The Price of Beauty

nine | blondie

"If your hair is done properly and you have on good shoes, you can get away with anything." ― Iris Apfel

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IT'S BEEN TWO WEEKS SINCE I've started at this high school. It's been rocky – but after the first really bad week, I started to gain some momentum. I understood the hierarchy of the school, who was who, and I was starting to get into understanding what we were learning.

I sit on the porch, waiting for Eevee's chauffeur to pull up and prop up my legs. I finally got out of bed and wore a white feather print romper and made some toast with Nutella. I shoved the last bite into my mouth when I saw a black car driving up. This is the part where people always recognize cars, but I don't know car names. You could tell though, that the car was probably really expensive.

The car window rolled down. "Get in, loser, we're going shopping," Eevee called, her index and middle finger curling in a motion, gesturing me towards the car. [note: I'm sorry for making a mean girls reference :')] I got up from where I was, pushed back the chairs and walked into the car, which was opened by the chauffeur by now.

"So why do this emergency shopping trip?" I asked.

"Well, first of all, I had to talk to you about something," Eevee began, "which we will do later. But I thought we should fix up your hair! And your-"

I nodded, yawning.

"-Did you just yawn? What were you doing last night?" Eevee raised an eyebrow, looking amused.

"Watched movies, just tired. I'm sorry, I'm just not a morning person." I could feel the coffee settling in slowly into my veins, and I perked up.

"Right, you're saying this to someone who's late to school half the time though," she reminded me. A corner of her mouth turned up as she looked through the little mirror to look at me. "Anyway, as I was saying. Wardrobe fix-up, and maybe change your hair a little!"

"What's wrong with my hair?" I frowned, making a face and playing with my hair. I was a very light brown brunette, and I've always been praised for my beautiful natural locks.

"Nothing, they're just.. so boring," she began, "I just think you'll look cute with some... small changes." She chose her words carefully, which made me curious. Was she trying to cover up something?

I looked out the window and saw a little boy playing in the park with friends, and a girl sitting alone, being excluded. The boy left the group and walked up to the girl, offering his hand. I smiled at the innocence of this friendship and prayed they would have a beautiful friendship for a long, long time.

"We're almost there," the chauffeur said, and I looked out the window after having played with my phone for what seemed like five minutes. We were approaching the mall which had a huge garden in front of it.

"Miss Harper, I will be here at 6PM as requested." The chauffeur said as he opened the door for both me and Eevee, escorting us to the mall entrance and waving.

"Thanks. I'll call you if I have any immediate plans needing changes." Eevee smiled warmly, then wrapped her arm around my shoulders, and walked into the entrance with me.

"So. Salon first." she flicked her hair off her face as we arrived towards a fancy French Salon called Salon De' Bleu, and walked in as if she had done so a million times before.

"Hey Cody," she waved towards a guy with blonde tips on his head, feverishly styled into gelled spikes.

"Hellooo, Miss Harper," a guy was fixing up another lady's curls, blowdrying with a brush and blowdryer, and he took a moment to face Eevee, curtsying jokingly.