It had been three hours and I was officially out of tears. Man, I didn't know it would hurt so bad to be rid of my best friend. And, of course, I was the one who caused it... "But I will stand by my decision," I whispered to myself. I was sitting in the back of my closet, behind all my long dresses, wrapped up in my comforter. Hah. Comforter. Jake was mine... I shook my head quickly. I didn't want to think about Jake right now. I had to think of what I was going to do... how I was going to deal with the...mess...I put myself in.
I decided to change things about me. For one thing, my hair. I wouldn't keep it my natural blonde. That was Jessie's hair. No, I would go for something darker... Possibly black? No, I thought to myself, it would be too dark, wash me out or something. No, I would go for a dark brown. It wasn't as intense as black, but it still gave me the darkness I wanted. And maybe I should cut my hair... I wasn't too keen on THAT idea, but it was worth a shot.
I spent the next hour thinking of ways to change my appearance. I only had the rest of today to do it, because school was tomorrow. I got up, took a shower, put on some different clothes, and made my way downstairs. I tiptoed through the hall because I didn't want anyone to see me. Not my parents, and certainly not Nick.
I walked into the servants wing, looking for Mr. Smith. I caught him at the kitchen table reading a car magazine. Typical. "Any nice ones you thinking about recommending for their collection, Smithee?"
He looked up and smiled. He was probably the only one of the hired help that I got along with. "What can I do for you, Miss Madeline?"
I sighed. "Smithee, how many times have I got to tell you, call me Maddie!"
"Sorry."
"Okay, so... could you take me to a hair salon? I don't care which one exactly, I just want a decent one."
Mr. Smith closed his magazine and jumped up. "Sure thing."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ten minutes later, I was sitting in the waiting area of a fancy little salon called "Clipp'd". I recalled passing by it every now and then, but not really thinking anything of it. I usually got my hair trimmed or styled at the same salon my mom and sister had used. The hairdressers there were snobby, but they knew how to give a great cut.
This place was different, though. Everyone here was more laid back, intent on taking their time instead of rushing before the next appointment came in.
"Miss Rose?" I turned to look at the woman standing in the doorway. She was about 5'6", maybe 5'7", and she had strawberry blonde hair. She seemed to be about 29 or 30, I couldn't tell for sure, but she had that experienced look about her. I got up and walked over to her. She motioned for me to follow her into the back, and sat me down in her styling chair.
"So what can I do for you today?" She asked, whilst running her hands through my hair. "Your hair is really thick! Any hairdresser's dream."
"Thanks," I mumbled. "Well, for starters, I'd like to get my hair cut. No shorter than chin length, but other than that, you have free reign on the style. And then I'd like to have my hair dyed dark brown. I don't want any blonde left."
She nodded. I could see her eyes appraising my hair, as if imagining what style she should choose. After a bit she nodded once. "Come with me. We're going to shampoo that hair of yours."
Once I was shampooed, I made my way back to her chair with a towel on my shoulders. I got situated. I knew that I would be spending a little while here (dyeing hair generally took a while in itself), which was partly the reason that I told Mr. Smith to go hang out somewhere, do something fun for a few hours. Caroline, as I found out was my stylist's name, came up beside me and laid a big roll of styling tools on the counter. As she unrolled it, I was surprised at how much stuff she could fit in there. She grabbed a pair of scissors and a comb and smiled at me. "Are you ready?" I nodded. I was a little nervous about getting my hair cut. I had grown it out since sophomore year, so I was used to having long hair. Now it was going to be short.
