The Start of Something New Part 9: Team Building

Here’s the next installment of Katie and Evan’s story! The girls in the house are in for some pretty exciting times following the events of the last part, I hope you all enjoy this one! As always thanks for checking out my work. Here’s the link to the first part in the series:

The Start of Something New

Also here’s the link to the previous installment in case you missed it:

The Start of Something New: An Unexpected Addition

Household Drama contd.

Emma and I locked eyes as we held Betty back. Immediately we understood that we had a real problem on our hands. If Shandra had really slept with Betty’s boyfriend Jace, we both completely understood Betty’s reaction.

Betty looked like a wild woman. Her newly clipper shaved head, the bags under her eyes from her hangover, the cape she still wore, and the dried mascara that had run from her eyes when she cried over her broken relationship made our normally beautiful teammate look legitimately scary.

The normally unshakeable Shandra looked thoroughly shaken as she lay on the floor after being slapped across the face. Her large mass of kinky curly hair was pulled back in a ponytail, she wore a big t-shirt and sweat pants, with a fresh makeup-less face. She held her cheek with one hand, propping herself up on her elbow with her other arm, her cheek rapidly turning red.

”Betty, Betty! You’ve got to calm down!” Emma tried to say.

”Calm down? What would you do if she slept with your boyfriend?” Betty said to Emma, wild-eyed.

Out of nowhere, the tall and lithe Elsa materialized and wrapped her long arms around Betty’s caped body, trapping Betty’s arms at her sides. Nobody knew if Elsa or Shandra was stronger, but we all knew that they were the two strongest girls on the team by a long shot.

”Betty, take some deep breaths,” Elsa said in her sing-songy voice. She was also in her pajamas, a t-shirt with some shorts. Her Chelsea cut had been freshly trimmed for the game the day before and looked perfect.

”But, I-,” Betty started, trying to struggle.

”Betty, breathe,” Elsa said, stifling Betty’s attempts to pull away.

Betty took a breath, then another one, before she spoke, “I’m going to my room. I need a shower. But I’m done with that bitch.”

To emphasize her statement, Betty pointed at the still fallen Shandra with her hand, her arm still strapped by our tall Valkyrie-esque teammate.

”Elsa, will you walk Betty back to her room?” Emma asked.

Elsa smiled a sweet smile and nodded, “Of course I will.”

The tall girl then released Betty from her bear hug, twirled her around to the direction of her room, and led her on her way, an arm wrapped around her smaller teammate’s shoulders.

”Betty, you look so beautiful with your new haircut. Welcome to the club,” she said in her sweet voice.

Betty reached a hand up to her head and rubbed it, “Thanks, I guess.”

With Betty gone, Emma and I looked at one another again.

”What are you going to do?” I whispered.

Emma opened her eyes wide and shrugged her shoulders, “I have no clue, but I need to call Coach.”

Our long-haired teammate Jessie had already helped Shandra back up from the floor. Jessie and her identical twin sister, Jenny, were both close with Shandra and were two of the hold outs that still had long hair. Both had brown hair that went down to their bra straps at least. The only way you could tell the twins apart was that Jessie parted her hair on the right and Jenny parted hers on the left. Right now, Jessie’s hair was worn in a long French braid.

”Yeah you need to call Coach. That bitch just slapped me in the face,” Shandra said, still holding her cheek.

I knew that was a major problem. However justified, Betty had just assaulted a teammate and, as wrong as Shandra was if the accusations were true, Betty was now at least equally as wrong.

”Yes, but do you blame her? Is what she said true? Did you sleep with Jace?” Emma asked.

Shandra rolled her eyes, “So what if I did? He wasn’t even that good.”

”So what? You stabbed her in the back. I thought you two were best friends?” Emma asked, her frustration visibly rising.

Jessie moved away from Shandra’s side and came alongside me. Together we held hands as we watched our captain and the girl who was likely to become the next captain battle it out.

”And? I thought he was sexy and he didn’t try to stop anything. I could see that he was into me and was tired of her. So I made a move,” Shandra said, crossing her arms across her chest.

”You don’t do that to friends or teammates! How can we possibly trust you going forward? If you’d do that to your closest friend on the team, what would you do to the rest of us? This is supposed to be a team!” Emma said, her voice rising to a shout.

While Jessie held my hand, I felt another small hand touch my other arm. I looked back and then down and saw the owner of the hand.

