Three Wishes

Snip-snip".... Makes the sound of scissors.

Layla's hair falls to the floor piece by piece.

Her eyes were glued to the mirror, focused on her self-cut hair.

~ Yeah, I'm sick of my long hair.

~ I think short hair is the current trend.

~ I just want to know what short hair looks like for a while.

~ It will grow back soon.

Those are the words she'll say to people who ask, aren't they?

Who will even?

Does anyone even care about her?

They'll laugh at her instead, but she doesn't care anymore.

Gone are the days when she cried every time she was laughed at.

Gone are the days of her hiding by her desk to avoid being seen and mocked.

And the days are over...

“Layla! What are you doing ? She heard her aunt's shrill voice.

"Cut my hair" she replied dryly, knowing Philia, her late mother's younger sister doesn't even care what she does to herself.

Philia hates her like she hated her father.

And if it hadn't been for the death of her mother and brother, Philia would never have taken her in.

Philia hated her like everyone else just because her father is black.

“Why are you cutting it? Phila asked as she moved closer to Layla.

"Do you care about it?" Layla asked slowly.

"Of course yes, I won't allow you to scare my clients with your looks, you're pretty ugly...and now you're cutting your hair...Damn! you should just say you're sick of me 'help in my coffee shop!' Philia said, in a high voice, that she actually wished Layla was really ugly.

Who would even believe that Layla was the daughter of that naughty black man! Of course, Layla had taken on the appearance of her mother, no one would ever know she has a black father until told.

Her fair skin, flawless even more than those whose two parents were white, she was born with hazel eyes which were rare and her lips, pink and fleshy, her nose is not left out in the perfection of her gaze and her golden-brown hair that used to be quite long down her back was now reduced to a bob that still held well on her head, it changed her look a bit.

Her height is perfect for her age and she only took on her father's shape, she's not as skinny as most American teens, Layla has a beautiful and admirable body and her breasts were even bigger than those from Philia, which always made Philia crazy all the time.

"I'm not going to scare your customers away and I'm not tired of helping you with your coffee," said Layla, already used to Philia's hurtful words.

"You wouldn't even dare stop helping me in my cafe except you're ready to go meet your poor relative dad in Africa to sort things out!" said Philia.

"And why always talk about Africa like it's the worst place in the world! Why always talk about my dad like he's less human, why do you hate me so much just because my dad is black! You were on bad terms with my mother till she died just because she married an African, a Nigerian Philia do you always have to be like this You always claim that most Africans are inhuman a look that Philia never seen before.

She stood there, shocked by Layla's outburst.

Layla was always mute and sometimes even cried whenever her father or loved ones were mistreated.

"So great to see you finally acting like black! You are!" Philia said, not sounding as shocked as she was.

"Ohh..really? If that's really how black people talk, then I'm so proud to be one," smiled Layla, now trimming the bob she had made herself.

She ignored Philia's nagging gaze.

"I don't have to get to the store before you!" Philia shouted before slamming Layla's door.

Layla laughed it was so surprisingly good to have her first time speaking up and seeing Philia looking so upset was so satisfying... she really made the right decision but she sadly wondered if she would have ever made the decision to stand up for herself if it hadn't been for what happened yesterday.

She shrugged sadly, having promised herself never to think about it.

She carefully and slowly trimmed the uneven edges of the Bob, she knew Philia wouldn't get to the store before her because one of the men fucking her is waiting in her room and they spend hours there.

*

"Oh...well" Layla shook her head slowly, bouncing her well cut Bob.

She was a little surprised that she had done such a good job, although she had always helped Bryan, her late younger brother to cut his hair, but she never thought she would do so well on her own.

She stood up and winced at the pain she felt in her leg.

"God, that motherfucker" she cursed angrily.

A guy who came in for coffee spilled a cup of hot coffee on his leg and left without even turning to look at her or apologizing.

The hot coffee had bruised her skin and it hurt so much she was limping now.

"I'm so gonna kill him every time I see him," she said, tamping the strands of hair on the floor.

She hadn't even seen his face, just his hair which was brown and then a scar on the back of his neck.

She lit the fireplace in her bedroom and then began to burn the strands of hair.

She stood in front of her mirror after freshening up and getting dressed.

Her short wet hair stuck to her cheeks and she felt a little sad that she had cut her hair.

She already misses her long wavy hair, but that's for the best.

Of course, she would not have reduced her hair to a bob for no reason, but for now it is better not to say and not even to think.

She dried her hair with the hair dryer and then combed it through.

Anyone would think a professional helped her with her hair.

Maybe she should take a hairdressing class in the future… she thought and laughed.

☕☕

Layla hobbled into Philia's cafe and headed for the counter.

She said hello to Aria, Philia's only employee before dropping her bag.

