Oh, stop your pouting! It’s just hair!” Sage continues flipping through a magazine, circling pictures of hairstyles she likes. “Besides, this was your idea.”

We have been in Atlanta for a week, and I thought it would be wise to change our appearance. This is something we should have done sooner than later.

I rest my chin on my hand and sigh. “I know, but that doesn’t mean I have to be happy about it.”

I grab a magazine off the shelf and start flipping through it. My hair used to be short, but now it hangs past my shoulders. Today, I’m going back to my natural color of blonde. I’m letting go of what little bit of my old life I have left, and I’m not sure how I feel about it.

A hairstylist notifies Sage that she’s ready for her, and she jumps up excitedly. She loves doing girly stuff like this. I grab the magazine she was looking at and notice all the pictures she circled are of short-haired brunettes. It’s hard to imagine her long ginger hair brown and cut short. I close the magazine and sink lower into the couch.

“Are you ready?” A friendly hairstylist asks. I nod my head and walk to the chair at her station.

She pulls my hair out of the ponytail holder and places it gently on her counter. She runs her fingers through my hair and smiles.

“My name is Liz, by the way,” she says with a warm smile that immediately comforts me. “You said on the phone that you wanted to go back to your natural color of blonde, right?” I nod my head and smile.

“Okay, girl! I’m going to get you all fixed up! Are you cutting any of the length?” I shake my head no and close my eyes as she leans me back to wash my hair.

It is just hair, I keep reminding myself. My blue hair has been a part of me for so long, and although I loved it, I didn’t think it would be this hard to let it go.

After an hour passes, I’m done. She spins me around in the chair to face the mirror. I slowly look up from my feet and into the mirror. Damn. Who is this person? I stand up and get closer to the mirror. I run my hands through my hair and over my eyes that seem to be bluer than they were before.

“We look killer,” I hear from behind me. I gasp when I see Sage. Her hair is cut in a pixie boy-cut style and is dark brown.

“Do you like?” She spins around to show off her new look.

“You chopped your hair off! But I love it!” I’m shocked at how different she looks. The only way anyone could recognize her would be by her amber eyes.

She grabs a handful of my hair and smiles. “Now, this… This is something. I thought I would never see you with your natural hair color again. It looks great, Oreo.”

“Thanks. I’m a little shocked myself.” I laugh.

“No one will recognize us.” I smile at her because that is exactly why we did this. It will be harder for the hunters to find us now. We should have done this sooner. Maybe things will be different now.

“We should buy a car,” I say to Sage as we walk out of the hair salon.

“Why would we buy a car? We can take the bus everywhere.” She crosses her arms over her chest. I have bothered her about getting a car for a while now.

“What was the point of getting fake driver’s licenses if we are never going to use them? And I’m sick of the bus. Not to mention it’d be easier to stay out of sight. The bus is too public.”

“Ugh. Fine, but you need a job to pay for it. We have money, plenty of it, but a car would seriously cut into it,” she says then lights a cigarette.

I start looking around and spot a movie store on the corner. “Hey, Sage, I’m going to go in there. They have a help wanted sign up.”

She laughs. “Do you think you are going to be able to just walk in there and walk out with a job?”

I roll my eyes. “Maybe. Maybe not. I won’t know if I don’t try. I can at least get an application. And damn, aren’t friends supposed to be supportive? If so, you are doing a really bad job.”

She laughs and sits down on a bench to wait for me. I head to the movie store. A girl with curly brown hair looks in my direction when she hears the door chime.

“Can I help you? Or do you know what you are looking for?” She sets a basket of movies down.

“I saw the help wanted sign, and I’m looking for a job. Can I have an application, please?”

She crosses her arms over her chest and looks skeptically at me. Since being on Earth, I have obtained a few tattoos, and my holey jeans are probably not the best thing to wear when applying for a job. I look down and curse at myself for not thinking this through a bit more.

“What is your name?” She asks.

“Ana,” I say, stating the name on my fake i.d. “My friend and I just moved here. We applied for college, so I will need hours that work around classes.”

“It doesn’t pay well.”

“That’s okay,” I reply. “I really need a job. Any amount of money is better than none, right? I’m not one to beg for anything, but I’d beg if it’d help my chances.”

She stares at me skeptically for a few seconds before a grin spreads across her mouth. “Would you like to start now?” She hands me an apron and a name tag.

I hesitate before taking it. That was too easy. I smile. “Wait, are you serious?”

“Yeah. I don’t know you, but I like you. It’s not everyday someone begs for a job at a movie store. I’ll give you a chance, Ana.”

“Hell yes! I mean…thanks.”

“Awesome. By the way, my name is Kate, and I’m the manager and only other employee here besides you. Oh, here is a marker to write your name on the name tag. Another thing you should know is the owner lives out-of-state and, for some reason, trusts me to run it. I have some paperwork you need to fill out, taxes and stuff.” She walks behind the counter and starts grabbing some papers.

As I’m pulling the apron over my head, I remember Sage is waiting for me outside. I look at Kate. “I need to let my friend know I got the job. She is waiting for me outside.”

I quickly run out and tell Sage.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Sage eyes up the apron and name tag. “I thought we decided to stop being thieves.”

“I got the job.”

“Did you put a gun to their head?”

I laugh. “Almost,” I tease.

“So, when do you start?”

“Now. Strange, right? But hey, I’ll take it. Will you be okay by yourself for a few hours?”

“Pfft, duh.” She walks backward as she gives me a thumbs up. “Make that money. Text me when you’re ready for me to meet you here.”

I nod then head into my first job making honest money.