C3 Before and After
The next day, I didn’t see much of Annika because we had totally different schedules.
After school, I walked her home. And during the walk, she went on and on about how Landon was cute and charming, but that Max was also cute and kind.
She also talked about the karaoke place and that me and her should go one day.
It was a listening session for me and a talking session for Annika.
When I dropped her off, Mrs. Foxx invited me over for dinner.
I agreed and had dinner with her family. Their dog, Oxford, always ran up to me.
Don’t question his name. I tried once but got a lecture as a reply.
Dogs have always liked me and I don’t know why. Well, whatever.
Little by little, I noticed Annika changing. She used to be all cute and adorable, but now she seemed obsessed with the trends and social media. It felt like she was trying to be someone she isn’t. And I also noticed that on the rare occasions when we hang out, she talks less and less.
Her friends didn’t seem to like me still, but it didn’t matter to me because I only needed Annika as a friend.
Annika and I uploaded videos weekly, and the views got a little over 1k.
I hit 300 subscribers and a lot of my comments were positive, but there were
some shrills.
At this point, 8 months passed.
I was going about my day as usual when Max approached me.
I just looked at him and waited for him to start speaking. One of my social standards is that if you walk up to me, you’ll be speaking first.
He then began.
“Hey, Grey Lennox. Follow me.”
“Why?”
“Because Annika asked me to do this.”
I nodded and followed him.
He walked into the boys bathroom, where there were no cameras.
“Wow, it’s a pleasure to talk with you, Grey Lennox. Or.. should I say.. Shay.”
My eyes widened for a split second then I returned to my lazy state.
“Shay? What’s that?” I feigned ignorance.
“It’s you. You’re into all this girly shit and think people will like it.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about?”
“You know exactly what I’m talking about. This is you, your channel, and Annika is the person whose hair you’re doing.”
“How’d you know?”
“How else? Annika told us. She even said you wear contacts to hide your eye
color.”
“She…. what?” Right then, my heart felt like it dropped and shattered. My mind was in a mess because Annika broke her promise that she made 8 months ago and shattered my trust in her.
“She told us everything. But seriously. Are you gay? How can a boy like doing this kind of thing?”
“I’m entitled to my preferences and opinions.”
“Tell that to society, you gay fuck. You’re a fake, a liar. And worst of all, you’re a nuisance. I’ve dealt with you for months, but you just don’t seem to get the hint.”
I was broken inside. My best friend? Could she really?
“Then about her telling you to come here with me?”
“A lie. I just wanted to see the face you would make after I told you and it’s priceless.”
“...”
“She told us all your secrets. I heard your mom’s in the hospital. Too bad. Maybe if you did something, she wouldn’t be that way.”
“...”
“Maybe if your dad loved you enough, then he wouldn’t be with another woman. Both you and your mom probably did something wrong. I’d abandon you too.”
“...”
“Why aren’t you saying anything?”
“...”
“Tch. This is no fun. I’ll see you around. And if you mention this to Annika, I’ll tell the whole school you’re gay and you like makeup.”
“...”
I continued my day at school and went home immediately after. At home, I just stared at my ceiling. I have so many emotions that I’ve built up over the past year and I don’t know how to get rid of them.
I turned my desktop on and googled it.
After looking through many results, I found one.
“Work it out?”
I decided to do what the internet recommended and got ready to leave my house. I had work in a few hours, so I had time to spare. I took my contacts out and changed my clothes, then left for the gym.
At the reception desk, I signed a guest form and a waver that stated if I got hurt I cannot sue the company because I agree that I know how to use the equipment.
Although I was dragged against my will to the gym with Annika’s father, I only watched him work out. And sure, I do jog, but that doesn’t make me strong.
Anyways, when I went inside the gym, I saw tons and tons of machines and lots of people too.
There were some women but mostly men. Most of the women were fit and looked strong. There were some overweight people on the treadmill and stairs thing.
I also saw some guys like me, skinny. But most were muscular or buff.
In a small corner, I saw the abs machine. It looked like one of the roller coaster seats where they put the bar over your shoulders.
It looked exactly like that and you’re supposed to do crunches.
I started on that first.
I did 4 sets of 10, but increased the weight each time. I started off at 10 lbs, then 20, then 25, and finally 30.
It helped somewhat. My thoughts about what happened earlier today were replaced by working out and seeing how many I could do.
Afterwards, I went and did some oblique exercises. Then I worked out my back because just the core was not doing much.
About an hour passed and I finished working out my back.
I was shocked to know that there were so many different ways to work out a single muscle group!
I was dead after the two groups I did, so I called it a day and went home.
For the next few days, I was sore and didn’t go to school. Even so, I went to the gym every day.