”What’s going on, Katie? Why is Emma yelling at Shandra like that?” Heather asked, holding my arm.

Heather was our other freshman cheerleader. She was a little abnormal for a cheerleader, and especially for a cheerleader on our team. Small, quiet, and modest with a head full of brown hair that hung down past her butt and would have made anybody jealous, she was anything but what you expected a college cheerleader to be. But, even though she didn’t quite look like the rest of us, she made up for that in talent. Small, fit, and athletic, she made a great flier and, as much as I loved our other fliers, I had to admit she was probably the best we had.

”Shandra slept with Betty’s boyfriend. Now Betty is mad and wants her kicked off of the team,” I explained.

“Oh no, I hope that doesn’t happen. Shandra is so good. She’s the only girl I’ve ever known that could do lifts on her own. Well and Elsa, I guess,” Heather said softly.

Emma and Shandra continued their shouting match, either not noticing or not caring that the three of us watched.

”You don’t think Emma will kick Shandra off of the team do you?” Jessie asked me.

”I don’t know. We’ve never had an issue like this since I’ve been here. But we’re supposed to be a team and if we can’t trust one of our teammates, why would we want them around?” I asked.

Anna and Janie came into the kitchen to watch the shouting match. Anna stood behind me and whispered in my ear, “Hey, we saw Betty, what the fuck happened? And what is this about?”

”Shandra slept with Betty’s boyfriend. Betty had me shave her head last night. This morning Betty came down and started this. She wants Shandra off the team,” I whispered back, doing my best to summarize everything.

Emma snapped her head back at me, ”Katie, would you get everybody out of here? And call Coach Beth. And while you’re at it, go check on Betty.”

”Whatever you need, come on girls, let’s get back to our rooms,” I said, leading the group out.

”Is Shandra going to be okay?” Heather asked me quietly as we left.

”I have no clue. I guess we’ll find out soon enough,” I said, shrugging my shoulders, both because I truly did not know and because I would have never expected the quiet Heather to be so concerned about Shandra.

We all parted ways, the other girls likely headed off to spread the news with the rest of the team and to chatter amongst themselves. Finally alone, I sighed and ran my hand through my mohawk. The last twelve hours had been quite the whirlwind and my head was still spinning from the amount I drank the night before while shaving Betty’s head.

I could still hear the shouting match going on in the kitchen when I made my way to Betty’s door. It was open and inside I saw Elsa sitting on the bed, scrolling on her phone. She heard me when she walked in and looked up.

”That’s not how I planned on starting my day,” she said with an amused smile.

”Me neither. Is she okay?” I asked, pointing into the bathroom. The door was closed and I could hear the shower running. All of Betty’s clothes and the cape that I had put on her the night before for her haircut were all on the ground.

”I heard her crying for a little bit, but she’s been quiet. I’d be really upset if my boyfriend slept with Shandra too,” Elsa said.

”Or with anybody other than me,” I said sitting next to her.

”Right,” Elsa said, leaning her head on my shoulder. “She does look really great with a shaved head.”

I looked down at Elsa and smiled, “I know, right?”

Just then, Annie walked into the room. Her teal pixie cut was a mess of bedhead and she was rubbing her eyes, “Guys, what the fuck is going on around here?”

”Shandra slept with Betty’s boyfriend, Katie shaved Betty’s head, Betty slapped Shandra, and now Betty wants Shandra off of the team and Emma and Shandra are having a shouting match in the kitchen,” Elsa explained simply.

Annie squinted her eyes at me and rubbed her head.

”Alright, well it’s too early for this. I’m going back to bed. Wake me up if you need me to do something,” Annie said as she walked away.

Elsa and I had just started to giggle when Annie poked her head back into the doorway, “Oh and fuck Shandra. That’s a real bitchy thing to do.”

Emma walked into the room and plopped face down onto Betty’s bed next to Elsa and I, “Yeah it is.”

Annie patted Emma on the back, “Sorry, girl. I’m going back to bed. Let me know if you need anything.”

Closing the door behind her, Annie returned to her sleep.

”She doesn’t have a bad idea, do you guys need me?” Elsa asked.

”No we’re good,” Emma groaned into the bed.

”Alright then, I hope the day starts going better,” Elsa said, standing up and checking her teal bangs in the mirror before floating out of the room like a model.

I heard the shower shut off and Emma rolled onto her back and sat up.

