The Spirit of Summer | The Andersons: Book 1

Chapter Thirteen

The Hillside High hallway was filled with incessant chatter- even more so than usual. All around, students were huddled in corners, speaking amongst themselves in hushed tones with their mouths hidden behind their hands. Every so often when someone passed by, their eyes would spring up in some sort of anticipation, before jumping back to their conversations in some kind of indifferent disappointment.

I wondered what they were talking about. So much had happened the day before- from the mysterious death of Cree Ledger, to Ariana Thompson almost throwing herself off our building. I couldn't help but feel like there was a storm brewing, and this was only the calm before that hurricane.

Kat was hunched over, her gaze to the ground and her arms crossed tightly across her chest. Her hair was buried under an oversized grey beanie that made her head look twice it's size. "Psst! Heather!"

I turned to her.

"Do you think anybody's staring?"

I looked around. Nobody was staring. They were too busy gossiping.

"No. "

"But they might start if you don't take that dumb beanie off," Mai commented. "You look your head's been inflated with a bicycle pump. "

Kat glared at her. "Well, that's easy for you to say, you're not the one over here looking like a half-Smurf. "

Mai gave a wry chuckle and rolled her eyes. "Smurfs don't have blue hair, Katrina. Just take the hat off and leave your hair out, it doesn't even look that bad. Besides, you're already doing a bad job of hiding it anyway. "

"And what do you suggest I say when people start asking questions?"

"Tell them you got highlights or something, I don't know, you're the expert liar here. "

Kat sighed thoughtfully, like she was actually considering Mai's suggestion. I thought it was a bad idea. Uniquely-coloured hair went against the school's very-strict code of conduct and Kat would no doubt get into a lot of trouble if she flaunted her new hair.

Mai was right about one thing though. It didn't look as bad as Kat thought it did. Her hair was still predominantly it's midnight black colour, only with the addition of electric blue highlights that seemed to make her whole head of hair catch the light.

Kat let out another exhale, before removing her beanie and letting her hair fall to her back. Almost immediately, there were stares in the hallway that were placed in her direction, whispers accompanying them.

"Oh my gosh!" we heard somebody shout out from overhead. Our classmate Rhozonda came running towards us as she emerged from a classroom, her hands high in the air.

"Oh no, " Kat mumbled to herself.

"Katrina, oh my gosh, what did you do to your hair?! It looks fabulous!"

Kat barely smiled at Rhozonda's comment. In fact, she looked like she wanted to punch her more than anything, but something better in her decided against it. "Thanks..."

Rhozonda was already reaching for the Polaroid camera that hung across her neck. "Do you mind if I take a picture? I'm this close to convincing the school to allow me to put my pictures in the yearbook. "