08 | 𝔖𝔩𝔢𝔢𝔭𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔯 -
OCTOBER 6TH, 1989
"DAMN, your hair is so beautiful." Marisol watched her fingers continue to weave through Liberty's long mahogany hair into singular braids, adding extra length till it reached the end of her back. She was seated in Liberty's desk chair leaned forward in concentration. She forged her neglect on the aching within her hands as she tried not to rush through the process.
Liberty was seated between her legs on the floor with a pillow beneath her to keep her butt from hurting.
Her knees were bent against her chest with her hands entwined in front of her. Marisol had been working on her head for a good two and a half hours with short breaks here and there. Mari didn't mind her having to stretch or use the bathroom but because she was pressing on time, she wanted to be done before midnight.
"Mm." She hisses at the tight encounter along her scalp. Her jaw clenching and unclenching to keep herself from cursing loudly. "I have sooo many products to keep it maintained, it's ridiculous." Her eyes rolled and Mari agreed, "tell me about it."
"Never expected braiding to hurt so much, though." Grunted Liberty.
"Well, what did you expect, girl?" Mari chuckled.
"Well, I wasn't expecting it to hurt!"
"Personally, the pain isn't that bad."
"It isn't that bad?" Liberty exclaimed, "Marisol, it hurts!"
"Once you've gotten you're hair braided a few times, you'll get used to the pain." Liberty eyes widen at Marisol's choice of words.
It made her head turn towards her in shock, watching the smile grow across her lips as she giggled at her reaction. Mari has gotten her hair braided a few times before and the agonizing experience vanished after sometime. Naturally, she became immune to it.
Liberty, on the other hand, this wasn't her cup of tea, but no doubt loved the result.
After sitting there for another hour, nearly crying, might I add 一 her hair was dipped into a pot of boiling hot water, sprayed with some anti itch and protectant solution and patted it thoroughly with a towel. She stood before the body mirror examining her hair. "What made you want to braid?"
"Braiding and creating various hairstyles branched from playing with barbie dolls and messing around in my mother's make-up kit. I found that creativity doesn't just sop at artists, you know, kts not just some paint you put on canvas. It can go as far as what you have a passion for, going as far as inventing sonething on your own and becoming an artist of yourself. Cosmetology school is where I want to be and eventually I want to establish my own business."
For some time, Marisol had already practiced on herself, her siblings and a few folks around town. She found people possess a sense of style of their own. It makes them who they are, and someone who is willing to serve, Mari was willing to help people feel good about themselves, to help them brighten their day.
"Here is a body and face towel, there are more towels right here in this closet, down the end of this hall if you need another. You can take a shower in my bathroom. I'm gonna go shower in the other one."
"Okay, thanks."
After the refreshing feeling of being drenched with the scent of mocha and skin moisturized in cocoa butter, she was dressed in a silky baby blue button up and matching pajama pants for the night.
Liberty acknowledged her bedroom door was closed, probably that Marisol was still getting ready. She decided to head downstairs to grab two glasses of water when she heard her parents intensively arguing in the kitchen.
"Who's the girl?"
"Liberty's friend."
"Oh, so we just allowing anybody up in this house?"
"They're in school. They're bound to have friends who want to come over, have sleepovers, or have a study day. This isn't some hideaway shelter, Richard. They're allowed to have friends over."
"I don't feel comfortable knowing we got strangers just roaming 'round the house."
"She's not a stranger, dad, she's my best friend."
Their heads turn. Her father's eyes grew wide, his fingers quickly snatched the cig from his lips out of disbelief. He sidesteps from his annoyed wife to slowly approach his daughter, examining her hair's current state.
"What the hell . . . ? The fuck is this?!" He exclaims pointing at her head.
He looks between her and Gina. Liberty grimaced to the smell of alcohol exhilarated from his lips, "My hair . . . ?"
Stepping some inches away, his eyes snapped on her, "Don't get smart with me. The hell is wrong with your hair? What is that? Why does it look like that?!"
"It's called braids, Richard." Gina stresses smartly.
He just stares at her. The silence became excruciating to bear as they battled out a staring contest. Finally, he blinks.
"Who did it?"
"My best friend." Liberty answers, "the one you don't want in the house."
He points at her, "Take it down. Take it down right now, you look too grown."
"What?" Liberty's voice was high pitched now, looking at him as if he was crazy.
"She's not taking them down." Gina shakes her head in disapproval going back to cleaning the living room.
"Why not?"
"I'm not about to make her take them down just because you don't like them."
