'Bottle Blonde Salon' Jon read as he approached the small, pink area of the mall. He held his head high as he entered, good posture helped to thrust his chest and bottom outwards, two areas that boys would focus on.
"Hiya! How can I help ya today!" A chipper voice came from the reception desk, it was a young woman with a teased out mane of brunette hair and sparkling blue eyes surrounded by heavy mascara. Jon smiled, this was a lady that knew about the important things in life.
"Heya!" Jon chirped. "I'm looking to get a makeover, Cosmo says that mall salons are an all-American staple, so here I am!"
The girl, whose name tag read "Mindy", blinked at the odd statement, but didn't seem put off, simply continuing to smile. "That's awesome!" She spoke with a slight southern drawl "Let me guess" She looked Jon up and down "Now a girl like you seems like the glam type, I'd bet you've got expensive tastes!"
Jon smiled at the compliment. He supposed that his clothes were high quality, and that boys would be impressed by someone who flaunted their wealth. Yes, Jon certainly did have expensive tastes. Only designer brand was good enough for him. He glanced down at his dress, which he had previously loved and didn't feel the same love that he had once felt. Unbranded? That's the best his closet could do? From now on it was nothing short of Gucci and Prada.
"Thank you!" Jon replied, batting his eyelashes, "You're so right!" He said before pulling out the wad of cash from his purse, causing Mindy's eyes to go wide.
Now that was odd, Karyn thought as she stared at her closet, where did all these clothes come from? Her closet had always been dull, bland and boring compared to the colorful and skimpy outfits that celebrities wore. However, the closet she was looking at didn't seem like it belonged to her. Bright colors, high heels and short skirts. She was delighted! She slid a pair of denim cut off jeans up her legs, followed by knee length, white vinyl heeled boots. She had seen Doja Cat wear a similar pair, the ones she had worn had a higher heel though, Karyn would need to remedy that at some point. On her torso she wore an orange crop top with long, billowy sleeves.
During her frantic search for celebrity gossip, Karyn had also stalked Sarah McMillan on social media and absorbed her habits, her lifestyle, her tastes, her likes and dislikes. Karyn had never much cared for her but it was undeniable that she was trendy and popular. Not to mention how she showed off her chest. Karyn had to admire that! Her current outfit was reminiscent of something Sarah had worn to a party a few weeks ago, except Karyn's version showed off a lot more skin. Deciding that she had made good decisions, she took a picture of her outfit in the mirror and sent it to Jon.
Jon sat back in the salon chair with his hand placed on the manicure station as Mindy worked away. She had asked him what he wanted and he quoted Cosmo: "The stylist knows best!"
"So, is it alright if I go long with these? I know a pretty girl like you won't be using her hands for anything strenuous, you strike me as someone who takes a lot of pride in her nails." Mindy smiled and Jon smiled back. She was right, pretty people like him didn't use their hands much, it was far too dangerous in case they broke a nail. His nails were a way to impress boys, showing that he was so rich that he could afford to have people wait hand and foot on him. They were a point of pride and Jon smiled at the thought "Give me the most delicate ones you have."
His phone buzzed. Opening it revealed the picture Karyn had sent of her gaudy new outfit. Jon was impressed, it was a little too trashy for his tastes but then again Karyn's style tended to be. He thought of her mother, Klayire, and how she flaunted her body to always be the center of attention. Now that was a role model. He began typing a reply.
Karyn gawked at her phone as she scrolled passed yet another video of women shaking their asses. She had noticed how big asses were so in right now, she would have to search her closet for a pair of leather leggings like the women in the video were wearing.
Her phoned buzzed with Jon's reply: "looking stunning hon! 😍 u gotta do something about that hair tho! such beautiful blonde hair going to waste in a scraggly bun like that, u kno how much boys love blondes! 😘😘 u should totally play into the stereotype, guys love it when girls act ditsy and dumb around them, wear lots of pink and giggle at their jokes, theyll be all over u in no time 💅 btw tell ur mom i wanna talk to her shes such an icon 🤩 love uuuuu xxxxx ❤️❤️"
Her bracelet sparkled as Karyn's eyes scanned the words like a copy machine. Take care of her hair. Be a stereotype. Act ditsy and dumb. Wear lots of pink. The words bounced around in her brain as she went cross-eyed for a moment before snapping back to reality. She got a look at herself in the mirror and frowned, her hair was a mess! Jon, yet again, was so right. What was she thinking letting these beautiful locks go to waste. Glancing at her top, she also realized that orange was totally not her color, she needed to think pink!
"Everything okay, hon?" Mindy asked as Jon politely nodded. 'Hon', he liked that. He would start calling people that. Mindy seemed like the type who knew about makeup, clothes and how to impress boys, so it made sense to pick up a few things from her.
"Yeah, I'm just helping my friend with a bad hair day, you know how blondes are." He actually didn't until he read a Cosmo article on hair color stereotypes. Brunettes such as himself and Mindy were stable, smart and sophisticated. He couldn't help but agree with that.
"Yep." The stylist smiled but Jon saw something in her eyes as she quickly glanced at his head, he cocked an eyebrow in response.
"Oh I hope I didn't offend you!" Mindy gasped "Its just that, a pretty girl like you, well it just seems wrong that you have such short hair!" Jon assured Mindy that he wasn't offended, however, her words stuck in his mind. Was it wrong that he had short hair? He was a guy after all, and guys had short hair. But he was also glamorous, and loved makeup. Didn't hair and makeup go hand in hand?
Mindy, noticing Jon's confusion, reassured him "Oh hon don't worry about it! Its just my own personal preference, my mama always said that big hair attracts big men, if you know what I mean." She gave a coy wink.
That sealed the deal for Jon, big hair impressed men? Then he needed to have big hair.
"There you go, all done!" Mindy proudly stated as she held up his hands to inspect. Inch long, french tipped nails now adorned each of his fingers, with intricate glitter patterns weaving across them. "Don't you just love 'em? Perfect for a gal like you."
She was right, these unwieldy, glamorous nails that made it hard to do anything with his hands were perfect for him. He did love them.
"Thank you so much, Mindy!" He said, inspecting the front and back of his hands as the salon worker brought over the pedicure foot bath. Now, what was he going to do about his hair?
