Tetra Pact

Chapter 14

Eden grabbed her phone with weak hands and sat on the chair. She was so glad that Asbjørn hadn't asked her about his hair in person, because her whole face was flushed.

Not because of the question, but because of how she knew exactly what she wanted to say.

It was normal for her to look at someone's face for the first time and think about what hairstyle and colour would fit them. After all, she was the daughter of a barber. But over the course of getting to know Asbjørn, the number of times she'd pictured his face in her head and fantasised over how good ash blue hair would look with his fair skin was embarrassing. She'd even envisioned giving him a quiff at the same time just for the sake of it.

She calmed herself down and returned to his messages.

Me: I'm back. [14:31]

Asbjørn: Great. [14:32]

Asbjørn: I was thinking of touching up my roots. [14:32]

Eden's heart sank a little. She had to admit she was looking forward to bringing her dream hairstyle for him to life.

Asbjørn: Or redoing it completely. [14:32]

Eden sucked in a sharp breath, fumbling with the keys on her phone for a moment. She managed to regain her composure and replied.

Me: are you asking me for suggestions? [14:33]

Asbjørn: Yeah? I mean, you work in a barber shop... I figured you'd have some good advice. [14:33]

Me: what about... [14:33]

She contained her nervousness and excitement as she typed the next message.

Me: I do your hair. but you don't get to know what it looks like until I'm done. [14:34]

It was the boldest move she'd ever made. Especially since she rarely coloured customers' hair; they had trained employees for that. She was the most familiar with giving people slight trims, and definitely did not think she could pull off giving him a whole new hair colour and a quiff - if she wasn't kidding about it. But if she couldn't do it alone, she could get some help.

And what's a father for if he couldn't give a hair makeover?

***

Asbjørn wasn't sure if he'd made the right choice by agreeing to get his hair done by Eden. Especially since he didn't even know what she was planning to do with it. She confirmed his appointment at Lle Diogel on Saturday morning, because she said colouring hair usually takes a while, and by that she meant about five hours or more. From that he could infer she was going to do a colour lighter than what he already had, because his copper hair didn't take that long, since he didn't need to bleach it.

"Don't keep playing with your food," his grandma called from the kitchen, her sharp eyes watching him scoop his gluten-free cereal up and put it back in the bowl again. She came out with a plate of mantous. "What are you doing today?"

He popped a mantou into his mouth quickly, and regretted it in an instant because it was extremely hot. He fanned his mouth for a few long seconds before he could start chewing on it. Home was the only place Asbjørn could eat all of these Chinese delicacies without being afraid that his immune system would give up afterwards. Ever since they found out he had coeliac, his grandma took all precautions to ensure he wouldn't consume any more gluten, even if it meant she had to spend more time looking for suitable ingredients to make her dishes.

"I'm going to do my hair," he told her, finishing up his food and washing up. He wrapped his arms around his grandma's neck and asked, "What colour do you think I'll look good in?"