The Dance

"Haruka's coming to the party tonight! Haruka's gonna be here!" Rei yelled, running through the house frantically. "Naoko??? Can you make me look nice?? Mom said I could go to this dinner!!" She screamed, running to the maid's room.
Naoko was standing in the doorway, holding a bottle of shampoo. "You have to take a bath first, Rei-chan..."
"What?! A BATH?!" She groaned. "I guess, i'll do anything for Haruka..."
Naoko grinned. "This is going to bring me a lot of satisfaction, you know..." She told her, leading her to the bathroom.
Rei frowned. "Will I look nice?" She asked, looking hopeful.
"Of course you will!" Naoko answered, smiling. "You'll be so beautiful and charming no man will be able to resist you...but if any of them get fresh with you, you put them in their place, hear me? Just remind him gently..." she said, raising her hand, closing her eyes, and reciting from memory, "Remember, So-and-so-sama, remember.....i'm a lady!"
Rei smiled, imitating Naoko perfectly. "Remember, T'enoh-sama, remember....i'm a lady."
Naoko nodded. "You've got it!"
Rei undressed quickly, not a bit embarrassed. She turned on the water and jumped in the tub. She ducked under the rapidly filling water, wetting her hair, and resurfaced. Naoko went to work on her rat's nest, trying to untangle it.
"Ow, that hurts.." she said, making faces.
"Well, maybe you'll take my advice when I tell you to brush your hair twice a day, huh? It's too long to brush it once a day!" She said, shutting the faucet off.
"Yeah, yeah..." she said, picking up the soap and washing the rest of her body.
Naoko grimaced, picking a clump of dirt our of her hair. She dumped more shampoo on the girl's head. Now that all the knots were out, she went to work on cleaning it.
"Naoko, do you think that Haruka likes me?"
"Of course he does! He would do anything for you, but you can't see it yet. When you get older, you'll understand..."
"How old?" She asked, eyes glued in intrest.
"Hmmm....Sweet 16?"
"But that's four years away!" She whined.
"I know, I know...but it'll be well worth the wait, won't it?" Naoko said, smiling.
"It had better be." Rei grumbled. She ducked under the water a few times, washing the soap out of her hair.
Naoko combed some conditioner through Rei's long blue hair with her fingers. "It will, it will, just be patient, Rei-chan..." she said, bending down to her ear. "And, be patient so you can be fresh with Haruka later..." she said, amused.
Rei made a face. "Whaddya mean?"
Naoko laughed. "Nevermind, nevermind..." she answered, pushing Rei gently underwater again.
Rei spit some soapy water out of her mouth, wiping her eyes. She stood up and stepped out of the bathtub, groping for a towel and dripping water everywhere. Naoko wrapped one around her quickly, rubbing her shoulders. "Let's get you dressed quick, you wouldn't want to catch cold tonight!"
Rei ran out of the bathroom and leaned over the rail. Several of the guests had already arrived, and stared at her. A murmur erupted among them.
"Surely, a young lady of her age and money running around in a bath towel?" one of the louder women said. "Shameful!"
Rei frowned, and ran to her room. Naoko was already there and pulled out a chair for her. "Now sit here, so I can brush out your hair." She walked to a closet, taking out a set of curlers and a brush. She walked back, immediatley going to work on her hair again.
As usual, Rei grimaced. Naoko watched her in the mirror. "Why are you making a face? There's not even any tangles in here..."
"Yeah, I know, I just like to complain sometimes..."
"Hrmph. I guessed as much." She started to add curlers to her blue hair.
Rei looked out the window. "Haruka isn't here yet, I don't think.....is he coming with his father?"
"I'm not sure, but most likely he is." Naoko's hands moved quickly, and now almost half of Rei's hair was in the curlers.
Rei squirmed uncomfortably, looking at her reflection in the mirror. "Why do I have red eyes? I've never seen any other human with red eyes. Or blue hair."
"I don't know, but I think red eyes are pretty. They look like rainbow gems from Gallinoire." She answered, moving to the closet again. She picked up a small hair dryer, and started to dry her hair.
"A-am I ugly?" Rei stuttered. "Because the people at school say that only freaks have red eyes and blue hair and mom does too so I think they're right..." she rambled.
"Rei," she said, bending over her, "You aren't a freak. I don't know what the people at school or your mother say to you, but I know you and you aren't a freak. And Haruka doesn't think you're a freak either!" she added. She leaned over to the bed, picking up Rei's dress. It was a champange color, made out of a silk-like fabric, and loose fitting. It was sleeveless, with small straps.
"Time for your dress!"
Rei stood up, shrugging off the towel and putting her bra on. She took the dress, pulling it in place over her head.
"Now for a little makeup."
Rei sat back down in the chair and looked out the window again. Naoko bent down in front of her, trying to put some blush on her cheeks. Rei moved from side to side, trying to look over her shoulders. "I can't see if Haruka is here or not..."
Naoko laughed. "He'll be here! So sit still, ok?"
