Ally’s overgrown blonde bangs waved before her eyes as she trudged down the hall to her dorm room.

 

”Ugh, I need a haircut - but who has the time?” She mused to herself as she approached her suite.

 

Sweating from the exertion of lugging her collection of books up the stairs, Ally noticed a small group of cheerleaders coming from the opposite direction. As they approached, she saw one of them make brief eye contact.

 

 

Ally put on her bravest smile as the group approached her. In the moment she inhaled before beginning to speak, she heard, albeit barely, one of them mutter the word “mouse” before the group burst out in mocking laughter.

 

Ally let out a long, exasperated sigh before continuing.

 

”I’ll have the last laugh. Just wait and see, Ally…”

 

Turning the key in the deadbolt, she opened the door to her neat, immaculate room: the bed perfectly made; the floor recently swept; and her textbooks lined up on the shelves over her desk, organized by subject, then by title.

 

Ally rubbed her sore shoulder as she put her books of the day away, ensuring her Abnormal Psychology book was to the left of her Cognitive Psychology book.

 

She took a step back and allowed herself a brief smile for the small amount of order she was able to bring to her life. The moment was short lived, however, when she heard Selena Gomez singing Cruella De Vil through the speaker of her phone.

 

Ally felt the pains in her chest grow stronger as she let out a big sigh, picked up her phone, and slid her finger across the screen.

 

”Hello, mother,” she said, straining her voice to sound as polite as possible.

 

“Dearie, save the obsequiousness for your professors. Don’t waste it on me. Plus, can’t you call me mom?” Alicia asked in response.

 

Ally heard her father yelling in the background.

 

”Who the fuck are you talking to now, woman? We have to leave in ten minutes!”

 

Ally heard Alicia’s voice a little more distantly as Alicia yelled, ”Darr - Darryl! I’m talking to Ally."

 

"I don't care, we're gonna be late! Get a move on!!"

"Those stuffed shirts can live without you for five minutes, Darryl."

 

"Fine!", Ally heard Darryl scream before the sound of a plate shattering against the wall.

 

The telltale sound of the plate left Ally reeling as she remembered another of their fights...

 

 

"If only I could just turn off those voices," she thought...

 

 

 

Alicia silenced herself a moment. "Darryl, we will leave soon, now just... relax..."

 

Alicia sighed before moving on.

 

“I’m just calling to tell you that we haven’t paid your tuition bill quite yet, but it will be done in just a few days.”

 

The pain in Ally’s chest grew threefold.

 

”… Mother, it’s already late. They’re threatening to kick me out of here, and - “

 

”Ally, you’re my daughter. What kind of mother would I be if I let that happen?”

 

”Hardly reassuring…” Ally mused to herself as she heard the sound of a car honking through her phone.

 

“Oh, the car is here. Gotta run. Toodles. Darryl, I said to relax...” Alicia yelled into the house before hanging up.

 

Ally dropped the phone on the floor, forgotten, before sitting down on the floor, back to the wall. As she hugged her knees, she tried - and failed - not to cry...

 

 

 

 

Maggie knocked on Ally's door three times.

 

"Ally? We were supposed to meet up an hour ago, you ok?"

 

No response.

 

"Ally...?" Maggie tried the door and discovered it unlocked. Tentatively, she opened the door and poked her head in.

 

Maggie entered the room and looked around for a moment before discovering her friend huddled in the corner.

 

"A-Ally...?" Maggie says carefully, before walking over and sitting down next to her friend. Maggie pushed Ally's hair out of her face, gave some light petting to calm her down, and gave Ally a bottle of water from her pack.

 

"Thanks," Ally said as she gulped half the bottle at once.

 

"Ally, what's happened?" Maggie asked, voice almost a whisper.

 

"... I don't wanna talk about it," Ally responded. "Can we just get outta here?"

 

"Absolutely," Maggie said, trying to sound chipper in the face of... this.

 

"You know what cheers me up?" Maggie asked.

 

"Don't say it..." Ally groaned as she realized what her friend was about to say...

