Yukako decided to step in and feelings of nostalgia came over her. The calming hum of the dryers, the smells of shampoo, conditioner and hairspray, the sound of conversations between clients and stylists and the overall sense of community. To her, it felt like she was home again. She walked up to the receptionist.

Excuse me, I saw that you were looking to hire someone and I would like to talk to the manager about working here. My name is Yukako Yamagishi." She said.

"I'll get right on that. Please wait while I get her." The receptionist said.

Yukako sat and waited for the manager. As she waited, she noticed a young woman and her daughter sitting next to each other as they got their hair done. It was a heartwarming thing to see. It reminded of her first time stepping into a salon.

The manager came out of her office. The receptionist told her about how someone was looking for work. The manager was a woman in her late 20s with blonde hair that was in a high curly ponytail. Her name was Mari. "Are you Yukako?" She asked going over to her.

"Yes, ma'am." She said standing up and then going over to her to shake her hand. She then went into Mari's office. She sat in front of her feeling confident.

"Okay, first off, are you what can be described as a people person?" Mari asked.

"Well, I guess I can say I am." Yukako said. She didn't want to admit that she rarely socialized with people other than Koichi and his group of friends. She hadn't even met his family yet. She was worried that if she said that she wasn't, she'd be rejected.

"Okay. Have you worked on hair before?" Mari asked. She noticed she was a little unsure of her answer.

"Yes I have. I've actually honed my craft ever since I was 6. It's always been my dream to be a hairdresser ever since my Mother first took me to get my hair done." Yukako said.

"Interesting. I guess that means I won't need to ask why you want to work here. Do you have any recent experience?" Mari asked.

"Yes. I did a little girl's hair earlier today." Yukako said using Jolyne as a reference.

"Oh, so you're good with children? That's very nice to hear. Y'know, most stylists usually have a difficult time working with them. Moving on, what do you think you can bring here?" Mari asked.

"I think I could be a real credit to your business, ma'am. You have my word that I'll do my absolute best to make you glad you hired me." Yukako said. Mari was technically right about being good with children. Aside from Jolyne, she did do the hair of other little girls, but that was at the slumber party she had when she was 7.

"Well, let's hope so if you get the job. Anyway, will you be working here full or part time?" Mari asked.

"Full-time. I graduated High School recently." Yukako said.

"Alright. Last question, will you be working here on weekdays or the weekend?" Mari asked.

"I'd say... both. I really do want to work here as much as possible." Yukako said.

"Sounds like you'll be a very dedicated worker. Now I know I said that was the last question for the interview, but this is the real last one. How does Monday work for you?" Mari asked.

"You mean..." Yukako asked sounding excited.

"That's right. You got the job." Mari said.

Yukako was trying hard not to get too excited. She had finally landed the job of her dreams. "Oh, thank you! I promise you won't regret hiring me!" She said as she left the office.

"Okay, see you then." Mari said.

Yukako walked home before running into Koichi.

Koichi noticed that she was absolutely happy about something. "Hey, Yukako. What's going on?" He asked.

"Koichi, I have great news! I'm going to be working at a hair salon!" She said excitedly.

"Wow, congratulations on getting the job, Yukako!" He said.

"Thanks! I'm starting work on Monday! Well, I gotta go brush up on things." She said before heading home.

Yukako returned home. She then saw her parents. "Mom, Dad, I just got a job at a hair salon! I'm finally going to go for my childhood dream!" Yukako exclaimed.

"Oh, that's great to hear. We're sure you'll do great." Her Dad said.

Her Mom sighed. "I still remember how excited you would always get about the salon." She said reminiscing on those days.

After dinner, Yukako returned to her room. She then pulled out some of the old hairstyling books she had so that she could get back in the groove of doing somebody else's hair again.

Come Monday, Yukako headed straight for Salon Glance to begin her first day. She changed into her work uniform which was sent to her home right after getting the job. She carried her own supplies in her bag to save the salon money. Once she came in, she was absolutely ready for whatever the customers would want.

"Good of you to show up, Yukako. Just go over to that chair and then you can begin work." Mari said pointing at one of the chairs.

Yukako did just that and set her supplies down on the counter.

A woman in her early twenties entered. She had a slim body and brown mid-length hair. Mari told her that there was a chair not being used and it was Yukako's.

Yukako was ready for whatever the customer wanted. As the woman took her seat, Yukako put a cloak around her.

The woman seemed very wary of Yukako. She didn't really come off as very inviting.

"I need something really nice looking. I'm going to be meeting my boyfriend tonight." The woman said.

Yukako nodded her head. She brought out her supplies. She decided to start by brushing her hair.

Mari saw how the woman was and noted how Yukako wasn't being very talkative with her customer despite claiming to be a people person in the interview.

Yukako continued brushing before switching over to a comb.

The customer gradually began to feel more easy around Yukako.

