Everyone at the party was drinking except me. I was only 15 and didn’t like the taste of beer—yet. My friend decided to drink and I just pretended while holding a cup but not really drinking from it. She found the guy she was crushing after, who was 18, and they started talking and walked away. That left me in a room full of strangers at a party I didn’t want to be at in the first place.
I went and sat on one of the couches that was empty. Some dumb drunk kid came over and started harassing me. That’s when I met Landon. He told the drunken kid to scram and leave me alone. I thanked him.
“You don’t go to A.S. do you?” he asked.
“No, I go to South Meyers,” I said.
“So how come you’re not drinking?”
“I am,” I said holding up my cup.
“I might believe that if your cup wasn’t full and I actually witnessed you take a sip,” he said with a hint of a smile.
“How do you know I didn’t just get a new one?”
He paused, glanced down and then back up at me “Cause I was watching you.”
“You were watching me?” I said blushing. He was pretty cute. He even seemed a little embarrassed to have mentioned it. I guess he didn’t mean to say that out loud.
“Um, yeah, kinda.” He blushed too.
I giggled to myself. After that he didn’t say anything. I sat, waiting, playing with my full cup of beer that I hadn’t touched since I got there.
After about a minute, he finally sat down on the couch next to me and properly introduced himself. “Hi, I’m Landon,” he said holding out his hand.
“Hi, I’m Tatum,” I said shaking his hand.
“Do you know Brian?” he asked.
“Who?”
“Brian Saks. This is his house and party.”
“Oh I um…” Crap.
I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t want him to think we were party crashers.
He just smiled and said, “It’s okay, I don’t know him either.”
It made me feel better. I told him why I was really here, that my friend made me come because she had a crush on this guy. Turns out that the guy was one of Landon’s friends. He assured me his friend was a good guy and I wouldn’t have to worry.
Landon and I talked all night. We had such a good time hanging out we decided to get together again. We spent almost every weekend together, but we didn’t date until I was 18. He was 3 years older than me and at 15 that was too old, according to my dad.
We only lasted about a month. We weren’t a good couple. People around us thought we were perfect for each other, but we didn’t feel that way. We tried to make it work, but couldn’t. We knew we loved each other, but only as friends and it would never be anything more. We’ve been best friends ever since.
Landon was a good looking kid and Landon today is devastatingly handsome. He’s over 6 feet with dark brown hair, brown eyes, and a killer smile. He has a nice build, with a few extra pounds he liked to call his “winter weight.” He kind of reminds me of Channing Tatum. In fact sometimes people think we’re brother and sister the way we bicker at times. He’s always there when I need him though.
After I finished his haircut I asked him if he’d be out this weekend. He said he would be Saturday. I kissed him goodbye and started Peyton’s hair.
“Did you decide what you want to do yet?” I asked her.
“I’m gonna leave that up to you,” she said.
“Really, I can do whatever I want?”
“Yep.”
At first I thought it was a trick or a joke so I asked, “What’s with the sudden change?”
“I’m ready for something different.”
“Ok, but I’m telling you now to remember you gave me permission to do what I want and you can’t say anything until I’m done.” I wanted to clarify that for insurance purposes.
“Now I’m a little scared.”
“Don’t you trust me?”
“Completely,” she said.
“Then just sit there and be quiet until I’m done.”
I decided since she wanted something different and was allowing me to do what I wanted, I was going to give her a whole new look. I cut it first since I planned to take a lot of the length off. I cut it into a short, angled bob and stacked it the back. I colored her hair a medium, chocolate-brown and gave her some black and light-brown highlights with lowlights in the front. It looked awesome and she loved it.
When we were finished we cleaned up, left work and I headed home to relax.
The next morning when I woke up I checked my phone. I had a text message from Logan.
Call me when u wake up ;)
Logan...how do I describe Logan? Well Logan is one of those guys that I sometimes hang out with when it’s convenient for him. I met him one night when I was out and thought he was the cutest guy I had ever seen. He’s tall, handsome, has a nice build, blonde hair, green eyes, and has the ability to make me act like a fool.
I like Logan a lot, but there’s something missing, and I don’t know what that something is. Peyton would tell me he’s an ass and he just keeps using me. Part of me knows she’s right, but for now I don’t care. I just keep telling myself I’m using him as much as he’s using me—again knowing that’s not true, but it helps. None of my friends like Logan. They think he’s a scumbag, and if it was anyone else but me, I’d probably think the same thing. See, Logan and I don’t date. We just…hangout.
I called him to see what he wanted. I didn’t really have to call him, I knew what he wanted.
“Hi,” I said when he answered.
“Hey what’s up?”
“You wanted me to call you?”
“Uh yeah, what are you doing?” he asked.
“I just got up.” Wait for it...
“Can I come over?” There it is.
I knew I should say no. It would have been easier if I just sent him a text in the first place and he knew that, that’s why he told me to call.
I told him yes and that was it. He hung up the phone without saying “goodbye” or “see you soon”. That didn’t matter to him. Once he got that yes it was enough.
