Seventeen

KAYA

Every year since Kaya had been in seventh grade, Imogen held an annual sleepover consisting of seven to fifteen girls. This year she invited Kaya, Adhara, Tessa, Dale, Luci, Mallory, Sophia, Nova, and Amelie. Not her biggest sleepover, but definitely on the larger side of the spectrum.

Imogen had instructed Kaya and Adhara to just go right to her house after school and let themselves in, so they did that. The two girls started to set things up, but everyone else started to trickle in and Imogen still wasn't here.

Kaya wasn't worried, she knew Imogen would show up eventually. Adhara, however, didn't want to get stuck paying for the seven pizzas that the blonde girl had ordered.

Thankfully, Imogen already thought of that and payed ahead of time. As soon as the pizza arrived, everyone started to trickle in. First, it was Nova with an arsenal of her hair products; she even had a separate bag for them. Then Flynn dropped Amelie off. Next it was Luci and Mallory. And finally, Tessa, Dale, and Sophia who were all joking with each other as they came in the door.

"Where's Imogen?" Nova asked Kaya, flipping her curly hair over her shoulder.

"Honestly who knows anymore?" Dale poked her head through a doorway.

"Oh, just wait for it." Adhara murmured "She'll be here in about,"

"3... 2... 1..." Kaya muttered, her eyes trained on the front door.

"BONJOUR SLUTS," Imogen Cadwell strutted through the doorway, clad in a pink leather jacket, black ripped skinny jeans, and of course, a pair of pink heart-shaped sunglasses.

"You're late to your own party," Sophia chimed, her hazel eyes alight with amusement.

"Isn't it great?" Imogen mused. "You have to make a grand entrance."

"Very memorable," Amelie noted with a laugh.

"And Imogen Cadwell is nothing if not memorable." Tessa grinned. Kaya laughed and threw her arm around Imogen.

"Okay, I'm starving and there is at least one pizza in the kitchen with name on it. So let's get a move on." Kaya led the way into the kitchen.

***

"You know what," Imogen started, a red sucker in her hand. "We are going to do each other's nails and hair."

"Oh, yes!" Tessa exclaimed. "Dale, I'm so braiding your hair!"

"Dibs on Nova!" Kaya yelled out over the noise of girls yelling out who's hair or nails they were going to braid. Kaya loved braiding hair, especially curly hair and long hair.

"Kaya Blackwood, you better be careful with my hair. Do you know how long it took to grow it out naturally?" Nova warned with wide eyes.

"Don't worry, Nova, Kaya's a pro at braiding any type of hair. Even with how curly yours is, she can do it." Adhara said with a wink of her violaceous eyes.

"I will, cross my heart." Kaya made an 'X' motion over her heart and laughed.

Kaya braided one side of Nova's hair into small tight cornrows and let the other half of remain curly, while Nova braided Kaya's hair into a waterfall braid with a purple ribbon threaded through. Adhara braided Amelie's dark brown hair into a pretty crown around her head and then stuck small gems into it, and Amelie braided Adhara's long silky hair into two French braids. Tessa used her skills to put Dale's hair into a five-strand braid, but Dale only knew how to do fishtail braids so that's what Tessa got. Luci couldn't exactly get Imogen's hair into an extravagant braid, so she put it in a half up, half down braid and ran pink hair chalk through it. Imogen put Luci's long blonde hair into a top knot and wrapped a braid around it, complete with a cute beaded headband. Sophia, who couldn't braid for the life of her, simply curled Mallory's hair in a messy-chic way and gave her a patterned cloth headband to complete the look, while Mallory braided Sophia's fiery hair into two loose fishtail pigtails.