Aria gasped… "You cut your hair"

Layla nodded.

"For what?" Aria asked, she's one of the few people who stayed nice to Layla even after finding out her dad was black.

"I…just wanted to." Layla shrugged.

"Ohh...that looks good on you by the way" Aria said and Layla said "thank you" with a smile.

She washed her hands to start helping, when she saw Philia coming out of her small office.

Thin.

No dinner for her tonight.

"Phil, I'm sorry...I was..."

"I warned you Layla" Philia said, cutting her short.

Layla nodded and Philia walked away, smiling at the customers and touring her shop as she normally does.

Layla moaned, blaming the man for not fucking Philia long enough or had Philia asked for a quickie? ..

"Layla! The customers are waiting!" Philia shouted and Layla immediately got to work.

⛅⛅

Her rumbling stomach woke her up the next morning.

She sat up on the bed and hugged her knees to her chest, not staring at anything in particular.

Her eyes were filled with tears, she missed her mother so much.

Her mom would never have starved her to punish her.

Of course, Philia hadn't offered him dinner last night.

And if she doesn't get up fast enough to make breakfast before Philia wakes up, there will be no breakfast for her before she leaves for school.

She roughly threw her blanket aside as if that was the cause of her problems, then carefully slid her feet into her shoes.

Her leg still hurts, she hadn't even applied anything to make it heal faster.

She walked to the kitchen and started to make a sandwich, she prepared her sandwich while the coffee steeped.

And by the time she finished, the coffee was ready.

She drizzled it with cream and sugar, stirred it, then placed it in a tray next to her sandwich.

She quickly cleaned the kitchen then picked up the tray and went to her room.

She sighed in relief when she arrived safely in her room without seeing Philia.

She gently dropped the tray onto her bedside table then grabbed a towel before heading for the bathroom.

Her heart pounds every time she gets ready for school because she knows she can't escape the teasing of a day but not anymore, she's not going to allow that anymore.

~

She smiled as she stood in the shower, the small drop of water hitting her skin.

She had even wanted to stop going to school at one point, but what made her keep going was...

Dylan.

His crush or rather the crush of all women.

She always looks forward to seeing him every day, his handsome face had that way of making her heart beat, she always wishes he was looking at her with his striking eyes for once, unfortunately... he doesn't spare her even a second. look, it's as if she didn't exist, even though they weren't sitting too far apart.

She wants him to notice her and she's going to make sure that happens today.

Of course, he knows her, he who doesn't know Layla Moremi Williams, the only girl at Ocean High School with a black father.

And almost everyone knew she had a crush on him and he knew it too, just like he knew other girls had crushes on him, but he wasn't looking at her.

Maybe she's the last girl he would consider having as a girlfriend.

Have as a girlfriend?..Lol.

He wouldn't even think about it, maybe she's the last girl he would consider looking at.

And she saw Dylan laugh individually every time she was laughed at, although he never laughed at her directly but she doesn't even care if he laughed every time we laughed at her. she loves him and would do anything to make him look her directly in the eye, she would do anything to make him see that she is in love with him.

She won't hide anymore, not when...

She sighed as she got out of the shower, she grabbed her pink towel, wrapped it around her body, removed the shower cap from her hair and went back to her room.

She dried off her body and started dressing for school.

*✨

Her coffee was almost cold when she finished dressing, but she took it anyway.

She sat down on her neatly laid bed, smartly dressed for school, and began to eat breakfast.

~

She took her backpack when she was done and left her room with the tray in her hand.

She dropped it in the kitchen sink and planned to sort it out after she got home from school.

She has to go now because she is going to walk to school and she always likes to walk a reasonable distance before the time runs out.

His school is damn far from home.

Sure, Philia gives her the fare, but she saves money and uses her legs instead.

And now... she now has a huge sum in her piggy bank.

She met Philia in the living room sorting through tickets like she does every morning.

"Hello Phil" said Layla.

"Hello Layla" Phil looked tired and Layla knew she had probably been fucking all night.

Of course, Phil doesn't do it for the money, she just likes to do it like she told Layla.

"What?" Layla asked as Philia's eyes searched her.

"You look so ugly!" She scoffed before handing Layla some dollar bills.

"Thanks Phil" Layla said, ready to go.

"Come on" Phil stopped her and she turned to her.

"Take that." Phil handed her more dollar bills.

“Do you want me to bring you something? asked Layla.

"No, take it, use it to do whatever you want" Phil said and Layla stared at her, stunned.

"Take it and leave, your filthy face scares me" moaned Philia.

"Thank you very much Phil" said Layla, touched.

She took the money and then left for school after saying goodbye to Philia.

She thought back to Phil's sudden act of kindness as she ran to school, ignoring the sharp pain in her leg.