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6. Magic and Makeup

Cora

I couldn't believe I got asked out. I had never been on a date, and Jax was the most attractive man I had ever seen. I had no idea what he saw in me. I was not tiny like other girls. I was awkward and weird. I looked like crap when he answered the door. I was so excited I couldn't stand it. I couldn't believe it. I ran up the stairs to Marina's room.

I wanted to tell someone about what happened, and I had no one else. Not to mention, I wanted to talk to her about the whole witch thing. I knocked on her door. After a minute, she answered the door. "Hey, Cora." She looked so put together. Her hair and makeup were so perfect. Her clothes, like last night, were put together. She seriously could be a model. "Do you want to come in?" I nodded and came into her room.

The room was ultra-modern. Her walls were painted black. Her bedspread was a plush black with a few burnt orange throw pillows. Then she had some interesting pictures on the wall. Some of them had a skull, and others were drawings of plants. Then I looked at her dark wooden dresser. I noticed there were several items on it. Some looked downright creepy. Then I noticed a tank by the window. I got closer to get a better look. It was a snake.

"That is Haima. He is a boa." "Oh," I shivered. I never liked snakes. They creeped me out. The way they swallowed their prey whole. She smiled at the tank. "I have had him for a long time. He is the best." "I didn't know we could have pets?" "Oh well, when I asked, they said a snake was fine. I guess since they don't have accidents on the floor like cats or dogs would. I personally hate dogs." "I don't mind them." "Anyways, you wanted to talk to me?" "Yeah, I um, just, well, I don't have anyone else to talk to about anything, and well, you said we were friends." "We are friends, Cora."

I gave her a smile. I wanted to talk to someone, but maybe the whole witch thing would be weird. I figured I would start with the Jax and see how that went. "The guy from last night." "The one you eye fucked all night?" "Um, yeah, I guess." "Okay, what about him." "He owns the house, and he came by to check out the stairs since Sierra fell down them. But anyways, he asked me out." Marina squealed, and I laughed. So this is what it was like to have friends. "I am guessing you said yes." I just nodded.

"So what are you going to wear? When is he picking you up? Where are you going?" "I don't know any of that." "Well, I would love to help you get ready." I smiled. "Yeah?" "For sure, like I told you yesterday. You are a good person, and we were destined to be friends." I couldn't help but smile. I sat there on her bed. "Okay, come on, I know you want to tell me something else." I took a deep breath. "I am a witch." Marina smiled. "I know." "What do you mean you know?" "I mean, I felt it last night." My face fell.

"No, I knew what happened with Sierra was an accident. I don't think anything about it. I spent all night with you, remember. I knew you didn't mean for her to get hurt." "Yeah, well, I am new to all of this." "Really? But no offense, you are a bit old to just now be discovering things." I looked around nervously. "Yeah, my mom didn't really like magic."

I didn't know if that was true. But it had to be something like that because she never told me anything about it. Nor had I ever seen her use any. "So how did you find out? Or did you just put it together like was it a lot of small things, and you just did a search on the internet, and it clicked?" I lied through my teeth, hoping she didn't notice. "Yeah, it kind of just came together." That wasn't a complete lie, just a half-truth. She didn't seem to notice anything was off. "So you know what I told you to say this morning to stop the hangover." "Yeah." "Well, that was a spell." "I thought it may be." She smiled at me.

"So, do you need a teacher? I could teach you some things? You know what I practice." I paused for a long moment. I had not expected her to offer. I knew I was already being taught by the goddess herself. But knowing what Marina knew wouldn't be so bad, right. I could learn from both of them. Hecate had told me not to tell anyone but my mate. I was learning from her and not killing anyone. So, learning from Marina would be okay with her rules. I could learn from both. "Yeah, I would like that."

She smiled. "Well, first, we should start with something fun." "Fun?" "Yeah, let's see. Do you think it takes a long time to get put together, like your nails, waxing, makeup, that kind of thing?" "Yeah, it takes some time." "Okay," she held up her hands before her face. Her nails changed to bright blue before my eyes. Then she moved her hands to reveal a fresh face with no makeup. Then she moved her hands back up, covered her face, and removed them again to reveal her perfect makeup. "How did you do that?"

She laughed. "Easy, envision yourself how you want to be, and it will happen." "Can it work with weight?" "No, unfortunately. You can't change your appearance, just what is on your skin." "Okay, so what do I do?" "Okay, so think about your skin. How you want it to work and envision it. Then you want to say, 'Make it so.' You can say it in your head." I looked down at my fingers, pictured them light blue, and said the words in my head. Then, they changed before my eyes. I was shocked. Marina laughed. I was so happy, and this was so cool. "Most magic is just about envisioning things and exerting your will to make it so."