The internet was right. Working out does help release pent up feelings.
In just a week, my muscles grew and I wasn’t as scrawny as I used to be.
I went to school the next week and had TONS of make-up work to catch up on.
So, I stayed late at school to study and make up what I didn’t do. Late, as in 3 hours after school ended.
When I finished my work, I walked to my house to get changed for the salon.
When I arrived, they had me sweeping the floors still.. After 8 months.. The same thing.
When I walked in, one of my coworkers spotted me.
“Hey, Grey! How have you been? How was school?”
“I’m fine, Tanya. School was so much work. I kinda ditched for a week.”
“You did?? Wow! You’re more bold than I thought.”
“... your image of me isn’t much, is it?”
“Nope!” She gave me a big smile.
“Anyways, Grey, those four chairs need to be swept. There’s a lot of hair there.”
“Yes ma’am.”
I swept under the chairs and cleaned the mirrors. It was a simple task.
When I was done, Tanya had me take out the trash as well. It was lighter than I imagined.
Maybe it’s because of my strength training.
As I was walking to the dumpster, I saw a few people from my school along the wall smoking weed and vaping.
I can only keep my thoughts to myself about that topic. Vaping and smoking are not good for your health and I don’t agree with any of it.
You’re basically asking for a death sentence. I understand that weed is legal, but doesn’t mean it’s not hurting you. I also understand that it’s used for medical stuff, but it’s just my personal opinion.
When I finished taking out the trash I walked back inside the store via the backdoor only to hear people scurrying around.
“What’s going on?” I asked as I saw Tanya passing me.
“We have a customer, but the barber at that station isn’t here yet.”
“Hm? Why don’t you do it?”
“I don’t cut hair, I’m only a barber’s assistant! What do we do? We’re so going to die!”
“Hm.. Is that her?”
I looked at a stunning woman that looked to be in her 20’s. She was tall, busty, and had super long, black, hair down to her butt.
“Yeah, that’s her. She looks really wealthy, wearing designer clothes, so if we lose her, then we’ll probably be killed by the manager.”
“Well that won’t do.”
I walked over to her.
“Grey!! What are you doing?! Sto--” Tanya was whisper-calling to me. It’s like a yell but in a whisper kind of-- you get the point.
I had reached my destination before Tanya could murder me.
“Hello ma’am.” I greeted her with a welcoming smile.
“Who are you? Where’s my barber?”
‘Not even a hello back? Rude woman.’
“Miss, your barber is-”
“You know what? I don’t care. I’ll just tell you what I want done. This time it better be good.”
‘Bitch.’
I couldn’t really say that I was only someone who sweeps the floors, so I decided to agree because in a business like this, the customer gets majority authority.
“Ma’am right this way.”
I brought her over to one of the seats I had cleaned up an hour ago. She sat down in it and started ordering what she wanted like she was at a fast food restaurant.
“I want to cut my hair to my lower back and fade it silver.”
“So you want your roots to be your natural hair color?”
“Yes.”
“Got it. I’ll be right back.”
I rushed quickly to get an apron. Tanya followed me.
“GREY! What do you think you’re doing?”
“Saving our asses.”
“What?! What if you make a mistake and we die?”
“It’s fine. I won’t make a mistake.”
“Oh? How many times have you cut and dyed someone’s hair?”
“I’ve cut my friend’s hair once and I’ve never dyed anyone’s hair before. Be my assistant.”
“Ohh, so that’s great! I’m going to assist someone with ABSOLUTELY NO FUCKING EXPERIENCE and pretend it’s going to be fine?!”
“Tanya!” I grabbed her shoulders and she looked into my eyes.
“Put your trust in me and let me prove to you that I’m dependable, ok? Please.”
“Sigh. If you mess up, I’ll take the scissors I’m supposed to be handing you and stab you with them.”
“Wow. Love you too.”
“Tch.”
We went back out in the store and got our tools ready.
I asked the customer a question before I started my work.
“Ma’am, can I take a before and after photo? I can also email it to you after.”
“Go for it.” she said. I took a picture of her hair before doing anything to it.
Tanya handed me the brush.
I brushed her hair then combed it. I then measured the length and cut.
Tanya was so nervous, it was almost funny.
With every cut, she got more and more tense. When I finished, she heaved a sigh of relief.
Next was dying her hair.
We sectioned it so it’d be easier to dye it.
I started off using a hair lightener. I didn’t put it in the foil yet because I wanted to make sure to get every piece of hair lightened so I could move on to the dye.
Tanya also helped me. It went quicker as well.
Then we applied foil to the sections so it would lift more and applied more
lightener before closing the foil.
After about 35 minutes, I took her to the sink, unwrapped the foil, and washed out the lightener.
