𝐆𝐎𝐑𝐆𝐄𝐎𝐔𝐒, cole walter

twelve

feeling a sense of hesitation, blanca looked over at elijah, who stood beside her, equally puzzled. with a heavy sigh, blanca reached up and removed the hat, revealing her bleached scalp underneath.

a moment of silence fell as the revelation sank in, leaving a sense of tension in the air. "oh, god. what did you—" katherine began before catching the unease on blanca's face. hastily, she attempted to salvage the situation. "i mean... that's cool,"

blanca let out a sigh, feeling the weight of the situation. she met matherine's gaze, carefully choosing her words to explain. "it wasn't on purpose. someone put hair bleach in the shampoo," she explained, revealing the unfortunate incident that led to her bleached hair.

elijah reacted with a scoff, while katherine's jaw dropped wide open, her body language reflecting a mixture of anger and frustration. jamal, who had been focused on his computer, glanced up, observing the unfolding scene with a pursed lip.

"blanca," katherine said, her tone resonating with anger, though blanca understood it wasn't directed towards her. the red-haired woman gestured for blanca to follow her, tilting her head in a clear indication that she wanted to speak privately.

as the girls were about to walk away, elijah interjected with a request. "sorry, but can i use the restroom?" he asked politely, sensing the need to give them space for their conversation.

katherine nodded in acknowledgment. "oh, yeah, it's down the hall to the left," she directed, pointing towards the restroom before turning her attention back to the teen girl.

"honey, you've got to tell me what happened," katherine spoke in a hushed tone, conveying concern. "do you have any idea who it was?"

blanca paused, feeling conflicted. she disliked the idea of being a snitch, as she recalled moments when jackie had reported on her in the past when they were younger. "isaac said there was a bet..." she began, speaking quietly, unsure how much to reveal.

katherine closed her eyes, taking a moment to process the information. "oh my god," she breathed out softly, visibly affected by the revelation. she opened her eyes and turned to blanca, a mix of embarrassment and pity evident in her gaze.

"i'm so sorry," katherine expressed.

blanca was about to dismiss her apology when a voice interrupted their conversation.

"hey," the voice spoke, drawing their attention. she turned around to see cole, who had an amused expression on his face.

"woah," cole uttered, trying to suppress a smile that was threatening to appear. blanca rolled her eyes and decided to put her hat back on.

"tony says your car won't be ready till tomorrow," he informed, glancing at his distressed mother. "um, if you want a ride home, i got the trunk," cole offered.

acknowledging that she still had a couple of clients left to see. katherine suggested, "i'll just see if your dad can pick me up, but i think blanca could use a ride," directing her attention towards her son.

meanwhile, just as the conversation unfolded, elijah emerged from the bathroom and strolled down the hallway. he adjusted his necklace, pausing briefly as he noticed cole at the end of the hallway. a small smirk appeared on elijah's face, eliciting an eye-roll from cole.