Chapter eight
1356 Words
About half an hour later, Nick was finally set free and allowed to get out of the chair. He promptly paid for the service, and looked for Colin. He was standing just outside the shop, talking on the phone. As soon as Nick opened the door, Colin noticed him and put his phone back into his pocket.
Nick touched the back of his head, obviously feeling awkward. His hair was noticeably neater. They didn’t bother his eyes anymore and the back of his neck was finally able to breathe. Colin looked proud as he circled him with a wide smile.
“Look. At. You! What a handsome man! You’ve always been a looker, but my goodness, wow!”
Nick adjusted his glasses and instinctively tried to move the hair away from his forehead, then realized he couldn’t do the latter anymore. His ears were red with all the compliments, and he was sure Colin could see it.
“That’s too much, let’s go.” Nick mumbled as he grabbed Colin's wrist with his free hand and lightly pulled.
With wide eyes, Colin alternately looked at the back of Nick's head, and his wrist that Nick was holding. He opened his mouth to talk, but decided against it. He let himself get dragged instead. As soon as they were out on the street, Nick let go of him to fix his glasses.
“How do you like your new look? I personally love it. Do you like it?” Asked Colin, looking like an excited child as he walked beside Nick.
“It’s neat.” He took one look at Colin’s expecting eyes and quietly added, “It’s not bad, I guess. I like it.”
Colin's smile was wide as he pumped his fist towards the sky. “I knew it!”
Nick jokingly rolled his eyes at his exaggerated reaction. “So, going back, you went to college, huh?”
They stopped walking to wait for the traffic light to go red. Colin raised a hand, as if telling Nick to wait. “Hold up. First things first. We have to talk about your moisturizing creams.”
Nick noted how Colin was quick to swerve the conversation, but answered anyway. “My parents made me use those creams since I was a teenager. They have a thing for looking conventionally clean and presentable.”
“Hmm. You seem to do a lot of things because of your parents. Things that you don’t necessarily seem to like. Do you care a lot about what they think?”
“They’re my parents.” Nick said with a shrug. “I got conditioned, I guess.”
Colin inched his face closer to Nick to get a better look of his skin, catching him off-guard. “It’s undeniable that you do have very nice skin, though. But,” Colin stopped to consider his words for a second. “But, you don’t have to do those things if you don’t want to. I don’t mean to overstep. I’m just saying you have a say in how you live your life now. Rebel a bit.”
The light turned red and they crossed the street. Nick was silent as Colin walked behind him, waiting for his reaction.
When he hadn’t spoken for a long minute, Colin was about to initiate when Nick suddenly stopped and turned to face him. “You’re right. I was thinking that you’re right. I can’t live my entire life– you’re right. I should…” He raised the paper bags he was holding, looking dignified. “I’ll wear these clothes and… this counts as an act of rebellion, doesn’t it?”
Colin softly smiled and nodded reassuringly. “Yeah, it does. A very tiny act of rebellion–wearing a shirt with more than two colors after 27 years–but it’s a start.”
Nick looked pleased as he resumed walking. “Good.” He muttered to himself.
“Anyway, look at that cloud! Isn’t it a funny shape?” Colin began his usual chatter about the random things they saw along the way. He walked beside Nick as he talked about the people, the buildings, the trees. Things that Nick used to care so little about, but had recently begun to appreciate.
A few minutes later, Nick realized they were heading towards the wrong direction. “Wait up, this doesn’t lead home. We should’ve made a right before...”
“This is seriously our last stop.”
Nick looked dubious. “That’s what you said the last time.”
“I swear, very last stop. We can’t just make changes at home, we also have to make the littlest changes to the clinic–the place you spend most of your time in after the apartment.” They stopped in front of the clinic. Nick looked for his keys while Colin picked some flowers.
“Like what changes?” Nick asked as they entered.
Colin held up a large paper bag that wasn’t from any of the stores they visited earlier. He had gone out to buy more things while Nick was getting his hair cut. “Like these.” He said with a bright smile as he took out a colorful sign that said “the doctor is in.”
Nick’s eyes were wide. “No, no. We already have a sign here that says ‘open' and ‘closed'.”
But Colin was already taking out said sign and replacing it with the new one. “It’s got colors, and it looks more welcoming!” He proceeded towards the counter and placed a small figurine of a dog reading a newspaper.
“What-?” Nick was about to complain when Colin headed towards his office. Nick helplessly followed. Colin took out a small vase and put it on top of the desk. He put in the flowers and carefully arranged them.
Nick frowned. “I don’t need flowers.”
“Yes, you do.” Colin took a step back to admire the work he had done. “Ah, see? I picked out colors that compliment that huge painting behind the desk. Makes the vibe feel better.”
Colin looked pleased as he turned to Nick. “And, as promised, because you’ve been such a good sport, I’ll answer personal questions you have for 30 seconds.”
“Just–just 30 seconds?!”
“29…28…”
With the sudden onset of time pressure, Nick didn’t know which to ask first so he settled with the question he had in mind earlier. “Um… You went to college, right? What classes did you take and what did you do after you graduated?”
“I took psych, art and design classes. I worked a couple of odd jobs after, just for the heck of it.”
“Like what kind of jobs?”
“Customer service. I worked as a barista, a courier, at an old bakeshop, I handed out fliers as well… a lot.”
“Do you have family?”
“I do. Parents live in a different city, married for 35 years. I have an older sister who lives with her family.”
“Where did you live before the apartment?”
“In an apartment downtown.”
“Why did you disappear for a few days after we met, and why did you leave your last place?”
“My dad got sick, and I got into a fight with the landlord.”
“But how—”
“Time's up!” Colin showed his watch then gave a light tap on Nick's shoulder. “Alright, let’s head home.”
- Writer
