“What does mine look like?” I ask. By the twinkle in her eyes, I know she already knows.
“You’ll see. They’re all designed to portray some aspect of your lives.”
The elevator doors open, and we step inside. “Great. Then mine will have pills all over it. My guy’s going to think I’m a druggie.”
Erin bursts out laughing. “That’s hilarious. It’s a good thing that’s not what’s on your egg.”
Thank God. Once off the elevator, Erin leads me through the hotel lobby and down a long hallway towards the meeting rooms. I can hear a lot of chatter from one of them and when Erin and I walk inside, my mouth drops. The room is filled with people. There are also separate changing stations for each contestant. Several of the women are already in their chairs getting their hair and makeup done.
Erin waves at two people at the back of the room, one is a guy who looks to be in his late twenties with long, dark hair pulled back in a low ponytail, and the other is a woman with very short, whitish-blonde hair with pink streaks.
“Who are they?” I ask.
Erin starts toward them and I follow her. “They’re only the best hair and makeup duo in the world. I made sure you got them.” She points at the guy. “Ricardo is amazing at hair,” then she points at the blonde, “and that little firecracker is Annabelle Krazinsky. She does make-up for all the high fashion models right now.”
“Wow,” I say, totally impressed. “They’re famous.”
She squeezes my arm. “You can thank me later.”
Erin quickly introduces everyone, and before I know it, I’m sitting in the chair getting my hair and makeup done. Ricardo runs his hands through my hair, and I watch him smile through the reflection in the mirror. “You have gorgeous hair, my dear,” he says, meeting my gaze. “I can do a lot with it.”
Annabelle stands in front of me and nods. “Same with your face. You have the perfect skin tone.”
“Thanks. I’m super nervous about being on the show. I’m only doing it for my sister. She signed me up.”
Annabelle dabs some foundation on my face and rubs it in. “Erin’s sweet. I’ve worked with her before on another show. When she said you were going to be on this one, I knew Ricardo and I needed to get you.”
“I appreciate that. If Erin says you’re the best, then I know you’re the best.” At least I’ll look good on TV.
When Ricardo and Annabelle are done with my hair and makeup, I almost don’t recognize myself. Ricardo pulled half of my hair up in an intricate braid with small tropical flowers throughout while the rest of my hair hangs down my shoulders in loose waves. The flowers match perfectly with the pink dress I’ve been appointed to wear.
Holding a clipboard in her hands, Erin freezes when she sees me and does a double take. “Allie, is that you?”
I roll my eyes. “Ha-ha.”
Giggling, she holds the clipboard to her chest. “Just kidding. You look amazing.” She taps her watch. “It’s time to go. You ready?”
All the other contestants in the room start heading toward the door. Taking a deep breath, I nod and follow Erin and the other women out. The resort lobby is wide open to where you can feel the breeze blowing through. We walk out the back to the pool area and then over to a large courtyard that’s surrounded by twinkling lights in the palm trees and tiki torches in the sand. A stage is in the middle of it all and surrounding it is the camera crew. Off to the side of the stage is a table with all the eggs on it.
“Here we go,” I mumble.
Erin bumps me with her shoulder. “You’ll do great. All you have to do is breathe. Once you meet your match, it’ll be easy sailing from there.”
Yeah, right. There’s a man by the egg table, directing the women to pick up their eggs. I’m at the back of the line, but I watch each woman as they pick theirs up. Some glitter and sparkle, and I have to admit, they are kind of cute. They look like normal Easter eggs, but much larger. I used to love dying and decorating them with my sister when we were younger. By the time I get to the table, there’s only one egg left with my name on a small tag in front of it. I pick it up and it shimmers in the firelight of the tiki torches. The egg is aqua colored with glittery flowers painted all over it. I look over at Erin and she smiles. She knows I love gardens and flowers. She motions for me to turn the egg over and when I do, that’s when I see the small medical pharmacy symbol on the bottom, painted in bright green and blue glitter paint.