Spoiler! :
I haven't read over this part in a while so I apologise in advance if there's any bad typos or awkward wordings.The first people I got to try my new hairstyle out on, besides the whole of the salon when Cassie had made me do a cringe worthy twirl, was my parents. They were just leaving for the local Italian restaurant as I arrived home.
“It suits you,” Mum said. Her smile was genuine and that calmed me a little. The last thing I’d wanted was for them or Leanne to tell me that I looked stupid; you can always count on the ones you love the most to be straight with you. “It makes you look more grown up, doesn’t it, Ben?”
My dad nodded, his eyes on his watch. “You look lovely, darling.”
I smiled back at him. “Thanks. Enjoy your meal.”
I watched them both out of the door before I grabbed a packet of crisps from the kitchen and made my way upstairs. I knew Leanne was home by the sound of angry guitar and fast paced drumming that was coming from her room. She never played her music quietly. I contemplated knocking on her door and asking what she thought of my new do, but the moment I raised my hand to knock, the door opened. Leanne was wearing a black polo neck and a teal skirt that fell to just above her knees. Her hair was scraped back into a bun and her eyeliner was smudged under her eyes, making her look tired.
“Hi,” I said, jumping back in surprise. The sound of rock music was loud in my ears and Leanne seemed to notice. She leaned back into her room and turned the volume down with the remote control she was holding.
Leanne smiled. “Ooh! You went for more than a trim then!”
I couldn’t help feeling happy that the first thing Leanne hadn’t done was laugh. And she’d noticed that my untidy fringe and invisible layers were gone, so that meant Sonny might realise too.
“Do you like it?” I asked.
“Yeah! You look well chic,” she replied. “It makes you look well older. You actually look seventeen now. Stick on a pair of heels and some lipstick and you could even be eighteen.”
I rolled my eyes, but inside I was ecstatic. If Leanne thought I looked older, than maybe Sonny would too.
My head was starting to fill with optimistic thoughts about how Sonny would react to my new hair cut, one of them included him sweeping me off my feet and the other involved him declaring his undying love for me. A girl could dream.
“So why the change?”
Leanne’s words brought me to reality and I found myself shrugging. No way was I telling her the truth. Not yet anyway. “Just fancied something different. I’ve had a full fringe and dead straight hair since I started secondary school.”
Leanne laughed. “I know. Somehow I was starting to think you’d been born with that hairstyle.”
I stuck my tongue out at her. “Well now the fringe is gone.”
“It’s still there, just modified,” Leanne said, reaching out to tousle my new and improved hair.
I jumped back. “Don’t ruin it. I’m going to have to take a picture so I can recreate it tomorrow after I’ve showered.”
“Really?” Leanne laughed. “You really are serious about this new hairstyle.”
I tried to look nonchalant. “I’m just tired of looking boring.”
Leanne’s face fell and she appeared a little sheepish all of a sudden. “This hasn’t got anything to do with me calling you boring has it, Harri? ‘Cause I was only joking and I know Aiden was too.”
I was about to tell her that I’d been needing to visit the hairdressers anyway when I noticed a smug look replacing the concerned expression on Leanne’s face.
She bit her lip. “This wasn’t for Aiden was it?”
I felt my face heating up at Leanne’s accusation. “No!” I exclaimed, a little too forcefully. “I told you, I just fancied a change.”
Leanne nodded but she didn’t looked like she believed me one bit. She leaned back against the doorframe and chuckled. I wanted to hit her for looking so smug but, not wanting to cause a fight, I backed towards my room instead.
“Think what you want to think,” I said over the sound of Leanne’s music that seemed to have got gradually louder again. “I’m not bothered.”
“You coming to band practise tomorrow night?” she asked.
I glanced at the tattoo on her wrist as she directed the remote at her stereo again and the music quietened. My thoughts reverted back to Sonny again, the image of his tattoo clear in my mind as the memory of the cloakroom moment bubbled to the foreground. “Can’t,” I replied, sounding genuinely disappointed. “I’ve got dance class. Sorry.”
“Never mind.” Leanne was disappearing back into her own room. “Mum cooked pizza earlier. It’s in the fridge if you want any.”
