The clock turned twelve as Olivia pulled into their driveway, just in time to get ready for the day. She tried not to drive too fast, considering she had no glasses to help her see the road. Luckily it was bright enough for her to see the stop signs and people crossing the street, and the fact that she's lived here for forever helped her remember which roads to take. Olivia knew New Orleans like the back of her hand.
When she walked into the house, her mother and Myra were both seated at the kitchen table eating a late breakfast.
"And where did you go? I see you're finally wearing that new shirt I bought you last month." Emily was delighted to see that Olivia was actually wearing something she bought for her.
"I woke up and you just vanished! We were so worried." Myra took a sip of her orange juice, holding in her giggles.
Olivia rolled her eyes in a playful way, "I went over to the animal shelter this morning to help set up. It looks great." The corners of Olivia's lips began to curl up. Emily noticed Olivia's broken glasses being held in the palm of Olivia's hands.
"What happened to you glasses?" She questioned.
"They broke at the shelter. I was showing this little girl Coco, and Coco being all excited as always, jumped on me. Then boom. Broken glasses." Olivia placed the glasses on the counter as Myra and Emily examined them. They were in pretty bad shape.
"It's okay, I'll figure something out." Emily batted her eyes at Olivia, causing her to become suspicious.
"You're not going to make me wear my old ones, are you?"
Emily began to laugh, "No, honey, are you kidding? Those are hideous!" Myra joined in on the laughter, remembering the old days when Olivia had to wear the worst glasses in the world.
"Hey! It's not funny!" Olivia replied as she began to realize how horrifying her old frames made her look.
After their little laugh-fest, they cleaned up the kitchen before remembering they had the whole day planned out just for Olivia.
"Go ahead and get ready, Olivia. We've got a big day ahead of us!" The two girls shooed Olivia upstairs, excited about how much surprises were in store for her.
Berea Orthodontics was usually packed on the weekends, but today, it looked like an abandoned building that needed some landscaping done. Dr. Berea had been Olivia's orthodontist since she first began getting checkups at the dentist, up until today. Olivia still didn't know whether or not she'd have her braces removed today, or if she'd be stuck with them for another month or two, maybe five months more.
"I can't believe you put tape on my glasses. If this was your way of 'figuring something out', you didn't do a good job, mom!" Olivia exclaimed, picking at the center of her frames.
She sat in the lobby, waiting for her name to be called. The last time she saw her teeth brace-free was when she was fourteen. Almost four years had passed, and she was still stuck with them after all this time. It was annoying, but at the same time, she knew they'd be worth it. Her teeth were horrible before braces came into play, but all she wanted was to get them off.
"Olivia?" Dr. Berea stuck his head out of the door that led back to the operatory. She followed him to the same room they've worked on her teeth for the past few years and took a seat in the dental chair. He looked at her teeth like usual, and thought for a bit. After some talking with the nurses, he sighed and looked over at Olivia. She didn't like the look on his face, and was hoping not to hear the same words she's heard the last month when she came in for her monthly checkup.
"I think one more month will do." Olivia hated hearing those words, especially since it's been forever since she got them on. Just then, Dr. Berea and his lovely dental assistant began to put on their gloves. She was excited, but at the same time terrified. Why terrified? Dr. Berea pulled out these ginormous looking tweezers that looked like they could kill a man.
Emily and Myra sat in the waiting room for over thirty minutes, anticipating the moment that Olivia would walk through the same door she entered. It felt like they had been sitting there for hours, just waiting for Olivia to be done with her appointment.
"So how's Olivia doing with school? I know senior year is the best by far." Myra asked, setting down the latest edition of Orthodontist Today Magazine.
"She's doing well, I assume. I know she's participating in an art scholarship that she was offered a few days ago, but she's also been having some trouble with this boy at school. The same boy who's been on her case about her appearance since they started high school." Emily replied.
