Accidentally on Purpose

Chapter Three

The first thing I did after I got out of school was to get Gina to drive me to the nearest salon.

And yes, the soda did leave a bright red stain all over my head, and it didn't look cool at all. I tried washing my hair in the restroom, but it didn't work even until I felt like my hair was about to fall off my head due to my intense brushing and scrubbing. Well, it faded, but it still stuck out like a sore thumb on my nearly white hair.

I had contemplated other ways to get rid of the stain, but then I figured, why not just dye my hair a different color? So yeah, that was exactly what I did, because I figured that googling "How to Get Soda Stain Out of Your Hair" was too much of a hassle. Besides, I just felt like dyeing my hair.

Gina, bless her soul, lent me her scarf so I could put it over my head, covering up the fact that my hair looked like it had been the victim of a hair-dye gone wrong.

During the whole day, I had warned Gina not to bring up the incident, not even until she was driving me to the salon. She left me as I got my hair dyed, and came back to pick me up once I was finished.

"Huh," she commented as we walked toward her car, her eyes staring at my new hair. "The color looks good on you."

I raised my eyebrows skeptically.

"I swear. You look... feisty."

I couldn't help but chuckle. "Thanks."

"It's kind of a fuck-you on the red stain, I guess?" she said with a smirk as we got into the car. "What color is it, actually?"

"It said reddish blonde," I said with a shrug, staring at my reflection on the rearview mirror. "But it's way more like faded orange but still kinda cool."

"It's pretty," she said admiringly. "You're a way better redhead than a blondie. Now your personality just kinda shines through."

"Oh, shush," I told her and we both laughed until she sobered up.

"So... wanna talk about it?" she started, and I pursed my lips.

"Well I know what you're gonna say, but I can surely tell you that I didn't regret anything that happened today," I declared, crossing my arms in front of me.

When I glanced at Gina, she was holding a smile. "And what am I gonna say?"

"I told you so, you're just making a fool out of yourself, blah, blah, blah," I mimicked her, making a face until she cracked up laughing and gently shoved me on the shoulder.

"Well, I really did tell you so," she said smartly. "But it didn't go as bad as I had expected it would, though."

I made another face at her. "And how did you imagine it would have been?"

She shrugged at me. "I don't know. Maybe, like, Jonah beating you up? Or just yelled at you until you burst out crying? Or maybe the two of you ended up in the principal's office? Like, a lot of possibilities there, but instead he just pulled a Uno reverse card on you, which is pretty funny."

"For the record, he is not a violent person," I defended. "And also, I wouldn't cry in front of him even if he started yelling at me. But, yeah, I guess it could've gone worse." I played with the curly ends of my hair. "I love my new hair, though, so it's kind of still worth it."

I saw her roll her eyes at me, like I'd predicted she would. "Did anyone make fun of you afterwards?"

"Strangely enough, not really," I mused. "There were some douches who kind of make a joke of me gaping like a fish when Jonah dumped the soda on me, but it wasn't like it bothered me. Some girls kinda giggled at my hair but I just glared at them and they ran away. They're just stupid. Mostly, I get high-fives from the jocks so it was cool."