfits designed to make people look twice at the two girls with colors in their hair.
“Meet me at my car and we’ll plan.” I told her, waving over my shoulder as I disappeared into the crowd. I headed towards the girls’ room to see if my streaks actually did need maintenance and to fix my make up.
“Hey Tessa, Sage, Tara.” I greeted the girls at the mirror as they moved over to give me a bit of space.
“Hey Vi. Your streaks are looking a bit dull. You should go see Cami.” Tara informed me as she put on a dab of bright blue eyeliner.
As I examined myself in the mirror chatter resumed around me. I took in my bright blue eyes, seemingly crystal clear, and my dark hair with fading streaks of violet. My slim body in its red attire, seeming to stretch itself as I moved. Strange, seeing as on my tippy toes I only reached a height of 5’3.
My heart shaped face was inquisitive as I took myself in. My full, red lips, high cheekbones, and slightly pointed nose were features that occupied my pallid face. My complexion was clear, not a blemish marking the skin.
I was the dark haired, pale skinned beauty while Scarlett was the tan blonde haired babe. We were opposites in almost everything. She was tall. I was short. She had no boobs. I was a C. Her hair was wavy while mine was as straight as a ruler. Through all our differences, we still managed to stay best friends for twelve years.
We were at the end of our junior year, celebrating our youth and care free world for a few more months before the reality of college applications set in.
The rest of the day was a blur, passing me bye as I sat in dull submission. My thoughts were whirling. I was thinking about what dress to get, what guys to hit on, and where Scarlett and I would spend the night after the party because neither of us could go home drunk.
By the time the final bell rang, I had everything sorted out. We would go to Forever 21 for our dresses, hit on the cute college freshman and high school seniors, and spend the night at Tara’s because her parents were cool as long as we didn’t break anything and nobody got hurt or drove.
I waltzed to my car in a balloon of self-confidence. My peacock purple mustang convertible with white racing stripes was waiting along with Scarlett. I popped the lock and pushed the button on my key that opened the roof.
“Hey Scar. Cami’s?” I asked, racing out of the parking lot and onto the street. She nodded as I spend down the avenue.
I told her about my theory that if we looked older, older guys would want us. She agreed as I turned into the parking lot of Curls, Cami’s hair salon that was right by the mall.
“Hey Laila.” We waved at the receptionist, our bright blue nail polish shimmering in the dim light.
“Hi girls! The usual?” She greeted us sweetly, her wild red hair moving along with her body.
“Yes.” Scarlet started.
“Please.” I finished her sentence.
“Cami! The color girls are here!” Laila called towards the back. “I’ll go get the dye ready.” She left us alone by the front desk, knowing we would help ourselves to the diet cokes in the mini fridge.
“’Kay, so after we get our hair done I think we should head into Forever 21 or Wet Seal to check out the dresses for Friday. Carson said the football team was coming too, so we need to look good. Then, after we find the perfect dresses and shoes, we’ll head to my house for homework.” I informed Scarlett of my plans for the rest of the day as Cami and Sera worked on our hair.
I had my bangs trimmed, my layers relayered and my streaks redone. Scarlett had two inches cut off of her wavy locks along with getting her streaks re colored. Over all, we both looked amazing.
We ended up buying our dresses at H&M. Mine was black and strapless while Scarlett’s was a tight blue one. We chatted through out the trip about boys we liked, girls we didn’t, and the fact that summer was just around the corner.