To Forgive Chapter 2
Time for a Haircut
By Rozalynn
Waiting for the school bell to ring on a Friday was a hard task for anyone, but Sora was having the worst time at trying to contain her excitement. Since she had promised Seph she would come back the next weekend she couldn't waste any time after school. The second hand on the clock seemed to have decreased its speed, like any clock would do at the end of a school day. This was her last class period and it always seemed the longest.
After coming to the conclusion that watching the clock was doing no good, Sora focused her attention on, Mr. Cooley, her overly interested in what he taught history teacher. Even though she was fascinated about what had happened back then nothing seemed to take her mind off Seph and the Midgar ruins.
The bell rang signaling the end of the day. Sora hurriedly shoved her binder into her bag and raced for the door before anyone else could get in her way. She ran down the hall beating “The Mob”* as she called it, so nothing stood in her way. Her only real friend, Bailey, watched her retreating form with a puzzled look on her face. Why’s she in such a hurry? Bailey thought, as the “The Mob” filled the hall around her.
*
Once Sora had gathered all the materials she would need to cut Seph's hair she pulled on one of her old sweatshirts; to protected her from the cold and set off. Knowing that Cloud was on a mission, Aeris busy with her flower shop, and Tifa tending the bar filled with customers there wouldn’t be anyone to stop her from leaving. She did have a feeling her mom knew what she was up to, but it didn't bothering her too much. Soon she was running across the grass again with her schoolbag in hand. The contents it usually carried had been replaced with a brush, scissors, a mirror, a sheet, a water bottle, and a book with tips on how to cut people's hair. She had pick it up at a bookstore on her way from school it was called Helpful Haircutting Techniques and Haircuts for the Beginner.
Upon reaching the ruins Sora wasted no time and jumped the barrier. She had to get to the church fast because she had not brought her sword, making her easy prey for any monster. Following the dirt path to her destination she finally reached it. Running up to the wooden doors she pulled one open.
The first time she had come into the church she hadn't had time to look at the interior of the place. As she glanced around she found it was quite beautiful inside despite the damaged exterior. The stained-glass windows were still in good condition except for a few. Whose few windows had only escaped with minor holes and cracks. A hole in the roof supplied the light in the chapel.
The most breath taking sight were the flowers which were growing at the head of the church. They had grown through the floorboards and had stopped at the pews and columns. Vines covered the columns closet to the front, almost reaching the rafters. Puzzled by the emptiness of the church Sora went in to see if everything was alright.
“Seph!” she called. Nothing but silence responded to her. After running a few things over in her head she decided to try again. “Seph?” she called again, “You wanted me to cut your hair remember?”
This time there was a reply. It was the creek of the door leading to the backroom of the church, it opened only a crack, then a bit further. Seph's head peaked out from behind it. Once he recognized who it was he spoke, “What are you doing here?”
Sora was confused only for a moment before she realized her mistake. The day was Friday which wasn't part of the weekend only the start. Embarrassment in the shade of red spread across her face as she quickly tried to explain why she had come, without giving away she had been too excited to comprehend it wasn't the weekend yet. Seph couldn't stop himself from laughing as she tried to explain. Once she noticed his laughter she stopped trying to explain and looked at him irritably.
“I guess I won’t cut your hair then,” she told him tartly. As she turned to leave he yelled, “No wait! I’m sorry! It was just... too funny to... not.. not laugh!”
Turning back to face him she smiled kindly and with a sigh she said, “I suppose I could give you a hair cut...” Seph let out a sigh of relief. Hearing him sigh she continued, “But, on one condition,” with one finger raised she paused, “no more laughing at me!” Once he nodded in reply she proclaimed, “Let the HAIRCUTTING BEGIN!” Before they could do that though, they had to find a place to do the haircutting. So, they both set to work on finding the perfect spot to cut Seph’s hair.
After they searched for a short time they decided to look in Aeris’ old house for a spot. Once they got there they’d already made up their minds that it was the best place. Since there wasn't a roof to the house anymore there was plenty of sunlight. They didn't even have to look for a chair for Seph to sit on, one was right in the corner of the room. It wasn't to long before they had everything set up.When Sora and Seph had finish up cleaning the dust, which had collected on the floor over the years, decided to take a break before starting.
Not liking the silence Seph made up his mind to speak, “How are you going to cut my hair?”
