Chapter 4

Hair

"I've told you, Vanessa. I'm not going to get give you the answer."

"I'm not asking you for answers, Walter. I just asked you what the function RNA is."

"So I suppose this is just your idea of a conversation starter."

"Yeah…sure."

"And your conversation starter just happens to be number 5 on our homework assignment."

"Come on, Walter. We only have a few minutes until Mr. Mosby gets here and starts class."

"Found it!" Aria had been desperately flipping through the pages of that chapter while Vanessa argued with Walter. "It's a temporary copy of genes and gene information."

"There's more to it than that," Walter commented.

"It'll have to do," said Vanessa as she scribbled the answer.

"Did you two really not have any time last night for school work?" Walter inquired.

"Well, I did have after school Flute practice, remember and Vanessa had volleyball practice."

"And when you got home it the only thing you had time for was dinner and then bed?"

"We may have talked on the phone, a little," Aria admitted.

"Class," Mr. Mosby walked into the room. "Please pass up your homework."

Together, Aria and Vanessa sighed with relief. They both finished just in time. Now, Aria just had her Geometry homework to worry about. She supposed she could do it during lunch. Since Vanessa already had Geometry, maybe she could help. From now on, Aria decided that she will no longer wait and do her homework until right before its due. Last night, she was just so tired and wanted to go to bed early.

Another thing that would help, is actually paying attention to the teacher's lecture. Then maybe it would not take her so long to find to the answer. Unfortunately, more than half the class had already gone by, and Aria had not listened to a single word Mr. Mosby said. She always found herself daydreaming. Her elementary school teachers would even send notes to her parents informing then that Aria had trouble paying attention.

At lunch, Aria did manage to finish her geometry homework so by the time she got to class she was ready to turn it in. Mr. Turner collected the homework and then proceeded on with the lecture about classifying angles. Once he finished, he gave out the homework assignment and gave the class the rest of the period to start it.

While she was deep in concentration, Aria felt a brief brush on her back, followed by a tap on her shoulder.

"Hey, did you get number 4?"

Aria turned around to see Kendal starring at her, waiting for a response.

"Well?"

Aria looked back at her homework. "Um… I got sixty degrees, but I'm not sure that's right."

"Doesn't matter. I just need a number to write down."

Aria rolled her eyes and went back to her assignment. Before she could finish, the bell rang and class got dismissed. As Aria made her way to her locker, she heard Walter call to her.

"Hey, Aria," as Walter approached her he said, "You have something in your hair."

As Aria reached her hand back to touch her hair, she felt something sticky and rubbery. "Eww…it's gum!"

"How did you get gum in your hair?"

Aria thought for a moment then it hit her. "Kendal! She must have stuck it in my hair when she asked me for the answer in Geometry. I can't believe it. This is low, even for Kendal!"

"You can ask for peanut butter. That should get it out," Walter suggested.

"There's no time. I just have to put my hair up in a ponytail for now. I'm going to gym next anyway. See you in Band."

During gym, Aria had a chance to unleash her anger. In kickball, she kicked harder than normal, pretending the ball was Kendal's head. Then she had a sudden thought. What if this was an opportunity for her to make a change? This time she actually has a reason to cut her hair. Her parents could not blame her for taking drastic actions to get a disgusting piece of gum out of her hair. They wouldn't be mad. Right?

On her way to Band, Aria sent a text to Vanessa asking if her older bother, Aaron, would be willing to drive them to the mall after school. Aria did not want to risk her parents stopping her, so she decided it was best to go ahead and get the haircut and then go home.

"Did you get the gum out yet?" asked Walter as Aria sat down and assembled her flute.

"I'm going to take care of it after school," Aria replied.

The moment Band let out, Aria quickly bid Walter a quick farewell, practically ran to her locker to get the rest of her things, and then went to find Vanessa.

"Did you ask you brother yet?" Aria demanded eagerly.

"He texted back 'sure,' Vanessa answered. "So what's the emergency. Why do you need to go to the mall so bad?"

"Kendal stuck gum in my hair."

"Ewww….that's disgusting!"

"I know, right?"

"Why don't you just use peanut butter?"

"I figured this would be a good excuse for a haircut. Besides, the joke will be on Kendal if my new hairstyle draws more attention to me than her."

Vanessa considered this. "Yeah, I suppose, but won't your parents get upset if you chop of all your hair?"

Aria shrugged. "They'll get over it. Besides, I'm sure they will understand why I did it once I explain about the gum. I can just say I didn't know peanut butter worked."

"I don't know about this, Aria. I just hope you don't get in too much trouble."

"How mad can they be over a haircut?"

Just as they walked out of the building, they spotted Aaron in his truck, waiting for them. The girls hopped in and they drove to the mall. Westmont Mall was rather small, but Aria knew, that there is at least one salon in it that took walk ins.

