Disclaimer: I do not own these characters la la la, but I wouldn't mind having a claim on Sam, hehehehehe.
OK, erm, this is the next bit of my series. I hope you enjoy it, all feedback is welcome at [email protected]. I am having major problems trying to remember that this is supposed to be the end of 1989, so please excuse me if there are any bits in this that don't fit in!!!! I was only 9 then!!
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The rest of the school day went by in a happy blur for Josie. She couldn't wipe the smile off her face; indeed her happiness was so great she barely flinched when food projectiles landed on her back in the cafeteria. Even Rob noticed the change in her as they walked out of school together in the afternoon, but he didn't comment on it.
Rob was going with Josie to have her braces removed, Josie had always been afraid of her orthodontist and while she was desperately excited about having her braces taken off, her fear of Dr. Coles was greater.
The waiting room was small and crowded with petrified looking small children and flustered parents. Rob and Josie located chairs together near the back and sat down. The only magazine near was a recent copy of 'People', not exactly Josie's ideal choice of reading material.
"Why can't they put some poetry books in here? All these trashy magazines aren't exactly what I'd call food for the mind," Josie complained.
Rob sighed, "Josie, people in here aren't here to broaden their minds. They want something they can pick up, read and understand which will not only while away the time but also soothe their nerves." He grabbed the magazine from Josie and turned to the leading article about Michael Jackson.
"Miss Geller?" a large nurse in the doorway was looking around.
"Oh Rob! It's me. Wish me luck!" Josie said sucking in her breath nervously.
"You'll be fine, Josie. The pain'll knock you out after a couple of minutes�" Rob quipped back as Josie made her way to the doorway.
* * *
"My teef feel funny," Josie lisped as she and Rob left the office.
"How about we go get a celebratory milkshake? Numb the hell out of 'em?" Rob asked.
"Sure, sat would be nice," Josie answered, a small amount of drool hanging off her lip, a side effect of the anesthetic.
They made their way towards the ice cream parlor chatting idly about school, Josie trying to control her feelingless tongue, when they passed a hairdresser's called Maison Rouge. There was a large mirror in the window, Josie was not a vain girl but when Dr. Coles had put the mirror in front of her she hadn't really looked at it, she had just wanted to get away. Now she wanted to see her teeth. She stopped and leaned in to the mirror and smiled. The result was shocking, her teeth looked�normal! White, straight teeth! Josie tried smiling in different ways while Rob laughed behind her.
"Oh my god, Rob! That is so weird!" Josie said giggling before making a face baring all her teeth.
"Excuse me, madam?" came a female voice. Josie jumped up and spun around. A sophisticated young woman was leaning around the doorframe of the hair salon.
"I saw you walking past and couldn't help but notice that you have the most lustrous hair! I'm running a pass plus class at the moment for my most recently qualified stylists. We need models, and I was wondering if you would be interested? It's free. All I ask for is a couple of hours of your time."
The woman smiled warmly at Josie, who was taken aback. Sit in a hairdresser's with women who were as stunning as her milling about? She was unsure, after humiliating herself in front of the shop, she didn't dare think what she might do inside.
She looked to Rob for an answer, and Rob took the hint and answered for her "She'd love to." He pushed Josie gently towards the door. "Go ahead! It'll be fine, you'll see. I'll come back for you in a couple of hours," he said, as he waved and walked on towards the mall.
The woman in the door extended a perfectly manicured hand. "Hi, I'm Gabriella. And you are?"
"Josie. Josie Geller," Josie said nervously.
"Well Josie, take a last look at your hair, because I see you with something a little different�"
Josie's stylist was actually a young man, around 20, called Bill. He was friendly and very animated and in no time Josie felt very relaxed. There were around 12 stylists working in the Salon, however Gabriella seemed to be paying extra attention to Bill and Josie. She came over regularly and made suggestions in hairdresser speak which meant nothing to Josie. She just smiled and nodded, hoping they weren't going to give her an Afro.
After around 45 minutes Josie had been left with foil in her hair, pins of various shapes and sizes and a huge heated bonnet over her head. As she sat there feeling ridiculous another young woman came over.
"Hi, Josie isn't it?" she asked smiling, she was a very pretty girl, probably only a little older than Josie. She had a huge mane of big wavy hair, the current fashion.
Josie nodded "My name is Caitlin, I am the coloring consultant and beauty therapist at Maison Rouge. I'm asking all our models here today if they would be interested in a make-up coloring assessment."
Josie didn't have a clue as to what one of those was, and not wanting to seem an idiot, she said that she was interested.
"Excellent. I'll be back in a minute with my coloring kit." Caitlin said smiling gleefully.
Another hour later and Josie had bought $40 worth of make up. The money was supposed to be going towards the set of hand-bound Shakespeare plays she had wanted for so long, but Caitlin had been so persuasive and Josie so weak that she handed the money over almost instantaneously. Josie knew she would never wear any of it, but still, it made her feel quite good just to own it.
Now, Bill was drying her hair, brushing and spraying. Josie had not seen a mirror since she had been outside and she had no clue as to what she looked like.
When Bill turned off the hairdryer and turned Josie's chair around to face him, he let out a gasp. "Oh my, you're so pretty!" he squealed.
Josie was incredibly nervous, and she was skeptical of any compliments ever thrown her way (few and far between) and to be called pretty, well that had to be a lie.
Gabriella turned around from another student to get a look. She smiled warmly at Josie. "What a difference! That really suits you!" she said.
"Um, can I see it now?" Josie asked quietly.
