Nothing Left

Every pass of the clippers makes it worse. Thick locks slide down the cape and tumble into my lap before spilling onto the floor around the chair. The vibration rattles through my skull. I stare helplessly at the mirror. The effect is ridiculous. Absurd. I look less like Jezebel James and more like someone halfway through losing an argument with a lawnmower.

"Oh, that's magnificent," Marina says. The women seem to agree. Reina is laughing so hard she has to steady herself against a table. Callista actually wipes tears from her eyes.

Valeria points at my reflection and nearly spills her wine. "My God. Look at her face."

"She looks like she wants to die," Marina says. That only makes them laugh harder.

Xiu Lian continues her work with patient precision. The clippers travel back down my scalp, widening the bald stripe. More curls tumble into my lap. Others slide down the cape and onto the floor. Every lock seems impossibly dark against the black fabric. I watch years of growth disappear in seconds.

"No," I whisper, buthe clippers continue.

Xiu Lian never appears angry or cruel. If anything, she looks focused, like a professional completing a task. That calm professionalism somehow makes the whole thing even more humiliating. Another pass widens the bald section. The pile of curls in my lap grows larger. The hair framing my face grows thinner.

Marina is laughing so hard she has tears in her eyes. Reina keeps offering unhelpful styling suggestions. Even Drusilla's usual composure has cracked into obvious amusement. I sit frozen beneath the cursed cape while more and more of my hair disappears. Every glance toward the mirror reveals a little less of the woman who walked into the salon.

Valeria eventually drifts behind the chair and runs her fingers through one of the remaining curls."You know what the funny part is?"

"What's the funny part?" Marina asks.

"She actually thought we were offering her a makeover." The room explodes with laughter again. I close my eyes.

"Look." Valeria's command cuts through me instantly. My eyes open. The curse forces me to watch as Xiu Lian drives the clippers up the side of my head. Another sheet of curls slides away. The woman in the mirror no longer looks glamorous. She no longer looks confident. She looks terrified. And she looks increasingly bald.

The remaining curls shrink into scattered islands surrounded by bare scalp. Every pass removes another one. Every pass leaves less behind. Eventually there are only a few stubborn patches remaining. Then those disappear too. The clippers make one final pass across my scalp.

Finally, they fall silent and Xiu Lian speaks into the sudden quiet. "Not much to look at now, is she ladies?" I stare at my reflection. A smooth bald scalp gleams beneath the salon lights. Loose curls cover the cape. More are scattered around the chair.

"She looks freaky as hell!" notes Reina, the Kitsune. "That hair of hers sure was gorgeous"

The woman in the mirror looks exposed and ****. Loose hairs cling to my shoulders and the cape as I slowly raise my eyes toward the mirror. For a moment I do not recognize the woman staring back at me. The familiar curtain of dark curls is gone, replaced by a smooth, pale scalp that reflects the salon lights.

For several seconds nobody speaks. Then Marina lets out a long whistle. "Oh, Jezebel." The grin spreading across her face is merciless. "That is so much worse than I imagined." The room erupts with laughter one more time. I never take my eyes off the mirror.

My face looks larger somehow, exposed in ways it has never been before. Every feature seems harsher, more ****, and impossible to hide. The room remains filled with satisfied smiles, but I barely notice them. I can only stare at my reflection and try to come to terms with the fact that my beautiful hair is gone.