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 Posted: Sat Dec 31, 2011 4:41 pm
Keren Della-Blue was downright giddy to be camped out at the Driscols' house for the night. Having been greeted warmly by Micah's parents, and somewhat coolly by her brother, she ascended the stairs two at a time and made her way to her friend's bedroom. There was a steady Black-Eyed Peas beat pounding in her head, the ultimate Ear Worm for the last night of the year. I got a feelin', ooh-ooh, that tonight's gonna be a good night. Yeah tonight's gonna be a good night-
Swallowing the fluttering in her stomach that Keren identified of giddiness and the start of a sugar rush, she knocked on Micah's door. Once, twice, shave and a haircut, two bits. She waited a few seconds, then invited herself in.
"Heeeeey," called Keren, barging through the door and dropping her overnight bag against the dresser. "I came to party and chew bubblegum and I'm all out of gum. Also, I heard this rumor that 2012 is going to be awesome. If the world doesn't end. Or maybe even if it does?"
She flopped onto the bed. "Some kind of last hurrah for the universe," decided Keren, giving Micah what she thought was a meaningful look. "So, what are our plans for tonight? Do you want to make a drinking game out of Sherlock Holmes? Shots every time Robert Downey Junior and and Jude Law make out with their eyes?"
That was, if there was even booze available.
"Or, ooh, ooh, we could braid each other's hair and tell ghost stories. I think that's a thing!" Keren flexed her fingers in Micah's direction. She'd been thinking of pretenses under which to get her hands on her friend's gorgeous curls for weeks now. "Or we could do both at once."
There. That was the winning idea.
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Posted: Thu Jan 05, 2012 7:49 pm
Micah had been putting the last few bits of laundry away when Keren burst into her room. It had previously been a mess, clothing strewn everywhere, book lying open, food petrified and stuck on plates, and ancient wrappers littering the floor. Now, after a day of working, it was vacuumed, dusted, wiped down, and sprayed so it didn't smell like dirty laundry anymore. Because of her relatively quiet day, however, Keren's sudden barrage of words made Micah freeze by her dresser, golden eyes wide and mouth agape. She'd nearly forgotten about her friend’s exuberance. Finally, however, she smiled and relaxed.
"Okay, let's see." She tried to back track along what Keren had said. “Well, if the world does end then you and I will have to ride this b***h like a nuke aimed at Nazis.” If Micah noticed the look Keren shot at her, she didn’t give any sign of it. She simply grinned like a mad woman at her in response.
“And as for the drinking game… all my parents have downstairs is wine and champagne, which I don’t think they’d object to us taking as long as we were responsible with it. I’ve been having a glass of wine with dinner since I was thirteen, and before that a half glass watered down with grae juice on special occasions. They shouldn’t have a problem with me nabbing a bottle for tonight.” She’d have to cough up the money for a replacement bottle, but that wouldn’t be a problem with her left over Christmas money.
At the mention of braiding, Micah touched he hair. She’d never thought of braiding it before. “I’m not sure there’s enough here to braid, actually. Unless you were going to corn row it.” It came out of her mouth as a joke, but when she turned to the mirror, Micah began to consider herself with corn rows. It wouldn’t look half bad… and it would be easier to manage. At least until she grew it out and could manage it. She tilted her head a little a bit her lip.
“Do you know how to corn row,” she asked, turning to her friend curiously.
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Posted: Thu Jan 05, 2012 9:16 pm
Keren rolled around on the comforter, rumpling it inconsiderately. "Wine sounds awesome," she agreed, pumping a fist exuberantly in the air. "I mean, my parents are all classy and European-" well, French mom, Israeli dad, the latter being technically part of Asia. "It's no big deal to them. I bet you I can hold my alcohol better."
But probably not, because Keren was eighty percent trash talk to infinitesimal action. She rolled right of the end of the bed, sprawling out in a tangle of long limbs on the carpet. "But yes to the movie watching?" she asked, lifting the dust ruffle experimentally and peering under the bed. "I mean, it doesn't have to be Sherlock Holmes, I was just suggesting. You know what else we could watch?"
Keren propped herself up on her elbows and shot Micah a manic grin. "2012!" she exclaimed. Best idea ever. "That Roland Emmerich crapfest disasterporn. I bet we can find it online." She waggled her fingers again, this time typing on an imaginary carpet-keyboard. "I have major google-fu powers. You have no idea who you're messing with."
