After browsing through aisles of antiques, jewelry and even some strange sculpted wooden and metal artifacts, Amy found herself in what amounted to the shop's cosmetic section. It wasn't like any cosmetics aisle she'd ever seen. Instead of cases full of makeup and toolkits, there was a row of vending machines. Each dispensed a different type of makeup, and it seemed to run the gamut from lipstick to skin cream. Curious, she perused the selections, and stopped in front of a machine full of hair sprays. At first, she thought they were the type she usually saw in Halloween stores, which washed off after a few hours. But the sign on the machine claimed otherwise.
It advertised a "flawless, life-changing look, guaranteed to last a lifetime...or until you use another of our fine sprays!" Amy cocked her head, which made her mousy brown hair swing across her cheeks. Anything was better than the meek-looking shoulder-length cut she was stuck with. She thought about how Lina's blond hair would look on her. It was shiny and almost twice as long as Amy's. She was always getting complimented on it. Too often, Lina would sometimes complain...to Amy's chagrin. If she had those kind of golden locks, she'd flaunt it every day.
Her mind made up, Amy inserted her debit card in the chip reader. It was only a few bucks. If it didn't work as advertised, it wouldn't be a big loss. There were several types of blond hair to choose from. Amy chose a hue just slightly more golden than what she thought Lina's hair was. A whirring from deep inside the machine followed for a few seconds until a tiny bottle clunked into the receptacle. Amy plucked it out and peered at it. It was really small for a bottle of hair spray. And it was clear. She could see a shimmering golden liquid inside the glass.
"Weird that they don't even put their branding on the bottle," Amy mused to herself. She turned the nozzle away from herself and spritzed the air to test it. A whiff of golden dust puffed out and vanished into nothing within a second. "How's this even going to coat my hair?"
She shrugged. "Well, I already bought it." She held the little bottle over her head, turned it downward, and pumped the spray button three times. A huge yellow cloud engulfed her head. She shut her eyes, pinched her nose with her other hand and held her breath. She felt the mist settle over her. It was surprisingly cool and made her scalp tingle like she had dipped her head in seltzer water.
She tried to continue holding her breath, waiting for the sensations to pass.