Free Holly Hearts Hollywood by Kenley Conrad

goodbye. I thought only people in movies did that. Apparently, if you look like Lacey, you can do it too.
    “Um, Lacey?” I asked, slightly out of breath since Lacey has long legs, and it was hard for me to keep up. “Where are we going?”
    “To Wendell’s. You need highlights,” she said briskly. We stepped outside into the Shell Shocked parking lot and the beautiful, California weather. I could barely believe it was winter. If we were in Iowa, I’d probably have to shovel snow out of the driveway right now.
    “Couldn’t I get a trim instead?” I protested. Lacey unlocked the door of her pearl-white Range Rover and hopped into the driver’s seat.
    She looked at me sternly. “No, you can’t get a trim instead. You need a wash, cut, highlights, the whole works.” She blinked. “Well, get in the car, already.”
    I paused, but she was looking at me with so much intensity that I obliged. Lacey slipped off her stilettos and chucked them into the backseat.
    “Are you driving barefoot?” I asked as she reversed out of her parking spot.
    “I wear heels and flip-flops a lot. It’s so much easier to drive barefoot.”
    She flipped on the radio and sang off-key to every song as we drove to Wendell’s salon, which is, apparently, the salon in LA. It’s no wonder they needed to find someone to sing for Lacey; that girl couldn’t sing her way out of a paper bag.
    Wendell’s salon, Outer Beauty, was a super-posh, modern place that’s so exclusive it only has three stylists. I was expecting a tall, thin man with a handlebar moustache in all black, looking like he’d walked off the streets of Hemingway-era Paris. Instead, Wendell was a large German man who apparently recently outgrew all of his shirts and hasn’t been able to buy any more.
    “Lacey!” He kissed her on both cheeks, which was something I’d never actually seen anyone do in real life. “What is this emergency? Did you find a split end?” His accent was thick, and he smelled like sauerkraut and hair spray.
    “I brought you a whole head of split ends,” Lacey said, gesturing to me as if I were on display.
    “Hey!” I protested. “Lacey, I can’t afford something like this,” I whispered even though Wendell was only three feet away.
    Lacey glanced at her phone. “I’d be surprised if you could. Besides, it’s on me.”
    “Oh no, don’t worry about me. I’ll buy some hair dye or something at Wal-Mart.”
    Wendell actually hissed at me. “You will not buy any such product from the Wal-Mart,” he growled. “Wendell will take care of you,” he insisted. I’ve never actually heard anyone speak in third person before, and it wasn’t the Yoda-like experience I’d hoped for.
    He snapped his sausage-like fingers, and before I knew it, I was in a salon chair with chunks of my hair wrapped up in foil and goop that was apparently hair color.
    “Now, this will give her a nice honey-blonde, won’t it?” Lacey asked as she popped a new piece of gum into her mouth.
    “ Ja, will be blonde like good German beer.”
    I don’t know much about beer, but I couldn’t help but think that my hair shouldn’t resemble it. But who was I to talk? My hair looks like a wet haystack. Well, it did look like a wet haystack until Wendell got his hands on it. Now I actually have highlights. HIGHLIGHTS ! My hair is glossy with dimension and layers. I didn’t know what anyone meant when they talked about hair framing the face, but now I totally get it. My face doesn’t look as fat as it used to.
    My heart nearly exploded when Wendell told Lacey how much it cost. It cost the same amount as my Homecoming dress, and that dress was not on sale. But Lacey handed over her credit card like it was no big deal.
    “That brings out the shape of your face,” Lacey said as she waited for Wendell to bring her receipt.
    “Thanks so much, Lacey. I appreciate it.”
    She waved her hand in the air dismissively; only she was on her phone, so she didn’t realize she was