Small town girls: life in the 1950s (for RussianBunny)

[Renton]

Becky grinned widely at the news. "All right then," she said. "How about we head over to Lizzy's to freshen up a little?" she said. "Just a bit of rouge and eyeliner, nothing major," she said reassuringly to Olive. "And only if you want that. As I said, this is a sock hop, not prom." Becky had a sort of reflexively protective feeling towards Olive, and she didn't want her new friend to feel uncomfortable about anything. At the same time, Becky hoped to show Olive the ropes about some of the things she seemed unfamiliar with, like fashion and makeup, at whatever speed worked for her.

(Is it all right if we focus on just the girls for a bit?)

[Bye_bye_birdie45]

((That's perfectly fine! I was actually hoping that you'd ask!))

Olive was quiet for a moment, but she nodded. She didn't want to admit that she'd never worn any kind of makeup before, except for lip balm (which she doubted would count) and lipstick once when her grandmother took her out to eat at a fancy restaurant once. But she had found it fascinating, how often it was advertised in magazines and in stores and even the radio, and seeing the newest fashion trends were always fun.

"That sounds great," she said, and as Lizzy quickly went to pay for everyone's bill ("Don't worry about it! I took it from my brother anyway for ripping one of my dresses."), they soon left the diner and headed towards her house. It wasn't too far away, and they found themselves in a nice little rich neighborhood, and Olive instantly felt out of place. The houses were gorgeous, but it was something she was positive she would never be able to afford in her life, ever.

[Renton]

Becky was chatting away with her friends as they walked home about her main interests at the moment (Elvis, Marlon Brando, that new song by Little Richard called "Tutti Frutti" that she hoped they'd play at the dance but knew they probably wouldn't because a lot of adults frowned on rock and roll). She realized as they entered her neighborhood (she could see her own house from Lizzy's) that Olive likely felt out of place here, having come from a poor town and now living on the edges of this one. "I've got some lipstick and blush that will look gorgeous on you, sweetie," she said, gesturing to her bag. "It's very subtle and tasteful. And Lizzy here is an expert with makeup, I learned everything I know from her," she said. They got to Lizzy's house and went straight up to the girl's room. Becky pulled out the makeup she had in her purse and showed it to Olive. "Honestly, I think they'll look better on you than me, now that I think of it. What do you say?" she said, giving Olive a slight smile.

[Bye_bye_birdie45]

Olive was very thankful to have Becky around. The other girl seemed to know exactly what to do and say, and having her by the preacher's daughter's side was very comforting. "Sure," Olive said when she mentioned the tasteful makeup. Could makeup be tasteful? Olive wasn't sure: she had seen the way it looked in magazines, and it had been very obvious, even in the black and white photos. Becky would definitely know more about it than she did. "Let's give it a try."

[Renton]

Becky grinned and pulled out the blush. She applied it quickly with Lizzie's guidance. She then pulled the cap off the lipstick. "Hold still sweetie," she said as she applied the lipstick. "Alright, now smack your lips, then look in the mirror, and tell me what you think," she said, think she had done a very good job if she did say so herself. Lizzie's silent nod of approval spoke well to the quality of her work as well. The rouge complimented Olive's complexion well, and the lipstick just looked better on her than it ever would on Becky. It was a bit subtle for Becky's taste, but she thought it might be just was someone like Olive would look for.

[Bye_bye_birdie45]

Olive had kept silent and still as Becky had applied the makeup, and doing as instructed (smacking her lips had felt rather awkward, but none of the girls said anything), she was surprised when she looked in the mirror. Becky's makeup had certainly done a bit of difference, for the better Olive thought! She still looked sweet and innocent, but also stylish!

"Oh, Becky, I love it!" The preacher's daughter said. "Thank you!"

[Renton]

Becky wrinkled her nose in delight. "I'm glad you like it, sweetie," she said as she set to work on her own makeup. She'd already put makeup on that morning, but what she wore to a dance was much different than what she was permitted to wear in school.

