Chapter 6

In the end, Jess went straight home. She decided that she'd already risked enough for her first time in Dogtown and didn't want to push her luck. If the Zephyr shop was a regular hangout for the skaters – after all, their shirts bore evidence of this – then Jay could probably be found around there almost anytime. Interesting that the girls didn't seem to care if she talked to him or not, though, she thought to herself. He must have scared them all off! This revelation made her wonder briefly if it would be worth it to even pursue a friendship with the unruly skater, but the memory of those mischievous aqua eyes and boyishly handsome face came flooding back and she felt another wave of interest build inside her. And hey, if that went nowhere there was always Tony with the beautiful curly hair – no wait, the Dogtown girls had warned her off of him along with Stacy. She wished she'd had the nerve to ask them why, since none of them seemed to be with either guy. Were the guys just major jerks? No, that couldn't be it. There was definitely an aura of possessiveness around the girls' order to keep away, like they had a prior claim on them or something. So how did that girl she saw with Stacy at the college fit into this?

Jess was starting to get a tension headache from the standoff and resulting confusion. She was definitely intrigued by the guys of Dogtown, but was it worth it to come back and risk an even worse encounter with the Dogtown girls? Jess ferverently hoped that not all of the local girls were that territorial, because she was already sure she'd go back again. Maybe she wouldn't talk to anyone at all, but she would return. The hell with those bitches!

The next day was a Saturday and since Jess wasn't starting work until Monday, she got up early and dressed to head out for her hair appointment. As she called goodbye to her mom (whose parting advice was "Don't let them scalp you!") and stepped outside she saw it was going to be another sunny day. It was nice getting up early on a January morning and being able to go out with jeans and a jacket instead of having to bundle herself up in so many heavy winter clothes that it was difficult to put her arms all the way down by her sides.

It took a little under ten minutes to cycle down the still quiet Venice streets to the salon. Jess chained her bike to a nearby rack – another nice thing about California – and checked in with the front receptionist. Business was already brisk; Tavares was blaring as the white-clad stylists did their thing with their trusting clients. Jess sat and waited for her turn, flicking through various hairstyle magazines for some last-minute ideas.

"Hi, Jess?" A woman's voice interrupted her contemplation; Jess looked up startled to see a pretty woman in her mid-twenties standing over her. "I'm Deb, your stylist. Ready to go back?" Jess was relieved to note that Deb's honey-blonde hair was a few inches past her shoulders. Good maybe she won't be as likely to chop all mine off, she thought.

"Sure, I guess so," she replied with a shy smile.

"Nervous, huh?" Deb inquired kindly.

"Well, a bit. I haven't been to a real hair salon since I was maybe ten or so," she admitted a bit sheepishly as she took a seat in Deb's white leather styling chair.

"Ah. A home job," Deb confirmed as she began examining Jess's tresses. "Well, it's certainly healthy and has a nice natural wave. You must eat your veggies!"

Jess giggled a bit at that. "Guess so. I've never permed or dyed it either, so I'm sure that helps too."

"It does indeed. So, any ideas about what kind of style you want?"

Jess frowned in consternation. "Welll, not really. Something new but not too new if you get my meaning. And please don't cut it all off!"

Deb smiled reassuringly as she reached for her water spray bottle and began liberally dampening Jess's locks. "I promise I won't. Your hair is much too pretty – it just needs some shape and volume. Don't worry, I'll keep as much length as I can."

As Deb worked she asked Jess the standard questions about her origins and recent move to LA. "How do you like it here so far?" she asked the teen.

"Well enough I guess. The weather's a lot better, the people at work and the college are really cool and there's a lot of cute guys-"

"Oh yeah!" Deb broke in and they both chuckled knowingly.

"But to be honest I'm not sure about some of the local girls I've met," Jess continued. She quickly related yesterday's encounter with the unfriendly pack of Dogtown girls at Bicknell Hill.

Deb's attractive face scrunched in a moue of amusement and disgust. "Did you get any of their names?"

"Umm, one was called Karen and another was Angel, but she acted like anything but!" Jess protested with an ironic laugh.

"Oh yeah, I know exactly who you're talking about," Deb said with a little laugh and shake of her head.

"You do? Are they clients of yours or something?"

"Nah, I'm from Dogtown too. Karen is a cousin of mine and Angel is my little sister's best friend. Was there a really petite girl there with the same color hair as mine and a skateboard?"

Jess did remember seeing another skateboarding female besides the Asian girl Peggy. "Yeah, she rode down the hill wearing a sundress and all the guys acted like their eyes were gonna pop out of their heads," Jess recalled.

"Oh yeah, that's Allie all right!" Deb hooted. "If Mama finds out she skated in a tiny little dress she'll ground her until she's 30!"

"Well if it helps, she never said a word against me," Jess stated. But then again, she never said anything in my favor either, Jess thought privately. You could definitely tell which side her bread was buttered on!

"Nah, Allie's really not a bad kid, she's just heavily under the sway of those other girls," Deb assured her. "Most of them are what we consider the 'younger crowd'. They're all the little sisters or cousins of me and my friends. We would boss them around and in turn they like to pick on newcomers and non-Dogtowners. Guess it's how you work your way up through the pecking order around here. Ok, hold real still for a sec."

Jess closed her eyes and didn't move a bit as the front of her hair was crafted into long bangs. "There, you can relax now," Deb told her. Jess opened her eyes and sneaked a peek into the mirror. Thankfully it looked good so far.

