Ages:

Jim - 44
Melinda - 40
Ned - 18
Henry - 16
Katie - 15
Hannah - 15
Aaron - 11
Mackenzie - 5

Katie stared at the shelf of hair dye, her wallet in hand. She was on a mission. She hated how boring her hair was. How boring she was. She'd seen Henry with Cynthia at school today.

They broke up in July, but it still hurt to see him sit with her. Even after three months, to see his arm around her, smelling her blonde hair... it hurt. It hurt so much because he'd never been like that with her. He'd always pulled away, saying he wasn't into affection at school, only after.

At events. Parties.

Just once she wanted to be worth something. To believe someone would want to make out with her in the park or the square or a coffee shop. She wants someone who won't hurt her, who will never leave. Just once she wanted to be able to look someone in the eye and not think about how bad it's going to hurt when they leave. She wanted to feel like someone truly loved her. Just once.

Was it because she didn't look like her? Like Cynthia Rose? Maybe if she just changed her hair, it would be different. She'd be taking a risk. Changing things up. She wouldn't be so boring, as Henry worded it.

She stared at the boxes, reaching for the bottle of bleach, but she touched her hair again. She didn't want to bleach it. That was just so terrible for hair, and she did not trust herself or Hannah to not screw up on the first try. And she was definitely not going to ask her mother for help.

Melinda would never say yes and was never going to forgive her. She'd lied about where she was going, and furthermore hid what she was going to do. She'd told her mom she'd gone to Hannah's, and she had, they'd just walked to Walgreen's after.

"Should we just go to the salon?" Hannah asked, running her hands through Katie's hair. "Your hair is just too pretty for us to touch. I don't want to ruin it."

"Maybe... I do have money saved," she muttered, grabbing the mirror nearby and looking over her hair again. "Maybe I could get my nails done too... that'd be just in time for the winter formal this weekend."

"What money?" Hannah asked.

"I worked with my mom all summer, remember?" She explained. "She paid me like twenty dollars a day to help out."

"Oh. I thought you'd just saved your birthday money. I didn't know you got paid to work." Hannah concentrated, whispering to herself next. "Maybe I should get a job."

"My mom gave me a paycheck just like she does with Aunt Delia. I didn't think it was a big deal." She shrugged, pulling her ATM card out of her wallet. "And I just put them all in my bank account. I take money out if I want something, but I don't do that often." She twirled the card in her fingers, smiling. "Wanna go to the salon?"

"Yes!" Hannah squealed. "Let's go! We can call my mom."

It was late when Katie came home, nearly dinner. She'd texted saying she and Hannah went to the salon to get their nails done for the dance this weekend. She'd just have to make up and excuse for why she was coming home with a different hair color too.

Hannah's mom was actually in town for once. She'd agreed to drive them across town to the nicer hair salon when Hannah had called. They'd walked to the library nearby and waited for her to pick them up there. They'd all got their nails done, and Hannah added some green streaks to her hair while Katie went all out. Blonde. She was really doing it.

She'd sat in the chair, put the smock on and let the stylist apply hair toner and bleach to her hair. She'd gone for a honey blonde color and it came out perfectly. She sat on the swing, taking a moment before she went inside. She didn't know how her parents were going to react. Would they be mad? Would they just be surprised?

Against her black woolen jacket, the girl's blonde hair was what every girl dreamed of having when they dye it. It fell to a straight line midway down her back, absolutely flat and shining in the winter light. When she turned her head it moved with her like a liquid, shaping her face well.

She tugged on the hat over her ears as her father's truck pulled into the driveway. She relaxed into the swing as he hopped out, walking toward the door. He came up the stairs and stopped before her, mouth pressed into a firm line.

"Hi daddy," Katie said softly, sounding like she was five instead of fifteen for the moment.

"Your hair," he sat beside her, smiling at her. She'd colored her hair. He touched the blonde stands with his fingertips and met her eyes. "You changed it?"

"I needed a change," she sighed. "Do you hate it?"

"I kind of like it, but your mom... you know how she can get." He laid back on the wooden swing. "She doesn't like change. Not suddenly, that is."

"She's gonna freak," she nodded, knowing her fate when she walked through that door. "I'm just sitting here, enjoying the quiet. For as long as I can."

"C'mon. It's freezing," he stood, holding his hand out to her. She took it and he pulled her up, kissing her forehead as he squeezed her side. "You've gotta face her before she starts worrying."

She shrugged, following him inside. "Yeah. I guess." She took the hat off her head as her mother came into the foyer, kissing her father. They stayed like that, for a long moment before her mom pulled her father's hat off and turned to see her.

She didn't have enough time to sneak past and up the stair. Her father had blocked the way.

