Chapter 14 - Haircut and Suspicious Free Lunches

"Jenna, where is my mother?" Alex asked. They weren't gone for long but Mrs Wilde was already gone.

"She has gone to attend to an urgent phone call, young mistress. Please enjoy the tea with your friends. The maids are on standby should you require assistance. I shall go prepare the salon for the stylist's arrival."

After the butler left, Alex allowed herself to sag into the comfortable couch. Jasper snickered and decided to focus on grabbing the cookies with more chocolate ch.i.p.s before dipping it into hot cocoa and stuffing them in his mouth. While Scarlet continued to observe them, she didn't realise that she was also being watched.

"Does your family often interact with so much gusto?"

Alex groaned and buried her face in her hands. "I'm sorry you had to witness such an embarrassing moment. I promise my mother isn't always like this... she does it usually when there are guests just to get a response out of me. I know that I'm stupid for letting it get to me all the time but I just can't help it..."

Scarlet didn't respond and Jasper took the opportunity to steal one more cookie. By the time Alex noticed the dwindling number of baked treats, she started bickering with Jasper. The contrast of their behaviour at home and in school was so different that Scarlet decided to keep her feelings and secrets close to her chest. Although she didn't feel that Mrs Wilde or Jenna were unpleasant people with ill-intentions, it was in Scarlet's nature to be cautious about everything. When things were progressing too smoothly, it was hard to believe it. After all, who would believe that there can be free lunches out there without a hidden price tag to it? Scarlet didn't buy such a thing having experienced betrayal first hand from her parents.

The guarded expression on Scarlet's face made Mrs Wilde more interested as she observed the girl from a computer. The hidden camera was positioned perfectly to capture the girl's actions and this was a secret that only Jenna knew about. Not even Mr Wilde knew of his wife's peeping tendencies. It was through this method that the heiress managed to protect the estate from greedy maids and vile guests. People tended to show their true colours when they think nobody is watching after all.

Scarlet's emotional maturity was unsuiting of her age and Mrs Wilde frowned. There were no signs of physical abuse apart from the hair's disastrous cut. Yet where there is smoke, there is fire. Those eyes wouldn't lie no matter how proficient little Scarlet was at concealing her feelings. Her face might be frozen but not her heart. That small heart was just locked away in the deepest and darkest part of her mind in order to fight against unseen monsters so that she could live another day. While Mrs Wilde wasn't a psychologist, she was a socialite who read people like open books.

>>Xxx Destiny Aitsuji xxX<<

The hairstylist arrived and Jenna welcomed him. He was a gay French man who had a multi-coloured deathhawk. The gold earrings only made him look wilder and if not for his array of hair products, scissors and razors, the security would have thrown the flamboyant man out on sight. He was fashion roadkill if not for his talent and Jenna donned her butler mask, giving him a stern warning about appropriate treatment of his young customer.

"Salut mademoiselle! How has been you this lovely afternoon?" Mr Leonce Le Beau, also known as Beyonce in his self-introduction, greeted with a fancy bow.

Jenna gave him a business-like smile and returned the gesture. "Salut, monsieur. It has been delightful thus far. Would you like to settle down with a drink or get straight to business?"

Beyonce smiled and gushed about wanting to start at once. His excitement died down as if someone had thrown ice water in his face when he saw the state Scarlet's dark hair was in.

"Quelle tragédie! Merde! Dear child touched by angel... who is the cruel one who did this to you? Such beautiful hair... it's a true shame."

Scarlet didn't react very much to Mr Beyonce's dramatic behaviour at the sight of her hair. In fact, she didn't speak at all and allowed the hairstylist to touch her hair, inspect it and m.o.a.n about the loss while praising the quality of it all in one breath for the next five minutes. She couldn't understand the French slipped in occasionally but she could read in between the lines and infer from his reactions. If the man didn't choose to be a hairstylist, Scarlet thought that he could become an actor with his huge range of expressions.

"I see, it's so sad. But no worries, I am the best in this industrie! There is no person I cannot make une beauté. Now tell me, what does you want to be? A tiger? A kitten? A marshmallow?"

Scarlet blinked. What kind of question was that?

Seeing her puzzled expression, Mr Beyonce simply smiled wider. "Don't worry, we can take it slow. What kind of things you like eating? Ice-cream? Cake?"

Scarlet didn't know where this was leading to but she answered it truthfully hoping that the man could quickly get to the makeover part of it.

"Good choice! Pancakes and maple syrup is fluffy! Bien! Très bon! I see now, light and fluffy. Ok, do you like dogs or cats?"

Scarlet didn't know where this was leading to but if she had to choose one, she would choose cats. Tomy Chrome was the reason why she adored cats. They were fierce, independent and loyal.

"Les Chats? Good choice! I know now. Do you like the sun or moon more?"

Needless to say, Scarlet loved the moon for that meant she would be able to sleep and spend some time not feeling alone with the stars in the sky.

"La Lune it is then. I understand. Last question, very important. Do you like going on adventures or perfecting art?"

Scarlet paused at this. It was a tough question and Mr Beyonce noticed that she was taking a little too long to answer it.

"Not hard problème, all answers are correct. Don't use the head, use the voice inside the heart."

Scarlet let her gaze drop to the floor as she answered in a small voice. "Both. I like both."

Mr Beyonce smiled warmly and patted Scarlet's head gently. In a soft an gentle manner, unlike his loud image, he spoke in a steady voice that reassured the young girl. "Très bon, you have done your part. Now, I will do my part. Leave your hair to my care, I will transform you. After this, you will not be the same person. Like a papillon, you will break free from old self and fly!"

Scarlet didn't know how to react to it and chose to remain silent while Mr Beyonce erased all the earlier signs of craziness the moment he held his scissors. There was a serious glint in the Frenchman's eyes as he worked and Scarlet wondered what the stylist had in mind. The only mirror in the salon was faced away from Scarlet at Mr Beyonce's request so the girl could only pray that nothing disastrous was going on.

Although she did not react outwardly, hearing the electronic buzz of the razor made her jump a little.

"Have faith in his skills and credentials even if he doesn't seem very reassuring..." Scarlet shut her eyes and repeated the mantra in her head the whole time until Mr Beyonce was done.

From the doorway, Alex held her breath in nervousness as she watched the hairstylist work his magic. Initially, the young heiress was worried but as time passed her eyes widened in amazement at the magic. A huge smile broke out on her face and suddenly, Alex couldn't wait to see her new friend's reaction to her new look.

It was beginning to look like a very good start.