Page 6 of The Suite Life
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‘Okay, lovely, I’ll get a towel on you, then you can head back to the chair,’ I tell my client as I finish rinsing her hair at the sink. The water cascades down, carrying away any remaining traces of conditioner. I wrap her hair up in a towel before grabbing another one to dry my hands.
The salon is busy today, alive with the gentle hum of hairdryers, the snip of scissors, and the usual lively mixture of conversation.
As I get to work on detangling my client’s hair, I catch fragments of conversation floating around the salon. One of the things I love about working here, with so many different and interesting clients, is listening in on their conversations, like episodes of a podcast that I can tune in and out of, depending on which one interests me.
‘That’s wild,’ Zoe exclaims.
‘It’s a funny coincidence,’ Tom replies. ‘I wonder if she knows.’
Our eyes meet as I continue my work – it’s always fun brushing out the backcombing after a full head of balayage.
‘Gigi, have you seen the news today?’ Tom asks me.
‘Nope,’ I reply firmly, shaking my head. ‘I’m on a full news and social media self-imposed blackout.’
‘Wow, really?’ Reanna, one of the new trainees, interjects with curiosity, her voice squeaking with disbelief.
Reanna, with her multicoloured hair and Gen Z directness, radiates self-confidence. I often wonder if I was born ten years later if I would have that generation’s natural self-assurance. I could really do with some at the moment.
‘What, completely? Still?’ Zoe chimes in. ‘So you won’t have heard that The Burnouts are doing a reunion tour and a new album?’
‘No, but thanks for telling me – I loved The Burnouts,’ I confess with a smile.
‘I think my mum loved them,’ Reanna adds.
Yikes, that makes me feel dated.
‘I loved them too,’ my client adds, jumping into the conversation. ‘That Dylan – phwoar.’
‘Yeah, but apparently he’s a good boy now,’ Zoe replies. ‘So my fantasy of him pulling me from the crowd and making mad, passionate love to me backstage feels pretty dead in the water.’
I smile. That’s another thing I love about working here – every day is a laugh. It reminds me of school sometimes, all of us going through the motions, doing our work, but having a genuine giggle doing it. I actually look forward to coming to work each day.
‘So, why are you avoiding the news and your socials?’ Reanna asks, clearly puzzled why someone would do such a thing.
‘Because her ex is dating Sunshine Greene,’ Tom tells her, unsuccessfully stifling a grin.
I give him a dirty look as he wanders off to answer the salon phone.
Reanna’s eyes widen in disbelief.
‘No freaking way,’ she exclaims. ‘I’m dead.’
‘Yep, it’s hilarious,’ I reply with a sarcastic chuckle. ‘My ex left me for the most perfect woman on the planet – har-har.’
Reanna seems genuinely sympathetic.
‘No, for real, that is pretty savage,’ she points out.
‘Have you thought about what you’re going to do about the wedding?’ Zoe asks me.
I head over to them, to nab some heat protection from Zoe’s station.
‘My plan is still to find an impressive date for myself,’ I confess, not sounding at all confident about the plan. ‘I just have no idea how I’ll do that.’
‘I know a guy,’ Reanna says simply.
