Skylar's Diary - Day 25

Today, after school, I went with Raven to her place. We had agreed to practice hard, but she still wouldn't tell me in advance what we would practice. After we had eaten something, we went to her room, and she took out a pile of papers.

"Look, Skylar, this is my preparation. We have a lot of work to do today."

She must have seen the surprise on my face. I didn't know what to say.

"Let me explain it to you. We don't have to do very difficult things, but we do have to do routine things in a perfect way. It seems simple: we have to walk, stand, and sit. That seems very basic, but if you want to do it right, there is a lot involved. Look, I'll give you an example. I'm going to walk from the door to you."

She went to the door, and walked towards me in a normal way, pretty fast, with a neutral gaze in her eyes, all the way up to me.

"Tell me, did I do that right?"

"Of course, what was wrong with it?"

"EVERYTHING, Skylar, EVERYTHING. We can't walk into the church like this. Now look again."

She went back to the door, and stepped again towards me, but this time very different. Very solemn, very dignified, quite classy actually.

"And what do you think of it now? What did you see?"

"I saw a princess walking up to me."

"Exactly. A princess. What I did first was a tacky farm girl. And we will have to walk like a princess. And so will you, and you'll notice, there's a lot to deal with. I looked up on the internet how a lady is supposed to walk. I wasn't aware of many things either. I think I did some of these things automatically, but I did notice that some things I could do better. OK, come to me now."

I hadn't seen Raven like that yet. She was very serious and determined. I felt that it was a matter of the utmost importance to her, and that I shouldn't make a joke about it. I stood with her, and she started:

"Skylar, first your posture. Has Riley ever said anything about that?"

"She did: Walk as if you were being pulled up with your head on a rope, and keep your shoulders back."

"Exactly. You have to be very nice and straight. And now your chin, position it so it's parallel to the floor."

While she was saying it, she pushed my chin up a bit. "That's fine."

"And now your arms. We're lucky to have a bouquet of flowers in our hands, so we don't have to think about what to do with our hands. Pretend for a moment that you have such a bouquet in your hands. No, not that high, relax your arms, you can hold the bouquet low, but keep your shoulders straight."

Wow, this is getting complicated. Do I have to remember all that?

"It's not over yet, Skylar, and we're not even walking. Your feet still. Your toes shouldn't point outwards, nor should they point inward, but straight forward."

I noticed that my toes were slightly outward, so I corrected that.

"Fine. Now, while you keep yourself straight, take one step forward."

I took a step forward.

"No, no, no!  Wrong! That step was far too big. That was a boy's step. Your step may not exceed the length of your foot. Again."

I tried again. One step.

"Yes, that's better. Now try a few steps in a row."

I took a few steps in a row.

"No, wait, that's not good, I have to tell you a few more things. First, keep in mind a line that goes right in front of you, and follow that line, you can't swing to the left or to the right. Second, your shoulders, they should barely go up and down. They have to glide through space, as it were. Third, your hips, they may, no, they must sway a little, but don't exaggerate."

"Raven, I can't remember all that."

"That's why we have to practice. It won't work the first time, but we'll get there."

I think I've walked up and down her room twenty times, until Raven thought it was good enough. Then we did it again twenty times, but now side by side.

"Skylar, now we have to try to walk exactly the same way. At the same speed, with the same step size, still nice and straight. And that while we are not allowed or able to look at each other."

That also took some practice, but it went better and better. At a certain moment I thought we were done, but the hardest part had yet to come.

"Okay, and now again, with a dress on, and heels."

"What, is that really necessary?"

"Yes, because it will be different. Come on, put on that dress from the day before yesterday. It's already hanging in the bathroom. In the meantime, I'm also putting on something else."

So determined. So prepared. Saying no was not an option. Raven finally wore a light blue dress that looks a lot like the dress for the wedding. 

And we continued to practice. "Chin!" "Shoulders!" "Back straight!" "Toes!" "Hips sway!"

One could probably read the strain and focus on my face. At least Raven was able to do that.

"I still see too much tension in your face. You have to relax. It's a wedding, not a sports event. Relax your face, and smile a little, but with your lips together. Your eyes should radiate joy."

"Raven, may I rest for a moment? It's becoming too much for me. I really appreciate what you're doing now, and I understand why, but I can't process so much in such a short time."

"OK, you get five minutes. Would you like a drink?"

It felt like she was my personal trainer. Someone who wants to physically drill me. She walked to the kitchen to get a drink, and meanwhile I took a seat. I probably shouldn't have done that.

"Oh, Skylar, you can't sit on a chair like that, especially with such a pretty dress. Look how messed up that skirt is."

I admit, I had just plummeted on the chair, and I wasn't sitting straight either.

"Look, I'll show you how to sit, and especially, how to prepare for that. Get up. First of all, make sure you're standing right in front of the chair. Then, while you sit down, you make sure with your free hand - in the other one you are holding flowers - that your skirt is in good shape at the back. There shouldn't be a single fold in it."

She illustrated how to do it.

"Your skirt should be graciously draped around you in the end, nicely symmetrical. Your back should be straight again. You certainly shouldn't start leaning. Make your spine as long as possible, but loosen up your neck, and balance your head nicely above your shoulders. Your hands then. Hold your bouquet elegantly on your lap. Your legs. These should be nice together, with your knees against each other. Do you hear it, Skylar? Knees together. Boys aren't used to that, but with a dress on you can't do anything else. As far as the feet are concerned, we have the choice: either side by side and against each other, or we cross our ankles. I suggest choosing the latter, which is more elegant. We have to get this right, because we have to do it the same way. Come on, you try it."

I had to practice this at least twenty times with Raven, but she did participate.

"Take care of the expression on your face. You have to radiate sweetness. You have to show that you like this, Skylar."

"I'm starting to get very tired. May I let myself go for a moment?"

"Just for a moment, then."

"All right, I'd like to gracefully lie on your bed for a moment now."

I stood up, and walked very solemnly to her bed, and lay down like Sleeping Beauty was in the fairy tale. On my back, with my eyes closed. A minute later I felt that Raven had come to lie next to me, I suspected that she was lying in the same position.

There we were, the two of us lying next to each other. Like two princesses. Like two Sleeping Beauty's.

We kept quiet for a while, until I said:

"I never, ever thought, that it would be so difficult to be a bridesmaid."

"And I never thought that training a male bridesmaid could be so tiring."

"But I do think you're a great trainer. The best bridesmaid trainer in the country."

She slapped me with the papers she still had in her hand, in my face, but it wasn't that hard. I started laughing, and so did she. Probably it was also because of the nerves, but we got the giggles. What the hell were we doing? How silly was this?

"OK, Skylar, let's get serious now. The wedding is in two days. So we can't but practice all day tomorrow."

"But tomorrow we still have to go to school."

"I know, we'll have to practice secretly at school."

"Oh no."

"Oh yes."

"I'm going to be happy when this is over."

"Skylar?"

"Yes?"

"Are we going to see each other less when this is over?"

"Oh no, we'll find another brides pair who need a male bridesmaid. Plenty of opportunities."

And she gave me another slap with her papers.

"Come on, we're going to practice everything one more time."

We did all the exercises for at least another half hour. It was especially difficult to do everything simultaneously, but the longer we were doing it, the better we became at it.

As I walked home, I tried to do everything exactly as Raven had taught me: nice straight, elegant, small steps, gracious smile, stable shoulders, and slightly swaying hips. It must have been a strange sight, but fortunately it was almost dark already.

To: Skylar's Diary - Day 26