Rei nodded. Naoko reached for the eyeshadow, trying to figure out which shade to use. Rei sighed, closing her eyes.
Naoko grabbed a shimmery white shade. "This'll bring out your eyes," she said, applying it to her eyelids. She smiled a little. She grabbed a small tube of lip gloss, and squeezed a small amount on her finger. She wiped it on Rei's lips. "Ok honey, smack your lips together and we're almost done!"
Rei obeyed, smacking her lips with a smile on them. She opened her eyes. "We done yet?"
"Nope," she replied, taking the curlers out of her hair. Rei started to help her, taking them out of one side. Naoko grabbed a can of hairspray while Rei finished.
She ran her fingers through the girl's long hair. She sprayed a little here and there, and grinned in satisfaction, admiring her work. "Ok, i'm done! You can stand up now and see yourself."
Rei stood up. She started at herself in the mirror. She looked at Naoko, unsure. "I look nice?"
She nodded. "Yup!"
Rei ran to the door. "Maybe I can dance with Haruka now!!" she said happily, running down the hall.
Naoko smacked her forehead. "You don't have on any shoes! Shoes!!!" she yelled down the hallway.
Rei ran back. "Oops...hurry hurry!" She yelled, sitting on the floor.
Naoko hurried to the closet, trying to find a pair of shoes. She grabbed a pair, and threw them at Rei. "Put those on!"
Rei pulled them on quickly. They were basically a pair of champagne colored ballet slippers, used a few times but not dirtied. She stood up again, and ran out the door. "Thanks Naoko!" she yelled back. She reached the stairway and slowed down. She could feel her stomach turning with nervousness. All of the guests had arrived, that she could tell because the doors were closed. The guests moved around slowly, mingling with each other. Her mother moved from group to group, greeting them polietly and turning on the charm. Rei resisted the urge to gag. She knew her mother hated these people, but she acted this way to get their money and support in the next senatorial election.
But she soon forgot about it as she spotted Haruka. He looked very handsome, his short, blond hair slicked back, wearing an expensive suit. He looked extremely bored, and was watching the staircase for her. He leaned against the wall, barely noticing the aristocrats who were greeting him.
She walked down the stairs quickly, preying she didn't fall. She reached the bottom and resisted her impulse to kiss the floor. Her heart leaped in her throat as a pretty black-haired girl approached him, and held her hand out to him. But he apologized politely, telling her he was waiting for someone. She walked away, looking quite dejected.
He moved to the stairway, and held his hand out for her. She took it, and leaned close to him. "This is wierd..." she whispered in his ear.
"Yeah, I know," he said, nodding. "Just act like you're the Queen of the World, make wierd squeeking sounds when you laugh and you'll fit right in..."
An ornately dressed woman approached them, smiling gently. "Greetings, T'enoh-sama," she said, and then turned to Rei. "Hello, Lady Nova! You look extremely beautiful tonight."
Rei faked a smile. "E-hee-hee-e!" she forced, sounding like some type of Corellian farm creature. "Thank you, miss, I do try!"
The woman smiled broadly, nodding and moving away. "E-hee-hee-e!" Haruka said, grinning and trying not to laugh. Rei frowned. "Well, at least she liked it." he said, trying to make her feel better.
A small waiter-droid moved over to them, offering them some wine. Haruka and Rei both shook their heads, and it moved away quickly to the next guest.
Haruka took her hand again as the musicians started to play a classical dancing piece. "May I have this dance?"
"Umm..." she said, trying not to sound stupid. "I don't know how to dance..."
"It's easy, i'll show you!" he said, putting his hand on her shoulder and beginning to dance. She turned rigidly, stepping on his foot. "Sorry, sorry sorry sorry!" she whispered.
He smiled. "Don't worry, it didn't hurt."
She followed his lead, watching the other people dancing, and trying to imitate their various styles. She stepped on his foot again, and he winced a little, but quickly regained his composure. She frowned, getting sick of this already. "I'm not good at this, can we do something else?"
"Sure," he said, stopping and taking her arm. "Where to?"
"How about the balcony? It's nice out tonight," she said, leading him up the stairs. They walked down the long carpeted hall, arm in arm. They sat down on the balcony, which was located at the end of the hallway. Rei leaned on his shoulder and yawned. "I don't think I like parties."
He laughed. "Boring, huh?"
She nodded. "Really!"
He looked down and almost had a heart attack seeing her on his shoulder. He coughed, breaking the sudden silence.
"Haruka? What's the matter?" she asked innocently. "You're all pale..."
"I-it's nothing," he stammered.
"Alright..." she said, still watching him.
He laughed. "I'm fine!"
She looked up in the sky. The quick blur of a ship passed overhead. "Have you ever been to Courscant?" she asked, looking at him again. "I always wondered what it was like."
"Yeah, a few times," he answered. "But I like Hapes much better. Courscant is too busy. You don't have any privacy, and there's tons of crime. Hapes may be predjudiced and vain, but at least we have some privacy and safety here...Rei?" he asked, looking down at her. She was sound asleep.