"She doesn't need to be out here looking fast, Gina. She's 18, not 24. She needs to be looking like a kid, not a grown ass woman."
"Richard," Gina sighs, "leave her alone."
Liberty glares at her father lighting up another cigarette. Rocking back and forth in his chair, he glares at her past his furrowed brows. She could tell he was vexed, but did she care? No, not at all. "I'ma go off to bed." She states before taking the glasses of water in her hands and walks away.
"Goodnight sweetie." Gina chimed tiredly, waiting to hear the door shut before having to endure the intense silence again. She felt his eyes burn holes in the side of her cheek. She didn't want to acknowledge his presence any longer, but he made it hard for her to behave that way. He tried so hard to get a reaction from her, that when he does, he always seems to snatch the spotlight from her.
"Is she going to that party tomorrow?"
With a sigh and roll of her eyes, she responds "Yes, why?"
"Didn't know we were raising whores around this house."
"Excuse me?!" Her head whips towards him. Face dipped in pure shock towards his usage of words. "That's your child you are referring to, you know that right?! She's going out to have fun, Richard! Not to open up her legs for some boy she barely knows, she doesn't always have to be sitting in this damn house doing schoolwork. She can go out whenever she wants to."
"When will you ever learn, woman?" He scratches his brow, maintaining the cig in between his fore and middle finger giving her a stressed look.
"No, when will you? They are teenagers, Richard. Teenagers! They have every right to go out, be with friends, shoppingー do what teenagers do best. They deserve that! They deserve a life, a life outside of this house. I don't know how many times I gotta stress that shit to you!"
"Tch, yeah okay." Richard scoffed. Gina watched him stand to his feet about to walk to the basement door. He stood there for a moment thinking about everything, but he looked at her, shook his head in disapproval before disappearing down in the basement.
"Do you think . . . Nicholas has a crush on me?"
Marisol was laid on the bed staring ahead at the open magazine when she began pondering on a question she had been thinking about for some time now.
She wasn't sure if it was just her being crazy or if someone else noticed, but she was starting to get a hunch that feelings were brewing between them.
There were a lot of uncertain emotions, and the only person she knew would know was Liberty.
And upon hearing this, Liberty stood before her body mirror in disbelief. All actions were stopped as she twirled around with a dumbfounded expression and asked, "Uhm, do you feel like he does?"
"I don't know . . ." she pondered confusingly. "I can't tell."
"He acts like a nervous wreck around you, how could you not?" Liberty claims, "He always looks for you too, have you noticed that? It's as if he's a lost puppy looking for his owner. Do you like him? I find it weird that you're even talking about him like this."
Marisol and Nicholas' relationship was weird. Their dynamic was sibling-like; they got on one another's nerves but got along very well. It never occurred to Liberty that either of them might have feelings for each other, but now that Mari has brought it to her attention, it would make sense why they act the way they do.
"I meeeean," the magazine in Marisol's hand was tossed to the side. She sat up in criss-cross applesauce and looked at Liberty," He's not the type I go for but he is handsome. I've always found him attractive." She says, observing her tie the scarf securely around her head. "He's very caring and patient with me, he listens to me attentively." She considered, "More than any other guy has, more than my own dad."
"But do you like him romantically?" Liberty asks challengingly.
"If this is how liking someone romantically feels, then yes." She snickered, "but he gets on my nerves sometimes. Him and that cute, stupid face." She suddenly feels her face grow hot and embarrassingly covers it with the magazine.
Liberty giggles watching as she leans back into the bed and emits a muffled groan, "Oh yeah you definitely like him." Her feet skips over by Mari's side to place her diary in her drawer before settling down on the right side of the bed to look at her covered face. "I don't understand why you pick on him, you know you like him."
"Liberty, I am emotionally attached, picking on him is just a barrier to avoid it." She explains shortly, sitting up on her elbows.
"Mari," Liberty deadpans. "Being mean to him won't stop your feelings for him. Why don't you stop being so nasty to him and just embrace the feeling?"
Mari grumbles, "Because the idea of liking someone freaks me out," defeatedly she sighs, flipping through the pages once again to mindlessly read on the latest drama or love life on page 18. "I just wish I knew how to express it differently without panicking and sometimes I wish he'd just go with the flow, he hesitates too much."
"This is Nicholas we're talking about, getting along with the ladies ain't his forte." Nicholas is awkward, quirky and quiet. Sure, he's clumsy but it's cute. He's sensitive, sweet, funny, thoughtful and so much more. It makes her want to gag at how invested she is into him.
