Sam’s New Haircut

Sam’s New Haircut
by Abby Aguirre

Sam slid her glass window open. It was a cold night but she felt unusually warm. The evening breeze brushed her face and swayed her short brown hair. She looked up at the skies and saw a few stars. Then, from her shorts’ pocket, she took her cell phone and began texting.

“Will, s it already 2 l8 in d evning 2 ask u 2 hav ice cream w/ me @ bon’s ave.?”

After sending the message, she saw that it was already 9:03 pm on her phone. “What was I thinking?” she thought to herself. Her room was very silent save for the electric fan beside her closet. She tossed her phone at her bed, not really expecting that Will would answer, and went downstairs for a drink.

Everyone else at their house was downstairs doing all sorts of things. Sam’s parents were watching TV, her brothers were cooking fries before they watch wrestling and her little sister was chatting on the telephone with her classmate. Everyone seemed to be very alive although it’s already kind of late in the evening. Sam then finished her iced tea and went back upstairs to her quiet room. As she sat back on her bed poised to reach for the Philosophy book on her bedside table, she noticed her cell phone with its screen alight near her pillow. She picked it up and saw “1 new message” flashing on its screen. Then, she read it, “ice cream? 2nyt? bon’s ave.? @ d sundae parlor?” It was from Will. “Poor Will,” she thought, “I shouldn’t have sent that message at this hour of the night.” The wind that came in from her open window brushed onto her face again.

“sory will, i didn’t look at d tym wen i txtd u a wyl ago, don’t mind wat i said,” she replied.

She went back to getting her Philosophy book and started peering over a few pages. However, she wasn’t really in the mood to read more of what was already discussed earlier in her class, so she returned the book from where she took it and grabbed a magazine instead. Although before she even got to open the magazine, she felt her phone vibrate beside her. It was a new message and she quickly read it. “ r u kiding? I’d luv 2 go 4 an ice cream. it’s not yet dat l8. c’mon, i’ll meet u @ d intersection. game?” was Will’s reply. After reading it, she saw that the time on her phone was 9:20 pm.

She stood up from her bed, went out of her room and headed towards the stairs. As she reached them, she went down a few steps and peeked between the railings to see what was going on downstairs. It was still the same scene as what she saw earlier, except that her two brothers have already left to go to another room to watch Wrestlemania. Her parents were still watching TV at their living room and her sister, who never seemed to run out of stories to tell, was still on the phone.

She hurriedly went back to her room and grabbed the cell phone on her bed. “ok, i’m going 2 d intersection now”, she quickly typed and sent to Will. She then took her wallet from her drawer and pulled away a few bills then placed them on her shorts’ pocket. She also slipped in her cell phone with her money, brushed her hair, and stashed some pieces of tissue from her tissue box in her pocket. She was about to leave her room, but she went back near her bed and turned the electric fan off. She also went to her window and slid its glass frame closed. It was a good thing that she went back because she saw her cotton jacket on the chair beside her drawer. She pulled the jacket and wore it, went out of her room and headed downstairs.

The stairs lead down to the middle of the first floor of their house. On the left was the dining area, which eventually led to the kitchen, and on the right was their living room. Upon reaching the first floor, she went to the living room and passed by her parents. “Dad, I’m going out for a while. I’ll have an ice cream,” she told her father. “Isn’t it a bit late for you to go out Samantha?” her father asked her. She looked at the big wall clock above the TV and saw that it was 9:25 pm. “No Dad, it’s not yet really late and I’m not going to take too long. I’ll just buy an ice cream at the Sundae Parlor at Bon’s Avenue and eat it there for a little while. I’ll be back before you know it,” she told him. Her father, who was quite engrossed with the documentary he was watching on TV with her mother, just wanted to get back to viewing, so he allowed her to go. “Be sure to be back right away,” her father told her before she left.

Their street in their neighborhood was not as quiet as Sam expected it would be. The old man living across them, who owned a few taxi cabs, was loudly instructing some teenage boys to wash his cabs. The factory workers of the catsup factory nearby were having a little chat at the small store at the end of the road. Those workers usually had a night break before they went back to their job that continued until morning. There were also a few maids from her neighbors who were huddling in front of one of the houses in the street, and they seemed to be sharing rumors and gossiping again. Sam didn’t want to linger much in their street because she didn’t want to stay too long outside, so she hurriedly walked to the intersection which was just nearby.

