Johannesburg - Her face beamed as she sat under a lapa at a hair salon waiting for her next treatment.
Stylist Nadine Keyter had just added brown highlights to her naturally blonde hair, and her freshly manicured nails with gold tips sparkled as she texted on her cellphone.
It was 1pm and Melanie Olhaus had already spent four hours at the salon before her matric dance on Saturday.
“I’m so happy,” she said, giggling. “I’m glad he seems excited about the dance too.”
The “he” Melanie is referring to is her date – Olympic gold medallist Chad le Clos.
She bagged him as a date at OR Tambo during his arrival from London in August.
The poster read “Chad, will you be my matric dance date?”, and he replied “Ja, I think I can do that”.
The 17-year-old Glenvista High School pupil’s face turned a slight shade of pink as she admitted the idea was her mother’s.
“I really didn’t expect an answer at all. I just wanted a picture with him. But my mom said ‘well, you don’t have a date to the dance yet, just ask him’,” she said on Thursday.
And since then, what was a bold leap of faith has resulted in many more rewards.
Image, etiquette and leadership coach Lorraine Sutherland has sponsored her with a makeover and image coaching; local fashion designer Gert-Johan Coetzee is sponsoring her tailor-made dress; and an Ekurhuleni motor dealership is sponsoring two cars to make sure she makes a grand entrance.
“Gert is a lot of fun to work with. He draped some material over me, added a few pins and that looked stunning in itself,” she laughed.
The final touches on her hair and make-up will be done on Saturday afternoon.
Her date tweeted his excitement about the dance on Twitter, saying: “Got my suit for the matric dance today, keen for Saturday will post pics after! Any guess what colour it is? #chadettes.”
After the dance, Melanie said her focus would be on her schoolwork as her final exams beginin October.
“I really want to become a dietician. I really love making and eating food and am also very interested in what one should eat, but I may also go overseas for a year,” she said.
Is she nervous?
“No, I’m not nervous,” she said, smiling. “I think it’s going to be a fun night.” - The Star