”Have you called Coach yet?” she asked me, putting her head on my shoulder where Elsa’s head had just been. She looked infinitely more world-weary than she had when I first passed her in the hall probably fewer than thirty minutes ago.

“No, sorry I didn’t get a chance. I can right now,” I said, starting to stand up.

”Don’t worry about it. Shandra is getting out of the house for the day so it doesn’t really matter for now. Stay with me while I talk to Betty,” Emma said miserably.

As if on cue, Betty stepped out into her room. She was fully nude and rubbing her body with a towel.

”I may be hideous, but at least my showers are faster,” she said, wrapping the towel around herself.

”You aren’t hideous, babe,” Emma said, standing up and holding Betty’s bare shoulders.

Betty reached up and rubbed her stubbly head, “Hello? Do you remember how beautiful my hair was yesterday? Now it’s all over the floor of Katie’s room. And I’m single now.”

She looked at the floor, dejected. Emma looked at me pleadingly and I stood and put an arm around Betty’s shoulders.

”Sure your hair was beautiful. But it’s still beautiful. Or at least you are beautiful with no hair,” I said, squeezing her.

”You’re just saying that,” Betty whined.

Emma looked her in the eyes, “No, she isn’t. You look fucking hot. Any guy would be lucky to have you and Jace is an idiot for screwing things up with you.”

Betty looked from Emma to me, searching for approval.

”She’s right. You look amazing, and now you’re one of us,” I said, rubbing her head.

”It did always seem like you guys had more fun,” Betty said, falling onto her bed and burying her face just as Emma had just moments before.

I sat down next to her and put my hand on her back, “We do! And so will you. It’s going to be okay. Evan will take care of your hair too. No matter what you decide to do with it.”

Emma sat down next to us and pulled off the baseball cap she had worn for her run, “Right and he’s good. I always feel so good after a cut from him.”

Betty sat up next to us and leaned on Emma’s shoulder, “Okay, so what about that bitch Shandra? Is she off the team?”

Emma looked at me uncomfortably before answering, “Well, no. At least not right away.”

Betty lifted her head and immediately looked angry again. “What are you talking about? She slept with my boyfriend.”

”And you assaulted her,” Emma said cautiously.

”That’s bullshit and you know it! Anybody would have done the same thing!” Betty argued.

”I mean you’re right, but that doesn’t change that you assaulted her. But she has agreed to not press charges if you apologize,” Emma said, wincing at her own words.

”Apologize?” Betty asked at a near shout.

“Don’t worry, I’ve got something planned for her. She’ll get what’s coming to her if she wants to stay on the team,” Emma said.

I cocked my head to the side and looked at my captain. She seemed secure in whatever plan she had.

”It better be good. And it better happen right after I apologize to her.”

”Oh it will. And you won’t be the only one who likes it either. All of us girls with short hair will too,” Emma said, nodding at me.

”Is that so? You want to know something else? Shandra has been bullying the twins into keeping their hair long too. They’ve both said they wish they could go short like the rest of you,” Betty said.

”Then this will put an end to any divisiveness that has been going on inside this house,” Emma said.

Team Meeting

That night, Emma had gathered the whole team. We all sat in the living room, along with Coach Beth. Coach looked like you would expect any cheer coach would look like. A former cheerleader herself, she was about Evan’s age, had long, bleached blonde hair often worn in a ponytail with swooping bangs that she liked to pin back about as often as she wore them down. Wearing a simple white, team branded tank top and a pair of teal athletic shorts, she sat next to Emma on one of the couches.

Emma’s hair was styled impeccably with pomade, the front pushed up and swooped to the side in her favorite style. She wore her a well fitted athletic t-shirt that the university had given her and her favorite pair of workout shorts.

The rest of the team was there, sitting divided like we had been. I sat with Betty sharing a recliner, her finally having donned makeup after coming to terms with her new look. She and I both wore tank tops and short athletic shorts.

On one couch, Elsa, Anna, and Janie sat. The three were regularly grouped together for stunts along with one of the long haired girls, usually Jessie, and had become extremely close since the start of practices. Anna’s number one buzzcut was looking flawless and teal. Elsa’s Chelsea cut, dyed teal over naturally pale blonde hair looked unique and beautiful, the color making her blue eyes pop. Janie’s hair wasn’t styled and the bangs hung down onto her forehead, slightly swooped to the side.

