Chapter 2: Let's Just Say Blonde Hair is History
If my mom has ever hated me before she's really going to hate me now. The first person that my mom will suspect when she tries to find out who stole her car is me. Although I'm only ten my stepfather Rob taught me how to drive in his Dad's corn field. Anyway, before I got started on my journey my hair has got to come off! I have long blonde hair and electric blue eyes. I love my eyes but my hair is something that I've hated since first grade. For most of my life far I'd wanted short, spiky black hair with a few streaks of blue and today that dream was going to be a reality.
I looked off to the east and saw three quarters of a circle poking out of the trees. It was approximately 5:30 a.m. Since I lived in the city or whatever you want to call city in Maine a bus would be arriving at about 5:45. I knew that I would take the bus to Augusta and then get my hair cut and colored there then head of to where ever. I ran down my short driveway and crossed Main Street and sat at the bus stop bench. On cue the bus stopped and I got on.
"Where would you like to go Miss?" asked the bus driver as I hopped up the steps.
"Downtown Augusta, please," I responded.
"That's a hundred and five miles! That'll be twenty-five dollars please."
I pulled out a fifty and said, "Keep the change." I walked to the back of the small bus and sat in the last seat of the right side. I remembered my black duffle bags that I'd left in the driveway. Automatically, I stood up and walked to the front of the bus.
"Can I go back and get something?" I asked the driver.
"No!"
I pulled out a ten dollar bill and he opened the door. It was risky crossing the road without looking but I didn't get hit so whatever. I sped down my short driveway and picked up the two bags. The bus driver honked at me as I crossed the road again. I walked back to my seat and seen Luke Castellan sitting in my seat of the bus.
"LUKE CASTELLAN YOU TELL ME WHAT YOU DID WITH MY MOTHER'S CAR!" I screamed. As I said it everyone looked at us and I sat down.
"Thalia Grace," he murmured in amazement.
"Alright, where is it?" I asked in my 'tell me now dead boy' tone.
"In a ditch," Luke murmured under his breath, trying to keep me from hearing him.
"IT'S IN A WHAT?" My voice was very loud and at this point I didn't care. "How in the Zeus's World did Thalia-May Grace's Mercedes end up a DITCH?"
"The police were chasing me and I kept driving really fast then I came to a dead end sign and I didn't want to hit it so I drove in a ditch then hopped out and fled from the scene." As Luke told me this story I kind of felt sorry for him. It seemed he had a tough life by looking in his bright blue eyes. We sat there in silence for the ride and when we reached Augusta I realized that as sad as it was to leave the boy who saved my life, Luke wasn't getting off.
"Bye Luke," I said, and then I added, "Take care." I reached down and kissed him on the cheek and then he was gone. I would never see his bright smiling face again. Part of me was sad leaving Luke. After all he did save me from being a grease spot in the middle of a forest. I'll admit that after I'd gotten off that bus two tears came out of my eyes. Quickly I wiped them away and tried to figure out why I was so sad. I'd talked to him twice in one morning and then I was crying over him. Strangely enough I'd had I strong feeling that it wasn't the last time I would see twelve year-old Luke Castellan.
I walked down the streets of Augusta looking for the hair salon. The sun was at the top of the sky so I assumed it was about noon. As I milled down the streets of Augusta I came to a small pink shop with a sign identifying it as Sally's Salon. It looked inviting so I opened the door and stepped inside. It was the absolute worst place I'd ever been to in my entire life. It had lavender walls and a few windows. Over the windows were the nastiest pink curtains I'd ever seen. For a punk-rock sort of girl it was their worst nightmare. There were six hair cutting stations, a hair dyeing station, and a nail painting station. A few middle schoolers were getting their nails painted. I shuddered and thought about my best friend who was girly like them.
"Hello and Welcome to Sally's Salon! I'm Sally and I'll be styling your hair today," said an upbeat hair stylist with a neon-blue tee shirt and a black apron with pink and purple streaks on it.
"Hi, I'm Thalia," I said, extending a hand. Sally took it firmly and we shook hands.
"How would you like your hair styled today, Miss?" Sally asked me hopefully.
"I want my hair to be cut above my ears and dyed black," I replied reluctantly.
"Okay, let's get started."
I followed Sally and sat down in a tall green chair at the end of the room. I leaned my head back over a bowl and Sally shampooed and conditioned it. She smiled as she worked which gave me the impression that she loved what she did. Sally weaved her hands in and out of my hair making sure it was all cleaned. She pulled down a big dryer and dried my hair for a few minutes.
"Thalia……….." her voice trailed off.
"What is it Sally?" I replied.
"Where are your parents at, Thalia?"
"I-I-I r-r-ran away," I muttered.
"Oh." We dropped the subject.
After my hair was dry Sally grabbed a pair of sliver handled scissors and started cutting. She was careful, holding and cutting each strand of hair gently and perfectly. I thought about how long I'd been growing out my hair. My mother loved long hair and I knew she would be disappointed if she'd known what I was doing. She would never know. I was two hours away from home and I would never get any closer.
"Thalia how short did you want your hair?" Sally's voice woke me up from my trance.
"Above my ears and by the way I'd like it spiked if you could do that," I replied.
"As you wish, what colors will we dye your hair?"
"I want black hair with blue streaks in the bangs."
She picked up a bottle with beautifully blackwritten on it. She rubbed it in and grabbed something that looked like a straightener and put blue in my bangs. It dried and Sally turned me towards the mirror.
And then my long blonde hair was gone and I'd never been so disappointed in myself.