The next day, Laura lectured me on what to expect and how to behave on a date like that. She was so good, pretty good on any stuff relating to etiquette. At first, she suggested I needed a nice hair do. I obliged though reluctantly. I had this long natural ebony hair that almost reached my buttocks. I hated plaiting my hair for a reason best known to me. I regularly washed, brushed and styled it. And that was all.
Mirabel before leaving that morning offered to help out with the hair. I restrained for a while until Laura reassured me that I was in safe hands. One could hardly trust a girl like Mirabel. For a start, I was given a magazine to kill time while Mirabel set to work. Laura went to the kitchen to prepare breakfast. The way Mirabel handled scissors recklessly scared me that I had to look at the mirror placed before me more often than I looked at the magazine I held. I watched sorrowfully as my hair fell off in heaps.
I didn't know how it happened but I just dozed off. By the time I woke up, Mirabel had consumed half and a dozen of the long hair I spent decades to grow. I sought for revenge at once. I searched frantically for Mirabel to strangle her for ruining my hair but Laura told me she was gone. Oh my lovely hair! I wept bitterly. Laura tried consoling me. She hugged me tightly as I laid my head on her shoulder, crying out my eyeballs. Despite the soothing words she uttered, I caught her twice or thereabout smiling secretly at my misfortune when I peeped at the mirror.
The day went on, boring as usual. I took almost an hour of the day sorting the outfit to put on. At last, Laura got me a royal blue floral gown. I did not argue much, at least, It was somewhat decent.
Evening was fast approaching. I looked forward to meeting Francis. I had never felt this way before, perhaps, I was beginning to fall for him already but I wouldn't just admit that. Laura told me the previous day when I inquired that Francis was a very good friend of hers during her secondary school days. I had a thousand and one questions to fire at Laura but I kept them to myself.