Micah giving serious consideration to hairstyling gave Keren a little internal wave of joy. Cornrow? That was easy for such an experienced braider as herself. "Hellooooo?" demanded Keren, smirking at Micah. "Yes, I absolutely know how to cornrow. Why, do you want some? Because you would look totally rad with them. Please, can I cornrow your hair?"
Drop everything. New priority. Cornrowing Micah's hair was imperative.
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Posted: Fri Jan 06, 2012 2:50 pm
Micah laughed as Keren just talked and talked. It was like what she did herself when she was nervous. Maybe that was why she was so okay with it. “Don’t bother with the internet, dear,” Micah sung, dancing over to her TV stand, pulling the DVD case from the side. “I already have it! It sounds like a killer idea. We can take a sip of wine every time something implausible happens. Like a plane flying out of an ash cloud that would have cemented it.” Micah had her earth and physical science teacher to thank for that knowledge. They had watched it in class one week and he’d spent that time pointing out what was not possible within it. Some say it ruined the movie for them. Micah thought it had only made it better.
When the idea of corn rows became real she tugged at her hair again. Would she really? It wasn’t like she was cutting her hair. Worst case scenario she pulled the brains out, right?
“Okay…” she ventured softly, curling one lock of hair around her index finger. “Okay.” As she said it, her voice grew stronger. “Okay, alright. Do you need beads? I’ve got some from when I baby sit. The kids like to make bracelets with those cheap plastic beads.
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Posted: Fri Jan 06, 2012 7:57 pm
"Absolutely! Absolutely!" giggled Keren, clapping her hands excitedly. "You," she declared, pointing at Micah, "Will go get the booze and the beads." (She paused to reflect on how wonderful a use of alliteration this was.) "And I will set up the movie, and then we will cornrow and drink and watch terrible, terrible science happen. Cool?"
She waggled her thumb back and forth between up and down expressively for a moment before locking it solidly up. She shooed Micah from the room. "Sally forth, brave soldier!" exclaimed Keren. "And don't come back without provisions for the war!"
She turned to the television and began to mess with the dvd player, doing her best to resist the urge to snoop around Micah's room now that her friend had cleared out.
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Posted: Fri Jan 06, 2012 8:55 pm
Micah grinned as her friend gave her orders. Again, she wasn’t upset by being told what to do. Normally she would have been but… this was different. Micah left her room with that smile and danced down the steps to the kitchen.
“Mom, I’ll pay you and dad back, but can I borrow a bottle of wine?”
“Take one of the cheaper ones, please,” was all her mother said, and didn’t even turn around.
“And do you know where my beads are?”
“Why?”
“Crafts,” she stated simply. Her mother only pointed to the game closet in the hallway between the living room and the front foyer. Micah was able to located them easily enough from there.
“Thanks mom.” She kissed her mother quickly on the cheek before she grabbed some glasses from the kitchen and bounced back up stairs, beads rattling on one hand and wine sloshing in the other. She was so excited that she nearly kicked the door open on her way in.
“Alright, I got the stuff,” she gasped, out of breath from running and hair already a mess.
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Posted: Fri Jan 06, 2012 9:15 pm
"Score!" said Keren, looking ecstatically towards the door. She had gotten to the DVD menu without accidentally breaking anything, and it pleased her immensely. "Okay, I'm gonna need a hairbrush, rubber bands, twelve jammy dodgers, and a fez."
She practically bounced over to the bed and sat down on the end of it. "Sit in front of me, head against my knees, 'kay?" she ordered, wielding the brush like an artist considering a canvas. "You want narrow cornrows? Thick ones?" It was the kind of braids that you had to leave in for a while out of politeness once they were done, so she wanted to do them exactly how Micah wanted them.
"Anyways," continued Keren, brushing out Micah's curls with glee. "If I go too rough you can just smack me or something. I'll get the point. Go ahead and start the movie? And pour our first round?" It was time to get this party started! Although she resolved to go slow on the alcohol or Micah's rows would look like they were plowed by an epileptic, blind mule.
"If you don't tell me a specific pattern with the beads I'm just gonna Roy G Biv it up," added Keren, almost an afterthought as she began the first braid. "Is that okay?"
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Posted: Fri Jan 06, 2012 9:31 pm
Micah was way ahead of Keren when it came to pouring out the wine. When Keren instructed her to do so she already had one glass poured. “Do the jammy dogers have to double as self destruct buttons and will a Stetson suffice?” She leaned over and from her bedside table snatched the rubber bands she’s used for her braces when she was about thirteen. “Will these do for rubber bands? I never used any of them, so there should be enough in there.” She opened the little bag to check, nodding her approval when she saw a good number within.
