The struggles of black (peoples) hair

After everybody went home, Perky grabbed a towel for her body and hair and she went to her room.

I asked her when she wanted me to help with her hair, she told me she'd text me when. So naturally, I went up to my room and played Madden and when I rage quit, I played 2k 20, until my phone buzzed.

[I thought I was the only one you'd ever get close with. It was my 6th day when you touched me, this isn't fair. She's a worse Clara ;(] I got a text from a girl who couldn't seem to let me go after I figured out she was mentally ill and she wasn't it for me. Honestly, I knew none of these girls would be it for me. It just doesn't work that way.

I ignored the text, like I'd been doing since I was 11, and went back to playing.

I got another text, but despite thinking it was her again, I reached for my phone and pulled it out anyway.

"Oh, it's Perky." I said, and opened the message.

[Come on, I hoped you already ate and bathed, this is gonna take a while] I chuckled at the message and sat down at the controller in front of my computer and left for her room.

I'd memorized where her room was because every other girl to come here had it, except for Madison. She was the first girl and they thought it'd be a good idea to put her next to me. Heh, sure, ok.

I knocked on her door and to my surprise, when she opened it, her hair was fluffed out in all different directions. She looked like a chick from the 80s, just with more hair.

"What? I told you my hair got uncontrollable after being in water." She shrugged as I walked in. She closed the door behind me.

"So… am I gonna have to wash it myself? I've never done that." I asked, taking a piece and curling it around my fingers.

"No," she swatted my hand away, "I'll do the washing, you just tell me if there's a spot I'm missing. We'll both dry it and comb/brush it." She walked to her bathroom and so did I.

For the next 10 minutes, I sat watching Perky wash her hair. I didn't tell her anything because she wasn't missing any spaces, or at least it didn't look like it to me.

"I'm done, give me the towel." She instructed. I handed her the towel she asked me to hold while she was washing her hair.

"Get the blow dryer from the cabinet, plug it in." She told me, while her head was submerged in the towel. I looked in the cabinet under the sink and saw a blow dryer, so I grabbed it and plugged it in. Perky emerged back from the towel and sliced her hair right down the middle, and then did it sideways with a pink skinny-bottomed comb.

"This'll get noisy." She warned me in advance before turning it on, and for a split second, I thought a random, rapid storm had hit the inside of the house.

"Here! You blow dry those to two sections and hold them down when you're done!" She screamed over the insufferable noise coming from the small machine. I nodded and started moving the blow dry around one section at a time. She followed me with a brush and brushed the parts I blow dried.

I finished my side and held down the hair like she told me too while I watched her blow dry and brush her other half twice as fast as it happened with me.

"Oh my god, thank Jesus. That noise is horrible." I said when she turned the thing off.

"Yea, not the most soothing soundtrack." She said, rubbing her fingers all through her hair.

"It's dry, now we've got to brush it." She turned around and handed me a brush.

"Didn't we just brush it?" I asked, watching her make more sections in her hair.

"Yes, but I'm wearing slick down this week, and I'd appreciate less knots." She said, picking up a section and brushing it with a different brush.

"Well? If I'm going to have to do it myself, you might as well leave." She said, still brushing her section.

"Jeez Perky, I'll brush your hair." She smiled at me in the mirror triumphantly before she frowned in confusion.

"I'm not Perky, I'm Em. Who was Perky?" She asked. I chuckled. She always asked me about the girls that were here before her. Most girls would solely ask my favorite and change to be just like them, but for once, a girl didn't try to act like Kelly just to up their chances of them staying.

"No Perky, that's your nickname. Out of all the girls who've come, only you and two other girls embraced my friend group like that on the first hug." I said, finishing brushing one section, moving on to the next. She was on her third.

"Oh, well can I give you a nickname?" She asked, finishing up her third section. God, how fast can a woman be?

"As long as it isn't really weird." I reasoned.

"I want to call you Grumpy, but you aren't really grumpy. I'll have to work on it." After that, the conversation died away.

I think she was thinking about the nickname she was going to give me. Or maybe she was thinking about her loved ones at home. Maybe she was thinking about that Aiden kid… 10 bucks says he's shorter than me, her, and probably her little sister who's name I forgot. I think it was Escy, not sure.

Anyway, we finished brushing all the knots out of her hair, and let me tell you, it's a lot more knotted than it looked, but she put it in a ponytail to the back, then walked me to her door.

"Thanks for helping me with this." She motioned to her hair. I briefly looked her up and down, she was wearing a cami... I think it is for girls, and short leopard print shorts. They looked made from silk, but the most important part was they showed her thighs. Thank God for short shorts.

"No problem, it was my fault it got wet anyway." I shrugged, bringing my eyes from her thighs and back to her eyes. Sad times.

"Night." She said, hand on the door, waiting to close it.

"Night." I said back, walking away before I heard her door close. I went back to my room to see it was 8:52, I still had an hour and 8 minutes to watch at least some of the tournament so I turned off my computer and turned on my T.V., and went to my recordings.

Time for the second best part of the night.