Thanks, Aunt Dalia

It's the most wonderful time of the year! The streets are covered in snow and the same three songs have been playing on repeat for days. Chrismas trees on every corner, covered in bright lights and ornaments. Most people sit in their homes, cozy, with a cup of hot chocolate and a smile on their face as they chat about things that don't really matter. But some unlucky few are a bit sloppy with their planning, so now they're rushing into the last couple store open, to buy a few last-minute gifts. 

Amanda was one of many who was now in her apartment, sitting by the Chrismas tree and chatting with her mom. Her apartment was already filled. Everyone was here, her younger brother, Levi, her parents, her Uncle John and her cousin Bonnie. The only one missing was her Aunt Dalia. She was running late like always, and her husband John was glancing out the window now and then. 

It was a nice evening for the Jones family. Everyone, accept Aunt Dalia, who was running late, gathered for their annual Chrismas dinner and were enjoying the food Ms.Jones cooked, which was a turkey with gravy, salad and a lot of pasta. But now that dinner was finished, Mr.Jones went into the living room, which Levi, Amanda and their cousin Bonnie weren't allowed into because "Santa won't leave you gifts if you see him". 

Amanda was too old to believe in Santa, but Levi and Bonnie were young and Santa was real to them, so Amanda didn't say anything when her parents told her not to go in until she realized that she left her sketchbook in there. Now she sat on the couch, bored out of her mind while Levi listed off all the things he asked from Santa which included a real dinosaur and a car. 

Finally, as the clock hit midnight, Amanda's dad came out of the living room and said the magical words, 

"Who wants to see what Santa brought?" 

"Me!" yelled Levi, pushing Amanda out of the way as he rushed into the doorway to see his presents, but Mr.Jones caught him. 

"Now Levi, you have to wait for everyone to come in."

"Fine." Levi stood in front of his dad glaring at Amanda and Bonnie. "Come on guys, we don't have all day!"

Amanda got up from the couch and slowly walked over to her brother, which annoyed him even more. 

Finally, as the rest of their family, shuffled into the room, they heard a knock on the door. Levi sat on his knees and began digging through the pile of gifts. Bonnie followed his example, but Mr.Jones  stopped them. Amanda hurried to the door and opened it. Aunt Dalia rushed indoors and brushed off the snow from the fur coat.  

"I'm so sorry I'm late, dears! The lines at the store were miles long! Anyways, I see I haven't missed the fun part of opening gifts. Wait for a second, let me set these down," declared Aunt Dalia, as she put down the pile of gifts she somehow shoved into her small bag. 

Levi and Bonnie took this as a sign to resume their gift searching. They each found three gifts for them. From Levi's parents, Bonnie's parents and Santa. They tore up the wrapping paper and looked over the pile of new toys. Levi gasped in anger as he picked up a plastic dinosaur. 

"I thought you said you wrote down real dinosaur! Santa thought I wanted a toy!" 

Amanda picked up the three boxes for her and opened them. Shen opened the ones under the tree. She got a new phone from her parents, a box of sweets from "Santa" and only one box was left, laying now in a pile of torn-up wrapping paper. Amanda knew it was from her Aunt and Uncle. Or more specifically her Aunt. Her Aunt Dalia was always responsible for getting all the gifts, while Uncle John wrapped them. He said it as better for his wife to get the gifts after the Chrismas of 2017. We don't talk about that. 

Amanda cautiously peeled off the wrapping, knowing her Aunt, this was going to be a fun one. As she took off the last piece of paper she saw something that she did not expect. Even from her aunt. The box stated "The Ultimate Hair Make Over! For Every Teen Girl Who Wants To Look Her Best!" and on the picture, there was a girl with rainbow hair and at least 10 bows in her long hair. Amanda read the fine print on the side of the box- permanent hair dye and a pair of scissors included. Nope. She was not using this. Never. 

After a minute of Amanda staring at the box, her mother reminded her, "Now what do we say Amanda?" talking to her as if she was six. 

"Thanks, Aunt Dalia," whispered Amanda. No big deal, she didn't have to use this monstrous gift. She could just hide it in a closet. 

"Thank you, Dalia, I'll send you a picture of her hair when we use the kit. Maybe tomorrow, how about that kiddo?" Amanda's mother pretended not to see the horror in Amanda's eyes as she spoke those terrifying words. Or maybe she honestly didn't notice. Amanda and Levi were sent to bed since it was nearing 1 am after they said goodbye to Bonnie and her parents. 

The next morning Amanda locked her self in her small room and pretended to be asleep. She stayed quiet until her mom came knocking on her door. 

"Time to get up! Come on, I know you are awake. You never sleep this late. It's time to redo your hair as I promised your aunt."

Amanda groaned and slowly got up to unlock the door. She dragged her feet to the kitchen where she ate breakfast and dragged her feet back upstairs where her mom was waiting for her, the box opened and all the supplies laid out on the counter.

"Mom, I don't think this is a good idea..." 

"Nonsense. Just sit down and pick out the three colors you want, and the five fake braids and the- actually, you know what, this is your set. Do what you want, just carefully follow the instructions. And if you need help, I'll be downstairs," Mrs.Jones paused for a second, and added, seeing the worried look on Amanda's face, "I promised your aunt that you would use this set. She took the time out of her day to pick out a great gift for you, and she knew you love your hair, so she picked up this awesome set. And besides, your hair could always use a change, it's always the same. Now I'll be on my way." 

Amanda did love her hair. It was long, blond and perfectly cut to match her face shape. And now it all was going to change. As she looked at the supplies, she noticed a small bottle with a label that read: "When things go wrong". She was so relieved. Now she could dye her hair crazy colors, put a braid or two in, show her mom and then wash it off. She didn't inspect the bottle further and picked up the pink bottle of dye. She squirted a bit on to her hair and it dried almost instantly. With a big sigh, Amanda continued dripping the dye on to her hair, then brushing through it to give it a solid color, like it said on the box. When she was satisfied, Amanda picked up another bottle, this time purple. She kept putting in a bit all over until her hair was fully covered. 

Amanda glanced over the instructions, then follow them carefully rinsed off the dye, which stained her hands, and then dried it with a towel. She put on the cap that was provided with the set and waited. 

When 10 minutes passed, Amanda took off the cap and started at the mess she created. It was hideous, messy and overall not her style, but it would work for the picture, her aunt wasn't much for style. Amanda walked down the stairs to show her parents what she did to her hair. Her mom froze for a second, then put on a fake smile and clapped her hands, "You did such a great job!"

Her dad, on the other hand, turned around as he started coughing, but Amanda had a suspicion that he wasn't coughing, but trying to hold back his laugher. That was a more appropriate reaction to the mess she created. 

"Can you hurry to get a picture? I can't wait to get it off," groaned Amanda as her mom ranted about how Amanda should "get out of her comfort zone more".

"What do you mean 'get it off', your aunt-" 

"There is no way this," Amanda pointed to her hair, "is staying." 

"Alright, alright. Stand still for a moment." sighed Ms.Jones as she took a picture of Amanda's hair. 

When her mom finished, Amanda rushed to the bathroom, grabbed the bottle she saw earlier and poured it all other her hair. She waited for a minute and then grabbed the instructions to see what to do now. After looking for a minute, she finally found the part about the bottle, but all it said was "Peel off label for instructions". Well, that was useful. Amanda peeled off the label and dropped the bottle. The label under said, "There are no mistakes in style!"