Operation Marriage

Chapter Thirteen - The Next Lesson

Chapter Thirteen - The Next Lesson

I sighed as I looked in the mirror hanging above the sink in my bathroom. The last twelve or so centimetres of my hair were a golden yellow colour. Five inches of my hair, no longer dark brown. They were so yellow they couldn't be classed as blonde. They were classed as yellow, no more, no less. But I had to give it to Devon, it didn't actually look that bad. It looked okay. I wasn't disappointed, but I wasn't exactly thrilled. Tomorrow was the start of the second week of Operation Marriage, and I had made Devon promise that if I dip dyed the ends of my hair yellow, he would wear his glasses. So I reluctantly picked up my phone and took a picture of me and my new hair, which was down. I hadn't really noticed how long it had gotten. It came to the top of my ribs nowadays, just below my chest. I then sent the picture to Devon, who had scribbled his number on my arm when we dropped him off at the corner around from his flat. He said that he didn't want to be dropped in front of the flat because of reasons. Whatever these reasons were, my mum agreed and dropped him off at the corner so he could walk round to his block of flats.

I sat on the edge of the bath, fiddling with the ends of my hair. It was such a vibrant colour. Katie was sat on the other side of my bathroom, chatting about how it suited me and how once it starts to fade, we renew the dye. So basically Devon had just thrown me down the never ending spiral of yellow dip dye. My phone suddenly beeped. Devon had texted back. I unlocked my phone and opened his message.

You did it, and you look nice! See you in school tomorrow, then. Haha, get it? See you? See? Glasses? Okay, fine. I'll stop with the ridiculous puns.

"Oh, Holland. I don't think you understand how much chemistry the two of you actually have. Now, I'm no scientist but my hypothesis is that Devon actually, secretly, really likes you." Katie said, matter of factly. "And what's this with Devon needing glasses? Did he really use contacts all this time because he thought people would make fun of him, even though they hurt him? So cute!"

"No, not cute. That's actually quite sad, as in depressing sad. It shows how horrible our generation really is, especially the people in our year. They just can't seem to accept other people for them being who they actually are. I mean, Heaven forbid a popular guy should have glasses and be good at art and actually able to use a camera properly! He'll get a different reaction when he walks through those gates tomorrow. Whether it's good or bad, I'm not so sure yet. But what's upsetting is he was willing to go through that pain and irritation just to keep his 'friends'." I said, pocketing my phone and putting my hands in my lap. "I feel sorry for him, now. I feel awful. And we do not have chemistry together!"

"Well, if he loses his old friends, he can fall back on us, right?" Katie suggested. I looked up at her and thought for a second. Was his teasing really as bad as I thought it was? No. It wasn't as if he was bullying me. He was just teasing and being playful. And actually, since getting married to him, I'd discovered that he wasn't all that bad. Yes, he was annoying at time. But that would never change. And besides, I had come to actually kind of like the playful, teasing side of Devon. He could be quite friendly at times. And I liked him the way he was. He was actually a good guy.

"Of course. We'll always be there to catch him."

________

I walked into the school gates the nest day, my hair down. Some people gave me strange looks, but I didn't care. I woke up this morning and looked into the mirror and was actually quite pleased with the girl smiling back at me. The yellow made me look fun and happy, unique and like myself. It was a special part of me that I had grown quite fond of since doing it. Because I felt preppy this morning, I put on a black summer dress that came to just above my knee with a floral pattern, and a pair of black and white converse. I felt good today. I really did. And I was actually feeling kind of excited to see Devon today.