"How did the salon go?" Melinda looked at her nails, a simple pink to go with her silver dress. She studied her daughter's hair, looking to Jim and then back to her. "You dyed your hair? Did you know about this?"

"Not until I saw it," Jim shrugged his jacket off and into the living room. He plopped down next to Mackenzie and pressed a kiss to her cheek. "So how was your spelling test?"

"Why?" Melinda asked and pulled her into the kitchen.

"I needed a change," Katie said, sighing and sinking into a stool on the island.

Her mother chuckled to herself and Katie shrunk. God, this wasn't good. She wasn't even talking to her. Usually, there would be a lecture, followed by some sort of hug, and then it could go on for a few days, sometimes less. Depended on the seriousness of the situation. The silent treatment was when you knew you were in for it. She only did it to dad, really. But Katie had gotten it, once. When she was caught at a party by Ned.

She watched her mother walk around the island, looking through a few drawers and eventually pulling out a spoon. She stood in front of her, stirring around the salad. She added ham slices and bacon chips like she always did. Cheese and cucumber slices next. She grabbed the bag of croutons and tossed them around.

"Why that drastic? Why not highlights?" Melinda muttered, looking up at her. "I thought you liked your hair. Do you know how much heartburn I had to give you that hair?"

"Mom," Katie groaned and rubbed her face, peeking at her mother through her fingers. "Enough about the heartburn, alright? I'm fifteen."

"You're not acting like it." Melinda sighed and tossed the salad together with the anger she had instead of throwing it into her words. "That's not how my fifteen-year-old daughter would've handled this situation. I wish you've just talked to me. I would've brought you to the salon."

"You would've talked me down," Katie eyed her and stood up.

"Would that have been such a bad thing?" Melinda muttered under her breath, tossing the salad a bit more.

Mackenzie came running in then, pulling on Jim's beefy hand up to the fridge. "See!" She pointed to the spelling test that was magnetized to the door. He picked her up and she pointed to the red marked score. "Eight daddy. I got eight out of nine."

"That's so good Mack!" Jim kissed her cheek and set her down. He whispered something in her ear, that Katie and Melinda didn't hear. "I'll be right in to watch with you. Just let me distract mommy."

"I'm gonna pause it, daddy. Okay?" Mackenzie pointed at him. "You take forever with mommy." She exaggerated forever, and he laughed at her, kissing her cheek.

"Yeah. I know." He kissed her hand and stood up, going to Melinda who had peeked at the test again as she grabbed the salad dressing. "Hey, you. I didn't get to properly say hello."

Mackenzie ran over to Katie and squeezed her legs. "You look like me now!" Mackenzie giggled and held her hair next to hers. "But I still like your other hair better."

"Thanks, Kenz," she sighed and hugged her. "At least someone likes it."

"Well, I like it too. It's just a little too light for my taste," Melinda huffed, looking at her daughter. She did not look pleased with Katie, but she wasn't going to say anything more right now. "Dinner is almost ready. Hi." Her mom smiled at Jim as she stepped closer to him, touching his face. His eyes smiled back at her as he kissed her. The dressing bottled touched his chest before her hands did, chilling him. The kiss was brief and perfunctory. Melinda had things to get done. When she didn't, he'd get more. She turned to the salad bowl and he followed, checking the oven. "Why didn't you ask me?"

"I didn't think you'd have said yes." She sighed and shook Mackenzie off, who ran back into the living room. She swung her backpack off her shoulder and onto the stool. "I have English homework and History test to study for. Can I eat dinner in my room?" She pulled out her notebook, showing her mom the double-sided study guide for the history test that was tomorrow. She also pulled out her English composition notebook and showed her the writing prompt that was due by class tomorrow. "I'll get it done. Don't worry, but I need to get started now if I wanna be able to get to sleep by nine."

"Yeah, alright." Melinda sighed, reading over the content Katie had written down. It was a neat scribble, like her dad's. She touched the side and looked back at Jim. He'd wrapped his arms around her waist and was looking at it too. She usually wrote in cursive, and that made her glance back to Katie, then remembering Katie telling her that her History teacher couldn't read tight cursive. "I'll bring your plate up. Go get started."

"Thanks, mom," Katie came around the island kissed her cheek, hugging her before she grabbed the paper and ducked up the stairs. She'd barely swung her backpack over her shoulder, she'd run so fast.

"Did you tell her Ned is coming by for dinner?" Jim walked to the kitchen doorway to peek up the stairs to see she was already gone. "I assume no." He met Melinda's feisty eyes.

"No," Melinda sighed, shrugging as she turned and walked into the kitchen. "She never asked."

Jim chuckled and followed, rubbing her shoulders as he whispered in her ear. He'd have to massage the chip off her shoulder, for now.