“Is it okay if I see her now, Ms. Jones?”
That voice... it was familiar. I rubbed my eyes, careful not to touch the IV needles in my hands, and was met with a squeal.
“Lacey! You’re awake, bitch! You scared the shit out of us, you idiot!”
Well, that was a greeting. I blinked rapidly, my mind a whirlwind of confusion. The two girls standing over me were stunning.
I mean, they had perfect hair, flawless makeup, the latest fashion... even their nails were perfectly manicured. Why were they in my room, calling me names and looking worried?
“Um, hey…” I mumbled.
“Can I have some water?”
My throat felt like sandpaper. I downed the entire cup the blonde girl handed me and sighed with relief. It was a fleeting feeling, but it was nice.
“God, Lacey, I hope you haven’t seen yourself or you’d have passed out again!” the brunette girl exclaimed.
“Shut up, Mel!” The blonde girl elbowed her.
“What?” I asked. “What’s wrong?”
Did they shave my head?
Did I lose a limb in the accident?
“Tell her, Claire!” Mel nudged the blonde girl.
“You just…you don’t have any makeup on and your hair looks like a bird’s nest,” Claire whispered like she was saying a curse word.
I almost laughed but she looked dead serious. Wow, this seemed really important. Should I act concerned? Sad? I had no idea!
“But being the best friends we are, we brought you a makeup bag with all the essentials and Mel is going to fix your hair so you feel like yourself again!” Claire finished with a bright smile.
Okay. So these two perfect-looking girls were my best friends? Again—wow. What had happened?
I didn’t know if I should tell them about my memory gaps or that my parents, who felt like strangers, seemed to think I was eighteen when I was pretty sure I was only sixteen.
“Thanks, guys, that’s…awesome,” I said, forcing a smile.
Claire looked at me, her eyes wide, then turned to Mel, who looked equally shocked.
“What?” I asked, trying not to sound too rude.
“Nothing. You just seem…different,” Mel said. “I mean, I guess a two-month coma can do that to someone…”
I tried to laugh, but it came out forced and my throat was still sore.
“Anyway, makeup time, babe!” Claire cheered, trying to lighten the mood. “We’re going to make you look fabulous for Derek!”
This Derek again. Who was he? Why didn’t I have any memory of him?
I guessed he must be a crush since my two best friends thought it was important for me to look “fabulous” for him. I wanted to ask them, but something in my gut told me it wouldn’t be a good idea.
So I kept quiet and played along, pretending to be excited about a makeover when all I wanted was to hear from the doctor about my condition and answers to the other thousand questions swirling in my head.
“Naked 1, 2, or 3?” Claire asked, rummaging through a makeup bag.
I had no idea what she was talking about. Naked? Why would I want that? She looked up, waiting for an answer.
“Pick whichever one you like, I’ll let you be in control,” I said, hoping that was the right answer.
Apparently not, because she looked at me with wide eyes, then back at Mel, who was biting her lip.
What now? What did I say? Claire forced a smile and pulled out a small palette from the makeup bag. It read “Naked 1.” Oh! I felt like such an idiot. I wanted to smack myself.
“Good choice,” I said, forcing a smile.
She returned a fake smile of her own and—God, this was awkward.
“Man, you look like you came back from the dead!” Mel exclaimed as Claire was cleaning my face with a wipe.
“Yeah, being in a coma would do that to someone,” I replied, using her own joke against her.
She smiled—a genuine one this time—and sat next to me.
She started to comb my hair and I couldn’t help the little yelps escaping my lips when she pulled at the knots that had formed over the past two months. This went on for an hour and a half.
Claire was focused on the makeup while Mel was working hard to make my “bird’s nest” presentable.
During this time, they chatted about people I didn’t know, or about Derek, though I finally got an answer when Claire exclaimed, “God, you guys are such a cute couple!”
So…this Derek guy was my boyfriend.
That was…new. I had only had one boyfriend in my sixteen years of life and that was Joshua, but it didn’t last. We didn’t have anything in common and we broke up after a month.
“Okay, result time!” Mel exclaimed.
“You look like your old self babe, a.k.a. fantabulous!” Claire added, clapping her hands with excitement.
Claire pulled out a mirror from the makeup bag and counted to three ceremonially before holding it up to my face.
And so I screamed.
