"Allison!" The voice cuts through the almost meditative singing of the sheers.
Jon turns to the door, a long tuft of hair is clinched between two fingers with the scissors in the other hand. "Zoe?" He asks. "You can at least knock!" she sets the scissors down, and crosses her arms before lecturing Zoe. "First my room two days ago and now this! You can't keep..."
"I know! " Zoe interrupts. "Sorry..." she says again more gently. "I just heard the sound and wanted to make sure everything was ok." Her voice trails off and her brow hangs with concern. "Are you ok? What are you doing?"
"I'm cutting my hair." Jon states matter of factly. "I'm tired of dealing with it."
Zoe grimaces slightly. "Yeah... but you could have gone to a salon... they could probably do a better job."
It's Jon's turn to scowl as he responds. "I didn't feel like waiting. Besides, I'm sure it'll be fine." She crosses her arms, and tries to look indignant... an effect that's lost thanks to the hacksaw mop on her head.
Zoe holds up her hands and steps back out of the door. "Alright... I guess if that's what you want... I mean, good luck."
Zoe closes the door with a sigh, and leans her back to it as she hears the shears resume their slicing. Allison's previously silky long immaculate hair had become a travesty. Allison was obviously upset about something, but in spite of her wish to have things be the way they used to be between them, Allison didn't seem to want to share. "She's going to make a fool of herself at school." Zoe muttered with exasperation. Her hands went to her eyes, and she rubbed them vigorously. What a weird and stressful way to wake up. When she opened her eyes however... she caught sight of the purple highlights in her shiny black locks. The fruit of her frivolous wish from yesterday... She ran her fingers through her hair, and smiled. It felt nice. She liked it. But more importantly, it hadn't backfired. And how could it? How could something so small come with a negative price? Yes, she had to worry about permanent changes, but she could word her way around that. Her eyes go back to the door, where she can still hear Allison hacking away.
She strolls back to her room thoughtfully, and closes the door gently, letting the latch click into place to punctuate her thoughts. Maybe she'd been going about this wishing stone business all wrong... Maybe she shouldn't be trying to make grand, moral, world changing wishes... Maybe it's meant to be used on the small, fun, superfluous things. Maybe... Maybe she can help her sister, and her mom, in small ways.
Jon, meanwhile continued to hack away at her hair, and unfortunately her mood was growing more and more sour. Her brief burst of optimism was beginning to succumb to weight of reality, and Zoe bursting in on her AGAIN certainly didn't help matters. This life was a pain in the ass. Not just for the body. Jon sliced another chunk of hair. Not just for the habits. She hacked angrily at a handful of hair. Not just for how she got saddled with an extra year of school. She flung the scissors into the sink indignantly. But for how people treated her too! How they acted like she was just this stupid slut. She WASN'T flirting with Joshua! She wasn't a failing student! She didn't need Zoe hovering over her, and she most definitely didn't want to date Ryder! She grit her teeth, grasped the edge of the counter tightly, and stared into the mirror.
And now, to top it off, she looked terrible! She looked away from the mirror with embarrassment and a bit of shame. She looked like some mad, drugged up, vagrant. Wet, matted, choppy hair on her head, a bitter expression on her face, and puffy eyes swelling with tears. She stood in front of the mirror, with both hands on the counter, and bit back her sorrow. From out of the top of her eyes, she glanced to the mirror, and grimly acknowledge that she just made things worse. Just like she's making things worse with Zoe. Just like she's making things worse with Karen. Just like she's... Jon grasps the scissors tightly in her hands, and meets her gaze in the mirror.
She CAN control her hair. That's why she started this. Start with the things she can control. She just has to pay more attention. Stop cutting and slicing so haphazardly. Maybe think of a hairstyle to imitate, instead of just hacking away with no goal.
She takes a deep breath, and lets out a slow sigh, before resuming... And strangely enough... things start to make sense. She starts to clean up the mess she already made, and slowly an image of a tomboyish, though still fashionable, style takes form in her mind. Just a little snip here, and a bit there. This part actually wasn't that bad. And she could cover over that part. She realizes that she shouldn't cut too closely while her hair is still wet, since it'll behave differently once it's dry. The part of her hair is a bit weird over there, so she needs to leave it a bit longer. She could probably use a volumizing spray to make it look a little less flat. She turns her head this way and that, getting all the right perspectives, and noticing things about how her new hair behaves.
All the thoughts casually begin to flow through her mind as she continues to snip and peck at her hair. They way she brushes it. The way she fluffs it. The way she holds the scissors to let them dance in her fingers... It all starts to feel more and more comfortable. Jon actually catches herself laughing. "I'm actually pretty good at this!" she stammers. She reaches her bangs and begins to feather them, like she'd seen a barber do once, by tugging the hair tight and making short slicing motions with just one blade of the scissors. She nimbly works her way across the bangs, until she has a long asymmetrical pixie cut.
She finished with more hair left than she had intended, but couldn't argue with the effects. In fact she was remarkably pleased and surprised with herself. Maybe some skill from this body's old personality carried over to her... Or maybe she was just a natural stylist? Which ever it was, she allowed herself a moment of pride, plucking and preening before the mirror. When she left the bathroom, she came face to face with Zoe, standing in the doorframe of her room.
Zoe beamed her a big smile. "Wow sis. Looking good! I didn't know you could cut your own hair like that."
Jon flustered, and blushed, but smiled. "Well, me neither actually." She laughed. "I was looking in the mirror, and it just, like, started to make sense all of a sudden."
Her sister reached up and brushed her bangs out of her face before announcing. "You look good with short hair. Very Spirited and free."
"Thanks. I feel free." Jon states thoughtfully. He glances back to the mirror one more time, and smiles, before getting ready for school.
https://imgur.com/yQKjPVr
