Her parents would hate it if she got a piercing.
But then again, her parents wanted nothing to do with her, so screw ‘em. What they wanted for her didn’t matter anymore, anyway.
This was something purely for her -- something she had been curious about doing since she was old enough to first get a piercing. And like hell anyone was going to take that away from her.
With those thoughts in mind, Asiya took a deep breath of air, steeled herself forward, and pushed open the door to the tattoo shop.
A girl who looked like a model straight out of an alternative magazine was lazing about the front desk. At the sound of the door opening, however, she brightened right up. With vivid aqua hair, tons of ink, and elegantly pierced, she seemed to fit in perfectly to the setting in which she worked. “Hello, and welcome to Undead Hydra. How may I help you today?”
“I-...uh…”
Breathe, Asiya. Breathe.
“I’ve been interested in getting a septum piercing for a long time,” she admitted as she walked up to the desk. “I guess I was just wondering if you could tell me what to expect in terms of aftercare, and all of that.”
“Oh -- no problem,” the girl said, who then stood and went to show her the different options for septum piercings that they had available. “Piercings are a cool way to express yourself, and we’d be more than happy to tell you all you’d need to know.”
What followed was detailed instructions given to her by the girl, who actually turned out to be one of the piercing artists. Her name was Elsie. Elsie told Asiya all the proper aftercare steps, such as how to clean the area and also what to do if there was swelling. All in all, she was very thorough, and the artist couldn’t help but feel comfortable with the piercer by the time their conversation was finished.
“Do you have any other questions,” Elsie asked, smiling warmly to reveal pearly white teeth.
Asiya paused, debating for a moment, and then answered. “Actually -- is it possible to get my septum pierced now? You were so helpful, and I just...I’m really excited to do it now.” Elsie had made her feel at ease. She didn’t pry for why she wanted a piercing, and was just overall a very accepting individual. She wanted to be like that one day.
“Sure thing. Let me get you scheduled in, and we’ll get it done. Oh, and once it’s done, we’ll want you to come in so we can check on it in a few weeks. Then you should be good to go. There are also care kits that we provide for you, too. To properly care for everything.”
“Oh man -- I can’t wait. And thanks again for all you’re help.”
Jitters of excitement and happiness rushed through Asiya, and she bounced a bit eagerly in anticipation.
She was doing this. She was actually getting her septum pierced!
Asiya was changing, slowly but surely. Instead of being afraid to put herself out there and worrying what others thought, she was doing things for herself. She was doing things without caring about what others thought. She was pushing her boundaries that she had in place from when she was at home with her family, and while it was scary, it was also wonderful.
For the first time in a long time, she felt like she was free.
Boy, how liberating that was!
[Word Count: 713]
