See Me, Hear Me

Chapter 2

"This cut looks fresh ass fuck, Juno," Juno's father bends in front of him, inspecting his faded haircut. 'Would you like to add a design to the side?' he inquires, watching as Juno ponders the idea. With a chuckle, he adds, 'There's no pressure, Junnie.' Julius playfully tugs at his curls before standing upright again. Juno retrieves his notebook, flips it open, and writes, 'Could you add a swirl on the right side?'"

Julius glances at the notebook before seizing his clippers."What made you decide to get a haircut? You gotta lil Josie you tryna impress?" His father grins as Juno reads his lips, growing embarrassed."I don't know yet."As his father turns the chair toward the mirror, he writes down the note before looking at it.

Juno observes his appearance, tilting his head to the side. His tangerine eyes gloss over his reflection before he raises his gaze to his father. Julius activates the clippers and then speaks, "What you mean you don't know son? She not on the game, you need to find out you don't have time to be wasting it on chasing her?" He considers adding detail to the side of his son's head. Juno gestures with his hands while Julius watches his son's reflection in the mirror.  "We've only been talking for a week now, and I don't want to make her think I'm even weirder by trying to court her after only seven days," Juno signed as his father paused, running his fingers through his hair. "You ain't weird at all, let lil Josie know what you on ya hear me. What you think you an ugly ass nigga or something?"   

Juno gazes at his reflection and shakes his head in disagreement. He knew that the notion of him being unattractive was not true. His father smiles. "Glad you know, no son of mine is ugly." He laughs as Juno smiles shaking his head.

Daddy, may I have twenty dollars to go to the store with Kamil and Lamilton?" Alicia walked into the shop and noticed her father was giving her brother a haircut. Her gaze shifted to her brother's reflection in the mirror; his eyes were closed, and he was relaxed in the chair as their father put the finishing touches on his hair. Alicia repeated her request, finally catching her dad's attention. "Who are you going to the store with?" Julius asked, reaching into his pocket for his wallet. "With Kamil and his friend," she informed her father. Juno opened his eyes and looked towards the mirror, noticing his sister standing there talking.

They had not been on speaking terms since the day he spent time at the mall with her and her friends. Juno offers her a faint smile, which she does not reciprocate. "Shoot, my wallet must be in your mother's office; hold on," Julius says to his daughter as he heads toward the back door. This leaves Juno and Alicia alone in the shop, which is closed because it is Sunday. Juno picks up his notebook while his sister takes a seat in the chair opposite him. "What's up?" he writes down, holding it up for her to see.

Alicia glanced over the words before replying, "Nothing much," keeping her response brief and indicating her reluctance to engage in conversation. Juno's frown deepened upon hearing her terse reply, and he returned the notebook to his lap to write, "You've been distant all week. Did I do something?" He held up the notebook for her to read, and she shook her head, offering a forced smile. "No, it's not you. I've just been busy with friends and schoolwork, you know, the usual stuff." Juno observed her, noting her body language as she fidgeted and twiddled her thumbs.

The term 'normal' escaped her lips again. Juno glanced at that before jotting down his subsequent question in his notebook. "Why didn't you tell your friends that I was your brother?" He had been pondering the question all week before he finally asked Alicia. Her eyes widened, and feeling guilty, she diverted her gaze towards the door. "We just switched schools and you know how it was so hard for us at Westbrook, I didnt want it to be like that at BU." Juno read her lips; a part of his heart ached. In other words, what she was telling him was that she didn't want him to embarrass her or make things difficult for her any longer.