"Even so, I'm not that intimidating!" Mari exclaimed, "we could bicker, bully each other all day but when it comes down to us being genuine, we can hold down a deep conversation for hours upon hours and still couldn't get enough. It's so weird."
"Hm, maybe one day he'll pour his heart out to you underneath the stars." She teases, placing her hands onto her chest and releases a dreamy sigh.
"Ah, whatever." She waves off resuming back to her magazine. Liberty shakes her head with a giggle standing to her feet to walk over towards her closet. She needed to plan her outfit for tomorrow night otherwise she was going to be stuck staring at her closet not knowing what to put on.
Nonetheless, her expectations weren't too high nor too low. Since this was her first time attending a party, Liberty was looking forward to having fun with her friends.
She was gonna try her best to be a social butterfly but if all else fails, she was going to stay put by Mari.
"So...what's going on between you and the prince?"
"What?" Liberty chuckled at the random nickname, "who are you talking about?"
"Girl," Mari's lips smack, standing up from her bed to grab a bag of chips from Liberty's desk. "You know damn well who I'm talking about. Lucas freaking York, of course." She sings playfully, wiggling her eyebrows.
Liberty's lips shaped into an 'O' understanding the hint. "Are y'all talking? Yall seem to be getting well acquainted with each other."
Liberty doesn't think there is anything going on between them. Was there supposed to be something going on between them? As far as she knew, they were just classmates, friends maybe? Acquaintances to put it lightly.
Yet Marisol thought by the nonverbal eye contact, the smiles, stolen glances, and casual walks to class meant something. If anyone was in her shoes, they would have thought that they were talking romantically.
"I mean, we're just friends, nothing major. Why?"
"Yall seem...close, too close if you know what I mean." Mari claimed, turning towards her with a suspected glare, "You sure you ain't into him? I think he's into you."
"You think so?"
"Yeah, you don't?"
"I'm not sure..."
"How come?"
Liberty sighs, turning her attention towards her with a little pout, "I feel like I'm not his usual type. He doesn't look like the kind of guy who goes for bookworms, for the no-nonsense girls."
"But the chemistry between you two is so cute. Every time I walk past literature class you two are always socializing and if not that, y'all are eye ogling and giggling like freaking high school crushes."
"Ok I'll admit, he is an interesting guy. He's sweet, such a gentleman but do I think we could be together? No, why? Because I feel weird trying to pursue something with him when he has a delusional fan base way too difficult to handle and an ex who's mildly obsessed with him and honestly I don't have time to be fighting with anybody over some boy."
"Liberty, you know he's only popular because of his parents and because he's dibbled dabbled with a few girls from school, including Cola? Of all my years of going to school with that boy, I can tell you that Lucas doesn't give a shit about popularity or anyone's opinions when it comes to his life."
Liberty huffs, "I don't know Mari. Trying to get involved with boys or a boy, in general, wasn't on my daily to do list for the year."
"Even so, there hasn't been one girl to keep his attention. With you, I swear his eyes are always on you, heavily. The way he looks at you is as if he's in a trance."
Liberty scoffs, "He told me I was beautiful the other day." She stood still with her hands on her hips, staring blankly ahead at the thought of the conversation they had.
Mari nearly choked, jaw dropped at what she said, "He what?!" gasped Mari.
"Yeah, I know right?" Liberty chuckles, scratching the back of her neck nervously as she displays a flustered smile.
"And what did you say back?" Mari asks eyeing her curiously
"I was surprised but I couldn't find myself to say anything more about it."
"Liberty," Marisol stands up from the bed with her hands out in shock, "you know what this could mean? He could be into you!"
"How can you be so sure? Just because he calls me beautiful doesn't mean he likes me like that. What's there to say if we had this thought in our heads only to find out he doesn't have the slightest interest in me?"
"Well we could always find out tomorrow night." She skips on over to the closet, shuffling through her clothes.
"But who's to say he'll notice me? And if he does, then what? Throw myself onto him?"
"Okay you're being way too dramatic." Chuckled Mari. "Just..go with the flow, girl. Act as if it's like any other day, talk to him like normal. If things go well, then you're in luck."
"Okayyyy," Liberty drags, turning herself towards her closet, "...so what outfit should I wear?"
Mari cheesed from ear to ear, flipping her hair back as she skips on over. "Oh, well, just leave that for me. With a little bit of makeup and a jaw dropping outfit, you're gonna look irresistible!"