 

"Shopping!" Maggie screamed as she grabbed Ally's stash of grocery bags from the corner and half-led, half-dragged her friend to the mall.

 

 

 

Maggie pulled a highly reluctant Ally to every department store in the mall. The movement, bright lights, and highly treated/conditioned air helped Ally feel better, but tension in her shoulders and pains in her chest kept reminding her of her problems.

 

Ally caught a quick glimpse of herself in a reflective surface - there were no signs she'd been crying.

 

"Well, that's a start", she thought.

 

Ally checked out her usual clothing: button-down shirts, tees with her favourite bands, conservative jeans, but looking at all that, she just felt... nothing.

 

"So it's been a bust so far. No big," Maggie said as they side-stepped past a few obnoxious mall rats. "Let's get a coupla cheeseburgers and we can... Ally...?"

 

Maggie looked to her side to realize her friend wasn't there. Blushing for a moment at the realization she'd been talking to herself, she turned around to see Ally about 10 meters behind her, staring wide-eyed at a mannequin in a storefront window. The mannequin was modeling a stunning black leather jacket.

 

"Wow, that's amazing!" Maggie exclaimed as she saw what Ally was staring at. "And look at the boots!" She added, pointing to the black combat boots on the display next to the mannequin.

 

"Do you wanna go in?" Maggie asked.

 

"I... I suppose," Ally said, still reluctant.

 

They walked into the store to find it devoid of customers. There was only one employee present, who looked bored out of her mind playing a mindless game on her phone. She looked up when she heard the chime signalling Maggie and Ally's entrance.

 

"Hey! I'm Rona. Let me know if you're looking for anything, ok?"

 

"Actually, my friend, here, wants to try on the jacket and boots in the window," Maggie said.

 

Rona looked over at Ally, giving her the once-over to figure out her size.

 

"Sure! What size for the boots, hun?"

 

Ally told her, and Rona ran off to find something in her size.

 

"How do you feel?" Maggie asked.

 

"Honestly? Kinda... excited!" Ally responded, feeling a little better already.

 

While they waited, Ally and Maggie shopped around the store. Ally saw large pictures of models showing off the store's wares. Most of the models were dressed like bikers, but one particular photograph caught her eye. Ally stared in awe of a tall goth model in the picture, who just happened to be wearing the jacket she was about to try on...!

 

"Wow, she's hot," Maggie said under her breath.

 

"Yeah," Ally replied as Rona came back from the storeroom.

 

"Here we go! Let's try 'em on!" She beamed.

 

Ally sat down on the bench and unceremoniously removed her dusty white sneakers, revealing her plain jane white socks underneath. Looking at the massive boots before her, Ally glanced down at the floor as she asked, "Um... how do I put these on?"

 

Rona gave a soothing smile and said, "All good, hun - I'll show you."

 

Rona knelt in front of Ally and showed her how to put them on. For a brief moment, Ally felt a little rush, seeing someone on their knees in front of her.

 

"What the hell was that?"

 

Rona finished her work, leaving Ally sitting on the bench, wearing the boots. Ally shook a little as she stood up, but both Maggie and Rona were quick to grab an arm each, with Maggie steadying Ally with a hand on her shoulder. 

 

Ally gained her balance and realized she was standing about 5cm taller than before. She instinctively straightened her posture as she realized how much further she was off the ground. She looked at Maggie - who, incidentally, was now standing a few centimeters below her - and said, "how do I look?"

 

Maggie gaped at her friend for a moment, pupils dilated, before sputtering out, "you look... fantastic!"

 

Rona chimed in saying, "bup bup bup, save your comments for the end," as she held up the jacket. 

 

Ally held her arms out as Rona put the jacket over Ally's shoulders.

 

The transformation was instantaneous. A huge wave of confidence surged through Ally's body as she felt the leather encase her upper body. She turned to Maggie and Rona and asked, "what do you think?"

 

Neither of them said a word. They simply stared, slack jawed, at the newly transformed woman before them.

 

Ally turned to see her reflection in the full-length mirror off to the side. She, too, was rendered speechless by the sight before her. She stood tall, confident, just like those models in the pictures.

