Life, Love, & Lemons

Cheeseball Head

I got up extra early the next morning to color my hair before school started. It was my first day starting my two new AP classes and I really didn't want to meet a whole bunch of new people with the two-tone look.

The color burned my scalp as I sat at the kitchen table finishing up the last part of Animal Farm and waited the twenty minutes before I was able to wash it out. Miss Winter was going really slowly with the book since she had everyone take turns reading it in class, but I figured that the sooner I got it done the sooner I could work on other things. My other classes weren't really hard at all and I wasn't sure how much more homework I would have with AP History and Chemistry.

My twenty minutes was up, even though it seemed like it took forever, and I was in the shower faster than I knew I could move. Mom usually spent most of the morning taking over the bathroom, but every time I asked her why she said that she had to be 'networking ready.' I wanted to know what kind of supposed network she really was doing all day. I assumed it was just sitting around with her friends and hoping that one of them would get drunk enough to buy her lunch or a few more drinks.

After three shampoos and one condition, I hopped out of the shower and quickly ran to the mirror to check out my new hair.

ORANGE. My hair was freaking orange. This couldn't be right. I dried it feverishly with the towel. Nope, still orange and now just messy. Okay, maybe it wouldn't look as orange after I blow dried it. I put on my bathrobe and started blow-drying my hair until it was so hot it burned against my shoulders. That did nothing. It just made the orangeness of it stand out even brighter. How could this happen? The box made it seem like my hair would be golden blonde and not orange.

"Bentley, dear, I need to get ready." Mom banged on the bathroom door. How could I show her my face? Or better yet, how could I show her my hair?

"Bentley!" She screamed and knocked harder on the door.

I threw the door open and just stared at her with my cheese ball head. Her eyes grew wide. "Oh dear..." She muttered. "What on earth did you do to your head?"

Then her eyes narrowed. "This isn't some punk trend you picked up from that new boyfriend is it? Because I will not have my daughter be walking around with orange hair and tattoos or whatever it is that boy is in to!"

I stormed past her and then quickly turned my body back toward her. "No, Mom, this isn't something I did for Kai. Who by the way you haven't even met or tried to get to know." I practically spat out that last part as I put my hands on my hips.

"Well, dear, you know I have been busy with looking for a job and taking care of things since your father isn't working." She straightened up as she walked into the bathroom, trying to ignore me.

"Whatever." I was too tired and too worried about my hair to really care whatever lies Mom had to spew.

I ran into my bedroom and in record time was dressed and did my makeup. I knew I had to get to Gabby's before school started. I was hoping that she would be able to help me with my hair.

***

"Bee, what are you doing here? And what happened to your head?" Gabby was still in her pajamas with a towel wrapped around her head, when she answered the door.

Gabby, her Mom, and her sister lived in an older Cape Cod style house not too far from school. I had only been to her house a handful of times and never inside. It was only to pick her up with Jake and Brett on occasion.

"That's what I'm here for." I stepped into her living room and dropped my book bag next to an over-stuffed blue couch. "Do you think you can help me? I mean isn't your Mom a hairdresser or something?"