POV: Jennifer Knight

I glided the brush through my perfect blonde hair. A waste of movement, but still a habit. My hair never knotted, never frayed, never dirtied itself. I had perfect hair. Just like how I had perfect eyes. Perfect blue eyes. They almost glowed next to my dark ebony skin.

I sighed and started brushing the other side of my head. Again, smooth and effortless. Perfect.

Meanwhile over in the tub a symphony of grunts and groans was coming from Melissa who was wrestling with her own hair.

It was riddled and ridgid with gunk. She had gotten into a fight, and it tumbled into both a bush and a trash can.

It was mostly her fault.

Now she was fighting with her hair to rinse off the sap and goop that had covered her, and she was losing.

“Son of a fuck!” Melissa screamed as she pulled on a brush. She tugged and tugged until she pulled it free punching her fist into the wall and unleashing a string of expletives.

“I can help you if you want.” I offered.

“I don't want help!” She shouted back and ducked her head under the water of the tiny tub of our tiny bathroom of our tiny room. She rose, splashing water around and attacked again with the hair brush.

She grunted and groaned hopelessly pulling her hair.

“It would be a lot easier if you let me help.” I pleaded again.

“I said I don't want help!” She shouted again as her hand flew into the wall again and she swore madly again.

She was hurting herself in an angry fit. She needed help, but she wouldn't accept any of my offers. I didn't know what to do. Except I did. I knew exactly what to do. I was just scared, but I had to do it.

I took a deep breath, hardened my nerve, and puffed my chest as I stepped over and barked out, “Melissa! That's enough! Undress and let me wash your hair properly!”

“What!? No! I'm not-”

“I said strip!” I could hear the shrill in my voice, but I pressed on, “Now!”

She looked at me viciously before tsking and tossing the brush aside, “Fine!”

She stood and removed the rest of her clothes before sitting in the tub. The bathroom was three feet wide and barely twice as long. Melissa could barely stretch out her legs in the foot deep water.

There was no shower head, only a faucet. So I scooped water up with a cup we had and poured it over her head repeatedly before applying a heap of shampoo and massaging it in. Working my fingers in and around the various globs.

“I hate this.” Melissa barely whispered.

“Well if you didn't fight everyone so much as side eyed you, you wouldn't fall into sap and trash. Now would you?”

Melissa didn't respond at first. She bawled her fists up and gritted her teeth. “That's now what I meant.”

I frowned and continued to massage soap through her hair. Her hair was so coarse.

“This is weird, isn't it?” Melissa asked.

I sighed and smiled, “Not at all. Out of everything in our lives, this is as normal as it gets.”

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“Having someone else wash your hair while you sit in a tub, naked?”

“Yep.” I grabbed the brush and started to brush through, smoothing her locks a bit at a time. “You never washed with other people.”

“No.” Her voice shook with something that sounded like embarrassment. “This is the first time I've ever been… exposed… to someone else.”

“Have you never seen other people… exposed?”

“No. I've seen pictures. In magazines. Dirty magazines. And medicine books. Stuff like that. But I've never seen another person in, well, in person.” She sighed deeply. “Of course I never really saw people in general.”

I finished a lock of hair and moved on to cleaning another, “I never understood how you were able to live like that. I thought the government had a system in place for that kind of stuff. A safety net.”

“Well the thing about nets is that small things like me can slip through.” She huffed before looking up, “Not that people didn't try. I would find a group of vagabonds who shunned society for one reason or another and everything would be alright for a season or two, but eventually they start talking about turning me over to the social services.”

“And you would run away.” I said, remembering details she told me before, “Until Odin found you.”

“Yeah. So I never got too close to people and always kept my distance. So, plenty of privacy.”

I continued to wash, massage, and brush the grim away. “Well I've seen plenty of privates. Both girls and boys.”

“What? Where?”

“Summer programs. Pseudo military camps. They had communal bathing.” I smiled thinking about those simple times before my mutation took hold, “I saw a lot of other girls and even some boys.”

“You bathed with boys?”

“No, the boys bathed nearby, and sometimes I would see them.” I laughed as a memory came up, “In fact I peeked once.”

“Jenny Two Shoes? A peeping tammy? I don’t believe it.”

“Hey now?” I laughed at her and myself, “I’m not without vices. And I was dared to it. I was the best artist of the girls.”

“What!?”

“I didn’t go through with it.” I said quickly in my defense. “But only because we were caught.”

“And how did they catch a master criminal like the Jennifer Knight?” Melissa laughed out her question.

I soberly picked another bit of gunk, “I was the only black kid with blond hair there. They recognized me easily.”

Melissa was silent at that. After a sigh she asked, “You always had blond hair?”

“Yeah.” I answered and the sound of our bedroom door came through and Jessica and Jesse announced themselves.

“Hey! You two here?”

“Yeah. We're in the bathroom.” I called back and Jessica Black stepped in filling what little remaining space there was.

“Aww, how adorable. You're like a little kid.” Jessica mocked, “We should take a picture.”

“I'll fucking kill you!” Melissa shouted and slashed water out and over me. She noticed and got embarrassed mumbling, “Sorry about that.”

“Don't worry about it.” I sighed, “I planned on bathing tonight anyways.”

“Why don't you shower at school?” Jessica asked, “That's what I do. They allow it even on weekends.”

“I don't feel like walking, and I have plans for tomorrow.” I said, “In fact, I wanted to ask Jesse if she wanted to go to church tomorrow morning.”

“Absolutely!” Jessica White, or Jesse, leaned into the slim space that remained, “I would love to take you with me to mass. The pastor will be so happy to meet you!”

“Umm… actually,” I felt sad about bursting her bubble, but I pressed on, “I actually wanted to go to a specific church tomorrow. The One Hundred Ninety Fifth of Saint Mercy.”

“Oh? Why that one?” Jesse asked out of only curiosity, and Melissa answered for me.

“Oh Sweet Saint Mercy! This is about the Jerry thing! Isn't it!?”

“The Jerry thing?” Jesse and Jessica asked together.

“Semi wants me to make an alliance with Team 3, through Jerry.” I explained.

“Couldn't that Carl Star guy do that?” Jessica pointed out, “They’re confidants, aren't they?”

“Jenny is perfectly capable of making a contact, and she will!” Melissa shouted. “Mind your own business!”

“Wait, weren't you just… you know what, nevermind. I don't care.” Threw up her hands and exited the bathroom, “I'm going to bed.”

Jesse was left behind to watch Jessica go. After a sigh she looked back at us. “I'll be happy to go with you tomorrow.”

And with that she turned and stepped out to ready herself for bed. Melissa and I were alone. I rinsed her hair out and smiled as I picked the last few bits. “Thanks for… believing in me.”

“Of course.” She pouted in her usual way as I finished, “If Jerry tries anything even a bit weird, I'm killing him.”