She handed the sack to Keren and started the movie, leaning back with her glass of wine. “Roy G Biv and I are tight. Go ahead and just follow his lead, I’m cool with that.” She took a precursory sip of her wine, relishing the tangy flavor on her tongue, the way the tartness made her salivate, and the warmth that seemed to lay in the wake of the liquid as she swallowed. She swirled her glass as she leaned her head back against Keren’s knees. Her brows did furrow as her hair was tugged at, but it was nothing she couldn’t deal with. Even with her low pain tolerance, Micah’s nerves seemed accustomed to pulling on her scalp after years of yanking out snags.
“So how do I care for these things anyway? Do I have to soap them down when I shower or just rinse?”
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Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2012 8:39 pm
"Those rubber bands are excellent," said Keren, taking the packet from Micah's outstretched hand. They were more prepared for these cornrowing shenanigans than she could have possibly anticipated. "And no," the purple-haired girl continued. "They only have to be delicious, and a stetson is never a proper replacement for a fez. However, I will accept a sombrero."
Working nimbly through the first braid, Keren pulled it firmly and slipped a pair of red beads onto the end. "I'm glad you and he are buddies," she whispered, glancing at the TV screen. "But even if you weren't I'd have done it anyways." She ran her fingers through the remaining free curls, trying to not be too blatant that she was having a lot of fun with this. (Her heart was racing. She was glad Micah was all the way down on the ground and wouldn't have noticed, probably.)
"You know," said Keren, starting the second braid. "I've got no idea. I've never worn them long enough to find out." Keren's hair changed styles with such frequency that she'd leave for school with it done one way, eat lunch with it done another, and return home in the evening sporting a completely new 'do. Cornrows never lasted long with her. "Maybe google it?"
She brought her wine glass to her lips and took a careful sip. Best to save it for later, or else Micah would wind up with wobbly braids, Keren decided.
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Posted: Fri Jan 13, 2012 6:49 pm
Micah winced as her hair was tugged and braided, used to the sharpness of the pain, but not to the duration of it. When Micah brushed out her hair, it was a short pain, but now it was enduring. She hissed once or twice when Keren tugged on a peice of hair on a sensitive part of her scalp; her temples or her hairline. But she otherwise ignored the pain.
"Roy is the color of my flag," she mused gently, cracking open one of the bags of chips she had bought for herself and Keren. Barbeque was her personal favorite, and the flavor she munched on now. Along the side of the bed she had arranged plain, vinegar and salt, sour cream and onion, and pickle flavors along with various sodas and a boz of pizza.
"I'll figure it out... later," she sighed, too lazy to do anything else, really. As much as the briading hurt Micah's scalp, she rather liked the feeling of Keren's fingers working through her hair. She shut her eyes and sighed, leaning her head back into the working hands with a smile.
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Posted: Fri Jan 13, 2012 7:13 pm
Keren continued working Micah's braids, slipping a pair of beads onto the second dreadlock. "Which flag would that be?" she asked, stomach crawling with curiosity. She could only think of one flag that was actually the same color as Roy G. Biv, but Micah was being so cryptic about it that she wanted to be sure. Not that Keren had any issue with homosexuals - in fact, the strange, confused part of her mind that was triggering the butterflies in her stomach would have very much welcomed the fact.
"I'll eat later," she said, dismissing the bag of chips that was held up towards her. "You don't want grease in your hair, do you?" Keren was... pretty sure that most people didn't like chip grease in their hair.
She tied off the braid and slipped a pair of yellow beads around the end. "What is this movie even about?" she asked, glancing up at the screen. "I forgot what we were supposed to be drinking on." She reached for her glass. "Should I just chug to catch up?" It seemed like an appealing idea, but the, she still had the rest of Micah's head to cornrow.
"Or... finish braiding, then chug?" she asked.
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Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 1:46 pm
"You didn't know I was gay?" The question was simple enough, though Micah knew the weight it would carry. It slipped passed her lips before she could think. She's already lost a handful of friends with coming out, and she winced harshly at the thought of losing another. Her lips were pressed into a thin line as she tried to pull the words which had already left her lips back into her mouth. She stiffened as she realized that what was said could not be retracted.