Annie sat on a stool on the side of the room along with all of the short haired girls, her androgynous style pixie pushed back with a headband. All four were comfortably dressed, a mixture of sports bras, leggings, and shorts.

On the other side of the room, sat the long haired girls. The twins and Heather, along with our other long haired teammate, Melissa, sat on one couch. Heather sat on the armrest, her hair worn in a low ponytail thrown in front of her left shoulder. It hung there, almost mocking the now bald Betty. She was by far the most modestly dressed, wearing long flannel pajamas, even in the warmth of late August.

The twins had each braided their hair, their braids falling on the shoulders opposite their parts to differentiate them. Both girls wore matching tank tops and shorts, matching their clothes like they always did.

Melissa had her hair still wet from a shower, long bleached blonde hair worn down, holding a brush as she worked through it. Her hair was always perfectly straight and she had a strong preference to wearing as little clothes as possible. She still wore only her towel after her shower, her tanned and toned legs crossed over one another.

Last was Shandra. She sat alone in an armchair. Her hair was worn down and loose, her bouncy curls looking especially voluminous. She was wore a sports bra and bike shorts and scrolled through her phone in a way that expressed that she was far too good to be dealing with the meeting that was about to begin.

Coach Beth stood up and clapped her hands, “Alright girls. I just want to say that I’m mostly here to keep things peaceful. Emma called this meeting and she will lead things. But I expect you all to be respectful. And nobody had better lay a finger on somebody else or they’re off the team, got it?”

Coach looked directly at Betty when she made her last statement. Betty closed her eyes for a second and then nodded. She looked up at Shandra and spoke.

”I’m sorry for slapping you,” she said with a fake smile, her voice dripping with malice.

”Apology accepted, just don’t do it again,” Shandra said with an outpouring of disgust.

Betty smiled and nodded, wanting to say more. I sensed that she was about to start a shouting match and I squeezed her arm.

”Just wait and see what Emma has to say, I know you’ll like it,” I said.

Emma had come to me, along with her two fellow seniors Elsa and Annie, to see what we thought of her plan. We all wholeheartedly supported it, but were sworn to secrecy before the big meeting.

”Alright, now Emma has my support for everything she wants to say. So her word is my word, alright ladies?” Coach said.

“Yes Coach,” we all echoed with varying degrees of enthusiasm.

Coach nodded her head and sat down, turning the floor over to Emma.

”Alright, I’m going to make this quick. We’re a team and I expect us to act like a team. But ever since some of us have started to change our looks, there have been some on this team that have only acted to divide us. And by some, I mean one,” Emma said, looking directly at Shandra.

”Now the idea I have to put an end to the division isn’t a decision for me to make alone. Because we’re a team, we make our decisions as a team. So once I propose my idea, this will come down to a vote,” Emma continued.

”Just get on with it,” Shandra said.

”Alright, if you say so. Shandra, because you’ve been the source of this divisiveness, and because of what you did to Betty, you’ve hurt this team and you’ve hurt our trust. I only have one way that makes sense for you to remain on this team,” Emma explained.

”Are you fucking kidding me?” Shandra started.

”Shandra, did I not say that her word is my word? Now shut up and listen to your team captain or I’ll take you off of the team myself,” Coach growled. For being this beautiful ex-cheerleader, Coach was always so good at intimidation. Even Shandra wouldn’t talk back to her.

”Anyway, the only way I can think of keeping Shandra on the team is if she agrees to doing something drastic. So I am proposing that, if Shandra wishes to stay on the team, she has to willingly agree to let the team decide what her hair will look like for as long as she chooses to remain on the team,” Emma said with a smile.

I wished I could have taken a picture of Shandra’s face in that moment. Her smugness was instantly replaced with shocked panic.

”My hair? What do you mean? This team means the world to me, but my hair?” Shandra stammered.

”I like it, you’ve got my vote,” said Annie from her stool.

”Me too,” I said with a sly smirk.

”Okay, that’s two, anybody else?” Emma asked, turning away from Shandra and to the rest of the room.

”I like it,” said Anna with a sweet smile.

”So do I,” said Janie, brushing her bangs to the side with her fingers.

”I think it’s a great idea,” said Elsa.

”Of course you know I’m voting yes as well, now we just need one more yes for a majority,” Emma said, putting her hands on her hips and shaking her head in a way that would have once tossed the long hair she used to have.

