Curls, Coils, and Chaos

Keisha had always been at war with her hair. Not in a tragic, identity-crisis kind of way—more like a sitcom battle, with her coily strands playing the mischievous villain. She loved her natural hair, truly, but every twist-out, wash-and-go, and "quick" detangling session felt like negotiating peace with a nation that had declared independence decades ago. One humid Brooklyn morning, Keisha woke up, stared at her reflection, and sighed. Her hair had formed what she called "Defcon 4 Frizz." The satin bonnet she’d worn had clearly taken the night off. "I can't do this today," she muttered, grabbing her phone. A quick scroll through Instagram revealed polished influencers with flawless coils, edges laid like fine art, and captions that read, "#EffortlessCurls." "Lies," Keisha grunted. "Ain't nothing effortless about this." Desperate for a change, she stumbled across a suspiciously five-star-reviewed salon named "Coil Kingdom: Where Your Hair Obeys." The logo featured a cartoon queen with a perfectly spherical afro and a scepter made of a wide-tooth comb. "Obeys?" Keisha snorted. "What y'all got, hair whisperers?" Thirty minutes later, she was in the plush, pastel-pink salon chair sipping complimentary hibiscus tea. Her stylist, a woman named Nia with waist-length locs and the calm aura of a yoga instructor, smiled knowingly. "You ready for the royal treatment?" Nia asked, parting Keisha’s hair with ease. "Girl, if you can make my hair 'obey,' I'll crown you myself." Nia chuckled and pulled out a bottle labeled "Regal Remedy: Instant Coil Control." One spritz, and Keisha’s coils fell into perfect spirals. No shrinkage. No frizz. Just glossy, gravity-defying perfection."Wait, WHAT?!" Keisha nearly dropped her tea. "Is this FDA-approved? Did you sell your soul for this formula?" Nia winked. "Trade secret." Keisha strutted out of the salon like she owned Brooklyn. Strangers complimented her hair. An influencer asked for her Instagram handle. A man in a suit stopped mid-phone call to say, "Excuse me, miss, but your hair… it's art." You couldn't tell Keisha nothing! "I know, right?" She beamed, flipping her coils dramatically. By the time she got home, her DMs were flooded with messages: "Hair deets??" "What product is THAT?" Someone even offered her $500 for a jar of the Regal Remedy. "I’m about to be rich!" Keisha declared, already planning her TikTok product review. But as she reached to fluff her hair one last time, the curls recoiled—literally. They sprang back, tighter and tighter, shrinking until her head was crowned with what looked like a perfectly round brillo pad. "Wait… what the—" Her bedside alarm blared. Keisha shot up in bed, heart racing, and hand to her head. Her coils were back to their usual partly defined, partly rebellious selves. "It was all a dream?!" she groaned, flopping back onto the pillow. Just then, her phone buzzed with a notification: "New Salon Alert: Coil Kingdom - Where Your Hair Obeys. Book now and rule your crown!" Keisha was baffled. Nah. But… just in case, she bookmarked the link. Because dream or not, those flawless coils had felt real. Later that day, Keisha met up with her best friends, Simone and Tasha, at their favorite café, "Brews & Banter". The café was buzzing—baristas shouting orders, indie music playing in the background, and distinct gossip and laughter. "Girl, you look stressed." Simone said, eyeing Keisha's puff. Simone wore her hair in micro twists, each one meticulously defined, as if she had personal contracts with every strand. "Stressed? That's an understatement." Keisha replied, sipping her oat milk latte. "I had the wildest dream about this salon that sprayed some magic mist on my hair. Perfect curls, no shrinkage, nothing. It was like Wakanda for natural hair." Tasha, who rocked a short, copper-colored fro, leaned in. "Hold up. Was it called Coil Kingdom? I swear I saw an ad for that on TikTok last night. I thought it was one of those fishy scams." Keisha froze. "Nah, see… that's the thing. It felt too real. Like I could still feel the weightless coils when I woke up." Simone laughed. "Girl, you’ve officially reached 'hair hallucination' status. Next thing you know, you’ll be dreaming about talking bonnets and rebellious bobby pins." She chuckled. "Speaking of..." Tasha added, pulling out her phone. "Look at this!" She showed them a video of an influencer named MoniqueJae, standing outside an actual salon with the Coil Kingdom sign dazzling behind her. "Y'all!" Keisha practically shouted, causing side-eyes from nearby tables. "That’s the place from my dream! Same logo, same vibe... Everything!" Simone’s eyes widened. "Okay, now that's creepy. We need to investigate." An hour later, the ladies stood outside Coil Kingdom. It looked exactly as Keisha remembered—plush pink interiors, the cartoon queen logo, and even the faint scent of hibiscus in the air. "I don't know if we’re about to get flawless hair or cursed," Tasha muttered as they walked in. Nia, the same stylist from Keisha's dream, greeted them with a knowing smile. "Ah, back so soon?" Keisha's jaw dropped. "Wait… this can't be real." Nia shrugged, holding up the familiar bottle of Regal Remedy. "Real enough. Now, who's first?" Simone stepped forward, arms crossed. "Okay, but like… what’s actually in that bottle? I’m not about to end up in some hair horror story." Nia chuckled. "Nothing harmful. Just a blend of natural extracts and a little… extra magic. No side effects... unless you count looking fabulous." Keisha frowned. "Magic? Sis, define 'magic.' Like fairy dust? Voodoo? FDA-unapproved science project?" Before Nia could answer, another stylist, Malik—a tall, lanky guy with perfectly sculpted coils walked over. "The magic is in the formulation… but think of it like an enhancer. Like caffeine for your curls." Tasha snorted. "Caffeine? My hair already acts like it’s had three espressos." Just then, MoniqueJae (the influencer from TikTok) walked out of the back, hair flowing like a red-carpet. "Girl, don’t overthink it. This stuff… is life changing." Keisha hesitated. "Life-changing how? Like 'I’m-famous-now' life-changing or 'I’m-stuck-in-an-episode-of-Black Mirror' life-changing?" MoniqueJae grinned. "Both. Depends on how you use it." Simone, over the skeptic, raised an eyebrow. "Okay, I’ll try it... but if my hair starts singing show tunes or sending emails on its own, I’m suing." Nia laughed, spraying a fine mist over Simone's twists. Instantly, they plumped and stretched to shoulder length without a single frizz. "Oh, hell no," Simone whispered, touching her hair. "This is… sorcery." Nia could not help, but laugh. "Ooo do me next!" Tasha hollered, practically shoving Simone aside. Keisha watched in awe until her phone buzzed. It was another notification: "Your Coil Kingdom appointment is confirmed. See you soon!" Her eyes widened. She hadn't booked an appointment. Slowly, she looked up at Nia, who smiled slyly. "Told you," Nia said, twirling a coil around her finger. "Once you dream it, you're already part of the Kingdom."