This is an old story, but it's my mothers favorite... So I figured its good enough to be shared. No kidding- 7 years later, she still asks me to tell it to people occasionally.
I would guess there are maybe like 5 places in my hometown in TN who even offer manicures/pedicures, so it really wasn't any big deal to me that I'd never had a pedicure when I got to college. I knew it was a form of pampering though. So when basketball season ended my freshman year, my roommate and I decided that after all the blisters, ingrown toenails, & calacysts, (TMI?) we sure deserved a pedicure. And sure needed one too.
Ok so... get the picture -never had a pedicure before, broke college kids... In a new city... Without anyone to recommend a nail salon. Too young to even think to ask someone to recommend a salon.
We got out the phone book. Oh yea, it was back in the day when phone books were still used, and looked up beauty schools. Smart us, we found the most frugal way to pamper ourselves possible. We didn't have anything to compare it to though, so we didn't care. Score, there was a career beauty college nearby!
We head out one saturday, pull up, and realize it was in fact a bit ghetto (Chattanooga people- it was in a strip mall in east brainard). We walked in and were immediately caught off guard by staring hair stylists and customers. I would imagine they didn't have white girls in there very often... We were def the only ones that day... And not to brag, but we make an entrance anywhere we go. I'm 6' tall, and my roommate 6'4. One of the stylists asked what we would like done, when we said a pedicure, she literally screamed for someone who emerged from some back room. He lead us through the salon, past the wig area, and into a space best described as a closet/work space. He then unfolds a metal chair, puts his utensils out on the table, bring a tub of NYC (99 cent a bottle) crusty nail polish for us to pick out a color... tells us very excitedly that we are his first ever pedicures, and then leaves to get the 'jacuzzi tub.'
Yea. My roommate and I look at each other and immediately start discussing how the hell we were going to get out of the barber shop without letting some dude rub and file our feet. She is sending out txts to people to try and get them to call with an emergency when he comes back in with a plug in the wall $20 foot jacuzzi tub that they sell at Walmart.
I was in the chair, and panicked to figure out how to get out of this horrific situation that was unfolding.
I did the only thing I could think of. 'Sir, how much is this?'
He responded with something super cheap I'm sure. I can't remember now... Probably like $20 each. I then lied and told him, 'oh no, we were told they were only $5 here...'(Keep in mind -i had no idea pedicures are normally $5 a toe) 'We don't have enough money and will have to come back.' It was the only thing I could come up with that sounded halfway realistic or so I thought. This guy was so excited I didn't want to hurt his feelings.
It was like a domino effect. He was all, 'WHHAT?! Someone told you a pedicure was $5?! Who told you a pedicure was $5?! $5 pedicure... That's crazy. Etc etc etc... '
'HEY Y'ALL, SOMEONE TOLD DEZ GIRLS DA PEDICURE WAS $5!!!'
That was it. As we were exiting the broom closet at the back, walking past the wigs, and into the loooooong room of the chairs and hair dryers full of stylists and customers... The barber shop erupted into fits of 'ohhhh nooooo they didn't' 'girls who told you a pedicure was $5?' 'Ha a $5 pedicure... I can't believe that, can you believe that?' On and on and on and on.
Obviously we never returned to the foot bath, metal fold out chair, broom closet, and 3 year old nail polish to let that poor barber do his first beauty college pedicure.
Instead, we went to a nail place where I couldn't understand the Chinese lady and ended up with flowers painted on my big toes.