I lay back down on my bed wanting to kick myself for saying yes, but who was I kidding. I was weak when it came to Logan. I gave in every time. I just figure it’s better than nothing at all.
When he got to my house we went straight to my bedroom. Direct and to the point, that was Logan. Afterward he stayed for about fifteen minutes and then left. It was almost like he was never here, and sometimes that was better.
Once he was gone I got in the shower and got ready for work. I really can’t complain. My life isn’t so bad. I pretty much do what I want and I have more friends than I can count. I guess you can say I’m lucky, but I wouldn’t look at it that way. Everything in my life so far has been…average. I feel there’s something missing even though I’m not quite sure what that is.
The rest of the work week went by pretty fast. It was already Thursday night and I was done with work. I headed out a little early; I had to go my brother’s to drop off some products I got for him.
It was pretty foggy on the way to his house; he lived back towards the mountains and I hated driving to his house at night. Especially on a night like tonight when the road was hardly visible. But I didn’t speed, I was in no rush.
One of my favorite songs came on the radio so I turned up the volume. I was singing so loudly to myself that I didn’t even see it, it came out of nowhere. I swerved to keep from hitting it and the next thing I knew I was up against a tree. I don’t really remember much after that. I still don’t know if I hit the deer or not. All I remember was coming in and out of consciousness, hearing sirens, and seeing flashing lights.
I heard my brother screaming and someone asking me if I knew my name. Everything happened so fast I hardly had time to comprehend anything.
Once I was in the ambulance they gave me something to relax. My brother rode along in the ambulance with me.
“Tay, Tay, can
you hear me?” I heard him say.
“God Ty, yes, shut up you’re giving me a headache.” He just laughed at me and told the E.M.T. I was fine. Which I agreed to and tried to argue that I could just go home, but he insisted I go to the hospital to get checked out. I know there was no way of getting out of it so I just went along for the ride.
On the way to the hospital, I started feeling sleepy. I figured it was the meds they gave me, so I didn’t fight it. I closed my eyes and let the wonders of modern medicine take me to a blissful state of unconsciousness.
Bad Habits are like a comfortable bed, easy to get into, but hard to get out of.
-Unknown
Chapter 2
When I opened my eyes, I noticed I was back in my bedroom. I looked at the clock and it was 11:00 a.m. I picked up my phone and the date said it was Friday, July 17. I looked down and I was wearing the same clothes I had on yesterday. Then I remembered the accident. That would probably explain my headache and, oh god, my car. I picked up my phone to call Tyler.
“How bad is it?” I asked him in a panic.
“How bad is what?”
“My car,” I said impatiently.
“Tatum, what are you talking about?” he sounded genuinely confused.
“I hit a tree on the way to your house last night.”
“You did? That sucks, how bad?”
“Tyler, you were there.”
“No I wasn’t.”
Now I was confused. My brother wouldn’t joke with me about something like this. “Wait, hold a sec,” I told him and went outside to check my car. Nothing, not one single scratch, and his products were still in the front seat.
Relieved and a little puzzled I got back on the phone, “Huh, sorry it must have been a dream,” I said even though I could have sworn it was real.
“Dude, Tay, stop smoking crack and you won’t have crazyass dreams.”
I rolled my eyes at him even though he couldn’t see me do it. “Shut up Tyler.”
“Where’s my stuff?” he asked.
“I have it, I’ll leave it on the kitchen table and you can get it whenever.”
“Alright see ya.”
“Bye.”
“Hey Tay,” Tyler said before I hung up.
“Yeah?”
“Don’t worry about the dream. I’m sure it was nothing.”
“Thanks Ty.” I hung up the phone and went back into the house. I still couldn’t shake the weird feeling of this dream though. Eventually I let it go. It wasn’t the first time I had a weird dream that freaked me out and it turned out to be nothing. I figured this one would end up being the same, just another bad dream.
By the time I got to work the dream was forgotten and I was feeling better. “You ready for tonight?” Peyton asked as I walked into the salon.
“Yes I am.” And I was. I needed a night out.
“Who all is coming out?” she asked.
I had to think about it for a second. “Nate and Kelly, of course, Jessie and maybe Alex, I’m not sure who else you’ll have to ask Nate.”
“You still are driving right?”
“Yes,” I told her on my way to check my schedule. I had a busy night tonight which was good. My first client was another one of my regulars, Janelle. I started doing her hair about a year ago and kind of became friends in the process.
“Yo girl what’s up?” Janelle said walking to my chair.
“Not much, what we doin?” I replied.
“The usual.”
“Alright c’mon let’s go wash your stinkyass hair.” I made a playful face.
She shrugged. “It is pretty stinky. I haven’t washed it in a week.”
She wasn’t kidding. She came in almost every Friday to get her hair done to go out and hardly ever washed it at home.
“Gross Janelle, gross.”
“Don’t they say it’s better to not wash your hair every day?”
I had to try to correct that. “Yes wash it every other day, not once a week. That’s how you get bugs.”
“Really?” No, but I wasn’t going to tell her that in hopes she’d start washing her hair more than once a week. I had to shampoo her hair three times for it to actually smell fresh and look like it was washed. I wished I had a mask.