When Aaron dropped them off, the girls marched around the mall searching for a salon.

"There's one," Aria spotted. "Barbara Ann's Salon."

Aria walked up to the front counter. "Hi, uh, I would like to get a haircut."

"Name please."

"Aria Rosenberg."

The lady at the counter wrote down her name and said, "We'll name someone for you in about fifteen minutes, Ms. Rosenberg. Meanwhile you can sit over there."

Aria and Vanessa sat down in the waiting area and looked at the magazines.

"What do you think of this one. Do you think it would look good on me?" Aria showed Vanessa a picture of a girl with a hair that flipped out just past her shoulders.

"Cute," Vanessa flipped though the pages of her magazine. "You could also get side bangs to go with it."

"Great idea! Maybe highlights too!"

"I wouldn't push your luck, Aria. Your parents are already going to be mad enough."

The stylist then came out. "Aria Rosenberg."

Aria stood up. "That's me."

"Hello, Aria. My name is Lisa and I will be your stylist. So tell me, what would you like done?"

"Well, I at least need the gum cut out of my hair."

Lisa smiled, understanding.

"Um, let's see." Aria quickly glanced at the magazine one last time. "How about long layers and, um, I want my hair to flip out and I want side bangs.

"Alright, lets get started. Let me get that gum out then I will shampoo and condition your hair."

This was all so exciting for Aria. Never in her life had she gone to get a haircut. She did not ever know that they washed the hair before they cut it. Aria watched in awe as Lisa cut her hair with such precision. It could not be easy to cut in layers but Lisa looked as though she could do it with her eyes closed.

When Lisa finished blowdrying and styling her hair she turned Aria and allowed her to view herself in the mirror.

"Oh my god!" Aria could not believe it. She looked like a completely different person. Her hair was exactly like that model in the magazine, only better. Aria's hair flipped out past her shoulders just perfectly.

"Do you like it?" Lisa asked her.

"Like it? I love it! I have never looked like this in my entire life!"

Aria ran out to the waiting area to show Vanessa. "So, what do think?"

"You look amazing!" Vanessa gazed admirably. "And your totally right. The joke is on Kendal. Just wait until she see you!"

For the first time in well, ever, Aria actually looked forward to going to school the next day. She could not wait to see the other kids' expressions when they see her. But first, she had to deal with her parents.

"Good luck," Vanessa said as she and Aaron dropped Aria off at her house.

"Thanks," Aria replied as she walked up to her front door. Before she reached it, the front door opened and out came Ms. Fleming.

"Oh, hello, Aria. You're parents called me when you did not come home. They…. oh my, look at you." She noticed Aria's haircut. "Did you just now do that?"

"Yeah, that's where I was after school. Do you like it?"

"You always look lovely no matter what, dear. Well, I better get going. Good bye."

That was strange. Was Aria imagining this, or did Ms. Fleming seem nervous about something? Maybe she knew how upset Aria's parent would be when they see her haircut. Aria herself grew more and more anxious as she entered her house, not knowing what to expect.

"Where have you been," Elizabeth demanded. "Do you know how worried we've been? We called…. what did you do to your hair?"

"Kendal stuck gum in it so I got it cut." Aria tried to sound as calm as possible like it was no big deal.

"There are other ways to get gum out without hacking off your hair!"

Aria rolled her eyes. Her mother could be so dramatic. "I just thought that it's about time for a change. Besides, what's the big deal? It will grow back."

"Yes, I suppose it will." Elizabeth said this with a very odd tone in her voice. "Why would Kendal even put gum in your hair in the first place? You two use to be such good friends."

Aria sighed. Yes, it was true. There was once a time when Kendal was her best friend along with Vanessa. They even had three necklaces they would wear that said Best Friends Forever. Kendal's said Best, Aria's said Friends, and Vanessa's said Forever. But in eighth grade, when Ian first asked Kendal out, she became different. Aria guessed that she let her newfound popularity go to her head and for some reason, she decided to hate Aria. Now, without Kendal, Aria and Vanessa were left with Friends Forever.

Aria just answered, "I guess people change."

xXx

The next morning, Aria awoke her her mother's voice as usual. "Aria, sweetie. Time to get up."

"Five more minutes?"

"No, honey. You need to get up now. Come on, I'll help you brush your hair."

"Huh?" Aria sat up, slowly and realized that her hair once again went down to her waist. "But how…?"

Elizabeth just acted normal as if nothing happened. "Come on, lets brush it. There are probably a lot of tangles."

This is impossible. It's like her hair was never even cut in the first place. "Mom, how did my hair…?"

"I've told you, sweetie. You have very special hair."

Special. That's one word to describe this. Aria starred at herself in the mirror. This is just not normal.