Yukako then gave the customer's hair a quick wash as so she could manage it more. She lathers her hair with the shampoo and the conditioner before bringing her head back up and wrapping her hair in a towel.

"You're doing pretty good. I can't wait to see how it'll look when it's done." The customer said.

"Thank you." Yukako said.

After a while, Yukako started combing her hair again, but this time she had brought out the scissors to make sure the cut would come out symmetrical. She then teased the customer's hair up to give it an elevated look. She then started braiding her bangs to complete it. "What do you think?" She asked.

The customer checked her new hairstyle in the mirror and admired how it looked. "I love it! And I'm sure he'll love it too!" She said before paying Yukako. "By the way, I didn't quite catch your name. What was it?" She asked before leaving.

"I'm Yukako." She stated.

"Yukako. Well, I'll be sure to recommend you to anybody I know if they need something done." The customer said.

"Thank you. Please come again!" Yukako said.

Mari was glad the customer left satisfied. She saw that Yukako is quite talented, but her socialization and demeanor need work.

Yukako's next customer was a woman in her mid 40s whose auburn hair was starting to go gray. When she got to Yukako's chair, she sat down. "I just need a dye job and I'll be on my way." She said.

Yukako nodded her head at the woman's request and put the color cape around her. It was clear that the woman wanted to hide her gray hairs. She then put on a pair of latex gloves.

"Are you the new girl here? I haven't seen you here before." The customer asked.

"Yes, I started today." Yukako said as she brushed her hair. She decided to go for a single process dye job. After brushing it thoroughly, she then gets out a comb so to help with sectioning the woman's hair as so she could focus on the gray areas.

"Well, let's both hope you know what you're doing." She said as she prepared for the process.

Yukako didn't pay any mind to what she said. She had gotten the dye ready and then lifted the customer's hair and deposited it before getting the dye brush out, mixed the dye and then began applying to the areas she needed work on.

The customer felt that Yukako was doing quite a decent job dying her hair. She seemed like she really knew what she was doing.

Yukako then put a cap on the woman's head to keep the dye from staining the floor and possibly her work space. She also took off the gloves to put on a new pair.

After ten minutes, the dye had set in. Yukako took the cap off. The finished results made the customer very happy. "I feel young again! Thank you, miss!" She said before paying Yukako.

Later, another customer came in. She was wearing a hood that was covering her head. From the fact she didn't take it off while talking with Mari, it was clear she was embarrassed about how bad her hair looked. The girl then walked over to Yukako. She then took off her hood and revealed it to be a matted tangled mane. It seemed like it hadn't had a brush run through it for days.

Yukako looked at it and was in total shock. This girl desperately needed her help. "Oh my. You need this. What would you like to have done?" She asked in a concerned tone.

"I don't know. Surprise me. Cut it all off for all I care." She moaned.

Yukako was devastated hearing her talk like that. To her, a girl's hair is her life. She had to do something to get her spirits up. She lightly spritzed her hair. She then lightly wets her hair before applying the deep conditioner which she let's sit for an hour.

After the hour passes, Yukako begins to untangle the knots both with her hands and with the comb. Some of the more difficult mats she trimmed with scissors. After a good rinse, the mats and tangles were gone, but Yukako wasn't done. The customer said to surprise her, so that's what she was going to get.

Yukako used Love Deluxe to shoot strands of her hair onto the customer's. She wanted to give her a style she wouldn't forget. She would form sections of hair into the shape of flower petals. Each section would resemble a different one.

The customer looked at it and was absolutely surprised with how it looked. She felt like she could cry from how beautiful it was. She hugged Yukako and paid her before leaving.

Yukako felt proud of what she did.

Mari was amazed. It didn't even seem real when she saw Yukako's work with that customer. That was on a near professional level.

Later on, the day would draw to a close. Yukako made sure every customer left with a smile. She got her things ready and was about to head home.

"Wait. I need to talk to you about something." Mari said.

Yukako turned around. "Have I done something wrong?" She asked.

"Oh no, far from it. You've been doing very well for your first day. I especially loved what you did with that one girl who came in here. I just have one criticism to make." Mari said.

"What is it?" Yukako asked.

"During your interview, you said you were a people person but I didn't see you really socialize with your customers." Mari said.

Yukako fiddled with a lock of her hair. She was hoping she wouldn't get fired for lying. "I'm sorry." She stated.

"It's alright. I won't fire you. I just wanted to give you this word of advice. One of the key elements of being a hairdresser is to always make the customer feel welcome. Strike up a conversation with them and listen to what they have to say whether things are going well or if they aren't. You want them to feel like you can be their friend. I hope we can get a chance to improve on this. Do you understand?" Mari asked.

"Yes, ma'am. I'll try to do better. Well, I'll see you tomorrow." She said before leaving.

"Bye-Bye!" Mari said before locking up.

(Author's Note: As I said before, I don't have any experience in hairstyling or how to work at a salon, so I don't know if my info's right. Those who do are free to PM me with how I can improve on writing for both.)