“Okay, well first I’m gonna need you to take off your scarf,” she instructed. “I should have had you remove it with the cut.”
My scarf.
My anxiety increased. I hadn’t thought about the fact I was going to need to take it off, I anticipated her reaction as I unraveled it from around my neck. Just as I expected, Summer’s eyes widened.
“Yep, I’m gonna kill him.” She was pissed and started pacing back and forth across the living room floor. The last time I had seen her this mad was when she found out her ex had cheated on her with a younger woman. “Poison? Too easy. Asphyxiation? Maybe.” Her murder plotting was interrupted by the fights happening on the TV.
I looked over to see one of the fighters covered in blood as they wrestled around on the ground. Summer started cheering as it looked like the person she was rooting for was about to pin their challenger to the ground when suddenly their arm slipped out from under the opponent’s chin and they managed to get back to their feet.
She appeared disappointed. “Damn, so close.”
I wasn’t one to really get into sports, let alone contact sports, but I was intrigued. Suddenly Summer’s favorite fighter hit his opponent with a hard fist, the fighter went flying and almost looked limp as he hit the ground, not moving.
Had I just witnessed a murder on national television? “Oh my God, is he dead?”
Summer laughed at how naive I was to fighting. “No babe.Thatwas a knockout, or you’ll hear the more technical referencemost often, a KO.” She pointed to the TV, showing me the person who had just been knocked out was up and moving around, shaking hands and hugging the person who had just kicked their ass.
I tilted my head. “Huh?”
“These guys don’tactuallyhate each other.” Summer laughed. “Sure, there are fighters who have beef with each other and will talk mad shit on one another leading up to their fight, but for the most part, most of these guys are cool with each other. They are just doing something they love.”
Summer got back to work on my transformation, clipping my hair into sections, and lathering the bubblegum pink, semi-permanent, hair color on the shaft of my hair working it out to the freshly cut ends, ensuring she covered everything evenly.
“Alright,” she cheered like a giddy school girl. “About thirty minutes and I’ll get you rinsed and styled.”
“Oh, I can just let it air dry,” I assured her.
Summer rolled her eyes at me. ??“Honey, you are not walking out of here looking like a wet mop.”
Summer and I could argue back and forth until we were both blue in the face, but Summer gets what Summer wants, and perhaps someday I’ll stop entertaining the idea of winning. Though it was pretty fun to try.
The next thirty minutes went by quickly. I had zoned out on the fights, analyzing each fighter to figure out who I wanted to root for and creating a hypothesis in my mind about who would come out on top. I examined their details from their height and reach distance to their winning records and even strikes per round. It was all so fascinating.
“I should do it.” I was vague with my comment as Summer leaned me back, with my hair hanging into her wash basin. My favorite part was when it was time to rinse everything out, theextra head massage partnered up with water set at the perfect temperature; so relaxing. “Oh God, it’s so cold.”
Summer lectured. “Cold water preserves the color.”
“I was just looking forward-”
“Well, then you can look forward to coming back here for a touch-up sooner than later.” Summer smiled. “Darn, you’d have to come see me more often. Now, what do you think youshoulddo?”
Six
Val
I hesitated, debating back and forth if I should share my thoughts with Summer.She is my best friend after all.On the other hand, I was used to people telling me my interests were stupid or I would fail. All of which should have been an immediate red flag with James.
“Well, whatever it is, I say go for it.” Summer could see the hesitation in my expression. “You have my full support.”
“Really?” It felt nice having someone in my life who was willing to be supportive. “What if I am planning on committing a crime?”
Summer tilted her head down and looked at me over her glasses as she continued massaging my scalp. “You? Committing crime?” She started laughing. It was a contagious laugh I couldn’t help joining in.
“I think this,” I gestured at the TV, “is something I can add to my transformation repertoire even if it is just for self defense purposes. It looks fun!”
Summer shut off the water and threw the towel over my face as she scoffed. I was grateful she couldn’t see my facialexpression because the way she reacted definitely reminded me of what I had always dealt with.So much for being supportive no matter what.
She pulled the towel around the back of my head and started squeezing the excess water from my hair into the towel as she blotted it dry. “Would you stop looking at me like that?” Her smile snapped me out of my negative mindset as she began to explain she was all for the idea. “But maybe do it with a mindset where it isn’t just for self-defense, so I have an excuse to actually go see a fight live!”