CHELBY’S HAIROICS

FEATURED AUTHOR:  Sean Hunter

Used with permission from the author

They were a close-knit family, always out together on the weekends, whether it be restaurants, movies, or bowling, they could be seen routinely together as a loving family. The bond between the three is what Chelby cherished the most.

* * *

The first day of school seemed to come so fast, according to Chelby. Usually, on the Sunday before school, Chelby would think of three outfits to wear and ultimately pick her favorite one out of the three. Naturally indecisive, she would end up making a final choice at the last minute. This time, however, Chelby remembered that her new school required students to wear uniforms.

Although that saved some time, it was getting late, and Amia still hadn’t done Chelby’s hair for the week coming up.

Generally, on Sundays Amia would give her a different hairstyle, depending on what Chelby requested for that week. Chelby enjoyed getting her hair done and loved the fact that her mother could do any of the different latest hairstyles for her. “Ok, baby, while the food is in the oven, let me start doing your hair,” Mia said, calling down the hallway.

“Yes, coming, Mom!” Chelby answered from her room.

Chelby hurried to her parent’s room to get what was needed. With a comb, hair grease, and flat iron in hand, she yelled a question down the hallway at her mother.

“Hey, Mom. Where’s the tiny rubber bands at?”

“The same place you left them, on top of the dresser, and bring the brush as well!” Her mother

responded. Chelby hustled with all the things her mom needed to the living room and laid everything out for her on the couch. As she sat in between her mother’s legs with her mother on the couch above her, she tried to narrow down what she wanted to have done in her mind.

“Ok, baby, so how would you like your hair done for your first day of school?” Mia asked.

“Mom, I can’t decide. Can you just pick a style this time for me, please?” Chelby excitedly responded.

“Ok, baby, I got you,” her mother replied. As her mother began to style her hair, Chelby winced and

moaned. She fought through the pain without any complaints only because she knew that it’d all be worth the temporary discomfort.

Halfway into the process, Amia’s phone started to ring, so she stopped doing Chelby’s hair to answer her cell phone. It was her father calling to speak to Chelby before she went to bed. On this particular day, Marcus was running a little late in traffic, driving from Long Island to Queens.

“Hello,” Mia answered. “What’s up babe? How are you?” Marcus asked.

“I’m good, and yourself?” Before he could answer, she blurted out, “But listen, I’m rushing trying to finish up your daughter’s hair and still have dinner cooking in the oven, so you have to be quick,” Mia responded hastily.

“Ok, cool, FaceTime me so I can speak to Chelby real quick, please,” Marcus requested. Marcus abruptly got off the highway onto the service road and pulled over to await Mia’s call back. Mia hung up and FaceTimed Marcus, so he’d be able to see and speak to Chelby before she went to bed. Chelby got excited as she FaceTimed her father. Marcus hated getting home too late to kiss Chelby goodnight before she went to sleep.

“Hey baby, how are you? Ready for school tomorrow?” Her father asked.

“Hey Dad, I’m good, but I’m kind of nervous and excited about tomorrow,” Chelby responded as she smiled anxiously.

“I know you may be a little nervous, but don’t be. You make friends everywhere you go, and you know that. As long as you be yourself and do the right thing as you always do, you’ll be just fine,” Marcus encouraged.

“Thanks, Dad. Have a goodnight!” Chelby replied.”Love you, baby, and have a goodnight as well,”

Marcus said as he ended the call. After ending the call, Marcus got back onto the highway and continued home.

Back home, Chelby didn’t even notice that her mother was finished with her hair because she was so enthused over conversing with her father before going to bed. “Mom, you finished already?!” Chelby questioned.

“That’s right, so go take a look real quick and come back, plus you still have to eat. It’s getting late,” Mia responded. Chelby ran back into her mother’s room to look into the big mirror, which was part of the door outside her parents’ bedroom. She picked up a small, handheld mirror from the dresser to see both the front and back of her hair. As she did this, she thought to herself about how great of a hairdresser her mother was.

From above, she could see that her hair had a part going from the middle of her head, leading towards the back of her head. On both sides of the parted hair were two thick braids starting from the front of her head, rounding off inches above each ear but curving and ending a little above each shoulder. From either side of her head, Chelby saw three small parts, with two tiny braids in between each, about half an inch apart from each small braid. Chelby noticed that on the sides were tiny braids connecting into the other long thick braids evenly, completing Chelby’s new hairstyle for her first day ofschool.

“Twin braids?!” she whispered as she slowly did a 360-turn using both mirrors. Chelby knew most of all the braided hairstyles’ names and took pride in her knowledge of such. She yelled down the hall into the kitchen where her mother was preparing dinner. “It looks beautiful, Mom. I love it. Thank you so much!”

“You’re very welcome, baby, but come sit down and eat dinner. It’s starting to get late, “her mother exclaimed. School started in the middle of the week this year, which also meant that tonight was Taco Tuesday. Chelby loved her mother’s cooking, just as much as she loved how she did hair, so she looked forward to Taco Tuesdays. As she walked towards the kitchen table, her eyes lit up with joy.

“Yessss, Taco Tuesday!” Chelby screamed out. So, I guess that’s what was in the oven, she thought to herself.

“Yes, but don’t forget to pray before you eat, Chelby,” her mother demanded. So Chelby did just that. God is good. God is great. Thank you, God, for our food. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!” Chelby recited. Her mother echoed an ‘Amen’ from the kitchen as well. After eating, Chelby cleaned the table then headed to the bathroom to brush her teeth and take a quick shower.

Once she finished in the bathroom, Chelby dried off, put on lotion and her PJs, then headed to bed. She read mostly every night before going to sleep, mainly to help her sleep well. She enjoyed reading a lot; it was one of her top favorite things to do. Usually, any fantasy book would do just fine. Tonight, she was reading an old Rainbow Magic book, which did just the trick.

Ten minutes after she fell asleep, her father’s key unlocked the door. As he walked in, he gave Amia a quick hug and kiss before walking swiftly to Chelby’s room. Marcus’s boots echoed down the hallway as he approached. His smile and wishful thinking soon turned into a frown with empty hopes once arriving at her doorway.

Disappointed, he arched over to kiss Chelby on the forehead as she laid in her bed dreaming. “Look at my big girl,” Marcus whispered, looking over Chelby. Closing his eyes as he stood over her, hwhispered a short prayer that she slept well before exiting her room.

The following day Chelby woke up anxious but excited about school. The unknown always made Chelby uneasy, but over the years, she had gotten better with her anxiety. She ate the breakfast her mother had laid out for her, buttered toast with turkey bacon, then went into the bathroom to wash up and brush her teeth. She put on her uniform, which she noticed, had at least one of her two favorite colors. The new school uniform was blue and gold, and her favorite colors were purple and blue.

The one thing that helped her confidence and made her less anxious was when she unwrapped her headscarf, checking out how her new hairstyle looked in the mirror.

Wow, Mom did a great job, she thought to herself. She put her shoes on and grabbed her bag to head out as her mother waited for her in the car.