Crossover

Chapter 5 Ms. Fleming's Advice

Chapter 5

Ms. Fleming's Advice

    "Okay. You were with me yesterday," Aria reviewed, frantically, as she walked to school with Vanessa the next day. "We went to the salon, and I got nearly eight inches of my hair cut off. That really did happen…right?"

    Vanessa opened her mouth but no words departed as her eyes ogled at her best's friend's hair for the tenth time on their walk. She seemed just as shocked as she felt through Aria's hair several times making sure it was all attached to her head and not extensions. Earlier, Aria speculated the possibility that her mother came in to her bedroom in the middle of the night and put extensions in her hair so it would return to its lengthy glory. Considering how deeply Aria slept on a typical night, it was unlikely she would have woken up.

    Running her fingers through her hair, Aria ranted on, "What's really weird is that my parents did not seem shocked at all. It was like they expected something like this to happen." She pounded her fist into her hand, adding firmly, "I know there is something they are not telling me."

    Her eyes pointed downward now, Vanessa remained silent for another moment and then asked softly, "Aria, do you know anything about your birthparents?"

    Aria had known most of her life that she was adopted, but she never felt comfortable of asking about them in distress of hurting the feelings of the people she considered to be her true parents. Now, at her friend's mentioning, Aria felt a growing curiosity of her mysterious biological parents.

    "No," Aria answered, simply. "I've never really given it much thought before now. Why? Do you think they would have an explanation for this?"

    "I don't know, Aria," Vanessa tried to phrase this as delicately as possible. "I mean it's not exactly normal for hair to grow that much in just one night."

    Great, Aria thought glumly, now even Vanessa thinks I'm a freak.

    Vanessa looked through Aria's eyes as though they were a window to her mind. "I'm not suggesting you're some kind of alien mutant or anything like that. I was just thinking that maybe your parents, your real ones I mean, would have some sort of explanation for this. Maybe their hair grows unnaturally fast too. Sometimes things like this happen that are just out of the ordinary. Despite what people like Walter might think, science doesn't have an explanation for everything."

    Aria did not feel certain about diving into supernatural reasonings, but she did not want to debate it either so she just said, "Speaking of Walter, how about we don't mention this to him. He would just think we both lost our minds."

    "Yeah, I guess he would, wouldn't he?" Vanessa agreed in a sigh.

    The girls arrived at school and proceeded to their lockers as though it were a normal day. Her fantasies of people admiring her new hairstyle sunk to the bottom of the ocean.

    As she pulled her textbooks out of her locker, Aria heard a voice call from behind them.

    "Hey Aria!"

    Aria turned around to see Lacey Goodman heading in her direction, nervously brushing her straight brown hair behind her ears.

    "What does she want?" Vanessa wondered aloud in a huff.

    Lacey reached them, giving Aria a small smile and said, "I just wanted to say Kendal is sorry about what she did yesterday. She admits it was a really dirty thing to do. I'm glad to see you got the gum out okay. You didn't even have to get your hair cut. It looks as though nothing even happened."