When I told Kimmy I was leaving the bar, she stared at me incredulously.
“Vanessa, what did I tell you?”
I smirked. “You said I couldn’t leave until I’d given at least one guy my number,” I said. My arm was still linked through Calvin’s and I tugged him to the side. “And I did. This guy, Calvin, he has my number.”
“Vanessa!” Kimmy sounded exasperated. “I didn’t mean him! He’s gay!”
I frowned. “Yeah, so? He’s gonna come over and give me a haircut.”
Kimmy scoffed. “Come back when you’re ready to grow up,” she sneered.
As we walked out of the club together, I felt a little awkward and uncomfortable, but mostly like I’d made the right decision. Not being able to tell Kimmy about Cade had been killing me, and although I knew I couldn’t blab to Calvin, at least I could tell him about having a crush on a guy, or something like that. Anything!
Calvin grinned at me. “Your roommate is a real pistol,” he said cheerfully. “I’ve seen her around. She really goes out of her way to be nasty sometimes.” He rolled his eyes. “She always shows up and acts like we’re losers if we don’t want to pop molly like she does.”
I stared back. “Yeah, there’s no way I’d do drugs,” I said softly. “She’s just…wild, you know? I haven’t been living with her for that long, but it’s like she personally decided that she has to revamp my life or some crap like that.”
Calvin nodded. “I bet,” he said. “She’s insecure, that’s all it is. She’s probably jealous of you.”
I laughed. “I doubt that,” I said drily. “She barely even cares what I do. And she’s almost never home.”
“Sounds like a good roomie,” Calvin said with a wink. “Like, you basically live alone, right? I’m jealous!” he whined dramatically, and wrapped his arm around my shoulders, putting his head on my neck.
We walked over to the bus stop and I perched on a big rock jutting out from the sidewalk. With Calvin, I didn’t mind that the area we were in was a little seedy. It seemed like with a streetwise friend who knew the area, Madison wasn’t anything to be afraid of after all.
As we took the bus to my house, I couldn’t help but feel elated at making a new friend. Calvin seemed like the first real friend that I’d made in Madison, not counting Cade. I was so relieved to finally have someone to confide in. I had a feeling that no matter what I told Calvin about my background or my weird, clingy parents, he wouldn’t judge me.
When we got to my apartment, Calvin settled in the living room. I made a big bowl of popcorn and brought us each glasses of wine from Kimmy’s personal stash. We found a channel playing reruns of Desperate Housewives on TV and settled down on the couch together.
“You’re so cute,” Calvin said as we were watching. “Have you ever seen this show before?”
I shook my head. “No,” I said. I laughed shortly. “My parents didn’t let me watch TV unless it was the public broadcasting station. And even then, it had to be really educational or else they’d come in and turn off the television.”
Calvin gasped. “Oh my god. You were so sheltered!”
I snorted. “That’s not even half of it,” I said drily. “Did you know that I wasn’t even allowed to wear makeup? Or skirts above the knee? I went to prom, though.”
Calvin laughed. “And I bet your parents made you come home before midnight?”
I giggled. “Yeah,” I admitted.
“Hey, come here.” Calvin scooted closer to me and picked up the ends of my hair, combing through with his fingers. “Can I cut your hair? It would look so cute! I promise! I’m really good!”
“I don’t know,” I replied. Sighing, I pulled my hair over my shoulder and combed through. I loved my long brown hair. Even though I knew it probably made me look a bit drab, I loved that I didn’t have any split ends and that it always looked perfect in a ponytail or a braid.
“Come on,” Calvin whined. “This hairstyle is so last year!”
I frowned. “Okay,” I said. “Do your worst.”
When the episode of Desperate Housewives was over, Calvin pulled me into the bathroom and flipped on the lights. He pushed me down to sit on the toilet lid. I watched nervously as Calvin fumbled around with things in the kitchen and the living room. He finally brought a bowl, a towel, and a pair of scissors inside.
“Do you have a razor?”
I handed him my safety razor from the shower.
“What about a curling iron?”
I frowned. “Kimmy has one, but I don’t think she’d like me using it.”
“Oh, fuck her,” Calvin said casually. “She’s probably not even coming home tonight, and if she does, I bet she’ll be totally wasted.”
I waited nervously as Calvin heated up the curling iron and dampened my hair with a spray from the sink. He spread a towel over my shoulders and began to snip carefully, slicing through each hunk of hair with an expert, feather-light touch.
