2Chapter 1 : Samantha Tompson
Samantha Tompson was never anything special. She had spent the last 14 years of her life just drifting along unquestionably down the path that had been allotted to her. She was quite, shy, not especially good-looking, and never outstanding when it came to her grades. She didn't even wear colorful clothing or anything with much of a style. She usually wrapped herself in slightly baggy sweaters in earth tones or grays. The only time anyone ever seemed to notice her was when she was blocking the way to the bathroom or something.
Samantha Tompson had never really minded this much, mostly because she felt like she didn't have much of a choice. Then, during the summer before her Freshman year in High school, her parents told her that they were planning on moving out of state. Her father had been offered a job opportunity that would pay much more than his current salary. Samantha didn't mind the news, she didn't have much in the way of friends after all, but it soon seemed like a good idea.
It slowly dawned on Samantha that this was a real chance to make a name for herself in a new place. Nobody at the new school would know anything about her, and she could get away with pretending the last 14 years hadn't even existed. She would finally have a chance to be popular, go to parties, have tons of friends, and not to mention really great hair!
She immediately started planning it all out, every detail of her new look. She bought teen fashion magazines like there was no tomorrow and began bugging her parents to buy her a whole new wardrobe. They thought it a good thing that their daughter was finally taking a interest in other kids, and agreed that once her father earned his first paycheck they would go shopping.
Samantha sat eagerly on the couch by the door of the new apartment. She didn't care that mostly everything they owned was packed tightly into brown shipping boxes towering at her side, nor did she notice the uncomfortable silence that was growing between herself and her mother who was trying to eat her sandwich but couldn't help but notice that shoe box looked like it was teetering.
The doorbell rang and Samantha jumped up and ran to answer the door.
"I'll get it!", she screamed as she ran down the hall anxiously. Her mother rushed to catch the shoe box that she just remembered was filled with glasses as it came tumbling down after the disturbance. "Hi Daddy!" Samantha hugged her dad tighter than she ever had. His eyes grew wide with surprise.
"So, I wasn't the only one looking forward to payday I see", her father responded.
"Well", she started. "You do remember that you promised me I could go shopping for new clothes when you got your first paycheck right?" Her eyes were glowing up at him with an anticipation that he had never witnessed in her before. He couldn't help but fall victim to her pleas.
"Want me to drive you now, or later?"
Samantha stared up at the sign above the archway that read 'Abercrombie and Fitch' in red and white. She fancied that walking through this entrance would mark the beginning of her new life, her new identity. She took a deep breath and stepped inside excitedly. She started to look around at all the racks of clothing. There were so many different, little tops, and cute skirts that she was a bit overwhelmed. She felt like she ought to start looking at jeans, something she knew well enough.
When she got there, she beheld a seemingly endless array of styles to choose from. There were flared jeans and tight jeans. Jeans with a factory-made vintage look and jeans with cuts a few inches from the ankle. Some jeans were missing pockets and some had more than others. She looked around the shop and spied a beautiful girl with long legs and blonde hair wearing a pair of the vintage-esque pants, so she decided to go for those. She went to the back to try them on.
They fit her well enough. She didn't think she compared to the blonde beauty from before but she definitely looked better in these than the old painters pants she had on before. She reluctantly took them back off in the dressing stall. She then went to try on some different tops. One was red with the word "Princess" embroidered across the chest in shiny, pink letters. Another was black with a low cut V-neck, and one other light blue tee with the company's logo written on the front. She grabbed one tan miniskirt and then realized she was almost out of money! This lifestyle would be a lot harder on her bank account then her previous one.
She had a few bucks left. Just enough to buy a few cute lip glosses and a necklace with her name in pink at Claire's. By the time she had finished her shopping it was time for her father to come and pick her up anyway. She headed over to the food-court entrance to meet him there. She couldn't wait to go home and put on her new clothing again.
The mall quickly became a weekend ritual of sorts for Samantha. Her parents didn't mind too much because of the new steady income from her father, and even more so now that her mother had started a new secretarial job at a high-priced hotel. At first she focused mostly on clothing, rebuilding her closet from the ground up. She bought shoe after shoe, high- hells, trendy sandals, and comfy sneakers. She collected an essential make- up collection, and decorated her room with stuffed animals and posters of famous boys to die for. She began taking up an interest in top 40 music, checking out what the other beautiful people were listening to. Finally, there came to be only one thing that seemed lacking in this flawless design for acceptance, she needed a super cool haircut.
Up until now, she had left her hair unattended to and practically ignored. She washed her hair of course, but that was the extent of her hair care. But now that her outlook started to change, she felt a new desire for shiny, stylized hair. She went to the most popular cutlery she could find and sat down to wait. This was the first time she had ever set foot inside a professional hair salon. She noticed some magazines offering ideas, which she suddenly realized she so badly needed help with. There were short cuts, and long cuts, curly and straight, some even featured different color highlight selections. She decided to go for a layered look. She didn't want to go crazy just now because the initial step seemed drastic enough. She'd rather get into it slowly.
It was finally her turn and she was ushered by a lady with huge red nails to a vacant seat near the back of the room. A woman with a warm smile waved her to come and seat herself.
"Hello", the woman said. "My name is Diane and I'll cut your hair today. Do you have any idea as to what you would like done?" Samantha felt soothed by the immediate kindness the woman voice emulated. Her smile was almost flawless. If anyone was going to be cutting her hair, she was glad it was Diane.
"Actually, I was thinking about getting...", she grabbed the same magazine from a side table nearby and flipped to the page. "This." She pointed at the picture of the girl with her chosen haircut.
"Oh, I think that would look good on you!" Diane moved her hand to point at a sink with an interesting faucet and a comfortable chair fixed in front of it. "Come with me over here and we'll wash your hair first." Samantha followed in the designated direction.
Diane cooed on and on about how Samantha's hair was in such good condition, which Samantha found surprising to hear. However, she was too relaxed with the warm water on her scalp to really reply. When Diane had finished, they walked back over to the first chair where Diane covered Samantha with a white robe and began cutting her hair. Samantha was filled with excitement until it was all over and she looked at herself in the mirror. She was so happy with the results! Now she really looked the part.
The night before the first day of school finally arrived and everything was set. She had her outfit picked out and laying on the chair by her desk. Her make-up was ready in the bathroom so that she could get it on in time, after all, she was still figuring these things out. She smiled to herself as she fell asleep, and began dreaming about what it might be like to be one of the girls for once.