Only You

Chapter 40: Outside in a Shower Cap

Molly got back from campus, after just having finished a late afternoon study group. She went to unlock her front door, but it was already open, and Liz's bag was sitting smack in the middle of the small foyer.

Molly walked inside and pushed the bag into a corner.

"Liz!"

"Yeah?"

"Why don't you ever put your bag away?"

"I'm scared you'd run out of things to nag me about."

Molly rolled her eyes. "Where are you?"

"Here."

Molly hung her coat on the rack and sighed. "I hate when people answer, 'here.' If I were able to figure out your location based on your voice, I wouldn't have asked the question."

"Oh, you say it too. I'm in the bathroom."

Molly came into the living room and could see the bathroom door open. She walked over and saw Liz sticking her hand into an almost-finished mayonnaise jar.

"Why are you in a bad mood?" Liz asked.

Molly dismissed her friend's question. "What are you doing?" Her expression was both of shock and concern.

"Can you actually help me?"

"With what?" Molly asked, entirely confused.

"I heard that mayo makes a good hair mask for dry curly hair. I just wet my hair; do you think you can help me put this in?"

Molly's crankiness disappeared instantly, and she began laughing. This wasn't the first time she had caught Liz putting different food products in her hair in hopes of helping bring out her gorgeous curls.

"Sure, this can't be worse than the honey, olive oil, and egg mask."

"You remember that? I kept finding stands of cooked egg in my hair after my hot shower." Liz laughed. "This is supposed to be better."

"Come to the kitchen so you can sit down, and I don't have to stand on my tippytoes," Molly half-demanded.

"Yes, ma'am," Liz poked fun at her friend, but she didn't get the hit.

In the kitchen, the blinds were opened, letting natural light in. Molly began applying the mayonnaise. "You're going to smell like a dip or sandwich or something. Are you sure about this?"

"I'm supposed to wash it out with shampoo afterward. Worse case, my hair smells like a sandwich."

Molly clipped back the first section she went through.

"So what's with you?"

"What's with me?" Molly asked.

"You tell me, crabby."

Molly clipped back another section. "I'm fine."

"No, you're not. I feel the negative energy bouncing off you."

"Give me a break, Liz."

Liz turned around and looked at Molly. "What's up?"

"Nothing."

"Mol."

She pressed her lips together. "I got a B on an important paper that I was sure I had aced." She frowned. "It was something I had written last week when I was too busy studying for an exam to give it my full attention, and Nick was working crazy hours so I didn't want to bother him to read over it."

Molly had tears of frustration forming in her eyes. "Now I feel all this pressure because of the weight it has. I practically have to get an A on everything else for this not to mess with my average."