The intersection was the location of a fancy street sign that points out the name of their street and the name of the street perpendicular to theirs. There was also an old lamp post beside the street sign that looked like one of those in Paris. Upon reaching the intersection, Sam saw Will leaning on the lamp post while looking at the cars passing by the other street. She tapped him on his shoulders from behind. “Hey William, did you wait for a long time?” she playfully asked him. A bit surprised, Will turned to her and answered, “No, I just arrived here a few minutes ago. Let’s go.” He started walking and tugged Sam along.

At the back of Will’s shirt, she saw rust stains which he got from leaning on the old lamp post. As they walked, Sam brushed away the rust from his shirt with her hands. Will looked back at her as she removed the dirt from his shirt and smiled at her. The rust on his shirt was not completely gone though. “Why does he always lean on that rusty old lamp post anyway?” she thought to herself. Will lived not too far away from Sam. It only takes him three minutes of trike ride to reach the intersection where he usually met her. “Good thing your father still allowed you to go out,” he told her. “Oh, he’s busy watching TV with my mother anyway, so he didn’t mind,” she answered. “That’s good. I hope he’s still busy watching when you get home,” he said while they turned to the other road.

Bon’s Avenue was just three blocks away from Sam’s house. It was a long busy street with lots of active establishments. There were restaurants, computer shops, groceries, parlors, salons, bakeries, wet and dry markets, hospitals, dental clinics, gift shops and a lot more along the avenue. People residing within and near the area usually went to Bon’s Avenue almost any time of the day, including that hour of the night.

After passing by the third block, the two reached Bon’s Avenue and went to the Sundae Parlor. They entered the fancy ice cream store that still had a few customers that evening. They went to the counter to order and then sat at a two-seater table beside the glass wall of the store’s front façade. Through that position, they can see from the inside the active life outside at Bon’s Avenue. Sam placed their service number on top of their table.

“Tell me Sam, what made you and the other people in this store crave for ice cream in this cold night?” Will asked.

Sam thought for a moment, but really couldn’t think of an answer. “Well, I don’t know about these people. But for me, I just felt like eating one,” she answered blankly.

She then looked outside. Right across the Sundae Parlor was a hair salon. It also had a glass front wall covered with posters of different celebrities posing with their bizarre hairstyles, but she could still see what was going on inside of the salon. She saw a young girl having her hair cut by a lady who looked gay. The girl had her head bowed really low while the lady haircutter snipped off some hair from the back of her head.

Sam remembered a few days ago when she had her hair cut in a salon at a certain mall. Before the cut, her hair was eight inches below her shoulders. Her hair was admired then for being long and beautiful. Now, her hair no longer reached her shoulders; it was just a little below her ears. Initially, she thought it was too short and boyish-looking, but she eventually liked it as she felt that her head was lighter and more relaxed.

Yet, almost everyone else had their initial impression and never seemed to get over it.

Her family, especially her brothers, her friends and some of her classmates, didn’t approve of her new look. Some even made fun of it. Sam became a bit depressed because of the nasty comments about her new hair cut. But when Will saw it, he told her she looked very good with her new hairstyle. He even said that she was cuter and that she looked younger because of it. Those words were all she needed to feel better and confident.

After that, she didn’t mind being bombarded by all the negative feedbacks about her new look. Will liked her new haircut and she no longer minded what others had to say anymore. And with that last thought, he looked at Will who happened to be looking at her while she was staring outside. She felt a little awkward, then asked him,

“Why? What is it?”
He smiled at her, sighed and answered, “Oh nothing, I’m just amused seeing how you get so absorbed with what you see outside.” Her eyebrows came together, although she was still smiling, then voiced out,”Huh?” Will just answered with a laugh.

Just then, their orders were brought to their table by a waiter dressed in pink. The waiter took their number and gave them their ice cream treats. Sam had a banana split while Will had a peach melba. They both loved their evening desserts that they became quiet until they finished their ice cream. With their small spoons, they eventually consumed their bowl of cold desserts.

