Fiction Friday - Bad Hair Day

Tripp goggled at Celia over the rim of his drink. Haley was giving her a hug, while V asked the question they were all thinking: "What did you do to your hair?" 

Celia blew a long wedge of fringe out of her face and responded, "Get me one of those pink things you're drinking and I'll tell you." It had been a mistake, she realized. If her closest friends couldn't hold it together... what a mess.

As V signaled the order for another drink over the heads of the crowd, Tripp chimed in. "I mean, I'm all for 'you do you' honey, but I do not get this."

"Yes, well, it looked much better in the salon." All three nodded in understanding. "I don't know how she did it! It was all cool, and kind of spiky, but in a very 'upwardly mobile executive' way...."

"Oh! You got the promotion!" exclaimed Haley. "Good for you!"

"Yes, on Friday they promoted me," Celia's brows knit with worry as she explained. "So to celebrate I got a lovely, new hair-cut that is not working out as I hoped." She had loved it so much in the salon, she practically floated home.

"Anne didn't explain the look to you?" V knew Celia's hairdresser.

"Well, yes, but I guess I didn't catch it." She'd been too busy admiring herself in the mirror.

"So go back and ask again," Tripp said. 

Celia rolled her eyes. "I don't know when. I can't go to work like this on Monday. Anyway, enough about my problems..."

Soon the four friends were laughing and talking about V's failing relationship and Haley's annoying boss. Tripp had to leave early to meet someone, but the three girlfriends stayed at the bar well past midnight, drinking, dancing, and more drinking.

Finally, Celia wove her way home to her apartment. She stared at her blurry double-image in the mirror. She picked up a pair of scissors and cut off the wedge of fringe that had been in her way all night. She cut another section to try to even it out. She had to cut some off the sides to make things blend. She cut more and more, finally crashing on her bed in her clothes.

When daylight made its way through the curtain, Celia woke and dragged herself to the bathroom. "AAAaugh!" she screamed in the mirror. 

She texted Anne: "I need help!" but Sundays were Anne's off days, so she didn't hope for an answer.

She texted V and Haley: "I did a bad thing. Come over ASAP!"

When they arrived, Celia wore a ball cap to open the door. "What's the panic?" asked Haley. Celia removed her hat and watched eyebrows rise and jaws drop. "Well..." Haley looked to V for words.

"Um, well, it's almost a buzz cut. That's kind of edgy, right?" V was spinning her tone into a positive. Celia groaned and collapsed on her sofa. Her friends sat on either side.

"Okay. You want solutions? I see two," V was always the one with the ideas. "Since you can't get Anne today, you could go to a different salon to even things out, or we could just buzz it straight through and get you a wig for work tomorrow."

~~~

And now for a question:

What should Celia do? What would you do, if you were Celia? Have you ever had a hair cut so bad you needed to get it fixed?

It's FICTION FRIDAY!

Every Friday I write a new flash fiction piece. (I know, I'm late this week. It happens.) If you have a writing prompt you'd like to see turned into a story, just leave it in a comment.