He stands up and buttons his school blazer. Does he ever relax and let loose? As soon as we all got to the dorm, we changed clothes, and Zeke borrowed clothes from JP so he wouldn’t have to sit around in his uniform. Even when it’s not mandated though, Levi prefers a tie and jacket, it seems. Don’t get me wrong, it’s hot as hell, but he stands out a lot, almost like he’s trying to be unapproachable.
“Remember our conversation yesterday?” Levi’s hazel eyes soften. “You have an appointment in thirty minutes and I have a prior engagement I cannot be late for, I’m afraid.”
I sit there for a few minutes, trying to think about what we talked about, and it finally clicks. My hair removal appointment!I’m all for that. Looking down at the sweats JP picked for me, I figure I’ll just go as I am. While I’m out, I can go shopping for more clothes since I haven’t figured out my closet issue yet. Yay.
Excited now, I jump up, “Oh yeah. Thanks. Where’s it at?”
* * *
Moni wanted to come with me but didn’t want to be seen since the lady who ran the store was friends with her mother. I got excited to learn more about Moni and maybe meet a friend of the family until she shut me down quickly saying she wasn’t ready. Who was I to push it when I wasn’t ready to do the same. So until I am, I would respect her decision.
With Moni hiding on my shoulder, I take in a deep breath and walk into the shop. No one is at the counter, so I take a moment to look around. The walls are done up like a rainforest. They even have the humidity of a sauna, and the moisture has me wishing I would have changed out of the sweats. The walls are done up in dark browns while vines twist and turn along the walls and over a very prominent fish tank that’s not holding any fish. Looking into the glass, I notice small furry worms on skeleton legs running around. When one stops and looks at me, baring his tiny little teeth, I actually take a step back. Yikes!
“Those are harbingers. They’re used for pedicures, I’ve been told,” Moni supplies for me, and I shrink further away. There’s no way in hell I would let those things come close to my toes. Eww. They would probably take a chunk out of my foot, and then I would be left with a limp for the rest of my life.
A small petite woman dressed in a flowing white dress sidles up to the counter and gives me a small smile, “Can I help you?”
“Hi. Yes, I have an appointment. Nerezza Taylor,” I supply, walking up to the counter.
The woman clicks some keys on her computer and then pulls out a notepad, flipping the page.
“What was the name again?” She asks while scanning her notepad.
Moni takes flight and hovers over the lady without her noticing.
“Nerezza Taylor,” I say, worry now lacing my words. Am I at the wrong place? Is there another Vanishing Vixens in Nova?
“I apologize, I do see you here, but there wasn’t a credit card payment, so we can’t see you. Sorry,” she says, giving me a fake smile. I’ve seen enough of them that I can spot it up a fairy’s hairy ass.
“Oh.” I lower my head for a moment and catch her genuine smile.
Yeah, I see you. Plastering on my own fake smile, looking her straight in the eye. “Silly me. Here!” I pull my black card out of my sweats and hand it over to her.
Dumbstruck, she takes it and looks at it in shock. I watch while her eyes dart back and forth as she tries to come up with another reason not to see me.What would she have done if I had dropped Levi’s name and told her he made the appointment for me?I wouldn’t play that hand, not if there’s an easier way to handle things on my own. It’s more satisfying that way. But still, I wonder.
As we wait to see what she comes up with, I notice one of my classmates coming out of the backroom. The sneer she gives me is viscous enough that even Satan would back away from her. Yeah, that doesn’t leave me with good chills.Janika!The girl that was sitting in front of me when Emer and I got into it today.
“Hey, mom,” she says to the woman holding my card.
Aww, shit. Fuck me with a harbinger in a pool of piranhas! This cannot be my day.
“Hi, sweetie. You can see I’m with a customer; I’ll be with you in a minute,” she says.
Janika walks up to the counter and leans on it, shooting me the evil eye. “Mom, she’s not a customer. That’s Nerezza, the human, and the girl who started the fight with Emer today.”
My mouth drops. First of all, what does that have anything to do with me needing a service here? Secondly, why is she throwing out MY business like her mother is part of the school’s gossip group? Hopelessness consumes me because I already see where this is going.
“Oh. That was you?” She looks at me with disgust. I watch with annoyance as she takes in my clothes. Granted, I probably should have switched out of the ‘Sex God Revolution’ sweats I was sporting, but my clothes shouldn’t matter.
There’s no point in answering. I can see it in her eyes—I’ve just been blackballed. She sets down my card and pushes it across the counter to where I pick it up and put it back in my pocket.
“I refuse to serve humans and especiallyviolentones,” she says and focuses on my cheek. “The Elverson’s are my top clients. A beef with them is a beef with me,” she says. I feel like I’ve been branded like in "The Scarlet Letter". She gives me one more nasty look and walks to the back, leaving her bratty daughter with me.
I take one last look at her as Moni flies over and lands on my shoulder. Walking out of their crappy shop, Janika’s words stop me for a moment, but I refuse to turn around.
“You have two options. Beg for Emer’s forgiveness and suck up to her. She might even let you worship her if you’re lucky,” she laughs.
That’s more than I need to hear, so I continue walking.