She carefully folded the bag of chips back into her chest and began muching nervously. "Ah... whatever amke you happy," she said softly. "We haven't really missed much in the way of science, so there wouldn't really be much to catch up on. Just a little bit of... lecture misinformation, really." She hissed again as a bit of hair was tugged on along her hairline. "The real science doesn't happen for another few minutes." Please don't leave. Micah squeezed her eyes shut and pressed her lips into a thin line, bracing herself for the shock of her new friend. Please don't leave.
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Posted: Mon Jan 16, 2012 7:06 pm
"Uh, no?" answered Keren, rising inflection tinting the statement. The butterflies in her stomach assured her that this was, in fact, awesome, but Keren told them to shut up because she hadn't figured out what they were on about yet. She was a singularly focused teenaged girl who spent too much time playing basketball and staring into microscopes to have yet bothered figuring out things like sexual orientations and how they pertained to her. But she was spending New Years Eve with her hands wrist-deep in her now-outed best friend's hair, and some squirming feeling told Keren that this was a good omen for the new year.
She finished up another braid and slid beads onto it. "You don't advertise it, you know," said Keren, shrugging and gathering up more hair for the next cornrow. "Well, I mean, before the braids. After the braids, I dunno." She had no idea whether cornrows constituted a lesbian hairstyle, Pride Week beads aside.
"So I shouldn't chug yet?" she asked, finishing up the braid with a nimble flick of her fingers. "Wait for the bad science?"
After so much build up, Keren would settle for nothing short of bad plate tectonics, violated laws of convection and fluid dynamics, sound in space, and people outrunning fireballs. She worked through another braid and said, "I want someone to outrun a fireball, a tidal wave, or both. Maybe a deep freeze. Or is that the wrong movie? The one with Jake Gyllanhaal?"
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Posted: Fri Jan 20, 2012 8:48 pm
"Ice doesn't chase you," Micah said, letting out a breath she didn't know she was holding. "That's Day After Tomorrow, and that was the scene where I lost it." She took another sip of her wine and sighed deeply, glad that she hadn't chased Keren off with her sudden coming out. At first the idea of being gay didn't bother Micah. She hadn't considered the reprecussions. But she quickly learned that not everyone was okay with homosexuality as her family was. Doors were slammed in her face, friends talked behind her back, and allies became enemies. Sometimes she still ached as she remembered her time in Iowa as a lesbian.
At the mention of advertisment Micah only shrugged. "I don't believe in hiding the fact that I'm gay, but straight or homosexual, sexuality is like political beliefs and religion. Bringing it out into the open presents too much possibility for unecessary conflict. It if comes up, then sure, discuss it with appropriate groups. But there's no reason to offend people."
"As for chugging, I think the first bit of bad science is coming up." And sure enough it was. The scene at the "earth core lab" was Micah's first sip in the game. "There's no way they can do that. Not even close."
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Posted: Fri Jan 20, 2012 9:05 pm
"My brother's doing a prolonged gap year in sub-Saharan Africa," said Keren conversationally, just tossing it out there. "I think he's trying to make a point." Whatever point that was, however, was known only by Absalom Della-Blue. Keren shrugged. They assumed that the Peace Corps would notify them if anything too terrible happened to Francine and Mordecai's middle child - until then, he was more free range than overpriced organic chicken.
"Any bad biology coming up?" she asked, gathering up the last bit of loose hair from beside Micah's left ear and starting on the final braid. "Blatant medical bullshit? Because I promise I will flip a table." This was said with enough relish to make sure that Micah knew she wasn't joking. Keren practically lived in a lab. She understood how the human body worked far better than those of her peers who barely grasped where babies came from.
She slid the last two beads into place and sat back to admire her work. The rows were simple but orderly, neat, and tight. "These will last a while," proclaimed Keren, sliding off the bed. She curled up beside Micah and picked up her wine glass. "I'm not a geologist," she proclaimed, "But I am like more than a hundred percent certain that it doesn't work like that."
Three large gulps and five minutes later, Keren demanded to know, "So what the ******** is this. Does anyone on this production understand thermodynamics? At least it's not a dog outrunning a fireball- Actually, wait."
This movie was officially an insult to the intelligence of everyone watching it. "That's not even a convincing Russian accent," complained Keren, and chugged the rest of her glass. She held it out to Micah for a refill, beaming giddily at her friend. "Hit me, bartender," declared the purple-haired girl, scooting closer. "Come on."
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