Loving Adam

Chapter 3

Mrs. Chen's good friend happens to be a fabulous lady named Barbara. She reminds me of Drew Barrymore in that movie Grey Gardens, the way she ties colorful scarf around her head and she starts almost every sentence with "Oh darling". 

She takes me to her beauty salon where a guy named Charles is assigned to do my hair. "She has this long black hair, so I'm thinking we put some loose curls to frame her face," Barbara says to Charles, "With light brown highlights on its ends."

Charles nods and starts working his scissors. About 10 minutes later, a girl comes with some brush and small bowl filled with brown liquid. While she wraps my hair in tin foils, another girl comes and asks me to lean my head on the chair so she can pluck my eyebrows. 

My eyebrows must be at its emergency state because it took longer to do my eyebrows than to cut my hair.

After what seems like hours, they wash my hair and give me a quick blow dry. Then, Barbara turns my chair so I can see myself in the mirror.

Whoa.

"Oh darling, you look so gorgeous already and we haven't even put on makeup!" she says with so much excitement.

We head to the section with long tables filled with colors and colors of eyeshadows, lipstick, and other makeup things I don't recognize. Barbara asks me to sit on one of the stools while a nice girl named Camila introduced me to loose powder, mascara, eyeshadows, blush, lip gloss, and lipstick. It's hard at first, and I feel really embarrassed for not knowing how to put a mascara. But Barbara and Camila are very supportive, I feel so much at ease.

After I put everything on, Barbara asks me to look at myself in the mirror.

Whoa.

I look... different. 

I mean, I'm not exactly drop dead gorgeous like the pretty girl with long legs who walked with Adam a couple of days ago, but my eyes look alive. There's color on my cheeks and my hair! My hair falls nicely around my face.

For the first time in my life, I feel good seeing myself in the mirror.

"Oh my God, this is extraordinary. I'm speechless. Oh my God. Barbara, thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you!" I say with my voice shaking. I think I'm about to cry.

"Oh darling it's my pleasure!" she says, "Now come on, we still have to get you new clothes."

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Barbara makes me try so many things, I've been walking back and forth to the changing room about seven times. So far, she's made me try on 3 skirts, 3 pants, 2 dresses, a heck lot of blouse, a blazer, and 2 pair of shoes.

I was about to put my clothes back on when I hear two girls talking in the changing room beside me.

"I can't believe he did that to you!" one girl says, "He is such a jerk. I mean, you're perfect! What more could he possibly want?"

"I know!" the other girl says with an obvious rage in her voice, "He called and said it's done between us. That's all he said."

"That is so mean! What is wrong with him? Did he fall for another girl? Oh God, there is a new girl in my Geography class today. She's from Europe. Do you think Adam falls for her?"

Hearing Adam's name, I stop moving and start listening attentively.

"I'm gonna kill him if he does that to me!" the angry girl says, "You know what, I'll go to his house tonight and demand an explanation. I deserve it!"

"Do you want me to come with you?"

"No, it's fine. I just need a sexier dress than this, I think. The moment he sees me, Adam will realize he is making a big mistake. Let's check that other store."

I hear the door being opened and closed again. I quickly button up my shirt and run to the door to see if that angry girl is really who I thought she was.

I open the door and watch her leaving the store.

It is the pretty girl with long legs.

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