I laughed. This was the coolest thing to ever happen to me. I couldn't believe it. Marina was smiling just like I was. "It is not just with cosmetics either. You can do it with clothes. If it is on your skin, you can change it. That is the rule. You can't change the insides, but you can change the outside." That made sense. We continued to joke and laugh. I played around with what Marina taught me. We also got to know each other even more.

Marina was so sweet and funny. Her childhood seemed like a dream to me. She had been taught magic from a young age. Not to mention, she had a super close family. We were sitting there having lunch at the table. "Have you ever thought of changing your hair red?" I looked down at my long white hair. "No, actually, I really love my hair." Since I discovered I was a direct descendant of Hecate and could see the resemblance between us, I liked my hair even more. My white hair was already something I loved about myself; I would not change it for anything.

We hung out most of the day. As dinner time approached, I knew I needed to get ready. I hoped in the shower, where I would usually shave. I did as Marina had taught me, and I envisioned my whole body except the hair on my head gone. I said, "Make it so." The hair vanished. I envisioned the skin being smooth as butter with no razor bumps or anything, and the skin changed. When I got out of the shower, I noticed my skin had never felt so smooth.

I laughed with glee. Then I looked at my face, focusing on my eyebrows. I always shaped my eyebrows by plucking them and filling them in, but with magic, they were perfect. Next was my makeup. I wanted it to look natural, but with a smoky eye, and in seconds, it was done. Next was my hair. I didn't blow dry it or anything; it was dry and pin-straight with no hair out of place. I scrubbed my teeth and went to my room to find something to wear. I must have tried on everything in my closet. Something needed to be looking right. I was so nervous. I had never been on a date. I didn't know what to wear. I wrapped up in my robe and ran to Marina's room. She opened the door. "I don't know what to wear. "Come in." I walked in, and she looked at me in my robe. She went to her closet and pulled out a little black dress. "That is not going to fit me."

"Trust me, it will." I felt embarrassed getting undressed with her watching me. I had never been naked in front of anyone since I was a child, and even then, it was only my mother or a doctor. Marina must have sensed my apprehension. "I will just turn around to give you some privacy."

"Thank you." I removed my robe and put on the dress. It was like she said it fit, and I was shocked. "Okay, you can look." She turned and faced me. "Holly, Shit, you look hot as hell." "Really?" "Oh yeah, this guy will not know what hit him. I am sure he is going to want to strip you out of it, but it needs something." Then, the dress turned powdered blue.

"There now, it is perfect. But you need shoes." Marina ran to her closet and gave me a pair of black heels that turned a lovely soft blue to match the dress. I put them on, adding a little height, which was nice. I only stood at 5'3 when I was flat-footed. "Now you look perfect. Why don't you look in the mirror." I turned and looked in the big floor mirror. I looked terrific, and I was honestly so surprised. I had never looked this good. I smiled, looking over at Marina. "You can keep the dress and shoes." "What?"

"Yeah, I have more than enough clothes. Plus, those look way better on you than me." I didn't know what to say. "Oh, come on, what are friends for. We are supposed to exchange clothes and makeup and stuff." "Thank you, Marina." I was suddenly so nervous. I had no idea what I was doing. What did I know about men, nothing? I never had brothers or guy friends. "What's wrong, Cora?" My face must have shown how nervous I was.

"Marina, I don't know how to do this. I have never dated anyone. I have never even been alone in a room with a man." "Really?" "Yeah, I don't know anything." "Well, dating is easy. You just talk about things. That part is easy. Then there is kissing." I felt weak in my knees. "What?" "Well, yeah, you usually kiss at the end of a date, and if it goes really well, you have sex." My mouth suddenly was dry. I knew about sex, not because of my mother but because I had sex education as part of my home school curriculum. I was so out of my depth here.

"You don't think he will want that from me, right?" "What sex?" I nodded. "I don't know. I mean, men always want sex, so maybe, but obviously, if you don't want to have sex, then don't." Okay, I could do this. I needed to calm down. "Take this too. You need a small purse with that outfit." It was a small clutch that she undoubtedly changed to match everything else. "Don't worry, Cora, I have a million bags. I won't miss a small clutch."

"Now you better go put your stuff in the clutch. He will be here any minute." I couldn't help it, but I hugged Marina. I was so lucky to have met someone like her. She was so friendly and giving; I was just so damn lucky. She hugged me back, and I rushed to my room to pack the clutch. Then I heard the doorbell ring. This was it. I took a few deep breaths and then walked down the stairs to the door.

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