“I need someone to demonstrate on. Remind me—are you allergic to latex?”
“Well,” he replied, cocking his head in consideration. “I’ve never tried to eat it before, so I’m not sure.”
“Don’t be a smart-ass,” Melody said as she rolled a huge professional makeup case over to the armchair. The organizer had eight drawers and was almost as tall as she was.
His mouth twitched, hiding a grin. “No, I’m not allergic.”
“Awesome. Nearly all the products I plan on working with today I’ve used on you before, so they’ll be safe, but we should check the ingredient list of this new foundation I’ve been dying to test out.”
“What do you mean by safe?” I asked as Melody rifled through one of the drawers and produced a small bottle.
“I have a lot of allergies that I need to be careful about,” Xander explained. “Most people aren’t aware that some makeup products are made with ingredients that trigger allergic reactions, like nuts, dairy, and eggs.”
“Wow,” I said as Melody scanned the tiny print on the back of the foundation. “I never realized that.”
“What’sArachis hypogaea?” she asked.
Xander pulled out his phone and typed it into Google. “Peanuts. I can’t use that.”
“Not a problem. I’ll just have to test it out a different time.” Melody placed the bottle back in her organizer. “Okay, now be a good boy, and don’t move.” Opening the top drawer of her case, she revealed a collection of premade prosthetics. There were everyday body parts like noses, ears, and chins, but there were also gills and horns and scaly skin.
“Whoa.” I shook my head in amazement as she pulled out supplies. “These are awesome.”
“This is nothing. You should see what I have at home. My boyfriend thinks my studio looks like some kind of twisted morgue or the den of a serial killer. There are fake body parts and life casts everywhere,” she said, grinning as she fastened a black barber cape around Xander’s neck to keep his clothes clean. “Anyway, let’s get started. Can you grab a bald cap? They should be in the bottom drawer.”
Xander shifted nervously in his seat. “Awhatcap?”
Melody laughed at his horrified expression. “Don’t worry. It won’t hurt.”
This didn’t seem to convince him. “You’ve done this before, right?” he asked, turning to me with wide eyes.
I offered him a reassuring smile. “Plenty of times.” Bald caps were common appliances in SFX. The process was a bit tedious but not painful. I’d learned to put them on by practicing on myself, which was much harder than applying one to a model. The first time I tried, I wasted three caps before I was able to get one on without ripping the thin material.
“His hair is going to be a nuisance,” Melody said, tapping her chin as she surveyed Xander. “We’ll have to put it back.”
Leaning forward, Xander shook out his bangs and combed a hand through the golden-red locks. “Are you saying I need a haircut?”
“That depends. Are you going for a shaggy dog look?”
He shrugged. “What if I am?”
“Then keep doing you, buddy.” She passed me a handful of ponytail holders and said, “Can you wrangle the mop?”
Her question made me pause. Melody wanted me totouchXander’s hair? That felt intimate somehow, like something only a girlfriend or hairdresser should do. I knew it was stupid, but I suddenly felt awkward. “Can you put your hair back for me?” I asked, pressing the elastic ties into Xander’s hand. “It will be easier if you do it.”
“Sure thing.” Completely oblivious to my discomfort, he separated and tied off his waves into two sections, one at the top of his head that reminded me of Pebbles Flintstone and the second at the nape of his neck.
“That won’t work,” Melody said, pointing out the top ponytail. And she was right. There would be a huge bump under the cap if his hair wasn’t put back properly. She dug around in her case until she located some styling gel and tossed it to me. “Use this instead.”
“I guess you have to take that out,” I told Xander as I popped the cap off the bottle. Once he removed the elastic tie, I squeezed a glob of gel onto my palm, sucked in a quick breath, and began working the product into his bangs.
Of course he has great hair, I thought as I smoothed everything into place. It was soft but thick, the kind of hair that was perfect for running your fingers through.
When I finished, I went to wash my hands. Melody had already set the gel with a hairdryer by the time I returned and was cleaning the skin around Xander’s hairline with an alcohol wipe. I tore open the package of bald caps, and as soon as she was done, I carefully eased one on. It was too big, and I had to trim the edges so the latex wouldn’t cover his eyebrows.
“Do you want to glue or dry?” Melody asked, gesturing between the hairdryer and a bottle of Pros-Aide. I selected the adhesive and a few Q-tips for application, and for the next ten minutes, we worked in silent tandem.
“I feel ridiculous,” Xander grumbled once the cap was secured.