 

 

"Girl, you look bad-ass!" Maggie exclaimed, once the power of speech returned to her.

 

"Okay, I know I work here and all, but I have to say, you were born to wear this," Rona added. "You really need to buy this, and I promise I'm not just saying that to get a sale."

 

"I feel... seen... for the first time ever..."

 

Ally found herself beaming from ear to ear. "How much?"

 

Rona checked the prices and pulled out her phone to find the total.

 

"You're lookin' at... $700"

 

Ally's smile fell away as quickly as it came, hanging her head low.

 

"Oh..." 

 

Turning to Maggie, Ally said, "I only have $500 to spend today, and that's if I live on ramen for the rest of the month..."

 

Ally fought back a tear as she began to take the jacket off. Her voice broke for a second as she told Rona, "Sorry, I can't afford it."

 

Maggie firmly put her arm on Ally's, preventing her arm from moving further.

 

"Nuh uh, you clearly need this and I'm not letting you put it back," she said, firmly, as she handed Ally two hundred dollars in cash.

 

"Happy Birthday, Ally."

 

Rona shed a tear at the exchange and added, "oh em gee, you two are the sweetest." Turning to Ally, she said, "and your friend's right: I don't know you, but I can totally see that you do need this. I'm giving you my employee discount. I get 15% off here, so for you, it's $595."

 

Ally's new jacket squeaked as she clutched her friend in the biggest hug she'd ever given anyone. She didn't even let go to fish her card out of her purse. "Here, it's the green one," she said as she handed her purse to Rona.

 

 

 

 

Ally wore her new jacket and boots out of the store. It took her a bit of practice to walk properly in combat boots, but she got the hang of it before too long. She found her posture naturally straightening as she walked, almost strutted through the mall. Her blonde hair fell in waves over the leather, complementing the black of the leather. She noticed that she was receiving appreciative stares - from men and women alike - and she drank it all in, fueling the flames of her newfound confidence.

 

After they got their lunches, the pair sat down at a table and relaxed over cheeseburgers and fries.

 

"Thank you for taking me out today," Ally said, all smiles. "I really needed this."

 

"What are friends for?" Maggie said, grinning while taking a big bite of her cheeseburger.

 

"True."

 

A few seconds later, Ally's tension from her shoulders faded away.

 

"It's been... hard... for me. For a while, now..."

 

Maggie listened, without pity, while Ally opened up about what growing up in her childhood home was like: her parents' screaming matches, throwing plates and breaking stuff; her mother's toxicity, poisoning every conversation; hiding in her closet, hoping the voices and noises will just go away...

 

"... so that's what I've been going through. Also, why I work so hard for psych classes. If I can help even a few people live healthier lives, they won't have to deal with what I had to."

 

Maggie nodded and leaned across the table to give Ally a big hug.

 

"Well, you don't have to worry about that shit now, and you def don't have to hide anymore. You're outta there, sporting a whole new look, and oh my god people have been checking you out like crazy! ... You're gonna make it, Ally. You'll graduate, get your training, then when you're rich and successful, you can buy all the therapy you need," Maggie added, playfully throwing a french fry at Ally, hitting right between her eyes.

 

The friends chuckled for a moment before continuing their lunch. As they ate, though, Ally's thoughts kept returning to the goth model in the picture on the shop wall...

 

"Can we make one more stop before head out? I think I need a little more to go with this."

 

"Yeah, girl! Let's go!" Maggie replied, rushing after Ally, heading for the drug store.

 

 

 

Ally stood in front of her bathroom mirror, her hair freshly dyed raven black. She'd spent the rest of her day back at her dorm room with Maggie, experimenting with different techniques and scouring YouTube tutorials. By night's end, they found the most eye-catching, captivating look she could make. She went with a pale look, with copious amounts of eyeliner to accentuate her eyes. Black lipstick completed the look, creating a woman she didn't even recognize when she looked in the mirror.

 

"Maybe I should get my nose pierced," she thought to herself idly.

 

After hours more of Maggie helping her practice her confident stare, they said good night. Ally took a long, hot, luxurious shower, and went to sleep, feeling better than she had in years...