My stomach grumbled as I shut my door and dumped my bag onto my bed. I pulled out the packet of crisps I’d nabbed from the kitchen and ate them quickly before deciding I needed to get changed. Mel had made me wear a sort of apron to keep the hair from getting on my clothes but even still I could feel itchiness around my neck. I crossed to my wardrobe and pulled out an old t-shirt. I changed carefully, trying desperately not to mess up the way that Mel had styled my hair. I was pleased with my new fuller looking side fringe and shorter layers that Cassie said gave my hair oomph. My hair fell to just below my shoulders now and it looked thicker than it had before, even though Mel had spent fifteen minutes straightening out every kink she could find. She’d even given me some moose, saying that if I didn’t fancy straightening my hair, I could scrunch it with my hands instead and it would end up looking wavy. The hair cut had cost almost thirty pounds, but it was money well spent in my eyes. Especially if it would help me bag Sonny.
***
It was almost as if my new hair had somehow given me a new found confidence. I woke early the next day intent on giving myself enough time to get my hair just right. I wanted it to be perfect for when my peers saw it. I wanted them to think ‘Who is that girl?’ and then realise with surprise that it was me.
I ate breakfast quickly before getting ready. Having thought about it last night, I even wore Leanne’s old blazer. I paired it with plain jeans and my Haunted Vegas t-shirt. I contemplated wearing more than a single coat of mascara too, but then the blue eye shadow incident from year seven plagued my thoughts and I decided better of it. I wanted to look chic, like Leanne had called me. Not like a clown.
I found myself rushing to College. I didn’t want the cold wind and menacing purple clouds to spoil my dreams. A quick trip to the toilets in the English block proved that the stitch I’d encountered from running to College had been worth it. My hair was still surprisingly straight despite the harsh wind. Feeling even better about the oncoming day, I made my way to English even though I knew no-one else would be around for at least another ten minutes.
“Harriet! Is that you?”
At least no-one was usually around. I forced on the smile I wore just for Brandon. It was cheesy and so fake it made Barbie look real. I’d caught myself wearing it in the mirror once and had freaked myself out.
“You look great!” He sounded even happier than usual.
I glanced at his standard outfit of a polo shirt and designer jeans and then up at his face. I almost jumped backwards. It was like seeing my cheesy smile in the mirror all over again.
“Lost your voice?”
It was then I realised I hadn’t answered him. “Uh, no. I mean, thanks!”
He rested a hand on my arm and I felt like shaking it off. But I didn’t, not wanting to appear horrible. “You look even prettier than before.”
I blushed at his compliment, even though in doing so I knew it made him think I appreciated it. I did though. I liked hearing that someone thought I was pretty. The only problem was that it was the wrong someone. I noticed him inch closer to me and my stomach knotted. It would be too obvious that I wanted to get away from him if I stepped backwards, so I leaned back into the wall instead, knocking a poster advertising the College play to the floor. Brandon watched it float downwards before he set his eyes back on me.
“Is that a new jacket too?” he asked, his eyes skimming down the length of my body. I felt really uncomfortable, but I still didn’t move away.
“It’s my sister’s. Well, was my sister’s. She gave it to me a couple of nights ago.” My voice was wavering all over the place where I was now watching the students trickling past, hoping upon hope that I saw someone I recognised so that I could call out to them or something. Anything to stop the weirdness that was developing between Brandon and I as the seconds ticked by. I felt trapped. I didn’t want to just walk off, leaving Brandon muttering about football to himself. But then again, I couldn’t stand to listen to him any longer.
“It’s a nice jacket. You know, it’s the colour of the College football strip; blue and green. We won our last game five to nothing. I scored twice. One was a header.”
I felt like headering the wall.
“The keeper didn’t know what had hit him. Sometimes I don’t know my own strength.”
I saw him flexing his arms slightly, trying to get my attention, but I set my gaze on the other end of the corridor.
“You should come watch me play sometime.” He sounded hopeful. “I train on Friday nights. Are you busy this Friday?”
Oh crap. Having been asked a question, I realised I had no choice but to turn back around to face him. I opened my mouth, only to shut it again at a loss of what to say. He was closer than he had been before and I could smell the toothpaste on his breath when he asked me the question again. I dug my nails into my palm, trying to force myself to just tell him that I wasn’t interested, when I spotted a familiar face at the end of the corridor. I’d never been so happy to see Aiden in my life and it sparked off an idea in my head.
