Chapter 2: Let Ludmilla Sort You Out

Welcome back! Another chapter I loved writing sooooooo much! By the way, I think in the American Miracle Mask Ludmilla is called Madame Lapushka, so that's the person who appears in this chapter. Enjoy!

I do not own any of the characters in the chapter or Harriet's Hair Guide (I really need to put this at the beginning of all my chapters really... Lets just just pretend I remembered to! (basically please don't sue me))

Then he just fell onto the bed and lay there. He stayed there for quite some time, not moving, not crying, not even really thinking. When he finally lifted his head, he considered just staying there for the rest of the day, but thought better of it, besides, he was hungry. Hershel picked up his phone and turned it on.

1:32 pm

Well, that had been a perfectly lovely waste of his first morning at university. He reluctantly got up, the light coming in from the window was bouncing off the cream walls, making them shine. He should probably spend the rest of the day preparing for the week ahead of him, he thought, rubbing his eyes as though waking up for the second time that day. Looking around the room, he realised there were still lumps of hair lying on the floor, better clean that up for starters. He didn't have a dust pan and brush on him, so he started picking it up with his hands. As he did this, he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror, but rather than having another break down, he cursed under his breath and ran to the glass to get a closer look. Well, he'd certainly been very thorough when destroying his afro, he looked like someone had tried to trim a hedge blindfolded! He raised his hands to the mess, the worst bit was that it was all uneven, some parts were close to their original position, others were so short he had been lucky not to catch his scalp. He stared helplessly at the disaster on his head, he couldn't go into lessons like THIS, first impressions were everything! He'd be a laughing stock before he'd even started! Hershel racked his brains for a solution, ah ha! Now he remembered that, on the drive over, he had seen a street full of shops, quite close to where he was now. There might be a barbers among them, the only problem now was getting there without the dangers of bumping into any future classmates. He rushed to wardrobe in the corner and had a rummage around. The only thing he could find that would cover his head was a hooded raincoat, there wasn't the slightest sign of rain, but it would do perfectly. Now all he needed was the money to pay for it, he found the envelope his father gave him and opened it.

The contents shocked him, he'd only expected to find about £40 or so, but taking one look at the pile of £10 and £20 notes immediately told him that there must be a couple of hundred! No wonder Roland had been so nervous! He felt… bad, for some reason, as if he'd stolen it and should take it back right now. He sighed, it feels wrong, but one way or another, I need a haircut, so he took £30 (it was out of habit that he always took about twice the amount of money he needed to the shops), shoved it in his pocket and made his way out of the room.


As he walked down the high street, he began to get paranoid thoughts; what if people gave him weird looks for his raincoat? What it a sudden gust of wind blew off the hood? What if the barber was a student? He tried to push these scenarios out of his mind, but kept the hood tightly pulled down over his head.

Hershel studied all the signs he passed.

"20% off all vegetables!"

"Washing up liquid for £1.20!"

"15% off all hats!"

It was at this offer he looked up, above him was a large sign, on which was written in a large, purple, fancy font "Ludmilla's" and under that in smaller writing "Clothes Store and Unisex Haircuts". He sighed with relief, this would do.

When he opened the door, a small bell chimed, making him think of the grocery store back in Stansbury. "Thank you for dropping by! And don't forget to come back soon!"

"Thanks Ludmilla!" a young woman replied over her shoulder, she was carrying a few bags and heading for the door, which Hershel instinctively held open for her. She gave him a grateful smile. "Thanks" she said quickly, the left.

"Can I help you, dear?" Hershel jumped and turned. Ludmilla was short woman with light blonde hair in a bun, she was also wearing a blue dress and a friendly smile.

"Umm, ur, yeah" he stammered nervously. "I, umm, came for a haircut."

"Well, you came to the right place, young man!" She said excitedly. She stepped out from behind the counter and showed him to a chair in front of a mirror (which, much to his delight, was not right next to shop window, he could never stand that at his old barbers as it was, but it was a huge relief considering the circumstances). He sat down and Ludmilla stood behind him, hands on hips. "If you'd like to take your coat off for me, dear" she said, once again in a friendly tone. Hershel bit his lip, then removed his hood. He had expected her to giggle or laugh, or at the very least look surprised, but instead she just smiled at his reflection, as if it were normal to walk into a hairdressers looking like your head had been attacked by wild animals. "Alright, then, what would you like me to do today?"

"Umm…" he hesitated, he had been so focused on getting a haircut that he, well, didn't know what haircut he wanted. "I'm… Not sure." Again, Ludmilla surprised him, instead of an impatient frown she smiled excitedly.

"Well, at least that gives me a chance to use Harriet's hair guide!"

"Harriet's what?" But when he turned around, Ludmilla had already scuttled over to the checkout and was opening a drawer. She hurried back over with a green piece of paper in her hands.

"Hmm. Now tell me, sugar, when do you want your style to REALLY come alive?"

"What?" But Ludmilla just waved him off.

"I don't get it either, just answer question" she said merrily.

"Umm, every day, I guess."