After I was done washing the stink out of her hair, I took her back to my chair and blow-dried it straight and wrapped it in pin curls.
Janelle was at the salon so much she knew all the stylists. My boss didn’t care that she came out back with us so I told her I was going to sneak out if she wanted to join me. She followed me out and sat out back shooting the shit with Peyton and Jenna. After we finished our cigarettes we headed back in and I let out Janelle’s curl. I formed them into a nice wave and gave her lots of volume.
The rest of my clients were new ones, so each one took a little more time than normal. Once I was done for the night I was so happy. Peyton and I were the last ones to finish. We told Teresa we would close everything up. After closing the salon and locking up I told Peyton I’d call her when I was ready to go out.
It was just like any other Friday night. The weather was warm and humid. I made sure to dress cool and comfortable for tonight. Well, as cool and comfortable as I could be on a sticky night like tonight. I wore my cute, white shorts and my new plaid button down tube top. I loved the colors: blues, greens, and grays. It really showed off my eyes, which are hazel. Plus I found the perfect pair of wedges that were the same material and colors as my shirt—thank you Payless.
I was feeling great about my choice of outfit and it put me in a good mood. I wore my hair down even though I knew I would regret it later, but I felt I looked best with it down and straight. I didn’t even bother to flat iron it. There was no point. Within ten minutes in the humidity and hot bar, my hair would start to curl. I didn’t mind if it did because it would just give it a soft wave as opposed to if I flat ironed it, which would just make it frizzy like I needed a conditioning treatment.
All dressed up and ready to go, I did my finishing touches by adding my jewelry and spraying on my favorite perfume that never fails. Every time someone hugs me they tell me how good I smell, which is a major turn on and it’s good to know I don’t stink. I sent Peyton a text to let her know I was on my way to her house to pick her up.
I grabbed my purse and checked to make sure I had everything. Even though I always did because I never moved anything, I still had to check: ID, check; money, check; camera, check; cigs, check; keys and phone, check; okay I’m ready.
I walked out of the house and hopped in my car, blasted the AC, cranked up the tunes, and was on my way.
I was glad it was dark outside, because when I’m in my car I sing loud and out of tune. I can’t sing to save my life. I thought because it was dark out people couldn’t see me. Let’s just say I’d like to believe they couldn’t. I usually don’t get embarrassed easily, but one time in the middle of the day, I was really into the song playing on the radio. I was belting it out like I was Kelly Clarkson. I pulled into the parking lot of the local Quick Shoppe. In the middle of my big note I turned to the right to see a guy sitting in his car staring at me with my mouth wide open. He chuckled to himself, realizing that he caught me in my not so subtle attempt to carry a tune. Good thing my windows were closed or I would have truly embarrassed myself. So now I only try to pretend to sing as good as the artist at night or when there’s no one else around.
I got to Peyton’s house and text her to let her know I was outside waiting. She sent me a text back letting me know she’d be right out. Two minutes later she opened the car door and hopped in.
“Hey girl,” I looked over and—“What the hell bitch,” I said.
She turned to look at me. “Ah crap.”
For some reason, I don’t know why, Peyton and I always end up dressing the same. Normally we would ask what the other was wearing, but it never was a detailed description. The conversation normally went like this:
“So what you wearing?”
&
nbsp; “I don’t know. Shorts and a shirt, hair down.”
“Maybe I’ll wear a dress.”
“Sounds good, alright, bye.”
“Bye.”
Then as most girls do, we change our minds at least five times about our outfits. This is how we end up dressing alike. We did think a lot alike which would also explain the similar outfits.
“I’m not changing,” Peyton said. She had on a blue tube top, white shorts and blue wedges.
“Whatever, why do you always gotta copy me,” I said.
“Please chick, you copied me.”
“Um, hello, this is the new shirt I bought that I showed you on Monday.” I motioned to my outfit as though it should be obvious that she had seen it before.
“Oh yeah, cute, can I borrow it?”
“You can borrow it when you stop copying me.”
Peyton just laughed and said, “okay” in a sarcastic tone.
We got to the bar early enough so we didn’t have to park far. Normally we’d hit this particular bar at the end of the night because it got too crowded and we had to be a little tipsy to handle some of the obnoxious girls and ridiculous crowd that came here. We would normally start off at our little hole-in-the-wall corner bar. The drinks were cheaper and we knew the bartenders. But tonight was Nate’s birthday; we had to be here early.
Peyton had started drinking at her house to help her feel more at ease. I couldn’t, I was driving. I decided to have a few just to be able to bear being here the whole night. If I ended up having too much I knew a few of the bouncers who would gladly give us a ride home but I was going to try to be good.
We walked into the club. No need to show our ID’s, they knew us, we were regulars. We headed straight for the bar.
“Hey, where’s everyone else?” Peyton asked.
“They should be here soon, or are already here, somewhere. Maybe they’re on the patio.”
“You wanna look?” she said as she craned her neck in that direction.
“Nah, let’s just sit here a little bit and have a few. I’m pretty sure they’ll show up.”
The Hairdresser Diaries Page 2