“Actually, I’m hanging out with Aiden on Friday night. We might catch a film or something.”
I had to admit that it did pain me a little to see Brandon’s face fall, his eyes moving to the floor in disappointment, but the elation that I’d gotten away with not having to see him train, was enough to cancel out any part of me that felt like changing my mind.
“That’s too bad.” Brandon looked like a wounded puppy, his eyes wide and his mouth drooping downwards. “I would have loved for you to have come to one of my training sessions.”
I felt myself shrugging, my eyes on Aiden again as he walked at a painfully slow rate towards the classroom. He was chewing on a chocolate bar and he had his headphones plugged into his ears. His head was bopping to the beat of the music and his feet were scuffing the floor. I felt myself move towards him.
“Are you sure you and Aiden can’t reschedule?”
Any guilt that I’d been feeling for lying to Brandon disappeared in an instant. One thing I hated when it came to Brandon was his persistence. In fact, that was probably what turned me off of him the most.
“Sorry. We made plans over a week ago. It would be wrong to change them for something that’s only just come up.” I put on my best sympathetic look just as Aiden finally waltzed to a stop beside me. I smiled.
“Hey, Harriet,” he said, pulling the earphones free so he could hear properly. “Nice hair cut. You look cool.”
My smile morphed to a beam. “Thanks.”
“And is that a blazer I see?” He ran a finger along the stretch of material on my shoulder. “Nice.”
“I was saying that it’s the College colours,” Brandon said. His tone of voice made it sound as though he were desperate to join the conversation.
Aiden seemed to acknowledge Brandon for the first time then, smiling at him as though he found something funny. “Oh right. Though I doubt Harriet’s wearing it for that reason.” He moved his gaze to me again. “It was Leanne‘s, wasn’t it? I saw her wearing it in a photo on the band blog page.”
I nodded and felt my cheeks redden a little. I didn’t want everyone knowing that I was wearing my sister’s cast offs, even if it was cooler than everything else I seemed to own. Bar the Haunted Vegas t-shirt, of course. “Yeah, she let me have it. She was only going to throw it away.”
“Well I think it suits you. It brings out your eyes.”
The compliment would have been nice if Aiden was saying it, but coming from Brandon, it only sounded creepy. “Thanks.”
The conversation dipped then and there was silence for a moment. I’d been admiring the silver button in the shape of a serpent on the sleeve of the blazer that I hadn’t noticed before, when I noticed Brandon stepping around me. For a second I thought he was leaving, but he only moved to stand on the other side of Aiden. I took no notice until I heard him speak.
“So what film are you taking Harriet to see on Friday then?” He was trying to sound light-hearted, but I knew he was just digging for information in case I was lying. Which I was.
Aiden’s frown made my palms sweat. “What?”
Brandon smiled slightly. “Harriet told me she couldn’t make footie practise on Friday evening ‘cause she’s going to the cinema with you.” My pulse rocketed. “You are going out, aren’t you?”
I glared pleadingly at the back of Aiden’s blonde head, praying that he would catch on.
“Hang on. This Friday?” Aiden bought a hand up to stroke his chin as if he were thinking hard about something. “Actually, I think I do remember agreeing to take her to the cinema.” He turned to me, knowing Brandon couldn’t see, and pulled on a huge grin. “Yeah, we were thinking about going to see the new horror film, weren’t we Harriet?”
I nodded enthusiastically. “Yeah. It looks great.”
Brandon peered past Aiden, who was still grinning knowingly at me, and stared at me for a moment. His expression was hard to read, but he looked like he was thinking something through.
“Have fun then,” he said finally. “You’ll have to tell me all about it.”
“We will,” Aiden replied, clapping him on the shoulder. “I mean, you could have come along if you didn’t have footie practise.”
Brandon paused for a second but then shook his head. It was cruel of Aiden to tease him, but inside I was laughing. That had put a stop to Brandon’s persistence.
“Thanks for that,” I said once Brandon had disappeared into the classroom a couple of moments later. First bell had just sounded and students were suddenly flooding the corridor. “I thought I was going to have to go.”
Aiden shrugged. “No problem. Though you do realise that we have to go to the film now.”
