From Fired to Freedom by Ashley Emma

“Thank you and have a nice day,” twenty-year-old Claire said to a client as they walked out of Contagious Beauty Salon in Southern Maine. The hair color service had taken Claire longer than she had expected, and she was now running late for her next appointment. She hurriedly looked at the appointment book to see what her next customer’s name was, and realized the name had been erased from her column. She pushed her long brown hair behind her shoulders, biting her lip in confusion. A last-minute cancellation, maybe?

No, the client was now under Megan’s name. Annoyance filled Claire at just the thought of the woman who had wormed her way into the salon, changing things to her own liking more and more every day.

“Why is my client’s name under Megan’s name?” Claire asked the receptionist, Dana.

Dana shrugged. “You know how she is,” she whispered softly, looking around to make sure no one could hear. “She thinks that just because she brought her clientele with her and that you’re still a new hairdresser that she has seniority over you.”

Claire frowned, discouragement unsettling her stomach and making her cross her arms over her body.

“She thinks she is the queen of this place, and it seems like the owners do too. They are letting her run this place, pretty much.” Dana sighed. “For what it’s worth, I think you are a lot better than she is. You’re naturally artistic, and not everyone in this business is. So what if you’re not super fast yet? You’ll get faster as you learn.”

Claire shifted her weight, thinking about how behind she had been on her appointments lately. “I know I’ll get faster as time goes on. I just need time. Especially with hair color.”

“You can only improve.” Dana patted Claire’s arm. “Don’t worry. Things will get better.”

Claire couldn’t help but smile a little. “Thanks. I wanted to do hair because it was a good way to use my creativity. But it’s not what I thought it would be.”

“You work with a bunch of women. What did you expect?” Dana chuckled, and she was right. Working with all women could get annoying, especially when they were constantly gossiping, stabbing each other in the back, and stealing each other’s clients to get ahead in their careers.

Leanne, the owner of the salon, walked into the room. “Claire? I need to speak to you upstairs in the massage room.” She walked back out of the room as swiftly as she had entered. “Now.”

Claire’s stomach clenched and her pulse spiked. Why did she want to speak to her? Had a client called again, asking for their hair color to be fixed after Claire had made a mistake?

Claire wished she could just work alone, freely doing haircuts and updos, which were her favorite hair service to do on her clients. She loved the art of curling and arranging the hair, and designing the hairstyle that a bride would wear for her wedding or that a teenage girl would wear on her senior prom. She loved seeing the looks on the women’s faces when they looked in the mirror, beaming at the way their hair looked after Claire had pinned in the last bobby pin and sprayed it in place. But here, at this salon, the hairdressers did mostly hair color, a skill that was still hard for her to grasp sometimes. She knew in time she would master it, but she wished she could do just updos because that was what she was good at.

Claire glanced at Dana, who just shrugged and gave her a semi-reassuring smile. “It’s probably just about the new price changes or something.”

“I hope so,” Claire grumbled, then dragged her feet out of the room and upstairs to the massage room.

Claire walked into the almost empty room that contained massage stations, lotions, oils, and Leanne. And…Megan? Why was Megan in here? Claire tried not to let her bewilderment show on her face.

“Come sit down,” Leanne said, gesturing to a chair beside theirs. “We would like to speak with you.” As soon as Claire settled in her chair, Megan jumped right into the conversation.

“I’ll get right to the point. We understand that you are still new at being a hair stylist, but we all know that you’re not as fast as you should be at doing hair,” Megan stated bluntly. “And more than one client has called back, asking for her hair to be redone because you messed up.”

“I know. I really try my best, but I’m still learning. And none of my updo or haircut clients have ever complained, only the ones who had color services. I’ve improved over the past year and a half, right?” Claire asked, desperation lining her voice.

“Well, yes, but not as quickly as we would like. Your haircuts, nail art and updos are good, but you’re slow at doing those, too,” Leanne said, more gently than Megan.

“I’ll get there one day, I really will. I know it,” Claire said, trying not to beg. She needed this job. She didn’t want to go to another salon and start all over.

“Claire, listen. A year and a half has been long enough to prove yourself. We are letting you go.” Megan sighed, shaking her head slowly. “We just don’t need you here anymore. Honestly, I think you should consider another line of work. Not everyone is good enough to do it. And you just aren’t good enough.”

Hot tears sprung up in Claire’s eyes, but she willed them away as dismay filled her chest, rising to form a giant lump in her throat. She couldn’t cry in front of these women. She felt about two feet tall and wanted to crawl under her chair and cry in embarrassment. “But I love doing hair…” she said softly.

“You’ll figure something out. Now, go pack up your things. We need you to go immediately,” Megan told her.

They ushered Claire out of the room, who was speechless from shock. Just like that, after a year and a half, she was let go? And by one of the employees? Her mind swam with questions and doubts. Maybe she wasn’t meant to be a hair stylist after all.

 

Four years later

 

Claire swept up the hair off the floor from her last haircut and tossed it into the trash. She looked around at the salon she owned that was inside her house, a booming business that allowed her to make three times the money she had made at the Contagious Beauty Salon. She had worked constantly for the past four years to get to this point, always marketing herself and bringing in new clients. She had mastered hair color, as well as all of the services she offered, and now her clients always commented on how fast and efficient she was.

The door opened and a woman walked in, tall and blonde, and within one moment, Claire recognized her face. Megan, the woman had told her she just wasn’t good enough.

“Claire?” Megan said cautiously, stepping into the salon and closing the door. “Hi. Do you remember me?”

“Of course I remember you.” Claire had harbored bitterness in her heart for over a year towards the woman who had temporarily dashed her dreams. But then Claire had opened her own salon, and realized that if it hadn’t been for Megan, she would have never done it. And now she loved what she did.

“I was driving by… I have been meaning to come here for months and just tell you I’m sorry for what I did to you. It’s totally normal to work slowly when you first start doing hair, and I convinced Leanne to let you go. Just so I could get ahead. And I’m so sorry.”

Claire almost dropped the broom, her eyes wide. Megan was apologizing to her? Once she got over her shock, Claire spoke. “I forgave you a long time ago. I would have never done this if it weren’t for you.”

Megan let out a long breath that she had been holding. “Oh good. That’s a relief.” She looked around the Paris-themed salon. “This is beautiful. I saw you in the newspaper. Your business is exploding. I should have never told you that you weren’t good enough. You obviously are. Honestly, I was always jealous of you. Your updos are the best I have ever seen. The brides who come here must love you.”

“Thanks.” Claire shrugged modestly, readily accepting the compliment. “Weddings and proms are my specialty. I love what I do.”

“So… Want to do my hair for my wedding?” Megan asked, staring at the floor.

Claire gestured towards the styling chair, smiling, joy filling her spirit. “Absolutely, Megan. Congratulations! Have a seat and tell me what hairstyle you are envisioning for your wedding.”