I spent half my summer holiday planning. I exercised like mad and lost as much weight as I could. Soon, before I knew it, there was only 1 and a half weeks left before my first year of high school started.

The next morning, I woke up in a hurry; jumped out of bed, brushed my teeth, ate breakfast, threw on a shirt and a pair of jeans, grabbed the magazine and all the 50 dollars I had saved off the nightstand, and ran out the door. Today, I was on a mission.

I stood across the street of Ameliah's Beauty Salon. This was it. My key to a new hairstyle; a new look. I crossed the street and stepped inside. The chimes that hung above the door tinkled as the door opened. The salon had pink walls with white outlines along with black leather chairs that sat in front of large mirrors on the left. Waiting chairs with magazines on a little table were placed on the right.

"Welcome!"

I whipped my head to the left, surprised by the sudden voice. A girl, about eighteen or so, smiled brightly. She looked gorgeous in her soft lousily tied coconut coloured hair. Some louse hair at the front and bangs added texture to her already pretty oval face.

"Hhh.. Hi" I replied.

"My name's Sally. What can I do for you today?" she chirped. She was leaning against the counter chewing some gum. It smelled like peppermint.

"uh, I wanted to get a new hairstyle, umm, like.. This one," I took out the magazine I carried and flipped to the page with a picture of a girl that had long layered wavy blonde hair with highlights. Sally took the magazine from me and studied the picture.

"Sure! Not a problem," she said finally, "Mary's going to wash your hair first. Just follow me".

She led me to one of the hair sinks near the back. She told me to lie down on the white leather chair rest, then placed a white towel over me covering my neck and chest. She then reminded me that "Mary will be with you soon" and headed back to the front counter. I sat there fidgeting a little when I heard the "click clack" of heels walking towards me.

"Hi there," said a young red-haired woman, "My name's Mary".

"Hi," I replied, "I'm Natalie," and that was all the words we exchanged afterwards. The water rushed through my long hair and a warm sensation filled me. I closed my eyes. It felt very soothing getting your hair washed by someone else. It was like getting a gentle massage.

Moments later, the water was turned off and another towel was wrapped around my hair. Mary then led me to one of the black leather seats at the front and then left. I sat in the soft cushioned chair, turning it once in awhile and glanced up at my reflection in the big mirror in front of me. I had caramel coloured hair, sort of crimpled whenever it dries. It flares out in a way that looks like I haven't combed my hair in the morning or it always seems so messy that it looks like I just got out of bed.

"Ready for your new hair style?"

I looked up to see Sally, once again smiling happily.

"Yup," I replied, and sat back as Sally started to comb my hair.

"You know," she said as she combed, "you have a really nice colour. It would be a shame if you dyed it a different shade instead".

"mm.." was all I mumbled out.

"Tell you what," she said at last, "how about I keep the colour you have now and just add the highlights and then add gloss for a final shine. How does that sound?"

"That's sounds fine," I replied. And then she got to work. Slowly, she highlighted my hair, cut it, glossed it, and then added rolls to my hair. At last, she took the rolls out and my hair gently fell around my shoulders. I couldn't believe it was my reflection I was staring at. My caramel blonde hair shined and waved softly as I turned. The length was up to chest and I could see it was slightly layered giving it a very "carefree" look. What I loved best were the highlights. Soft highlights ringed from strand to strand.

She saw me smiling and then smiled herself. "You like?" she asked.

"yes!" I replied, "yes! yes! I love it! Thank You!" I cried. I stared at myself, in awe that the final result looked so well. I put on my glasses to see better.

"Honey," Sally said as she took the glasses away from, "you have such a pretty face, don't hide them behind glasses".

I looked up at her. Other than my parents, she was the first person to say I was pretty.

"Thank you," I said again, softer this time. And then turned to look at my reflection once more.

Afterwards, I paid her for the haircut and left with 12 dollars in my pocket. My glasses were still off so everything I looked at seemed blurry. At last, I couldn't stand fumbling my way around and decided to put them back on. And that's when I noticed people were staring at me.

Oh no, I though, I must have something stuck to my teeth or something. I started to cover my mouth when suddenly, this cute guy who was walking towards me gave me a wink as he walked by.

Huh? I thought. Was that at me? I turned around, but saw that he was still looking at me and was smiling. I smiled back and continued walking.

All the way home, I saw many guys looking at me, staring at me and smiling. Some even called out names, such as "hey there, cutie". At first I was a little self-conscious, but I soon realized I didn't mind this attention. When I reached home, I stepped into the kitchen and stood before my parents who were drinking coffee.

"I want a new wardrobe".