I studied his expression for a moment before deciding that he was serious. “But I hate horror films,” I said, following him to our seats. Brandon was safely tucked away at the back of the classroom so I didn’t have to worry about him hearing me now. “I don’t think I could sit through two hours of someone being hacked to death. I mean, I can do blood, but not on a mass scale.”
Aiden laughed as he sank into his seat. I sat down next to him and frowned. “Can’t we just go and see something else?”
“So you actually want to go to the cinema with me?” He was wearing a cocky grin and I felt suddenly defensive.
“Well, I only used you as an excuse, but if you think we should go.” I trailed off, unsure of what to say next. “We don’t have to though,” I added quickly.
Aiden drummed his fingers along the desk. “I’ll tell you what. Why don’t you just come to band practise Friday night instead. Leanne’s been moaning that you never come and you-know-who will be there, too.”
I didn’t have to give it a second thought. “Deal.”
***
Mr Lloyd had recovered from the flu so Mr. Hunky as Cassie had affectionately named him, didn’t make an appearance that afternoon. It was back to staring at grey hair and cartoon ties rather than bulging biceps and a perfect smile; he really was too good looking to be a supply teacher.
I was thinking about the way the girls had all sighed collectively when Mr. Lloyd had walked through the English classroom door as I got out of the car in the dance studio car park.
“Ring me when you want picking up,” Mum said, offering me a bright smile. “Have fun!”
I grinned back. “Will do!” I watched her pull away before the will to dance pulled me inside the building. The sight of the airy foyer and laminate flooring made my heart race in anticipation like it always did when I thought about dancing. It really was my escape. For Cassie, escaping was reading Zelda King’s blog with a cup of hot chocolate and I’m pretty sure Leanne’s was singing in her band. Twice a week I got to feel like this and, even though I’d been coming here for the last three years, I still got the same buzz as I approached my dance studio.
“Hey, Harriet!”
I looked up from my gym bag to see Maddi waiting on a bench just outside the studio. “Hey. What’s up?” My eyes were now on the leaflet that Maddi was reading. It was covered in big bold writing and at the top I could just about make out a picture of a ballerina.
“I was just reading this.” She handed me the leaflet, letting me get a closer look. “It’s about a competition. I was wondering if you fancied entering?”
My eyes skimmed the pale pink flyer carefully, picking up on the dates, times and venue. It was being held a few miles away, at a dance studio the next town over, the week before Christmas. I bit my lip in thought. I’d always danced for fun. As a release. So thinking about dancing for a competition was a whole new concept to me. Sure, I’d known people in the past, mostly those who I’d done classes with, who had entered competitions, but I’d never thought about entering myself.
“What do you think?” Maddi’s blue eyes were watching me with interest. “You wouldn’t have to enter to win, but I think the experience would do you good. Life’s about trying things once. It’s not like it would hurt to have a go.”
I felt myself smiling shyly. I’d known Maddi for the three years that I’d been having dance classes and I knew that she was a lot like Brandon; persistent. She’d been the one who’d suggested -- insisted -- that I try modern dance, rather than sticking to jazz and tap like I’d wanted to. I had to admit that she’d been right on that occasion; I loved the style of dancing that I’d been working on recently. I had a routine that we’d come up with between us, but some of it was freestyle, leaving me to come up with whatever moves I felt like doing. It appealed to the sense of freedom that I liked. It would be a shame to waste the routine.
“Can I let you know?” I asked. “Only, I don’t want to commit and then find that I’m overrun with College work and I don’t have the time for it.”
Maddi nodded, her brunette hair bouncing around in a loose plait. “Just give me a text by the end of the week. I need to get entry forms filled out.”
“Sure.” I nodded and followed her into the dance studio. I’d been taking one on one classes for the past six months and sometimes I missed the atmosphere that came when practising in a group. Maybe I did enjoy dancing in front of others, even if I hadn’t realised it at the time.
I pulled off my jacket as Maddi started up the stereo. The song we’d choreographed the routine to, oozed out of the speakers and my muscles relaxed for a split second, before I sprang up onto my toes, letting the music take me away from my everyday thoughts.
Here comes me and the most useless review in the history of useless reviews!
Seriously though, I really do love the sprinkles of comedy you have in this. Considering I'm writing something so depressing at the moment, it's good to read something that makes me smile. This novel probably stops me from turning insane... xD
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