When she was done she looked at her hair and undid her ponytail, letting her long red curls flow. She kept the blue bow in her hair, and she stood up and did a 360 in the mirror. "We're all so damn pretty," she said playfully. "Oh!" she said, grabbing Lizzie's shoulder. "Lizzie, we should all wear matching blue ribbons," she said, realizing that Olive had one, as did she. "I have a spare for Tammy if we need it," she said. "We'll look like such a fun little club."

All four girls gathered in the mirror, blue bows in their hair. Becky was very pleased. "We'll knock those boys dead," she said. "Let's go."

[Bye_bye_birdie45]

Olive smiled quietly to herself as her friends – that was still a concept that was hard for her, "friends", but hopefully, the novelty would wear off without the excitement of it all – put on their own makeup. She would probably ask questions about it later on, but she doubted she'd be able to wear too much herself. If I wore too much, Daddy might not like it, Olive reminded herself.

"That would be adorable!" Tammy said, as Lizzie managed to find another ribbon for herself and Tammy.

"They'll be lining up to dance with us!" Lizzie cheered happily, despite the fact that she had two left feet for dancing. (Not that she was aware of that fact.)

Olive, who'd never danced with any other male than her father, kept silent, but that didn't stop her excitement as the four girls headed out of the house and towards the gymnasium back on the school grounds.

[Renton]

Becky grinned at how cute they all looked and led them out the door, looking forward to a terrific evening.

They passed by some other people on the way to the dance, and draw glances from all of them (boys and girls alike). "They think we're a clique, or maybe a gang," she said with a laugh. "We should all get motorcycles and ride them to school every day. That would be a hoot."

They arrived at the gym fashionably late, and Becky began to scan the area for the boys. They were on the other side... three of them anyway. Stanley was nowhere to be seen at first, until she spotted him chatting it up with Becca Clearwater... Becky's top rival. Becca had stopped going by "Becky" herself back in the third grade, in order to more easily differentiate between he two of them. Since then she had gone out of her way to rival Becky in every regard. Becky didn't particularly dislike her, and the rivalry was usually friendly.

Stanley glanced up and saw the Becky and left Becca, who was smiling. "Don't mind her," he said, rather forwardly putting his arm around Becky. "We're just old friends, you're my only girl tonight". She wriggled out of his grip. "Gotta earn that," she said. "And I have half an idea that you've got half a dozen 'only girls'" she retorted.

Then the music started up. "Prove yourself on the dance floor," she said, smiling, ready to forget her annoyance with Stanley. She looked at her friends and motioned to the floor, and instantly each of Stanley's group grabbed their respective dance partner by the hand and headed out to dance to (Becky was thrilled that they actually played it) "Tutti Frutti".

Joey Carmichael didn't just grab Olive and run, however. He smiled at her as the song began. "Want to go out there with them?" he asked politely. "I'm kind of awful at dancing, but this song that doesn't matter so much, you just sort of move along to it," he said, grinning.

[Bye_bye_birdie45]

Olive was very excited when they left Lizzie's house and headed to the school dance, but she was surprised by how many looks the girls and she were getting: she'd never had this much attention before, outside of occasionally reciting verses in church when her daddy asked her to. She felt nervous when Becky mentioned that others might think they were a gang: a gang? A gang of girls was practically unthinkable – at least, given the way they were dressed. Gangs wore leather jackets and wore motorcycles and spray-painted walls with rude words, Olive thought; they didn't walk down the street in groups of four after they'd dressed up.

... Although, she had to admit, the idea of riding – or driving – a motorcycle did sound quite exciting!

Olive was surprised that at how many people were already at the dance ahead of them! She hadn't realized so many people attended their school, but it was nice to be an environment surrounded by her peers, and it wasn't in a classroom. She did notice how Becky immediately scanned the room, before looking unhappy when a boy appeared to be talking to another girl. When he came over and started talking to Becky, Olive felt a little awkward, especially since Lizzie and Tammy seemed to making flirtacious looks to some boys across the gym, but when they came over, she suddenly had no idea what to do.

Olive didsmile at Joey as he came over and grinned at her. He seemed nice enough! He was also pretty cute... Passing a small glance to the dance floor, Olive shook her head. "I... I don't dance well, either." The only type of 'dances' she had attended were the father-daughter dances the church had thrown together a week after Valentine's Day, and she hadn't been to one of those since she was eleven. "This song is nice though..."