Shandra looked around the room, stunned. I could see that the twins wanted to speak up, but were too afraid. Melissa ran her fingers through her own hair as if she was protecting it. Heather seemed especially concerned, perhaps being uncomfortable with the conflict. The sweet, innocent freshman seemed extremely unhappy with the confrontation going on.

Then all eyes settled on Betty. I put my arm around her and squeezed.

”You know my vote is yes. And I have a perfect idea for her first haircut,” Betty said with a grim smile.

”So it looks like we have seven votes for yes! Ladies, the rest of you don’t need to vote. So Shandra, you have 24 hours to decide if you’d like to stay on the team or not,” Emma said victoriously.

”This isn’t fair! It’s my hair!” Shandra said, putting her fingers into her hairline like she was trying to guard the hair on her head.

”Shandra, you’ve been bullying the girls with short hair on this team since Katie first came home with a mohawk. I think this is perfectly fair. Oh, and one last thing. You’re ineligible for Captain or any other leadership position on the team. Effective immediately,” Coach said, standing up and grabbing her purse.

Shandra sat there speechless.

”And I almost forgot, girls, if any of you still want to do anything crazy to your hair, you have my blessing. And if anybody on this team tries to stop you or convince you otherwise, they’ll have to deal with me. There will be no more bullying on this team, understood?” Coach said, ending her statement with a question.

”Yes coach,” we all said, this time with much greater enthusiasm from girls on the team, most notably the twins.

”Alright, this meeting is adjourned. We’ll all meet back this time tomorrow to see what Shandra’s decision is. Katie, would you make sure that handsome boyfriend of yours is here with all of his gear? If she decides she wants to be a part of this team, I don’t want her to have any time to back out,” Coach said.

”I’ll let him know,” I said with a sweet smile.

The Big Haircut

The next night, a Monday night, after everybody was done with our classes, we all met in the living room like we had the night before. In the middle was a chair and a tall mirror that Anna had graciously donated for the occasion.

The team all gathered on couches while I stood next to Evan and held his arm. He was so proud of me for everything that had happened. What had first started with me had now expanded to six other girls with a seventh ready to join us.

Betty had already discussed her idea for Shandra’s haircut with most of the team and everybody had resoundingly supported the idea. I was rather honored by the decision as well.

We all started to murmur when Shandra walked into the room. She didn’t say a word and instead walked and sat down in the chair.

”Whatever you want to do with my hair is fine with me. I want to stay on this team. Thank you for giving me the chance to do that,” she said proudly.

”Alright, they already told me what they want to give you so let’s get started,” Evan said, clapping his hands together. He wore an apron to hold his supplies because he wouldn’t have the counter he normally had.

”Hey Shandra, it’s nice to finally meet you,” he said, holding her hair up and putting a cape around her neck.

”Likewise,” she said through gritted teeth. She was nervous, but Shandra’s version of nervous was intimidating.

Evan shrugged it off with effortless ease, “Mirror or no mirror?”

”Mirror,” she said with a curt nod.

The mirror was left where she could see herself the whole time and Evan set to work. He gathered her bouncy curls into a pigtail on either side of her head, leaving a section right down the middle from the front of her hairline to the nape of her neck. The section down the middle was gathered into clips to keep it away from what Evan was about to do.

Using his razor sharp scissors, Evan deftly snipped off both pigtails at the root. Shandra gasped softly at the sight. I hurried to Evan’s side to take the pigtails from him and stashed them somewhere safe.

Next, Evan pulled out his cordless clippers and flipped them on. They hummed to life as he positioned them next to Shandra’s hairline. She closed her eyes and held her breath.

“Hey, would anybody like to help with this?” Evan asked, standing up and offering the clippers to the group.

Betty stood up with glee, “I would.”

She walked over and took the clippers from Evan. It looked like she was going to just start hacking away which was probably what Shandra expected. Instead, she turned to Evan and almost nervously asked him a question.

”Okay, what do I do?”

He smiled at her and patted her back gently. “All you’re going to do is start here in front of her ear. Hold the blades flat against the side of her head and just push up into the hair. Stop when you get to the section I have parted away. Don’t worry, I’ll watch and make sure you do it right,” Evan said gently.

Betty nodded and put the clippers where Evan told her to. Before she started, Evan tapped her on the shoulder. She looked up at him and cocked her stubbly head to the side.

