The Return of the Hairdresser

It's been over a week since that haunted inauguration ceremony, along with the rest of the crazy events that happened. Roselle was in terrible shape. Sure, her arm was better, but mentally, she wasn't doing okay. There were too many uncertainties in her life. A crazy, powerful woman was out on the loose. She was already shot, so who was to say that worse couldn't happen to her? She was afraid. She was alone.

She had three flights scheduled for Michigan, and she didn't go to any of them. She was too terrified to even leave the house. She only got out of bed when she needed to use the bathroom. During the day she would sleep because if she slept at night, she'd have terrible nightmares. On her bad nights, she'd watch TV shows online until the sun came up. On her worst nights, she'd stare at the ceiling and contemplate for hours.

Maybe it was all of the stress, fear, and self-doubt piling up, but those nights that she contemplated about her life, she always recalled one thing: her dreams. The broken dreams. The ones she feared were too late to follow. She wondered where she'd be now if she had just been in a better situation, but what good would that too?

'Why did I drop out of high school?' she would ask herself. 'Why am I so afraid to finish? Why couldn't I have been stronger back then? Why can't I be stronger now?'

Roselle was desperate to get out of this terrible cycle, but she didn't know where to start. Everything was too overwhelming for her.

* * *

There was a knock on the door. "Hey, Ro?" Michelle asked. "Can I come in?"

Roselle, who had hardly woken up, mumbled. "Mmm?"

Michelle came inside the room and sat on the bed next to her sister. She shook Roselle's arm. "Why are you sleeping so much? It's already three in the afternoon."

She rubbed her eyes. "I'm tired."

Michelle set down a burrito on her desk. "I got you food."

"Okay."

It was silent. Poor Michelle. She was trying so hard to cheer up her sister, but Roselle felt as though she was past the point of repair. Roselle wondered why her sister was trying so hard to 'fix' her and felt guilty that she wasn't getting any better. 'Why can't I just toughen up?' she asked herself. 'Why am I being such a baby?'

Michelle kept trying, bless her heart. "You know what might cheer you up? Coming back to work with me. I've hired some people to be my hairdresser while you were taking some time off, and oh my God, THEY SUCK."

Roselle put a pillow over her head. "I don't know if I'm ready."

"Please, Ro! Do you know how embarrassing it was when Mindy accidentally set our client's hair on fire? Seriously. Come back. I think it'd be good for you to come outside."

"But Grandma Scott--"

"You still have the army guarding you by Armani's request, Ro. And this time, they know all her tricks. Trust me, Grandma Scott would be an idiot to strike against you right now. You're like, untouchable. Besides, don't you want to see James in the hospital after we take care of our client? It's been a while."

That's right. It's been a while since she'd seen James after she thanked him for saving her life. She learned from the news that he would still need hospitalization any time from two to six months. He was probably lonely (and suffering from not living glamorously). It would only be polite to visit him.

Roselle sighed. "Okay, fine. Who's the client?"

* * *

Elma Bueller was a self-proclaimed psychic. She'd be the woman that the Reyes sisters would beautify. She had a book signing in Washington, and she wanted them to dazzle her for the event.

The Reyes sisters walked into Elma's hotel room, which was filled with lavender-scented candles. It was almost intoxicating how flowery the room smelled, and not in a good way. Elma was sitting on the bed crisscross applesauce, and closing her eyes. It was almost as if she were meditating.

"Hi, Elma!" Michelle said. "I'm a huge fan."

"Huge fan?" Roselle questioned. "What are you talking about? You haven't even heard of this lady until yesterday."

Michelle gave a good smack to her sister's arm, Roselle smacked her back, and they just ended up smacking each other back and forth for a while.

Elma opened her eyes. "Hello, Reyes sisters," she said, smiling.

The sisters stopped their cat fight. Michelle, who was bashful, raised up a hand. "Hello!"

The psychic stepped down from her bed. "Thank you for agreeing to do my hair and makeup on such short notice." She smiled. "I appreciate it."

"So, can I ask something?" Michelle was bouncing with excitement. "Can you do a quick reading for me?"

She giggled. "I get that a lot. Of course you may, after you're finished styling me."

"Thank you so much!"

Elma turned to the other sister. "And how about you, dear?"

Roselle grumbled. "I've got to level with you, I don't really believe in psychic readings."

"Ro!" Michelle protested. "You're being rude!"

"That's alright," Elma said. "Anyway, let's begin, shall we?"

* * *

The Reyes sisters spent a few hours doing Elma's hair and makeup. The woman loved to talk about herself, her life, and her experiences. Michelle listened in awe while Roselle rolled her eyes and zoned out.

They finished the job, and finally, Michelle got her fortune.

"My, I see that you've recently got everything you've ever wanted," Elma said, looking into Michelle's palm. "You're following your dreams. Your love life is flourishing. You've finally found inner peace."

"Yep!" Michelle exclaimed. She turned to her sister. "See, Ro? If fortune telling was fake, explain that!"

Roselle raised her brow "Uh, internet?"

"Oh?" Elma squinted her eyes at the palm. "I see something coming your way very soon."

Michelle was at the edge of her seat taking this very seriously. "What is it?"

"A surprise is coming your way. It's something that you won't have accounted for."

"A good surprise? Or like, an ominous one?"

She smiled. "It depends on you."

"Woah . . ."

"My advice to you right now would be to focus on saving money, and keeping yourself in good health."

"Thanks, Elma!" She paused to think. "I should probably drink some juice. It's been a while since I had Vitamin C."

"By all means. I have a strawberry smoothie in the refrigerator you may drink."

"You're the best!" Michelle gleefully ran out of the room and into the hotel's kitchen.

Elma glanced at Roselle. "Now then, would you like to have your fortune read too?"

Roselle groaned. "Not really, actually. I don't believe in fortune telling, and even if I did . . ." She trailed off and turned away. "I don't think I'd like what I would see."

The psychic touched the hairstylist's shoulder. "What would I do if I told you that the reason I'm here today, the reason I'm in Washington D.C., and the reason that I wanted you and your sister to style me was because I wanted to talk to YOU specifically?"

Roselle staggered back. "I'd say you were insane!"

"I know this may come out of left field, but please, you must listen to what I have to say. I know you've been struggling lately to find your path, and I want to help you."

"Why me out of all people?"

"Because your future holds two major possibilities." Elma held out her right palm. "On the one hand, greatness." She held out her left palm. "And on the other hand, emptiness. For the sake of the future of the world, I had to meet with you today. I had to set you on the right path."

She scoffed. "Yeah, like I would ever be someone great. I'm just--"

"Don't underestimate yourself, dear." Elma's expression was serious. "You are more capable and more powerful than you know. You will single handedly alter the course of the world's destiny."

"You're crazy!"

"You might not believe me now, but you will. In a few days from now, you will meet someone who can help you reach your maximum potential. It will be tempting to decline his offer, but you must persist. I know you're afraid of what happened in your past, but you must face your demons if you want to be the woman you've always wanted to be. The world will thank you for it."

Roselle crossed her arms. She had to admit, she felt like she was wasting away. She felt like she was stuck. She felt like she was hopeless and lost. She didn't want to sit around and do nothing anymore! She knew she had to fight for a better fate. Even if this lady was crazy and fortune telling was fake, the reality was that she needed to get up and dust herself off. "What kind of person will I meet?" she asked. "And what do you mean by 'potential'?"

Elma smiled. "You'll know when you meet him."

Michelle walked into the room holding her drink. "Oh my God, Ro, you need to try this smoothie. It's bomb af."