Arya and Asher (1)

She then went outside of her mansion gate to wait for Asher. She was humming another song, as Asher's black SUV came into sight. Arya could not help but smile a bit as the car stopped, and she opened the door.

"Morning, Asher!" Arya said as she stepped inside the co-pilot seat and put on her seatbelt.

"Hm… The little miss is happy today?"

Asher was dressed in all black. He smelled like aftershave and sandalwood.

"Such a grim reaper thing," Arya thought as she saw Asher with his all-black outfit.

"So, where are we going today?"

"Um… could you drop me at this salon first?"

Asher's face tensed, "You called me and skipped classes because you wanted to get a haircut?"

"Not a haircut! I already got a haircut. I want to dye my hair. It's something I have always wanted to do, but never got the courage to do since my mother hated it." Arya then put the strand of her that was covering her bruise behind her ear.

Asher spun Arya's face to his, "What happened? How did you get that bruise?"

"I… um… long story, do you want to hear it as we drive to the salon?"

"Spill it all out now! We are not going anywhere if you don't tell me what happened."

"I thought that by making an anonymous charity foundation I could gather the petals easier. I asked my mother to fund me, and she got mad. I continued to provoke her, and she ended up grabbing my hair and slapping me." Arya could see Asher's face darken, "don't worry about it. It's sort of normal this kind of dynamic in my family, in case that thing is not written in my file."

"She never raised a hand on you, back before."

"The bruise will fade by tomorrow, with makeup on, no one will notice it. Now, can we get my hair dyed so we can start talking about business?"

Asher released his hand from Arya's face. She could still the warmth of his fingertips tingling in her face, as he started driving toward the salon.

"So, what do you think about my idea?"

"The anonymous charity foundation?"

"Mhm!" Arya was anxiously waiting for Asher to praise her wits, but the answer that came was not what she expected.

"Stupid…"

"Hey, I haven't called you by names today! How do you dare to call me stupid?" Arya hit one of Asher's arms.

"I was referring to your idea, little missy."

"Why? When we first met, you told me that my problem with charity was that I did it for my glory. If the charity foundation is anonymous, then it cannot be for my glory, right?"

"Your mission is to mend your mistakes, not spilling your money to the poor."

"So, you are telling me that if I don't find who were the ones that I hurt in the past, then I'm basically doomed?"

Asher nodded.

"Well… That's really a bummer. I think I need to know the rules about this entire mission first. We don't want another incident like yesterday, right?"

"We are here," Asher said as he totally ignored Arya's last question.

Arya had not even told Asher what salon she wanted to go to, but to Arya's luck, Asher had dropped her in a good one.

"Are you coming back for me in maybe two hours or are you planning to wait with me?"

"I'm a grim reaper, we don't go sightseeing. I'm going to wait with you in the salon if you don't mind."

"Not one bit!" Arya smiled.

Arya could not just believe what she had just said. Was she flirting with her grim reaper?

"No way! I'm just friendly with everyone!" Arya thought.

She then got out of the car and waited for Asher. The grim reaper came out wearing black shades.

"What are those for?" Arya teased him, "there are still no paparazzi chasing me at this age."

Asher then flicked his fingers on her forehead, and Arya pouted, "You dummy, if you forgot, we are teacher and student. What if someone sees us? A teacher ditching school with one of his students. It will be bothersome to find another job where I can keep a close eye on you."

"True…"

Arya then entered the salon.

"Hi, miss, what can we help you with today?" A pretty lady who probably was in her twenties attended Arya in the reception.

"Um… I want to bleach and dye my hair in strawberry blond."

"Sure," the lady smiled at her, "Please, follow me."

Arya followed the lady that guided her to seat in one of those salon chairs.

"Carlos!" the lady called, "the young lady here wants to bleach and dye her hair in strawberry blond."

Carlos was a man that was probably 1.8 meters in height. He had olive-toned skin and sort of curly hair.

"Hey, young lady, so… what leads to wanting to dye your hair?" Carlos asked. Arya could detect a small Spanish accent as he inspected Arya's head. Arya saw Asher take a seat that had the perfect view to watch her.

"Um… I just want a change. To mark new beginnings!" Arya smiled.

"Well, since you've got black hair, the bleach is going to harm it a lot, how about it if we just leave it in a light brown tone? Also, do you mind adding a hair treatment session?"

Arya shook her head. "It's fine, just do whatever you need."

Carlos made a perfect sign and started doing his magic. After two hours and half hours, Carlos was finishing Arya's hair by blow-drying it. "

"All done, young lady. Do you like it? The blower and haircut are courtesy of the house. I saw some strands that were longer than the others, so I took the initiative to cut it all to the same length. Hope you don't mind."

"Yes! I love it!" Arya could not believe what she was seeing. The girl in front of her looked so different. Arya turned to see Asher's reaction, but he looked tense. Arya was thinking if he was angry to wait in a salon for such a long time.

"We can also bleach and dye your eyebrows, so they match your hair."

"Um, will it take too much time?"

"Don't worry your boyfriend there will just have to wait another half hour."

"He is not my boyfriend!" Arya blushed.

A small laugh escaped from Asher's mouth.

"Okay then. Do your magic, Carlos!"

When Carlos finished, Arya looked like another girl. Maybe it was her change of attitude or the beautiful light brown color her hair was now. Arya looked stunning and lively.

As Arya was in the reception, paying for it all, she handed a one thousand Singaporean dollars as a tip for Carlos. "Please, let Carlos know I loved what he did."

"Thank you for your kindness, young miss," the lady at the reception said as she opened the door for Arya and Asher.

"What do you think about my hair?"

Asher did not look at her, "I don't understand what's with you, girls, and hair."

Arya pouted, "When girls want to make a life-changing decision, we also decide to change our hairstyle. It's a complete process of changing."

"It looks nice…" Asher said in a low voice as they entered the car.

"What? Say it again." Arya put both hands on Asher's left arm.

"Where are we going to lunch and start discussing about your mission," Asher said sort of annoyed. Arya knew Asher had said another thing, but she did not pushed him to say it if he did not want it.

"There is a nice Italian bistro down the street."

"Let's go there then."

"Why aren't you driving?"

"How will I drive if you aren't seated correctly, without your seatbelt, and both of your hands are clinging on my arm as if your life depends on it, literally?"

Arya then blushed as she seated and adjusted her seatbelt. "Sorry."

Asher then took his shades off, and laughed, "It's pretty weird seeing you say sorry so many times in twenty-four hours."

"Then I won't say more sorries to you then, since you don't like them!" Arya faked being angry.

"When you are not an arse, you are pretty lovely."

This last comment made Arya blush, and she remained silent for the rest of the ride.