"Really? Should I have a talk with this boy?" Myra lowered her brows, laughing at the same time.
"Actually, I think he likes Olivia, but she told me that would never happen in a billion years. I don't believe her."
"Oh." Myra relaxed her face, "She shouldn't worry about it then."
"Right? I've been telling her the same thing—"As they were conversing, the door that led to the operatory flung open, and Olivia stood there with her huge smile on her face. Her teeth weren't showing though, which made them even antsier.
"They're off?" The two said in unison, waiting for Olivia to reply.
She stood there, nodding with excitement. They were confused as to why she didn't want to open her mouth and just show them how well they worked out for her.
"Well?!" Myra said with her hands in the air.
That's when Olivia smiled, teeth as bright as diamonds. Finally, after four long awaited years, she was free from those braces. They really did wonders.
"So… how do I look?" Olivia asked, still smiling like an idiot.
Emily had her hands over her mouth, in shock at how much more beautiful her daughter looked without braces. "You look amazing!" Emily walked over to her, giving her a big motherly hug. Myra felt left out so she joined in as well.
Olivia giggled, "Wow, I never thought getting my braces off would be so emotional!" She looked at her mom who seemed to be wiping away tears from her eyes.
"I'm not crying…" They all laughed as they headed outside towards the car. "Ah, alright! Off to our next surprise!" Emily said, starting the engine.
Olivia was a little confused as to where they were at. It was all the way on the other side of town, somewhere she's never set foot in before. On the building were the words "Eye Surgery Center of Louisiana", and the only words Olivia saw were SURGERY. This kind of surprise isn't what she was really hoping for.
"I'm getting eye surgery?" Olivia could feel the lump in her throat.
"What?" Emily turned to her, confused as to why she would ask such a thing. Once Olivia pointed out they were parked outside of Eye Surgery center. "Oh. Are you crazy? What kind of surprise would that be?"
"A sucky one, that's for sure." Olivia laughed. "So what's the surprise then?"
"It's the building on the other side." The three of them exited the car and walked around the building. "You're going to love this surprise."
Pictures of eyes and pictures of people wearing glasses filled the room. Olivia was still suspicious, considering the room had to do eyeballs
"…are you sure I'm not getting eye surgery?" She questioned, walking slowly.
"Relax, Liv. You are not getting surgery." Emily handed Olivia a brochure from the front desk, and as she opened it, her jaw dropped.
"Contacts? Really!?" She remembered when she had begged for contacts the first time, back when she was a sophomore, and her mom would always come up with the same excuse.
"You're pretty with glasses, Olivia, why would you want contacts?" Every single time.
"Yes, I'm serious this time!" Emily replied.
Olivia squealed with joy as they waited in the lobby for her name to be called. She wouldn't need her glasses to see anymore, and she wouldn't look like a total nerd. Not that she didn't mind her appearance, but now that her braces were off, she'd actually look and feel like her true self.
Belleview Mall was crammed with so many people on the weekends, and today wasn't any different. While trying to find a parking spot, Olivia began to wonder what else they had in store for her. As they walked around the mall, Olivia tried to let her eyes adjust to the new contacts. They felt a bit uncomfortable, but she knew she'd get used to it. She's been practically hoping for them for years now.
"Where are we headed now?" Olivia said with wide eyes, blinking to let the contacts settle in. Everything seemed a lot clearer now, and every time she walked past a mirror or could see her reflection in a window, she felt like she was looking at a completely different person.
"We're almost there." Myra was arm in arm with Olivia, leading her to their destination.
After what seemed to be a mile of walking, Myra stopped in front of her favorite store, and the place were almost every girl shopped, Forever 21.
"Tada! The land of the cutest clothes and accessories—trust me, you'll love me for this…" Myra reached into her bag and pulled out a card, handing it over to Olivia.
"And what do you want me to do?" Olivia questioned, a small smile crept over her face.