Pondering this question for a moment Sora answered, “I’m sure the book I bought has some styles in it. Why don’t we look.”
“Okay!”
Pulling out the book from her pack she flipped to the index. Scanning it she found what she was looking for and went to the page indicated next to the words “Easy Hair Styles for Men”. The page it was on was just after the introduction.
Without having to tell Seph she had found it he began looking at the pictures that were there. “I don’t really like any of these,” he told her, “They’re all really short.” Sora could understand his feelings most of the pictures were of guys with buzz-cuts hair and she didn't’t even have anything to cut hair so short.
Seeing there wasn't any she could do she turned the page. The next page was titled “Short Hair Styles for Men” it seemed like a good place to find some good ones. All the men had some sort of haircut that had their hair stop at their ears. Seph didn't like them ether, so they went to the next page, which continued with the same cuts. They gave up when they reach the women’s section and closed the book.
“Looks like we’re out of luck...” Sora said with a sigh, “Are you sure you don’t like any of them?”
“Yeah,” he replied, “They were just to short for me.”
“How can you say you don’t like having long hair even when you have longer hair then all the pictures in the book?” she stopped but when she saw the look on his face she added, “Well in the guys section at least.” Then an idea struck her she stood up. “Come on! Sit down in the chair.”
Seph sat down as she had instructed. Once she got everything she would need from her pack she began. First she put the sheet she had brought over him and tied the ends behind his neck. Next she got out the water bottle and wet his hair a little bit.
“What’s your idea?” he asked.
“You’ll see,” she told him, “It’s going to be a surprise.”
With that Sora went to work on cutting Seph’s hair. At first she had to look at the book frequently for advice on how to start and such, but after awhile she sought its advice less and less. She cut his hair as even as she could. The only thing she messed up on was his bangs they turned out longer than the rest of his hair. When she told him she was finished she crossed her fingers behind her back hoping he liked it.
Looking at himself with the mirror Sora had handed him he exclaimed, “I like!”
“Really?” she asked.
“Yeah! It’s not too short and not too long,” he told, “It’s just perfect for me. You should cut my hair all the time.”
Blushing, she untied the sheet, which was covered with Seph’s odd colored hair. Bundling the sheet up she took it outside to free it from his hair. Shaking it out over the water she wondered how Seph had gotten such weird colored hair. Once the sheet was clean she folded it and went back in the house. When she was back inside she found him still looking at his hair. Sora saw her chance to ask him her question and went for it.
“Hey Seph how did you get your hair like that?”
There was a pause before he answered her. Without putting down the mirror he said, “Oh, I was born with it.”
“Really?” she said, a little taken aback by the answer, “I thought it would have been something weird like you got hit by lightening or something.... haha... ha...um... yeah...” Seeing that Seph remained quiet she stopped and tried changed the subject, but he spoke before she could say any thing more.
“Thanks for the hair cut," Seph put down the mirror. “It's the best one I've had for awhile now. Would you like to be my official haircutter?”
“Sure, that would be cool, when should I come? Every month?” Sora wanted to know.
“Every other week I suppose. I'm not too sure about it, but does it really matter?”
“I’ll come even if you don't need a haircut, is that okay?”
“Yeah, you better get back home soon though your parents might get worried.”
“Oh I have plenty of time. What makes you say that anyway?”
“Well because the sun has disappeared behind the plate," He smile as he pointed to the hole. "See?"
After seeing that he was right she shouted, “Oh shit! I have to get back for dinner!” Grabbing her backpack she shoved all her things into it and started for the exit. Following her the whole way to the edge of the Midgar ruins he stopped her before she went over the barrier.
“You don’t have to rush you know,” he told her, “some people say good-bye before they leave.”
Smiling she said, “Okay then I’ll see you later!” Sora jumped over the barrier leaving him in shock.
“HEY! Your SUPPOSE to say good-bye!” he yelled after her.
Hearing him Sora stopped, turning around she waved and yelled back good-bye to him. A smile spread across his face and he waved to her.
Author’s Notes:
“The Mob”- this refers to the many people that consume the halls/walk-ways after the bell rings, signaling the end/start of any period, at any school. I swear I could do a freaking comic out of this! There are sooo many moments in here that I can picture in a comic. Don’t be surprised if I do a comic of it. But then I’ll have to make a webpage… I don’t have the time to do that. Damnit!