Hana pushed open the heavy door to the school cafeteria. She was welcomed by smiles and friendly, seemingly sincere, hellos from several people. She waved at them, and flashed her sparkling white smile. She walked over to the table where her friends sat and talked, her shiny brown hair bouncing as she walked. It was 7:44 a.m. the bell was going to ring in exactly sixteen minutes. Hana opened her backpack and pulled out a brush and several hair ties and laid them on the table. Jamie came up to Hana and asked her to braid her hair, of course Hana said yes and then she got right to work. Behind Jamie was Madeline, Lynn, and Jenny, they all needed their hair done. Hana looked at the clock, fourteen more minutes. She quickly finished each girls hair and still had three minutes left.
Bianca was watching from across the cafeteria. She glared at Hana with her icy cold blue-grey eyes as she skillfully did each girls hair perfectly, and in under two minutes. Her long perfect nails shone with silver nail polish as her fingers glided through the girls’ hair. Bianca felt her own golden blonde hair, it was so stiff and straight, she looked at all the girls who had just gotten their hair done by Hana, it was beautiful. She stood up slowly and made her way over to Hana.
“Um, Hana...will you do my hair?” Bianca murmured, looking at the floor.
Just then the bell rang, its shrill sound cutting through Bianca’s words and drowning her voice out.
“What?” Hana tried to yell over the noise of the people around her.
Bianca pointed at her hair and then at Hana, they were now separated by a number of people, moving fast, trying to hurry and get to class. You would have thought there was a fire in the building the way people were rushing out doors.
“Maybe tomorrow?” Hana called over her shoulder as she was pushed and shoved towards the exit. She was surrounded by a group of girls all vying for her attention.
Bianca just stood there, with her plain boring hair.
At the end of the day Hana’s name was called over the loudspeaker. Everyone in the room stopped what they were doing, and watched Hana walk out of the room. She made her way down to the principal's office where he stood waiting.
“Take a seat miss.”
Hana sat down in an uncomfortable wooden chair. She crossed her legs folded her hands over them, and tried to sit up as straight as possible.
“The staff and I, as a whole, feel that it is unsanitary and unprofessional to have you constantly doing other girls hair in the school cafeteria.”
Hana started to speak but the principal put his hand up to stop her.
“We have decided to let you continue to offer your services, however, and are moving you into the empty room on the second floor.” He said with a smile.
Hana smiled and thanked him wholeheartedly, gave him a firm handshake and skipped down the hall back to class. When she sat back down in her seat she flashed a thumbs up at her best friend, Dolly. After class, Hana told Dolly the great news, and the two planned to put up flyers tomorrow morning and to begin their new service the very next day.
Two days later Hana had a table set up in the empty room on the second floor, it was covered in hair ties, brushes and combs, a curler was plugged to the wall as well as a straightener and a blow dryer. Cans of hairspray and mousse, bobby pins and barrettes, headbands both thin and thick, and ribbons of every color lined the back of the table. A large mirror was propped up against the far wall and three chairs were positioned in front of it like a real salon. Magazines were stacked by the door and music was playing softly in the background.
It was 7:00 a.m. and slowly but surely girls began to arrive and take a seat. Hana got right to work. The rooms atmosphere was relaxed and happy. It smelled like hairspray and shampoo. The girls talked and laughed all the way up until the bell rang. Hana locked the door to the new school salon and walked off to class with the keys jingling in her hands.
Bianca leaned over to ask Jennifer if she had been to Hana’s salon yet. Judging by the beautiful fishtail braid in her hair she definitely had.
“It’s really cool! You should totally go tomorrow!”
“Yeah, maybe.”
But Bianca was not planning on going tomorrow. Not tomorrow, not ever.
The next morning even more girls showed up at Hana’s room, and the day after that even more. Bianca was never one of them. She cringed every time she saw Hana in the hallway, all bright and happy and cheery. Hana’s popularity disgusted Bianca. Just because she could braid hair, which a million people could do, she was now constantly surrounded by people. Bianca decided she must put a stop to this.
The following morning, when Hana went to unlock the empty room on the second floor, which now wasn't really all that empty, she was in for a surprise. All the hair ties, brushes and combs, curling irons, blow dryers, straighteners, cans of hairspray and mousse, bobby pins and barrettes, headbands both thin and thick, and ribbons of every color, were gone. The mirror was dripping with black spray paint from top to bottom, the magazines were ripped, torn apart,and scattered all across the room in pieces and the chairs were tipped over and strewn about the room. Hana gasped and sprinted out of the room, she flew down the stairs, and burst into the principal's office.

“My salon!” She cried, she couldn't say anymore at the moment, because she was too tired from running down all the stairs.

“What about it?”

“It’s been...vandalized!”
The principal and Hana made there way back up to the not so empty room on the second floor. The door had been shut so Hana pulled out her key and twisted it in the lock, when the door swung open, Hana gasped. It was like nothing had ever happened. Everything was stacked up neatly in its place. The hair ties, brushes and combs, curling irons, blow dryers, straighteners, cans of hairspray and mousse, bobby pins and barrettes, headbands both thin and thick, and ribbons of every color were sitting neatly in there piles, as they previously were. The mirror was sparkly clean and there wasn't a single missing magazine and chairs were in their place. The principal shook his head and walked out of the room, leaving Hana in dismay. The clock said seven fifty five, a steady line of girls was beginning to form at the door, and first in line, was Bianca.
Bianca strode into the room as soon as Hana opened the door, at exactly eight o’clock. She studied the room and smiled.
“What a beautiful room! Did you set this all up yourself Hana?”
Hana nodded her head, still in shock from the morning’s events. She quickly and half-mindedly did everyone's hair, and then made sure she locked the door before leaving it for the day.
The next morning when Hana opened the door to the room, it looked perfectly normal. However, things are not always what they seem. When Hana tried to use hairspray on a girls hair, hairspray did not come out, instead a blue mist sprayed out and dyed the girls hair a bright shade of electric blue. Hana screamed and the girl jumped up, looked in the mirror and screamed, too. Hana made the mad dash back down to the principal’s office. Bianca was already there leaning up against the door.
“What’s the matter Hana? You look a little..blue.”
Bianca laughed and skipped out of the office.