My Virtual Lover

Live 35: The Birthday Ball

Days passed by, the day of the ball has arrived for Jury Crawford. The Livestreamer is currently streaming for thirty minutes, playing APEX as usual. She sighs more without her knowing, attracting the attention of her followers. Jury thinks of the party as a hassle, she wishes the party is over soon since, for her, that party itself is already too extravagant.

She already sent the necessary documents to the owner of the cafe, hence she should have everything solved before the ball. He’s pretty much desperate for her replies, as if comfortable with Jury’s responses. Jury isn’t too keen on the friendly attitude of the stranger in her chat, but he’s quite a decent person.

However, she had another thing she had to think of and that is her ball. She had to wear a dress, something that she truly hates. Even as she Livestreams, her followers and increasingly anxious about her wellbeing. Jury’s frustration is visible to the naked eyes, the young woman isn’t exactly good at keeping her poker face when it comes to parties.

“Look at her, I can guess that she’s in another sour mood of her” one of her followers commented. “She looks dispirited”.

“I agree! She looks pretty beaten up for me! Maybe something or someone bothers her? For example, that boyfriend of her” one of the followers propose that idea.” Maybe he’s the one who makes her cry?”.

The comments speculated various things, seeing how the speculation becomes viral the young woman decides to step in to stop the people speculating about false truths. She rants about APEX players and herself in the Livestream, she feels her skills are way below the others. Somehow she doesn’t feel good about the fact she is below others.

She feels inferior after her defeat, Kani dominates the match with ease afterward. The young man is indeed a blessing, the man is talented with his fingers especially in FPS games. She groans in frustration when she suffers another defeat, her gameplay is criticized by her viewers and teammates.

“Maybe I need to train harder” she mumbles to herself. “I’m sorry if I play badly! This is my first time playing this game!”.

She yells in annoyance, knowing fully well that it doesn’t do anything about her current circumstances. The young woman looks at the clock, noticing that an hour has passed by. She had to prepare for the ball for the evening, her father would be furious if he still finds her in her pajamas.

Jury ends the stream with a smile, the annoying Maya021 is not visiting her for some reason. The stream becomes quiet all of the sudden, no one bothers her the most than the annoying Maya021 in the chat. She looks at the time, turning off her equipment and laptop to take a quick shower.

As expected, her father texts her immensely that a makeup artist will come to visit her shortly after. He’s furious that she’s still in the shower instead of preparing for the ball, but she relents it by saying that she’s busy with her Livestreaming. Her father no longer complains after she mentions the magical word ‘job’.

Drenched in cold water, Jury washes off the sweat with liquid soaps, cleansing every part of her dirt with meticulous eyes. Jury then drapes her body with the white towel, wiping the water as quickly as possible. She exits the bathroom, still in her bathroom towel, the woman throws her towel. 

Putting on the raven dress quickly, she looks at her reflection in the mirror. She still looks as mesmerizing as always, rather she looks bold and strong in that dress. The sound of the doorbell interrupts her thoughts, she can hear her father from across the door. He just came back from his job, peeking through the peephole Jury sees another unfamiliar person.

Perhaps, it’s the makeup artist her father talked about. It’s a strange woman with thick makeup on her face, a bizarre-looking makeup artist smiles at Jury as she bows her head.

“Open the door, Jury! I have to get dressed as soon as possible!” he knocks on the door harshly. “We haven’t got all day”.

Jury opens the door, her father rushes in to get his suit as he heads to the bathroom deftly. The makeup artist asks Jury to sit on the dining chair, opening her shiny suitcase in her hand. Brushes and makeup equipment are now scattered on the dining table, she picks up the brushes as she starts to apply a strange powder on her cheeks.

Pieces of equipment lined up perfectly by the color, Jury can find herself in a tight spot since the makeup artist asks her to focus. When the makeup artist focuses on her eyelids, she feels drowsy because the brush feels good on her eyes. She almost snores on the spot if the makeup artist doesn’t wake her up.

“Excuse me, miss” the makeup artist shakes her shoulder. “You have to wake up or I can’t finish your makeup”.

Jury opens her eyes inadvertently, trying to fight her drowsiness as she puts various makeup liquids and colors on her face. She raises her eyebrows, watching the makeup artist’s thick makeup as she puts on the foundation on her. The makeup artist smiles at Jury, asking if there’s something wrong with her face.

“No, I just realize your makeup is thick” she looks at the tanned woman. “Nevermind, sorry for looking”.

She shakes her head, telling her that she’s used to be stared at due to her bold makeup. However, she reassures her that none of the makeup she amplifies on Jury’s face will be as bold as she is. As if she can read Jury’s worries, she can dissolve it immediately with that one sentence.

“Don’t worry, even if my makeup is thick it won’t be affecting you!” she smiles. “I know that you’re worried about your makeup because I look like this, but I can read your expression that you dislike daring makeup! So I won’t do that”.

“That’s pretty cool” Jury smiles at the makeup artist. “Because it’s your line of work, isn’t it?”.

She nods without hesitation, she has traveled to many countries and houses before. The fact that her father calls her here to take care of Jury makeup means that none of her efforts are futile, she smiles humbly as she tells her the tale of her makeup artist journey. It was started as a hobby, then it gets bigger the more she is hired by many people to do their makeup.

It was an accidental hobby that enriches her single life.

“What’s your name?” Jury asks the makeup artist.

“My name is Milla Aselia” she nods. “I am a quite renowned makeup artist, I do think that’s what your father said about me”.

Jury’s orange gems glance at the door of the bathroom, still shut tight since he’s still showering. She scratches the back of her hair, slightly embarrassed that she’s thinking about her negatively before even knowing her due to her thick makeup. Jury blushes, thinking that she might be as open-minded as she thought she would be. 

Her father opens the bathroom door, he’s still wearing his t-shirt as he head to his bedroom. The makeup artist finishes my makeup, then he moves to her hair. Since her hair is short, not a lot of things to do other than ironing her hair with a spray of the makeup artist’s hairspray on it. She asks her why Jury keeps her hair short if I can grow it.

“I don’t like long hair, they’re hot” she answers short. “I like it shorter because it’s easy to move”.

Milla smiles a bit, telling her how tomboyish she is. After a few hours of preparing, it’s time to go to the party. 

*   *   *

Wearing a fancy blue suit, Julius asks Milla if she can go home on her own. Milla nods positively, reaffirming that she will be alright even if he leaves her alone. Always such a gentleman, that’s why her father is popular among the ladies. Milla blushes, Jury can see her being embarrassed with her father’s kindness.

They stand in the apartment lobby, waiting for Milla’s Grab driver to come over. 

“I am perfectly fine, I will be on my way then since my Grab is here,” she tells the tall man. “Well then, I’ll be going”.

After they see them off, Julius uses the Jeep even if it’s an unsightly one to go to the party with her daughter Jury. The young woman doesn’t care less about the vehicle her father drives, she wishes that her father can get to the party as soon as possible since they’re almost late. She is then reminded that Kani is also busy today.

*   *   *

A day before…

Jury is on the brink of closing her eyes when sudden notifications rain on her cellphone screen. The young man with the username Kani texts her at night, asking if she’s already asleep.

“Of course not” she texts him. “Thanks to my lousy father”.

“That makes the two of us, I’m nervous about tomorrow” he replies with a sigh emoji. “I’m going to Surabaya right now”.