When it dried, I wet her hair again and applied the silver dye. When her hair had been drying, Tanya mixed up the dye for me.
I then brought a section of her hair in my hand and started basically painting it.
Tanya was doing the same.
This way, the work was getting done faster.
Basically what we were doing is called color melting. And about 3 hours later, it was ready to be washed out and dried.
After I finished drying it, I asked the customer a question.
“Ma’am, would you like it styled in any way? I can do anything.”
“How confident of you. If that’s the case, then can you do something fancy and elegant?”
“Of course! Find a picture of something you want done to your hair.”
“Okay.”
She got on her phone and started looking at photos. Soon enough, she found a picture of a blonde lady with a crown braid and curly hair.
“Okay. Give me a few seconds to get the………..curling…”
Tanya had become more perceptive. I didn’t even finish my sentence before she handed me the curling iron.
I started curling the woman’s hair and brushed it with my fingers instead of a brush. I then started braiding it and completed it by letting the braids fall a little loose. I think it was perfect because you couldn’t really tell where the braid ended.
“And done!”
“Wow! Thank you!!! I’ll definitely come back here!”
“Please do!”
I took an after photo and asked the woman for her email so I could send her the pictures.
“Thank you!! Wow! The before and after are way different! You might just be the best barber I’ve ever met! Can I have your number so I can have you do my hair every time?”
“Sure, it’s..”
I gave her my number and she introduced herself.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t introduce myself. How rude of me. I’m Valentina Zaitsev.” She stuck out her hand.
I reached out and shook it.
“I’m Grey Lennox.”
“Grey. What a nice name. I’ll definitely recommend you to other people. Do you
have a business card?”
“No ma’am. I don’t know how to make one.”
“Well then I’ll make one for you. By the way, how old are you? You look kind of
young.”
“Uh, well..”
“It’s okay, don’t be embarrassed. I’m 35, so we should be around the same age?”
“I’m 16..”
She deadpanned for a moment before confirming.
“What did you say?”
“I’m 16 ma’am.”
Her eyes widened and almost popped out of her sockets.
“WHAT?!”
“I’m sorry ma’am. I shouldn’t have taken on the role of a barber without a license. Please don’t sue me.”
“Sue?! No no. I want to hire you!”
“H-hire?!”
Tanya had just woken up from her shocked state. She had been that way since Valentina introduced herself.
“Miss Z-Z-Z-Zaitsev.”
“Hm?”
“I’M A HUGE FAN OF YOUR PRODUCTS!!!” Tanya pretty much yelled.
“Products?” I asked.
“YES PRODUCTS!! How do you NOT know her?!” Tanya attacked me.
“Oh, did I forget to tell you? I’m so sorry.” Valentina spoke up.
“I’m the CEO of OmniBeauty.”
Tanya looked like she was going to die of joy. She was wayyyy too overexcited.
“OmniBeauty? The products there are super luxurious and expensive! You’re really the CEO?”
“Yes, and here is my business card, even though you have my number.” Valentina said.
“This is surprising. Why were you in a small mall store like this if you’ve got the world at your feet?”
Tanya punched me in the side.
“Oof.” I winced.
“Don’t be rude!” Tanya scolded me.
“To answer your question, I was looking for a gift for my pets and saw this lovely looking shop, so I went in and tested you.”
“We’re flattered to be worthy of being tested, but if you were only testing us, then why would you let me work on your hair? That’s a huge amount of trust you had to put into me.”
“Well, you caught my eye and my intuition is never wrong.”
“Thank you ma’am.”
“Oh please, call me Tina. I’ll call you Grey.”
“Yes m-- Tina.”
“Ma’am your total is $150.” Tanya said.
Tina gave us two $100 bills. “Your change is--” Tanya began to say but then was cut off by Tina.
“No need, keep the change as a tip for both of you.
““Thank you”” Tanya and I said in unison.
“Then, I’ll be on my way. I’ve got to brag about the unpolished diamond that I’ve found.”
She turned to leave when a thought suddenly came to mind.
“Miss Tina, I have a question.”
She stopped in her tracks and turned around.
“Yes?”
“What do I put you in my phone as?”
“Tina is fine.”
Then she left.
Tanya was shocked from the past 20 minutes and didn’t have the strength to speak a word.
“Woah.. My dream came true. If I die, I’ll die happy knowing that I met Valentina Zaitsev.”
“Get a hold of yourself! You’re not dying on my watch!”
Her knees became limp and I had to carry her to a chair.
As I was carrying her only one thought occupied my mind.
‘God damn, this woman is so heavy!!’
When she could finally walk again, I packed up my things and left the shop.
Tanya told me she could close up. I didn’t try to be courteous because I was tired, so I left.