"Good good, now, do you like the sun? How does it make you feel?"

"Urr, warm." Hershel replied, hesitantly, feeling pretty sure that was the the sun's main purpose.

"Very well! Last one now! If you were rushing to the salon and someone were to call to you, what would you do?"

"Well, stop and say hello to them, I suppose."

"Brilliant! I have just your style in mind, now!" She placed the paper on the counter and picked up some scissors. Ludmilla cut away at his hair, chattering on about great deals on the high street and recent news and small talk in general, while sometimes making random, off topic remarks such as "I don't think I've seen you around here before, it must be your first year here!" and "You know, I pick out outfits for my customers as part of my job, perhaps you'd like one?" Most of this washed over Hershels head, and as she didn't seem to expect him to reply, it was kind of comforting. After a few minutes, She stood back and squinted at him, her face twisted as if she were making a decision, then she smiled at him again. "Well, good old Harriet was right, that style suits you perfectly!" Hershel turned to the mirror, it was certainly very short, short enough that each individual hair stuck up rather than flopping anywhere, but at least it didn't look terrible, he would just have to get use to it. "Are you sure you don't want an outfit?" Ludmilla tried.

"Urr, no thank you, madam, I'm-"

"Madam?" This was the only time Ludmilla had look at all shocked, and Hershel was wondering what he had said wrong, when she gave a massive grin. "Oh! A gentleman! I haven't had a gentleman in here for years!" She shook her head "No, no, it's too much! I can't have a gentleman walking around here without the appropriate outfit! You simply must let me let me find you something!"

"Umm…" Hershel hesitated, unsure of how to get himself out of this, when Ludmilla clasped her hands together.

"Oh, come on! Please! Tell you what! Just this once I'll do it free of charge, apart from anything you my buy in the process, but I'll do my best to use what you've already got!" Hershel sighed, Ludmilla had to be about twice his age, yet she was so excitable that he felt to awkward to say no.

"... Alright then, just this once." Ludmilla didn't need to be told twice, she jogged over to the checkout and picked up a large book, then beckoned him over to a full length mirror. When Hershel got there she was already flipping through the book, which he could now see was titled 'Laws of the Looks'.

"Now, lets see… G, g, g, g, gentleman!" She practically squealed when she found what she was looking for. "Okay, so, it says here 'If you want to get the look of a true English gentleman, but want to avoid bowler hats and umbrellas, all you need to do it follow these simple rules. 1. A gentleman must be smart.'" She put the book down and looked over to Hershel, her chin in her hand and a frown of concentration on her face, then she gave a 'ah ha!', walked over and buttoned up his waistcoat. "See! You look better already!" She hurried back over to her book. "Sometimes it's the little things that make all the difference! Now, what else… '2. A gentleman must have that touch of something a bit fancy'... Hmm." She resumed her thinking position, then wandered over to the shelf of accessories. After fiddling around for a moment she came back with a white scarf. She took his blue tie off and tried placing the scarf in several positions, until she found on that satisfied her. "Lovely! Now, one more thing… '3. Last but not least, a gentleman must ALWAYS wear a hat!'" Ludmilla disappeared behind a rack of shirts, then gave a triumphant gasp. She came back and, before he could see what she was holding, pulled something down on Hershel's head, then took a step back and squinted again, studying him for anything that needed improving, then she beamed at him. "I knew it! I'll bet this is my best work yet!" She nodded to the mirror behind him, which he turned to. His new image stunned him, it was a good look, he'd admit, but, he looked so much… older, late twenties at least. The hat he was wearing was an orange flat cap, almost the same shade as his waistcoat. He looked so… Different, which was good, wasn't it? He'd wanted to see the back of old Hershel, so why not welcome this new one? "Well? What do you think?" asked Ludmilla, curiously.

"It's… Excellent…" He gave a faint smile to his reflection, the same one that only a few hours ago he was shouting abuse at. He held the brim of the cap and tipped it a little, perhaps there was no harm in New Hershel being a gentleman.

"Goodbye, dear! Hope to see you back soon!"

"Thank you!" Hershel left Ludmilla's and started back up the high street, with his raincoat and old tie under his arm, feeling that he had had a successful shopping trip for under £30, plus feeling a lot happier (maybe there was something to be said for getting out of doors when you're feeling down). He looked back at the store he had just left, perhaps he would get his clothes from there in future as well, it was a very good service. He continued on wards, when he started to feel hungry again, it was about three o'clock and he hadn't had lunch yet, but remembered a charming little cafe he had passed earlier. A few minutes later, he was enjoying a melted cheese and bacon filled croissant with a cup of tea, reading the paper. He put it down and looked out of the window at the busy street, so, it wasn't a bad first day at all, he thought to himself, when a thought sent a shiver down his spine.

Now he had to survive his first day of lessons.

Thank you for reading! I hoped you liked Ludmilla's appearance! Please leave your thoughts in the reviews, don't forget to follow the story for 1000 hint coins and favourite it for 10000! Thank you again and I'll see you next time!(P.s. Who knows what Harriet the Hairdresser is from?)