I took a deep breath , preparing to go outside and for the first time , not sure what to expect from otherwise usual surroundings . Would people treat me differently ? What could I do , now that people will think I ' m smart ? The first place I went was Starbucks , where I ordered my usual swirly , creamy coffee drink . If I was going to possibly make this believable , I ' d at least have to be alert . I I noticed the barista gave me a genuine smile instead of the usual knowing smirk that comes with a stereotype matching an expectation . I walked briskly off to class . My first semester at the community college was disheartening , to say the least . Most people there were also blonde , some lighter than others , with a few shades of brown and occasionally someone with hair so dark they stand out in every class , yet for some reason rejects the scholarships for university offered to every one of them . There was one such boy in my first class , Chemistry . I felt I was quite good at it , yet the professors , usually with light to medium brown hairI ' d heard the university professors were required to be dark brown or deeper , talked to me like I didn ' t understand . I guess maybe I just don ' t fully grasp all of it , but I get the basics . I think I got really lucky with my hunch about ammonia to make this dye . The boy looked surprised when I walked in . Right , I thought , I was one of him , too , now . I sat in the one of the only open seats , next to him . I figured it ' s what I ' d do if I were him . Now , the professor began , who can tell me what they know about the laboratory you reviewed on the syllabus ? I took a chance and raised my hand . He nodded . Well . I tried to remember exactly the answer I had given my first day of the same class last year It ' s a standard titration , so you ' re basically balancing out the amount of acidic substance in a solution with the amount of basic compound in a solution , and so the amount of the base required can tell you how much acid is in the solution . Yes , yes , very good answer ! He replied . I tried to smile normally but had to hold back a grin , then looked away in embarrassment . After class , the boy with the dark hair introduced himself to me as Michael . He didn ' t know exactly what he wanted to study , and didn ' t want to be around a bunch of people who would pressure him to choose so quickly . I admired that he would stray so far from the norm for that . The more we talked , the more he expected me to say something intelligent , something interesting , the more I felt . well , intelligent , or interesting . Did the dye change my intelligence as well as the color of my hair ? Or . was I always capable of feeling like this ? Really wanted to write more but it felt like it was getting long and it ' s really late .