“Wow, nothing beats a good ice cream like my melba!” Will finally blurted. Sam smiled and remembered that it was actually Will who taught her to develop a taste for ice cream. Then they both leaned on their chairs after their tummies got satisfied and looked at each other, held their stomachs, and heartily laughed at the same time. Sam looked outside again, and saw that there were fewer people outside Bon’s Avenue. She shifted her attention to the hair salon in front of them and saw that the young girl was no longer there and was perhaps done having her hair cut. She then told herself, “I hope that girl got a nice one.” With that, she thought of asking Will about going home.

When she looked back at him, he was looking at her again. “Now what?” she asked him. Will then looked a bit serious and took a deep breath. He seemed to formulating something to say on his mind. Sam looked at him with a puzzled look and then glanced at the clock at the counter. It was already 9:55pm. Will finally came up with what he wanted to say and said “Sam, I just wanted to say something about your new haircut.”

Sam was surprised with what Will just said. What was it about my hair? Didn’t he say he liked my new haircut? Was he lying? Was he just pretending that he liked my haircut because he didn’t want me to feel bad? Those were the thoughts that flooded Sam’s mind.

Just when she thought that there was someone she could hold on to support her, it now seemed that her source of confidence was fading away. But she went back to her senses and asked him,

“Why? Are you going to admit now that you don’t like it too just like everybody else?” Will was taken aback and quickly explained to her,

“No, no, that’s not true. I already told you that I like the way you look now with your new cut and that’s the truth. I won’t ever lie to you.” Sam felt a little calmer because of what he said. She looked at him straight in the eye, and then asked again,

“So, what is it then?”

Will composed himself and took another deep breath, then finally voiced out, “They say when a girl gets a new haircut, either she’s brokenhearted or she’s newly in-love. Can I ask which one is true for you?”

And that was all Sam needed to hear to laugh out loud. She laughed so hard that her tummy ached and Will looked at her wherein it seemed to him that she was making fun of him. “Hey, I’m serious here. Don’t laugh at me”, he said. Will was trying to get her stop from laughing. Sam finally settled and wiped the few tears she shed out of laughing so hard. “Where on earth did you get that idea? That’s ridiculous!” she told him. Will shrugged his shoulders and implied that he was just asking because he was curious. Sam finally answered him seriously for his seemingly serious question,

“Okay, I’ll tell you. It’s none of those. You clearly know that I’m very busy with my studies right now to have time for those things. I just wanted to have a new look and that’s why I had my hair cut. Now, did I answer your question?” Will just nodded and then turned to his side and sighed in relief.

“All right then. Let’s go home. It’s getting really late now,” Sam told him as she stood up and led the way outside of the store. Will, who was smiling, lagged behind, but quickly caught up with her.

Will insisted that they take a trike up to the intersection since it’s already late. Upon reaching the intersection, the trike stopped and they paid their fare. From the intersection, Sam could see that their street was already cleared up and the people she saw earlier were no longer there.

“So, thanks for coming with me. I guess I’ll see you next time?” Sam told him.

He raised his hand to his forehead, saluted her and said, “Sure Samantha. See you next time.” Sam laughed again and patted him on the shoulder,

“Bye William.”

And with that, she turned her back and walked home. Will just stood at the intersection and watched her as she walked, and didn’t leave until he saw that Sam had already gone inside their house. When Sam arrived at their house, her parents were still watching TV. Their eyes were still glued to the documentary that they were watching. Sam thought that there was no reason to disturb her parents and just went upstairs directly. She noticed that her siblings were already in their rooms; perhaps already sleeping. When she finally reached her room, she removed her jacket and changed into her sleeping clothes. After washing up, she went to her window and opened it again. She looked outside, then up in the skies and saw that there were more stars now than what she had seen earlier. They were twinkling very brightly.

She could not sleep yet, and the thoughts of why she had a haircut came to her mind. She wanted to have her hair cut short because she knew it would grow again. Will had always been there for her; they’ve almost grown up together. There were some steps she’d want to take to see how much they have grown so she thought to herself, “Your time will soon come.” With that, the cool wind blew inside her room, kissed her face and swayed her short brown hair. Her cell phone on her bed vibrated with a new message and she quickly took it and read, “gudnyt. : )” It was from Will.