"Oh darling! Sorry! Yes of course!" Bill gushed, searching in his accessory trolley for a mirror. He found a large round one and held it up in front of her.
At first, Josie did not believe it was her. When she had gone in she had long mousy hair, and greasy, pallid skin�but good teeth. Now she had soft, blond, shiny curls than hung just below her shoulders. It looked like someone else's hair! Caitlin had, in her colorings assessment, given Josie slightly rosy cheeks, glossy frosted pink lips and had brought her sparkling blue eyes out with a little mascara. Face powder had given her skin a glowing radiance, instead of the greasy shine that she was used to.
The salon stylists weren't miracle workers however, her hair and make-up had definitely enhanced her looks, however it was fair to say Josie was still a long way off being what her peers would deem 'cool', not that that worried Josie. She might now have the face of someone infinitely more popular than she was, but it didn't change who she was inside. Josie reached up to touch her hair, and it bounced softly as the golden blonde curls caught the late afternoon sunlight. She couldn't believe it.
"Oh. My. God." came a voice from the doorway. Josie turned around, Rob was stood in the doorway holding two milkshakes looking absolutely dumbfounded.
"Do you like it? Please tell me you like it!" Josie said looking beseechingly at her brother.
"Josie, you look great!" Rob said smiling broadly, "I'm going to have to think up a new nickname for you!"
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The following morning when Josie's alarm went off she didn't roll over to go back to sleep, she bounced out of bed and into the shower, humming as she washed. She would see Sam again today! She padded back into her room and walked to her wardrobe. Dressing for Sam now, she decided on a pair of black crinkle trousers (that were a little too big) and a pale pink blouse with a large ruffled collar, a present from her mother about 3 years ago, that Josie had rejected because she felt it was too smart. A pair of slip on black shoes topped with bows completed the outfit, it was still a little outdated in terms of fashion, however at least she was coordinated.
Josie sat down at her vanity table to dry her hair and was taken aback when she looked in the mirror. She had forgotten about her make over in her excitement about seeing Sam again!
As she towel dried her hair, letting the loose curls spring back round her face, she decided today was a new start for her. She pulled the bag of things she bought from Caitlin out of a drawer and put a little of all the products Caitlin had used on. It wasn't quite the same groomed effect as she had in the Salon yesterday. She used so little it looked like she had none on at all, however it was just enough to make her complexion more radiant. She took a wide velvet hair-band and pushed her hair away from her face, as much as she liked her new curls, she knew they would get in the way of her reading.
Baring her teeth to the mirror one last time, just to make sure the braces really were gone, she grabbed her things and virtually skipped down the stairs. Grabbing a slice of toast from the kitchen counter as she passed, she waved good-bye to her parents, who were still in shock at her 'transformation' and bounded out of the door.
She arrived at the library a little early and waited as patiently as she could outside until Mrs. Jameson appeared with the keys. At first Mrs. Jameson said nothing to Josie, however when Josie said good morning she quite literally did a double take.
"Josie? Oh my dear! I barely recognized you! You look lovely! That hairstyle really suits you and�Josie! Are you wearing make-up?"
Josie grinned back at Mrs. Jameson in response and then padded over to her table, and sat reading a collection of Keats' poetry.
She tried in vain to concentrate on Ode on a Grecian Urn, but could not. She had to look up every other line to see if Sam had arrived, but he had not.
Josie waited until the bell for class rang before she gave up. A horrible sinking feeling came over here as she rose from her seat and trudged to class. Another joke on Josie Geller. It had probably all been planned by Chrissi Majors and Mike Taylor and their cronies. Josie felt wounded beyond belief. She had been sure Sam was different, but her vast experience in cruel jokes told her differently. They were probably all hiding around the lockers watching her as she walked down the corridor.
Josie reached her class and entered, walking straight to her seat at the front, not even registering the gasps and whispers of her classmates as they took in her new look. Indeed, it was only when Doug Sanders the class clown wolf- whistled at her that she even realized that for once her classmates were even aware of her presence in the room.
Josie whipped her head around, not sure whether to smile or scowl. She desperately wanted to believe it was a genuine compliment, but when she saw the look on Chrissi's face she knew otherwise.
"Nice try Grossie, but a haircut doesn't change the fact that you are, and always will be, a loser." She hissed.
Josie turned back around quickly, desperately trying to hold back the tears she felt were sure to follow.
Chrissi Majors was the 'it-girl' of Lincoln Park High. Long platinum blonde hair, complete with requisite big fringe and hairspray, perfectly applied pastel make-up, and the latest fashion of dress shirts combined with micro mini skirts and men's braces.
Josie survived French, Biology and Algebra without crying, and at lunch she was sure she would be fine for the rest of the day too. However she didn't count on seeing Sam in the halls.
Josie considered hiding from him, however she decided to brave it out, she wasn't going to let him be another tormentor. And anyway, she might even be wrong, perhaps there was a good explanation to why he didn't come. She desperately wanted to believe the best of him.
So she turned her back to her locker, facing out towards him, with a half smile/half grimace on her face, but he completely ignored her! They made brief eye contact as he walked past and Josie was positive she saw him do a double take, but he just kept walking without saying a word.
That did it. Josie was heart broken all over again and this time she knew she was going to cry. She ran to the toilets as quickly as she could and was relieved to find them empty. As the pent-up misery and frustration flowed out of her in the form of hot salty tears, Josie silently resolved that she would avoid Sam Coulson for the rest of the semester-- which thankfully was only a couple more weeks-- by any means possible.
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