After Alex Died by Dakota Madison

filled with crap for me to experience true peace.
    When I got to the hair salon, only one customer was seated in the back of the place. It looked like she was just getting her bangs trimmed.
    “Do you have time for a color?” I asked the older woman standing at the reception area.
    She glanced down at her watch. “Yeah, I should have enough time. We don’t close until seven.”
    The woman, who looked around my mother’s age; late forties, inspected my hair and asked, “Who did this to you?”
    “One of the girls I went to high school with was studying to be a hair dresser and I let her practice on me.”
    The woman raised an eyebrow. “Did she ever get her license?”
    I shrugged. “I have no idea. She decided to move to LA to work on movie sets or something like that.”
    “The only movies I could see her working on are horror films.”
    I cringed. Was my hair really that bad?
    “My name’s Dottie. Let’s go back to my booth and see if we can work some magic.”
    Forty-five minutes later, magic had been worked. My hair was a light brown that really brought out my green eyes and it was in a shoulder length bob that actually made me look stylish but still approachable.
    “You’re a real beauty, honey,” Dottie said as we both exa mined my new style in the mirror.
    “You really think so?” I asked.
    “You’ll have those college guys falling all over themselves to date you.”
    I had to laugh. “That’s exactly what I told this guy would never happen.”
    “And what guy is that?”
    I shook my head. “Just some guy I work with.”
    “I bet he’ll ask you out the minute he sees your new hair style.”
    “It’s not like that,” I assured her.
    “Honey, unless he’s gay, it’s always like that.”

     
    Week Three
    Monday morning came too quickly. It took me a while to recognize my own reflection in the mirror. I looked so different without the crazy colored hair. I actually felt a little nervous about seeing Cameron. What if he didn’t like my new style? And why did I care so much?
    I spotted Sofia and Antonio at a table in the corner of the cafeteria. I had a banana and some yogurt on my plate as I had decided to take the advice of my peers and Dr. Jones and try to eat something substantial in the morning.
    My friends’ jaws both dropped when I sat down.
    Antonio whistled. “Girl, you look fine.”
    I smiled a true and actual smile. It felt a little foreign but good.
    “Who are you and what did you do with Dee Dee?” Sofia joked. “I need to go visit my mother more often. Look at what you decided to do. Has Cameron seen you yet?”
    I shook my head.
    “That boy is going to lose it. I’m telling you. He’s already falling for you, this will completely do him in.”
    “Whatever,” I said. “I don’t think he’s falling for me.”
    Antonio snorted. “Yeah, right. He doesn’t even know which way is up anymore.”
    “Speak of the devil,” Sofia said as she gestured toward the buffet.
    Cameron was holding his tray and scanning the cafeteria. He looked confused until his eyes landed on mine. His jaw dropped and he didn’t take his eyes off of me as he headed for our table.
    He placed his tray next to mine and took the seat next to me.
    “You look amazing,” he said as he took me in.
    “Thanks,” I murmured , suddenly uncomfortable. I felt like I was on display. Sofia and Antonio were both still staring at me and Cameron hadn’t taken his eyes off me.
    “Okay, that’s enough,” I said. “I’m still just Dee Dee, even if I look a little different on the outside.”
    “If you looked just a little different, we wouldn’t be gawking,” Sofia scoffed as she tossed a raisin at me.
    “Watch where you throw your dried fruit,” I said as I grabbed the raisin.
    “At least I didn’t throw a prune at you. Or even worse, a date.”
    “Do they even serve prunes and dates? Aren’t those for old people?”
    “If they did, one would be headed in your direction.”
    We all laughed. For