Part 30 (2/2)
”Now, we have to first try and get the existing knots out. It's going to hurt, but trust me, when I'm done, you're going to look awesome. Seriously. You have the face for this, and now with your tan and those adorable freckles ... you are gonna have the boys all over you.”
Candi didn't say anything, but Kevin caught her looking over at him. It made him feel warm inside to think that maybe she was trying to be pretty for him.
”Ouch!”
”I'm trying to be as gentle as possible, but getting the matted knots out is hard. Please don't cry!” Sarah begged.
”I'm not.” She sniffed.
”I'm sorry I'm almost done,” promised Sarah. A few more rips of the comb, and she was ready.
”There! Now I'm going to section it off and start dreading it. That won't be as painful. It will be a little, but not as much, okay?”
”Yes, I'm fine, I can take it. Just get it over with.”
Kevin was totally engrossed in his sister's hairstyling process. He'd never thought about what went into making those hair rope things before. It was actually pretty cool. And he could see now, as they started to appears, why Sarah had suggested it. Not only was it going to be perfect for life on the island, but it really suited Candi's face.
An hour later, Candi's hair was carefully divided into even chunks around her head. Sarah had carefully tied each chunk at the roots with the plant rope and then back combed them until each of them turned into a tight dreadlock. She tied off the ends with more plant rope to keep her handiwork from coming out.
”Now, you have to keep the rope ties in for a while until we're sure the dreads are staying, but don't worry, it won't be long. I'll have to make sure they stay tight for you, but not having any conditioner and all this salt everywhere will help the dreads get solid pretty quick. Now turn around so I can see my finished product.”
Candi did as she was told. Her eyes were red-rimmed from crying but that didn't keep Kevin from seeing how amazing she looked.
”Holy s.h.i.+t, Candi,” said Sarah, ”I knew this was going to look good on you. Man, if the people back at school could see you now, you'd be in the running for homecoming queen.”
Candi gave her a critical look.
”I am dead serious, Candi. Here, look.” She handed Candi the mirror that had been hanging in the bathroom.
Candi took the mirror from her and held it up so she could get a full view. She moved the mirror from side to side, trying to get a full reflection.
Sarah was right. It did look good. Kevin had never considered himself a dreadlock lover before, but he was definitely liking them on Candi. They made her look a little rebellious and a little bit wild.
”Oh, this feels so much better than all those matted clumps. I can feel a breeze on my scalp for the first time in ... well ... ever!” She smiled and grabbed Sarah in a big hug. ”Thank you so much! I love it. I wasn't sure if I was going to, but you were right; it's cool.”
”Okay, girls, breakfast is served!” said Kevin, grinning mischievously.
Candi and Sarah looked at each other with question marks on their faces.
He pulled out two bananas from behind his back.
Sarah and Candi rolled their eyes.
”I should have known,” said Sarah.
Candi stuck her tongue out at him as she took her banana and said, ”Tease.”
He raised an eyebrow at her. Apparently her new hairdo made her not only s.e.xier, but bolder too.
”Okay, we have to decide what we're going to focus on next,” said Jonathan. ”It was the treehouse. It still needs a lot of work, but we can focus on other things if we want now since it's livable at least. I would suggest we walk through the middle of the island to see if there's any reason to install some platforms in the trees.”
”I agree, it's worth a shot. What do you girls think?”
”Sure.”
”Yeah, I'm game. Maybe we'll find some other food we can add to our menu,” said Candi.
”Okay, so that's settled. What else do we need to get done in the next week or so?”
”Well, I'd like to finish the walls for the treehouse because if there's some sort of major rainy season here, I don't want to be trying to build stuff when it's pouring; and I don't want to sleep with rain going all over my bed,” said Sarah.
”Yeah,” agreed Candi. ”I think that makes sense for sure. I'd also like to find something to use as blankets or covers ... something other than that plastic poncho.”
”What I wouldn't give for a Pottery Barn right now,” said Sarah wistfully.
Candi nodded her head vigorously in complete agreement. ”I totally love Pottery Barn sheets. They are the softest ever.”
Kevin thought about it for a second and then said, ”I don't know about Pottery Barn, but I'm kinda thinking I'd like one of those cots like you girls have.”
Sarah smiled. ”Yeah, I had a feeling you'd say that. Cut the bamboo for me, and I'll make you both one. I already have the sling parts done.”
”Okay, so we have to finish the treehouse and explore the option of platforms. What else?”
”I want to start a band.”
Everyone stopped chewing their bananas and just looked at Candi like she was nuts.
”What? I'm serious. I miss music and I'm tired of Sarah's banana song. I think we should each make some sort of musical instrument and one night a week we can sit around the campfire at night and make some music. I always wanted to be in a band,” she confessed.
Kevin got a big grin on his face. ”I get to play the drums.”
”I can make a sh.e.l.l shakey thing with little sh.e.l.ls and coconuts tied together,” said Sarah gamely.
”Well, if you want to do it and everyone else is on board with it, I can probably figure something out for myself. I'm in,” said Jonathan.
Candi smiled. ”Great. This is going to be fun!”
The others just looked around at each other and shrugged their shoulders. If it made her happy ...
”You know what?” asked Jonathan.
”What?” answered the other three in unison.
”We never just go in the water for fun. I mean, why don't we? When we went to the beach for vacation and stuff, we spent the entire day in the ocean. Now we live at the ocean and we never go in. Seems stupid. I vote that we have a picnic at the beach before the weather changes.”
”Works for me,” said Kevin, shrugging.
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