My Selection

Chapter 11.5

I looked up, and there were tears in my eyes. Mia had left the area to get another hair product after taking the Formaldehyde out of my hair and putting some type of shampoo into it, but Maire was still looking at me while her beauticians rinsed out her hair and began to comb it. You ok? She mouthed over the noise of the blow-dryers at the other stations. I nodded. She seemed to understand that we all have difficulties in life.

Mia came back and took that layer of shampoo out of my hair, conditioned it and rinsed it clean. She towel dried my hair until it was damp and combed it thoroughly. She then took a long, hard look at my waist-length hair. She nodded her hair and twirled a lock of my wavy hair in her finger. She looked at my face and smiled.

"Lady Olivia, for your hair -" I cut her off.

"Please don't dye my hair! I want to look at least a little bit like myself!" she nodded and I continued, "and please, just Olivia. If anything I should be calling you Lady or Miss because you are a higher caste than me." She laughed and responded:

"Fine, but Olivia, you are Selected and that makes you special in your own right, especially since you were a Seven. I promise I wont dye your hair, or even give you highlights. Your hair is perfect the way it is." Pia made her way over while Mia towel-dried my hair and continued, "and, you are now a Three because of the Selection! Isn't that great!" I had forgotten. The Selection automatically bumped you up to a Three if you were below a Three.

Mia led me over to the mirrored station and combed out my hair while Pia put some pink gel on my cuticles, explaining that it would help my nails grow fast. Mia examined my hip-length hair and nodded.

"Miss, would you please trust me, just this once? I promise I will only make your hair better!" I looked at her and agreed.

"Miss, before we get started on your hair, makeup, and style, we were wondering what sort of look you wanted: sexy, alluring, innocent, deathly..." This was Maia, who was in charge of my style. I stammered.

"I really don't want to look different. I have to be able to recognize myself in the mirror." I put my foot down firmly and my stylists agreed with me. I heard the girl on my other side being asked the same question.

"I want to be breathtakingly seductive and controlling. I want to be a show-stopper, like you know I am." Her stylists hesitated, clearly not expecting such firmness.

"I told you what I want! Go do it!" She grabbed the nearest object, a hairbrush, and threw it at a petite brunette. The brush hit her nose which began bleeding.

"Why do I have such incompetent maids! Go!" The stylists all ran away shaking, and the one with the bloody nose went over to what I assume is the bathroom. I looked over at Maire, who shrugged and mouthed D-I-V-A. I nodded my head rapidly in agreement while my stylists went to work.

Pia lifted up my hands, which formerly had stubby, shapeless nails. My nails now had beautiful nail-beds that were attached to two inch long nails. Pia saw my shock and told me that we wouldn't be keeping my nails so ridiculously long. She pulled out a long white box with an opening on the side. She gently placed my hands in the box and metal clamps squeezed around my fingers and I felt my nails being cut. "This is a Hydraulic Laser Nail-Trimmer. It takes a laser and cuts your nails to a pre-set shape that is perfect for you!" I could sense her enthusiasm.

In a few minutes, she removed my nails and I was shocked to find them perfectly done; they were rounded to a nice oval shape and had a millimeter long white crescent at the end. I smiled. Gone were my cracked and stubby worker Seven hands, replaced by smooth and elegant long royal fingers. Pia began painting my fingers a nude light pink.