I was immediately greeted by a beautiful, thirty-something year old woman who had half emerald green and half black hair pulled up into space buns. Her makeup was vibrant. I wish I had the confidence to wear black lipgloss let alone dramatic eyeliner with neon eyeshadow.
Her dimples were pierced and she had a chain across her nose. I took note of her stretched earlobes, planning on inquiring about the correct technique to achieve the perfect stretch with her. “Is there anything I can help you with?” The woman asked, knocking me out of the trance she had put me in.
“Sorry.” I wasn’t sure why I was apologizing. “I’m needing a change.”
The woman raised her brow and tilted her head slightly. “Oh great! What kind of change?” she inquired
“Actually, I’m not really sure.” I bit my lip nervously. “My best friend is doing my hair tonight and I’m not sure what color I should choose.”
“I can help!” The woman was eager. “What colors do you like?”
I listed off some of my favorite colors while she escorted me over to a wall with endless color options. There were so many to choose from it almost felt overwhelming. I flipped through the color samples and immediately the bubblegum pink color caught my eye.
I held a color swatch next to my face and turned to show the employee. “Do you think this would look good on me?”
“Hun, with your complexion, any color would look gorgeous on you.” She smiled.
“Well, you only live once, right?” I found the color and grabbed a couple tubes and the developer. “Besides, if I hate it, I can always toss some black over it.” I giggled nervously, thinking about the times when Summer went on about trying to deal with black box dye and customers wanting the blondest of blondes.
The employee looked equally as nervous at my suggestion. “Maybe try a darker shade of pink if you hate it?”
“Fair enough.” I shrugged and headed to the front of the store with her as she went over the list of things I might need.
“Nope,” I smiled at her. “I was only told to grab color and developer, so I assume she has everything else.”
The woman proceeded to finish ringing me up. “Well, if you need anything else, you know where to find me.”
I grabbed my bag and glanced down at her name tag,Miranda. “Thank you for all of your help, Miranda.” I smiled at her and exited the store.
???
“Woo!” Summer cheered as the fights began. “Get ‘em baby!”
“Are you sure you’re going to be able to do my hair in your condition?” I asked. Summer had started pre-gaming early in the afternoon so when I finally arrived she was already feeling pretty good, and her drinking didn’t stop there.
“I’ve done some of my best work after I’ve had a few drinks,” Summer said matter-of-factly.
“Okay. I’m trusting you with everything I’ve got,” I said sternly as I turned my chair to face the television.
“Alright, I’m going to cut your hair first so we don’t waste the color.” Summer warned me. “It’s going to look like a lot of hair, but I promise you’ll still have plenty.”
I held my breath as she grasped the shears and started making her first cut. I saw the ponytail of hair hit the floor and immediately reached up to feel the length.
Summer was quick to reassure me. “See, there’s still a lot there.”
I let out a slow, annoyed breath. “But you’re still cutting,” I stated as I kept hearing the shears snipping away as more pieces of hair continued to fall from my head.
“Layers, babe.” I could hear the smile in her voice.
“Oh, right, fine. I’ll just trust the process.” I air quoted as I said ‘trust the process’, mocking what Summer had said earlier.
A few more snips here and there and Summer took a step back to admire her handiwork. “It’s perfect!” she cheered. I started to get up, wanting to see, but Summer placed her hand on my shoulder, pushing me back down into my chair which caused me to flinch. “Oh my God! I am so stupid.” Summer pulled back and placed her head in her hands. “Val, I am so sorry.” She reached her hand out and I took it. That moment appeared sobering.
“No, it’s okay. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I know you’d never hurt me,” I promised her.
“There’snothingwrong with you.” She looked into my eyes attempting to drill the information into my brain. “Can I get you anything?”
“Let’s just finish this transformation.” I immediately changed the subject, not wanting my experiences to ruin tonight.