Things We Said Today

Chapter Five

I cursed as I undid the braids in my hair for the third time, nearly tripping over the pile of clothes at my feet as I manically brushed the knots out with my fingers.

"Lucy, are you almost ready? The bus will be at Carl and Cole in ten minutes!" Nora's voice rang through the hallway, laced with anxiety.

"Yes, I just can't get these braids to line up evenly." I called back, then muttered to myself as I tried once again to split my hair down the middle.

"Just come out here, I'll do it for you."

I groaned, ripping the braids out for the fourth time, and stumbling my way into the hallway. "Okay, I give up. Please help me."

Nora chuckled, "It's not that complicated, give me the comb." She glided toward me in her frilly yellow dress, which looked like it weighed about ten pounds.

"Where the hell did you find that thing? It looks just like the one the characters at Disneyland use." I asked while she maneuvered me around, re-parting my hair and beginning to braid the left side.

"eBay." She said proudly. "I couldn't find an authentic Beast mask for Eli... but I did get his suit there as well."

"His face is beast-like already. He doesn't need the mask." I smirked.

"Very funny."

"I should have just gone as Morticia... then I wouldn't have had to deal with these fucking braids." I groaned as she began on the right side.

"You're too short to be Morticia." Evie chimed in as she began strutting down the hallway, her heels clicking loudly against the hardwood.

"Thanks Evie." I spat out, turning to yell at her before Nora pulled my head back toward her.

"Don't move, I'm almost done." She ordered, biting her lip in concentration.

"It's going to take us five minutes to get to the bus stop." Evie called from the door.

"That's okay, we're ready!" Nora beamed, admiring her handiwork. "You look more like Wednesday Addams than she does."

"I don't know if I should take that as a compliment or not." I groaned.

"Of course, you should. There's nothing more important than a convincing Halloween costume." She said, beginning to march toward the door with me in tow.

We hopped on the N toward Ocean Beach for only five stops. We probably could have walked to Eli's house, but with both Nora and Evie in heels it wouldn't have been a fun trek. The three blocks we had to walk uphill from 6th Ave to Locksley were filled with Nora whining about her feet hurting, so it was in our best interest that we hadn't walked the other ten.

"I wish they would install an elevator." Nora whined while she practically pulled herself up the stairs of Eli's building.

"We love an inclusive queen." I hummed sarcastically.

"Mind over matter, Nora." Evie declared, scaling the stairs like a veteran in her half-assed Marilyn Monroe costume. She had more important things to concentrate on, like hot yoga and helping Google steal every American's personal information... she couldn't be arsed to put together an authentic Halloween costume.

"How can I put mind over matter when my feet are bleeding, Evie?" She huffed, finally making it up to the top of the stairs with one last pull.

"Just take your shoes off, no one's gonna notice." I said as Nora stepped forward to push open Eli's door.