Our Last Summer

Chapter 1

Parker

Parker stood inside the salon, fidgeting.
His favorite customer, Claire was making an appointment.
Favorite customer. I'm embarrassed.
He wasn't really the type to think like that.
But Parker really liked Claire.
Even though he was already a uni student, Claire made him feel like he was back in his high school days again.
Was this love?
He didn't know.
But it was fine, since she still made him happy.
He can't wait to see her.

The bell attached to the door rings.
Claire strolls through the salon's door, with the same old camera around her neck.

    "Sup Parks!" She said, with a wild grin on her face.

He can't help but smile.

   "Same?" He asked.

    "Yep. But wait. You know the drill!"

Claire grabbed her camera, and snapped a quick shot of Parker.

It was her habit. He didn't know why, but whenever she enters the salon, no, wherever she is, she has to take a picture of something.

She was quite eccentric, but that was what made him like her more.

Claire skipped towards the chair and sat down with a loud thud. Parker grabbed his tool box, and grabbed the scissors.

Same meant 2 inches, a little layered and no wash.

Claire washes her hair from home, instead of washing it at the salon. She absolutely refuses for anyone aside from him to touch her hair.

She was probably insecure. Recently, he has noticed that chunks of her hair can easily fall off, with a small tug.
So cutting her hair required the most delicate hands, and utmost care.
She had mentioned that it was because of a disease.

He can't help but get curious, but he decided that he won't ask until she decides to open up herself.

He softly measured the 2 inches with his fingers, and slowly cuts her dark blonde hair.

"So how's everything? How's school? Any friend problems?" He asked.

She smiled.

"It's fine. No school problems, no friend problems. My mother is healthy too."

"That's great! My life is totally boring right now, exams are coming up and-"

     "Parks." She interrupted him.

     "Hmm?"

     "What would you do, if I told you that today was your last day to live?"

He paused. That was a little random.
Why did she ask that?
It was a little scary to imagine, but he couldn't help but think.

"Well, after cutting your hair, I would get a ticket to Japan and fly there, go crazy, maybe bomb something, then fly back and bungee jump, then I will get so drunk that I wouldn't have even realized that I have died." He said, smiling.

She laughed, but Parker saw through it.
She wasn't really laughing.
The look on her face was almost heartbreaking.

"Claire, are you alright?" He said.

She tilted her head to one side.
Parker saw her in the mirrors.
She was smiling, but at the same time, tears trickled down her pale face.

"What if I told you, that I only had until the end of this summer to live?"

End.