"Shop till you drop! Have you ever shopped here?" Myra raised an eyebrow at her.
"I mean, I have but only to buy formal dresses and stuff—"
"Well, this time, you're buying anything you want!" Myra said with a cheesy smirk.
"No no no… I can't, this is your money! I have my own money, I can just buy s—"
"I insist."
"Myra! No!" Olivia denied the sweet gesture, but she felt that it was a little too much. "I can't just take your money like that." She shook her head.
"Yes you can!" She held Olivia by the shoulders, "It's a gift card I won and I wanted to give it to you. No offense, I love you and all, but you could use a little tweaking in your wardrobe."
Olivia tried not to laugh, "Ouch, that hurts my feelings."
"Seriously though, I want you to splurge on anything and everything!"
"Anything?" Olivia questioned. There was no way this card had so much money on it.
"Okay, five hundred dollars worth, but you can buy so much with it!" Myra responded.
"I would take it if I were you, honey." Emily piped in. "Just saying."
Olivia could not believe how generous her best friend was, and what a total surprise this day was. It was probably one of the best days of her life, with two of her favorite people.
Giving in was the last thing Olivia thought she would do, but once they heard her sigh, they knew she was willing to take the card.
"Alright… but I'm only doing this because you insulted my choice of clothing and I don't want to look like a fool anymore in the clothes I already do own. So thank you for the lovely insult, I will gladly spend your money."
Myra clapped her hands with excitement, "Let's get started!"
Dressing rooms were never fun, but today, Olivia was having a blast trying on all these gorgeous blouses and nice jeans. She was so used to neutral colors that she didn't even know that her closet was only filled with dark colors. She chose a few clothes that were black or gray, but with the help of her mother and her best friend, they made sure she didn't go crazy with only those two colors. The store was filled with bright vibrant colors, but also had some soft pastels, which Olivia liked best. She never knew those types of clothing would look that nice on her, and to think of it, if she had still had her glasses and braces on, she would feel that they looked weird on her. Maybe the whole appearance change was a good thing? No, it was great. Although she never had a problem with the way she looked, Olivia knew others did. Noah and his crew where Exhibit A, and they always criticized her for it. This whole shopping spree would soon change their minds, and they'd probably leave her alone for good.
"This is so heavy, I can barely even carry it!" Olivia propped the bag onto the checkout counter. Shopping had never been this thrilling before in her entire life.
"But are the clothes cute?" Myra asked, quickly answering her own question. "Yes, yes they are."
"Thank you, Myra, you are truly the best person in the entire world." The checkout employee bagged everything and slid it over to Olivia.
"Your total is going to be four hundred ninety-seven dollars and thirty-two cents."
"Oh wow, just enough." Myra chuckled.
Once they paid for their clothes, they headed out of Forever 21 and back into the chaotic mall, Olivia finally let out a huge sigh of relief.
"What an amazing day, guys! I can't thank the both of you enough for all that you've two have done for me today."
Emily hugged her, along with Myra, "You deserve it, Olivia. With the art scholarship and it being your last year in high school, this was all hard-earned and you did that. I'm proud of you." Emily smiled at her daughter. Myra tried to hold back what looked like tears about to fall down her face.
"Aw, I'm proud of you too!" Myra hugged the both of them again, wiping away her tears. "Okay, Myra, don't get too emotional, this is a happy moment!" She said to herself.
"And I'm sure your father is proud of you too." Emily smiled.
"I'm sure he is…" Olivia took in a deep breath, remembering her father. "Just wait till I get to Yale, he'll be beyond proud."
They began to walk to the exit when Myra stopped them in their tracks.
"Hold on! I have one more surprise for you."
"Oh gosh, what now…" Olivia closed her tired eyes for a bit.
"I set up a hair appointment for all of us…" Myra shrugged, knowing they'd love her for it.
Today was going well so far, and Olivia couldn't wait for this surprise to be over with so that she could go home and rest!