”You look great with a shaved head, Betty,” he said, patting her in the back again.

Betty smiled sweetly and thanked him. Then she plunged the clippers into the short hair on the right side of Shandra’s head.

Curly hair fell to the ground, leaving behind a streak of shockingly pale skin. Betty stopped right at the parted out section and stepped away, handing the clippers to Evan. She smiled at him and said a quick thanks before returning to her seat.

Shandra turned her head to look at her pale scalp in shock. Unbothered, Evan began to buzz away more hair with his clippers, the bald streak growing from a strip to eventually the whole right side of her head. He then moved over to her left side and repeated the process, the mound of curly brown hair growing in size.

Soon, both sides of her hair had been rendered down to stubble, with a maybe inch and a half wide strip of curly hair left rubbing from her front hairline to the nape of her neck.

Then, Evan took out shaving cream and a safety razor. I moved to his side with a large bowl of warm water that he had asked me to prepare and stood there. He coated each side of Shandra’s head with shaving cream and then, using the bowl of water to clean his razor between passes, shaved each side of her head smooth.

To Shandra’s credit, she didn’t cry or complain. She stayed proud, or perhaps humble. With the haircut she was receiving, it would be an easier process for her.

With the sides of her head shaved smooth, Evan now used a straightener and straightened the curly hair of the strip. He was quick and soon her hair hung down like a thick horse’s mane. Not for long though.

Using his scissors again, he began to snip the hair off. He left it long by my standards, nearly five inches long to account for her natural hair texture. When he was finished, he immediately set to bleaching her mohawk.

With the hair thoroughly coated, everyone was sent away while it developed. They would all be called back for the big reveal. I stayed around to help Evan out. By now, Shandra was unbothered and was treating this like another salon trip.

The bleach was rinsed out in the kitchen sink and then the mirror was taken away so that Shandra would be surprised by the final result. Evan coated her hair in teal dye and left it to sit. The chemically lightened hair easily soaked up the pigmentation of the dye and soon she was in the chair again for her style.

Not much was done aside from drying the hair and using some products to tame her curls. Evan had done a surprisingly good job of protecting them during the process and, everyone was called back in.

Betty smiled ear to ear at the sight of her enemy’s punishment. Although for me, it was my favorite haircut. I probably should have been offended, but I was past that. I liked how I looked and nobody’s opinions would ever change that.

The rest of the room was filled with a mixture of applause, laughter, and gasps. Heather and her long hair looked especially shocked. I smiled to myself at the sight of her, freshmen could be so sensitive.

Finally, the mirror was brought back in front of Shandra. She was clearly startled by her appearance as she examined herself in the mirror, but after turning her head side to side she nodded.

”I can work this,” she said. She then looked at me, “I see why you like this. I feel like a badass.”

Without any trouble, I could tell she was putting on a front for the group. In her eyes I could see a mixture of sadness and panic, like she could hardly believe that she would be walking around like that until the whims of the team changed and then she could potentially look even worse by her standards.

”Alright girls, so let this be a lesson in team building. Nobody should ever feel pressured to look a certain way. As long as you can all do your jobs well, you’re welcome on this team,” Coach said, standing and rubbing the shaved side of Shandra’s head.

She then looked at Evan, “I should have talked to Katie about this first, but how would you like to become the official stylist for the team?”

Evan nodded politely, “I mean I already am for most of them, I’m sure I can take care of these long-haired girls too. Even if they aren’t my normal clientele.”

”We’ll pay you of course,” Coach said.

”I wouldn’t take your money. Katie’s teammates get whatever they want for free. Their coach too,” he said with a wink.

Coach nervously played with her ponytail, “I’ll keep that in mind.”

The girls parted ways, Shandra saying nothing to anybody as she headed straight for her room. Betty came beside me and Evan and put an arm around my waist.

”I just wish she would have cried,” she said, rubbing her head.

Evan and I laughed. “I’m sure she will. She might have acted calm but she was freaking out the whole time. I could tell,” Evan said.

”Well I’ll be glad to spend more time with you and Katie,” she said to both of us before looking at me. “Sorry I haven’t been much of a friend since you cut your hair.”

I hugged her, “It’s okay, you’re a friend now.”

There was a tap on my shoulder and I turned around to face the twins. They both smiled their identical smiles expectantly.

Jenny spoke for the pair, “Katie, can Evan get us in for haircuts next?”