“Don’t take too much off,” I warned. I hadn’t cut my hair in years, except to give myself the smallest of trims whenever I got split ends. Mom and Dad both thought it was trashy for a woman to have hair shorter than the middle of her back, although they thought it was trashier for a woman to wear her long hair loose. Nothing used to irritate my dad more than seeing me come to the breakfast table in the summer with my hair down around my shoulders.
“My parents are going to kill me.” I giggled nervously as I watched hunks of rich, shiny brown hair fall to the floor.
“Well, you’re going to look adorable, so more’s the pity,” Calvin said. He reached forward and began styling my hair with a part on the side. “How do you feel about bangs?”
“Oh god,” I replied. “I haven’t had them since I was a little kid. You really think that would look good?”
Calvin shrugged. “I wanna do something adult, something very side swept and adorable,” he replied. “You’re gonna look so cute!”
I held my breath as Calvin moved the scissors closer and closer to my head. Already my head felt lighter. When I saw the amount of hair on the floor, I gasped and Calvin had to grab my chin and steady my head so that I was looking straight ahead.
“No peeking!” Calvin said sharply. Finally, he put the scissors down and picked up a bottle of something of Kimmy’s. I watched as he rubbed a small amount between his palms and tousled my hair between his palms. It smelled good, fruity and kind of sweet, and I closed my eyes as Calvin began to massage my head. He took his hands away all too soon and lifted the curling iron towards me. When he curled a section of hair around the barrel, it gave an alarming sizzling sound.
“Calvin!” I cried loudly. “Are you ruining my hair?”
“Not at all,” Calvin said. “You’re gonna look so cute for that boyfriend that you didn’t want to tell me about!”
My jaw dropped and I gaped. “What the hell, are you psychic?”
“Nope.” Calvin gave me a sassy little smile. “I just pay attention, honeybun, that’s all.” He winked at me. “So, can you tell me about him?”
I smiled guiltily, no longer caring about the hot metal wand mere inches from my face. “I’m sorry,” I said, twisting my face. “I’m really not supposed to say anything about him. He’s…well, it wouldn’t be good for him if everyone discovered our relationship.”
Calvin sighed. “Of course,” he replied heavily. “I’m done. Why not look at yourself?”
I hopped off the toilet and looked in the mirror. I was shocked at what I saw—he’d lopped off my hair to just below the shoulders and given it long layers that curled at the ends. I had side swept bangs that curled to one side. I looked really good, even though I still looked exactly like me. But I didn’t look like a high school girl anymore, I looked like a real adult. Or at least a pre-med student with a sexy boyfriend. Which is what I am, I thought with a shy giggle.
“I love it,” I chirped. “You did such a great job!”
Calvin grinned at me. “I know,” he said. “I’m the best. And normally, that would run you two hundred! But since you’re my new best friend, I’m giving it to you for free!”
I blushed. “Calvin,” I said softly. “That’s totally not necessary!”
Calvin waved his hand in the air. “Now, we gotta get to work on your clothes,” he said. “Take me to your room!”
Twenty minutes later, my room was in complete disarray. Calvin had pulled everything out of my closet and thrown it on the floor. There were three piles: trash, maybe, and keep. I watched in surprise as Calvin sorted through the different outfits and pieces with a skilled eye.
“Some of this stuff is good,” Calvin said. “We just need to…fix it a little.” He glanced down. “I hope I’m not offending you, honeybun.”
I rolled my eyes. “No,” I said honestly. “At least you’re nice about it. Kimmy just makes me feel like a total reject for having such dated clothes.”
“Didn’t I tell you that she’s just a rotten bitch?” Calvin stuck his tongue out. “And then tomorrow, we’re going shopping!”
“Calvin, I can’t afford anything right now,” I said. Heat rose to my cheeks and I found that I couldn’t stop blushing. Besides, every time I caught my reflection in the mirror, I was astounded by my new haircut. I loved it so much. I couldn’t believe the magic that my new friend had worked on me!
“Don’t worry about that,” Calvin said. He waved his hand in the air. “I have a ton of friends who work for clothing stores. Don’t worry, we’ll find you some good stuff on sale.” He winked at me. “Or for free,” he added. “My friends all owe me some favors, anyway. I do most of their hair, and it’s not like they can afford to pay me working retail!”
I rolled my eyes. “And you think that somehow you’ll be able to just find me a great new wardrobe for free?”
Calvin laughed. “Not a whole new wardrobe, but I should be able to work a few miracles.” He winked at me.
I rolled my eyes. “You’re so weird,” I said. But deep down, I was glad to have made another friend.