Summer Alone (Summer #1) Read Online Free
Author: Amy Sparling
hair clippings from the chair next to mine. Truly points out a spot she missed and then turns toward me. “I pay minimum wage,” she says with a smile. “Just say the word and I’ll be happy to fire my current assistant.”
“ Mommm,” Julia whines as she sweeps. “That’s not funny.”
When my hair has “fried” for the correct amount of time, Aunt Truly begins taking out the foil one by one. I can’t bring myself to look in the mirror yet. I’m scared and anxious and happy and freaked out all at the same time. So I stare at my hands in my lap and think about Truly’s suggestion from earlier. Obviously I’d never take Julia’s job from her, but getting another job for the summer might be kind of fun. I could meet new people and get out of my comfort zone a little. Plus, the horde of birthday cash I’d saved up in my mason jar is running dangerously low. A job would mean extra spending money to aid in the reinvention of myself. After all, I’m pretty sure Mom won’t pay for all the replacement clothes my wardrobe now needs since I threw out most of my clothing this morning.
Plus, the greatest benefit of all—I wouldn’t have to spend the summer with my mother.
“Do you know any other places that are hiring this summer?” I ask. I’m still looking into my lap and my head jerks left and right and up and back as Truly takes out all of the pieces of foil.
“Not sure, hun,” she says as she works. “This is a big shopping center though. I bet you could find a place here that’s hiring.”
“I see help wanted signs all the time,” Julia says while staring at her phone. I’d almost forgotten she was here. “Just walk down the strip and look at the windows. That’s where they hang the signs.”
“Thanks, that’s a good idea.” My heart flickers with that nervous excitement I’d had the moment I stepped into the salon today. As soon as my hair is done, I’m going to look for a job. With any luck, all the forced social interaction will help me become more outgoing when I get back to school. Maybe I’ll be able to talk to people without first reciting what I’m going to say over and over in my head.
Truly washes and rinses my hair, then takes a blow dryer to it for a while. I daydream the whole time about my potential future job. I decide I don’t want something in food service because I’d rather not smell like pizza or cheeseburgers all day, and I also don’t want something that’s outdoors, like the snow cone kiosk, because then I’d get wickedly awful tan lines.
“You’re all done!” Truly sings.
I look up to the mirror and check out my new hair. The normal chestnut brown strands along my face now have strands of blonde filtering through them. It’s really pretty. And it’s even better than I had imagined because it didn’t change me. I’m still me. I just have a fancy new hair color.
“Thank you, Aunt Truly. It looks really good.”
Julia looks up from her phone. “You look hot.”
“Thanks,” I say. I wasn’t exactly going for hot, I don’t think. I just wanted something different, something new. Something that says this isn’t the old Becca you’re used to .
But hot is never a bad thing. I’ll take hot.
Chapter 4
My hair smells like fancy salon shampoo as it swishes while I walk. Truly’s is the first shop in a long strand of shops that used to be called Lawson Outlet Mall, but is now called the Lawson Outdoor Mall, because I guess there was no longer enough outlet stores to qualify it as a discount place to shop. Most people call it the LOM, like lawn only with an m at the end. It’s actually the opposite of discount stores now. Half of the stores are designer brands and places with employees who wear full tuxedos to work. And there’s random places which I would never shop. But if you look past the weird stores you’ll find the occasional gem, like a jewelry boutique that only sells things handmade from recycled items. Or the Forever21 which is
“ Mommm,” Julia whines as she sweeps. “That’s not funny.”
When my hair has “fried” for the correct amount of time, Aunt Truly begins taking out the foil one by one. I can’t bring myself to look in the mirror yet. I’m scared and anxious and happy and freaked out all at the same time. So I stare at my hands in my lap and think about Truly’s suggestion from earlier. Obviously I’d never take Julia’s job from her, but getting another job for the summer might be kind of fun. I could meet new people and get out of my comfort zone a little. Plus, the horde of birthday cash I’d saved up in my mason jar is running dangerously low. A job would mean extra spending money to aid in the reinvention of myself. After all, I’m pretty sure Mom won’t pay for all the replacement clothes my wardrobe now needs since I threw out most of my clothing this morning.
Plus, the greatest benefit of all—I wouldn’t have to spend the summer with my mother.
“Do you know any other places that are hiring this summer?” I ask. I’m still looking into my lap and my head jerks left and right and up and back as Truly takes out all of the pieces of foil.
“Not sure, hun,” she says as she works. “This is a big shopping center though. I bet you could find a place here that’s hiring.”
“I see help wanted signs all the time,” Julia says while staring at her phone. I’d almost forgotten she was here. “Just walk down the strip and look at the windows. That’s where they hang the signs.”
“Thanks, that’s a good idea.” My heart flickers with that nervous excitement I’d had the moment I stepped into the salon today. As soon as my hair is done, I’m going to look for a job. With any luck, all the forced social interaction will help me become more outgoing when I get back to school. Maybe I’ll be able to talk to people without first reciting what I’m going to say over and over in my head.
Truly washes and rinses my hair, then takes a blow dryer to it for a while. I daydream the whole time about my potential future job. I decide I don’t want something in food service because I’d rather not smell like pizza or cheeseburgers all day, and I also don’t want something that’s outdoors, like the snow cone kiosk, because then I’d get wickedly awful tan lines.
“You’re all done!” Truly sings.
I look up to the mirror and check out my new hair. The normal chestnut brown strands along my face now have strands of blonde filtering through them. It’s really pretty. And it’s even better than I had imagined because it didn’t change me. I’m still me. I just have a fancy new hair color.
“Thank you, Aunt Truly. It looks really good.”
Julia looks up from her phone. “You look hot.”
“Thanks,” I say. I wasn’t exactly going for hot, I don’t think. I just wanted something different, something new. Something that says this isn’t the old Becca you’re used to .
But hot is never a bad thing. I’ll take hot.
Chapter 4
My hair smells like fancy salon shampoo as it swishes while I walk. Truly’s is the first shop in a long strand of shops that used to be called Lawson Outlet Mall, but is now called the Lawson Outdoor Mall, because I guess there was no longer enough outlet stores to qualify it as a discount place to shop. Most people call it the LOM, like lawn only with an m at the end. It’s actually the opposite of discount stores now. Half of the stores are designer brands and places with employees who wear full tuxedos to work. And there’s random places which I would never shop. But if you look past the weird stores you’ll find the occasional gem, like a jewelry boutique that only sells things handmade from recycled items. Or the Forever21 which is
Readers choose
Tina Johansen
James A. Michener
Chasie Noble
M.J. Aleese
Lynn Emery
Richard Baker
Riley Clifford
Philip R. Craig
Alexis Landau
A. Destiny