Am I Blue?

By Tulah Dixie (R.F.)

Levvy Tillers sat on the bus, watching the town go by, but not really noticing. She was too embarrassed, too upset to think about anything but her hair. What was left of it was stuffed under a ski cap, even though it was July. Thank goodness Judy had an opening that day.

The night before Levvy had fallen asleep on the couch, her long brown hair falling over the side of the cushions. She had been growing out her hair for as long as she could remember. It had always been long. When she woke up, she’s gone to the bathroom and tried to run a brush through her tresses. That was when she discovered there was something sticky and hard on the back of her head.

A scream, several tears, and a mother-wielding-scissors later, Levvy held a piece of gum with long hair attached to it in her hand. The gum was blue, her little sister Heidie’s favorite color. What bad luck that Heidie thought Levvy’s head would be a good place to store it for the evening. It was hard to be mad at the little girl. She was only four, and the sweetest four year old in the world. She had cried until her blue eyes were red and puffed, she felt so bad, so some of Levvy’s tears were for her sister, too.

Now, sitting on the bus, Levvy felt the familiar prick behind her eyes. She had to think about something else. She glanced around the bus, and her eyes stopped on a man wearing a blue tie under a pinstriped suit. Then on the blue-painted toenails of a large woman wearing sandals that showed too much of her plump toes. The girl in front of her had black hair, but did she detect a bit of blue undertone? Levvy pulled her hat over her eyes. She was making too big a deal out of the whole thing, and now she was hallucinating.

Finally the bus reached 6^th and Oak streets, her stop. A short walk down the block brought Levvy to the Wizard with Scissors hair Salon. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door, walked up to the reception desk, and announced her presence.

. Levvy closed her eyes as Judy put her remaining hair in a ponytail, then cut it slowly off. When she was finished, Judy held up the long ponytail for a moment, then placed it on the counter in front of her. Levvy reached out tentatively for it, sniffing back tears. She held it in front of her face, and suddenly she smiled.

“Look how gross my hair was! It was all split-ends and frizzles!” She shook her head around “My head feels so light.” As Judy snipped away, Levvy’s smile only widened. She had never realized how nicely her face was shaped, how bright her eyes were.

When Judy was finished, Levvy was left with an A-line haircut, the back layer in the middle of her head, sloping down to her chin in the front. She gazed at herself in the mirror with unbelief. Who knew she could look so good with short hair? Why had it taken her 15 years to realize that change was good? She hugged Judy, paid, and walked out the door, thinking of how she was going to say thank you to Heidie.