The Blonde Effect

Chapter 1 
Dennine (Deni for short) sat in front of her computer researching alternative energy sources available. She wanted to try to come up with something on a smaller scale that was affordable to everyone but had to be environmentally friendly. She had already scaled down wind energy so that it was affordable to everyone. Last years science fair winner was her small windmills for roof top installation. Her parents had spent the money to help her build the project & installed on their rooftop. As she sat in front of her computer, she just could not believe how much energy that project would produce. Her parents no longer had to pay for electricity; in fact, the electric company was paying them for the energy produced by those small windmills & solar panels. 
She knew it was just a matter of time before someone came up with that one invention that would change the world and help reverse affects of global warming. She wanted that someone to be her. 
That’s when she heard her door open and her mom (Cathy) saying, “Are you still on that computer?” 
Deni replied, “Yes, you know I have only 3 months until school starts then only 3 months until the science fair. I have to start on this now if I want to change the world.” 
Her mother started laughing saying “yes but you just finished school yesterday. Can’t you just enjoy the summer?” 
Deni had not “enjoyed” a summer in a very long time. She always had some project to work on for school. She also liked to get a jump-start on the next school year. The principal was so proud of her that he would allow her to take books home for the next year to help encourage her to excel even more. She had already skipped a grade and was in all the honors classes. If she continued on this path, she should be able to graduate high school 2 years early. She had already applied to all the top universities in the country, and already received confirmation from five of them offering her scholarships. All she had to do now was choose which one. 
Her mother was sitting on her bed watching as she continued her search on her computer trying to figure out how her daughter had gotten so smart. She started swelling up with pride. “What are your friends doing this summer? Are they gonna be working, participating in internship programs, or just kickin’ back and enjoyin’ it?” She was hoping Deni would say, “Kickin’ back”. 
Deni had just shrugged her shoulders. Her mom stood up to leave, not having much success at distracting her daughter. When Deni turned around just in time to catch her mothers sleeve saying, “I’m sorry mom, I know you think that this is just a waste of time but it’s important to me.” 
Her mom turned and brushed a piece of hair out of her daughter’s eyes saying, “I know sweetheart but just once I’d like for you to enjoy your childhood while you’re still a child. Is that too much to ask?” 
Deni replied, “No. I understand what you’re saying. How’s this, we have a slumber party to kick off the summer? Is that alright with you and dad?” 
Her mom smiled saying “I think that’s a wonderful idea. I’ll start calling now to get approval from your friend’s parents. Come downstairs when you finish but make it soon.” 
Deni smiled back at her mom telling her, “I’ll be there in a minute.” 
As Deni approached the kitchen, she heard her mother on the phone with Cindy’s mom. Cindy was Deni’s best friend. They were born on the same day, at the same time, at the same hospital, and their bassinets were side by side. You could say they were born to be best friends. They were and are, inseparable. Deni was very intelligent but Cindy was lacking in the smart department. Both had skipped a grade in school. Now, they were in the same classes. The only reason Cindy had these opportunities is Deni. Deni was always pushing Cindy to greater heights but truth is Cindy just could not reach those anymore. The higher the grade in school the more Cindy sunk. Both had been accepted to the same colleges/universities, but Cindy wasn‘t sure she deserved them. 
Deni heard her mother saying, “I’m just trying to get Deni out of her room, away from that computer. She needs to have fun during the summer, not spend it on the next science project or any project. With your help and help from Cindy, maybe we can all just have fun and actually go on a vacation without computers this time.” She heard her mother saying “yes” and “ok” or “that sounds nice” before she hung up the phone. 
Deni walked into the kitchen just as her mother hung up. Cathy turned around smiling to tell Deni “I made us an appointment at Hair Station Salon for in the morning. I thought you might want a makeover, and a girl’s day out. We can go to the salon, go shopping for some summer clothes, and then eat lunch before we come home to get ready for your party.” 
Deni laughed at her mother’s excitement but agreed without hesitation. Then Deni thought of something that she had not thought of in years. When she was younger, she had always wanted to dye her hair and make it lighter. She had beautiful hair, long light brown with gold and auburn natural highlights. However, she wanted something different too. Now that she was getting older, she felt it was time for a change. She would go research, as she always did, and try to find the best color choice for herself but she wanted to lighten her hair slowly. Deni was thinking of going lighter, maybe blonde but not platinum blonde that was too drastic for Deni. Maybe a dark blonde to start with, then dye it lighter gradually. She would wait and see what her research says about hair color and the effects it has on the hair and the person. 
As Deni researched about hair color, she happened upon an article written by someone much like herself. Always researching but this time the person had written an article on hair color and the effects color has on a person’s personality. Such as, someone going from natural blonde to brunette seemed to get more respect from people in public. Someone that was brunette and changed to red hair, naturally people were on the defense around them thinking red heads have “bad tempers” when in fact they have very sweet, docile dispositions until provoked. Like everyone else. The biggest change and most interesting information she found was when brunettes or red heads changed their hair color to blonde. Those women that did change their color to blonde found they had less respect in the public eye. People treated them as if they really were “dumb blondes” and did not even consider they had a brain or feelings. They also found that people did not listen to them as much and disregarded what they had to say or disregarded their thoughts. Deni felt that if you were smart to begin with that this is what would shine through, not the public’s ideas of blondes. 
Deni turned to leave when her mom appeared saying, “you remember when you were younger. You always wanted to dye your hair. Why don’t we try that tomorrow?” 
Deni laughed and said, “I was just coming downstairs to talk to you about that. What do think of this color?” 
Deni showed her mom the color she had found on the internet.