"Anyway, don't worry about those girls, ok? If you're cool, they won't mess with you. And you seem pretty cool to me," Deb comforted Jess with a warm smile.

"Well, ok. Thanks. But hey, any idea why they were so weird about me talking to certain guys? Stacy and Tony, that is," Jess explained.

"Ha! I went to the same high school as Stacy. He's two years younger but that didn't stop me and my friends from chasing him around. He's a cutie, all right!"

Jess was highly amused and intrigued. "Did any of you ever catch him?"

"Nah, I think we scared him. I mean he's shy, right, and yet he seems to be the one who likes to do the chasing, ya know?"

Jess just nodded, soaking up the information.

"So now since the older girls have moved on, the younger ones want a shot at him – if he ever finishes with his current girl," Deb laughed.

"That's understandable, but they acted like I didn't even have a right to talk to him," Jess complained.

Deb laughed a bit guiltily. "I gotta admit that's something they picked up from the older crowd. We just had a thing about keeping it all in the neighborhood – y'know, only a Dogtowner can date a Dogtowner and surf P.O.P., that kind of thing. But we knew we couldn't stop any of those guys from dating a girl from outside the neighborhood if they really liked them. Take Stacy for example. The girl he's seeing is from a couple of miles inland from here. And I'm sure it's driving those girls insane! But hey, I'm cool with any chick as long as she's not a Val," Deb spit derisively.

"I hear ya. Umm, what's P.O.P.?" Jess inquired.

"Have you seen that big pier near Bicknell Hill, the one with all the junked rides on it and stuff?"

"Yeah, the girls told me to stay away from it too." Jess said ruefully.

"Well, that's P.O.P. – Pacific Ocean Park. It closed in '67 because the neighborhood got really bad and nobody wanted to go there anymore. I had a lot of birthday parties there when I was a kid, though!" Deb smiled at the memory. "Anyway, you can't see it from the beach but it makes a kind of horseshoe or 'U' shape inside and produces really gnarly waves. It's called the Cove and only the best local surfers are allowed to go there."

"Hmm, this guy there yesterday – I think his name was Skip – mentioned something about a Cove, maybe he meant that place."

"Probably so," Deb replied as she spun the chair to start working on the other side. "Skip's cool. So's Jeff, the other owner of the Zephyr shop. And they have a very nice lady working in there sometimes named Cleo. You ever go there, tell 'em you know me and then try to sit back and just listen and watch. As long as you're not acting completely clueless or disrespectful they shouldn't have a problem with you. And oh yeah, either bring something with you for the guys or offer to help out around the shop, that'll get you on their good side faster than anything," Deb advised with a laugh.

Jess furrowed her brow. "Bring something for the guys like what?"

"You old enough to buy beer?"

"Nope. I'm 17."

"Ok then, cigs are always welcomed. Or cheap sunglasses – Skip's always losing his. Or hell, even cookies or brownies – especially if there's something extra in them!" Deb winked knowingly.

"Oh geez, I wouldn't have any idea where to even get those uh…extra ingredients!" Jess confessed.

"You a straight and sober type huh?" Deb teased.

Jess shrugged. "I've had alcohol before, but was afraid to try the pot back home. Too many horror stories about it being laced." She was actually blushing now, as if not doing drugs was something to be ashamed of.

"Well, it's the good stuff out here, honey! And that's all I'm gonna say." Jess would have nodded in acknowledgement, but Deb was touching up the back so she had to keep still.

Five minutes later Deb announced: "Ok, we're almost done! I'm going to give you a quick shampoo and then show you how to style your new 'do." She led Jess to the sink area, washed and conditioned her hair, then took her back to her station and demonstrated how to blow dry her hair using a brush to make the style work. "You can also use hot rollers if you have more time and want it to stay set for a lot longer," Deb advised.

It took over 15 minutes but when she was done Jess saw herself in the big mirror and gasped aloud. For the first time in years she had an actual hairstyle! About seven inches had been taken off, taking her hair from near waist-length to just about bra strap level. Deb had put several graduated layers around the sides and face and made cheekbone-length bangs, which she had styled so they gently arced out and down, nicely framing her heart-shaped face. The other layers used her natural wave to great effect, making her hair look a lot more voluminous and bouncy. Jess was amazed at the difference it made to her whole appearance. Best of all, it wasn't a very trendy cut, so she wouldn't walk around the neighborhood looking like an overstyled fashion victim. That wouldn't go down well with the Dogtown girls at all.

She thanked Deb profusely as she got out of the chair. The stylist just smiled and shook her head. "Glad you like it. You were pretty enough to begin with but now you're a knockout! And if you just add a little makeup and some hot clothes you'll cause fender benders on Venice Boulevard!"

"I already got some new outfits and makeup is next," Jess assured her.

"Right on! If you want my advice, go with browns, wines and neutrals. Those will go best with your skin tones. And if you have the urge to get a tan, keep it light. The ivory complexion really suits you. I've seen some of these older ladies who haven't come in from the beach since 1950 and their mouths are so wrinkled they look like a cat's butthole! Bad news, man!"

"Yeah, I don't have the patience to just lie on a towel and fry anyway."

"Good. And look, next time I see Angela or my little sister I'll tell them you're cool and not to hassle you."

"Oh, thanks so much, Deb!" Jess was truly touched by the older woman's kindness. At least there was one Dogtown girl who was accepting of new people.

Jess paid the receptionist and tipped Deb as much as she could afford. When she walked out of the salon both her head and her spirits were raised high. New city, new job, new school, new look - was a new guy next? She intended to go back to Dogtown and find out…today.