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DAPHNE
Several months ago…
“Alright! Listen up, everyone…”
Daphne looked up from the table where she was chatting with the other girls at the cosmetology school, and winced. They had the harridan today for some reason, and the other teacher was out. She liked Greta – the older woman reminded her of her late grandmother, and they were even so close as hugging or bringing each other a muffin for breakfast.
She’d lost everyone in her life for one reason or another, and it was kinda nice to have someone nearby to talk to again.
“I’m sure they’ll be discussing graduation and other things with you, but first, we are going to tackle a few key things. I want you all to partner up. We’re going to be processing and coloring each other’s hair for once…”
At the rumble among the students, Mrs. Nastiness-the-Grumpy-Goat held up a hand to silence them immediately.
“Now, how do you expect clients to trust you – if you don’t trust each other? Hmm? And we are not doing any of this ‘I’ll do my buddy’s hair’ garbage – I want you to partner up with someone across the room from you.”
Nobody moved.
“Now!Or I will partner you up,” the woman snapped, and Daphne fought the urge to roll her eyes.
She walked across the room quickly, heading for one of the girls who looked a little sedate and calm. If she was doing her own hair, she’d go for wild and eye-catching… but if someone else was doing it? No. They might have very different ideas of what ‘wild’ could look like.
“Hi,” the woman said easily, holding out her hand. “Daphne, right?”
Well now I feel like a heel, Daphne thought, fighting back a grimace. She had no idea what this woman’s name was, and had been in class with her for nearly a year.
“Mia,” the woman said easily, smiling. “Mia Keyes.”
“I knew that,” she fibbed. “Sorry, I was completely distracted by the goat…”
And Mia burst out laughing, immediately covering her mouth to muffle the sound. The woman’s eyes were dancing, and yeah, she looked pretty calm and sedate – this would be a good match if they were using bleaches and colors today.
“Partners?”
“That sounds great!”
The two stood together, listening as the instructions were spouted off, and let out a sigh of relief. Sure enough, they were going to be doing each other’s hair, specifically using bleaches, permanents, colors, and other tools or pigments. The harder the project, the easier they would grade it.
“Do you want to go first, or shall I?”
“What do you want?”
“Something easy,” Daphne said quickly, not holding back. “I like bright chunks and streaks in my hair, but nothing wild and freaky. I’m a little more reserved when it comes to my own appearance, and not ready to brave something. What about you?”
“I want something wild and fun and that will knock my husband’s socks off,” Mia grinned. “He’s overseas, and I really want his mouth to drop open when he sees me.”
“’Wild’ we can certainly do!” Daphne nodded, grinning. This was going to be great fun to play around with, because the woman had gorgeous hair she normally kept pulled back. “Shall we get started?”
“Oh yes!”
An hour later, Daphne was getting out of the seat and praying silently. Her head was covered in foils, and her hair was supposed to be some funky version of the cartoon character with the same name from Scooby-Doo. They’d selected the colors together, four varying shades from a golden-brown to a bold orange, with an apricot accent, and finally, highlights.
Mia was a rockstar – and possibly braver than her! The woman literally let Daphne close her eyes and select a swatch. Her only condition had been ‘no bleach.’
“My husband loves my hair long, and if I bleach it, I’m afraid it will break.”
“Tell the Goat that I bleached it,” Daphne whispered quietly, “and let’s go with a dark color with even darker highlights.”
