Free An Imperfect Circle by R.J. Sable

nods, pulling me by the hand through rails and rails of clothes. “I know what you should wear.”
    I’m dressed in dark grey jeans and a black band t-shirt that I’ve cut up to have strips missing from the back. Underneath that I have a bright blue tank top. My dreads are threaded with blue ribbons and I’ve omitted the foundation and contact lenses so that my green eyes are showing. They’re made brighter by the neutral shades of eye shadow I’m wearing.
    “You look really good in blue,” Becky encourages, holding up a little navy dress. It’s got white detailing with red stitching. There’s a big red button in the middle of the white and blue sash around the waist.
    I raise an eyebrow at her because I have no idea where she got the idea from. I do like the big round button in the middle though.
    “I don’t usually wear dresses,” I grimace. They’re too similar to nighties. I hate nighties.
    “ I thought you could wear these under it?” Becky offers, holding up a pair of three quarter length white leggings.
    I think about it. The leggings would definitely make me feel better about wearing a dress and Becky tried the clothes I picked for her without complaints.
    I barely recognise myself once I’m wearing the little outfit. I know without a shadow of a doubt that I’d look awesome if my normal hair was out. It would really complete the red , white, and blue theme I’ve got going on here.
    I’m not that patriotic and you wont find me sporting the Union Jack anytime soon but I like the combination. I have a pair of Jesus-style sandals Bear made me that would be perfect with the outfit if the weather were a little warmer.
    “Oh, wow!” Becky grins when I open the cubicle door to show her. “You look great.”
    “ I’d look better without the wig,” I answer thoughtfully.
    Can I do this? Can I go without my wig in public? If I’m honest with myself, the prospect is nowhere near as scary as it once might have been. I feel a little bit ridiculous with my goal of scaring people off now that I want Becky close.
    “How come?” Becky looks at me curiously.
    I smirk. “Because I have red hair.”
    “ You do?” She squeals loud enough to attract the attention of other customers.
    I nod, amused by Becky’s predictably happy reaction. No doubt she’s already planning membership cards for the ginger club.
    “ Can I… Can I see?” Becky asks, still excited but obviously cautious.
    I don’t give myself time to think about it. I quickly undo the ribbons woven through the dreads. The wig isn’t a wig in the normal sense. I basically part my hair into pigtails and the dreads sort of slot onto my normal hair, covering it completely.
    “Oh!” Becky gasps. “It’s so wavy.”
    She’s right; it is. I like my waves. Becky’s hair is more of a red-brown and it’s mostly straight. Mine is the kind of red that defines red. The sort of red you’d show a blind man if he miraculously regained his sight.
    I slip the pigtails out and let it cascade down my back. Pigtails aren’t really me but they’re practical for the dreads.
    “ You look so amazing,” Becky coos. Her smile is so genuine and I know she’s happy for me, not because she’s proud of the outfit she picked like some people might be.
    “ I like it,” I grin. “We should do this more often.”
    “ We should,” she nods enthusiastically. “Do you… do you want to wear it out of here?”
    “ Only if you do,” I challenge. I’m not entirely comfortable being out and about without my goth armour but the strange thing is, with Becky Blossom at my side and the big round button on my front, I feel closer to Elise than I have done since my childhood.
    “ You’re on,” she announces, ducking back into the changing room to get back into the clothes I picked out.
    I grab a pair of red ballerina pumps on the way to the till because the big black boots do not work with the dress. They have a little white button on the front and I’m fairly