Split Ends

by Jacquelin Thomas

  “Maybe not,” Rhyann replies. “You could probably test out of some of your classes. I can help you if you want. We can prepare you over the summer.”

  That’s such a generous thing to offer. “I’ve never had a friend like you.”

  She smiles. “I’ve never had a friend quite like you, either. I like how you’re so down to earth. You’re not caught up in being a fashionista or a diva—it’s refreshing. Don’t get me wrong. I love my girls, Mimi and Divine, but they—”

  I cut her off by asking, “You and Mimi Reuben are friends, too? How did you get to know them? Is it because you work at the beauty shop?”

  Rhyann chuckles. “Kylie, we call them hair salons out here.”

  “A horse is a horse no matter how fancy you try to make the name,” I respond. “Tarjae is still Target when all’s said and done. It is what it is.”

  Rhyann laughs. “You’re right about that. Now I see why you and Miss Lucy get along so well. You sound just like her with some of the stuff you say.”

  “We’re both Southern,” I answer proudly.

  After we finish eating, we head back to the salon, laughing and talking like longtime friends.

  “You need to let me take you home,” some dude shouts out as we walk by.

  “Who is he talking to?” I ask.

  Rhyann gives me a sidelong glance. “You.”

  “Humph,” I grunt. “I wouldn’t give him air if he were in a jug.”

  She howls with laughter. “Kylie, where do you come up with this stuff ?”

  “My Grandma Ellen,” I tell her.

  “My boo is picking me up tonight. I can’t wait for you to meet him,” Rhyann tells me as she throws her cup in a nearby trash can.

  “How long have you been together?”

  “Not too long,” Rhyann answers. “He’s going off to college this fall. He’ll be going to N.C. State.”

  “That’s great,” I say. “That’s such a cool school. I’d planned to go there when I was younger.”

  “Did you have a boyfriend before everything happened?”

  I meet Rhyann’s gaze and respond, “No. I never really had one. I’ve had lots of male friends, but nothing like a boyfriend.”

  “Well, you’re not going to have any trouble finding one,” Rhyann confirms. “Watch and see. You’re going to have so many boys coming at you.”

  “To be honest with you, Rhyann, I’m not even thinking about boys. I have to get my life straight, you know? I need to graduate high school so that I can go to college. I have to be able to take care of myself.”

  “I know exactly what you mean. I felt the same way. But you do know that we’re only young once in a lifetime. We have to enjoy our lives. Before you came to work at the salon, there was this client—her name was Mrs. Goldberg. She was my friend.” Rhyann’s voice breaks as she talks. “She died not too long ago, but before she passed on, Mrs. G made me promise to live my life without regret. Kylie, I’m saying the same thing to you.”

  “I heard China and Miss Marilee mention her,” I say. “I can tell how much you all miss her.”

  “You would’ve liked her a lot, Kylie.”

  Once we walk through the doors of the Crowning Glory Salon, it’s back to work. Three people in the reception area are waiting to be taken back to the shampoo bowl. I make sure that they have been checked in on the computer.

  I love my job.

  I have my hair in kinky twists today, and I have on a new pair of blue jeans from Walmart with a nice Old Navy shirt that I couldn’t resist purchasing. I waited patiently until it was on sale so that I wouldn’t feel guilty when I bought it.

  Divine is arriving today, and she is supposed to come by the beauty shop to check in with Rhyann.

  The past couple of days, I have been so excited about finally meeting her. She was in Antigua for the past two weeks vacationing with her mother and her cousin. Rhyann says that they do this every year, and not even Kevin Nash is allowed. I think that’s pretty cool. She puts her daughter and her niece first at times.

  “You look so cute,” Rhyann tells me when I arrive for work. “Who are you all dressed up for?”

  “I’m not dressed up,” I say.

  A black Lincoln Town Car slows to a stop in front of the salon.

  “They’re here,” Rhyann says. “Divine and Alyssa just pulled up.”

  Divine gets out of the car, her long hair blowing in the wind. She looks great in her designer jeans with matching jacket and silver sandals. Her cousin looks a lot like her, I note.

  Rhyann runs out of the shop to give them both hugs. They must really be close friends, I decide.

  Rhyann enthusiastically introduces me to Divine. “This is my friend Kylie. She works here now.”

  “Hey,” Divine says. “Nice to meet you.”

  “I’ve heard a lot about you,” I gush. “I’m glad to finally meet you. I—”

  She smiles, then excuses herself to go talk to Miss Marilee.

  Her cousin walks over to where we’re standing and says, “My name is Alyssa. What’s your name?”

  “I’m Kylie.”

  “It’s nice to meet you. I heard Rhyann say that you two were friends. I hope we’ll get to hang out this summer.”

  I steal a peek over at Divine before replying, “I hope so, too.”

  Although I try to hide it, my feelings are hurt by Divine’s abrupt dismissal of me. I couldn’t wait to meet her, and she barely gives pea turkey squat. Her cousin is much nicer.

  I look down at my clothes. They’re clean and everything, but they do shout that I’m a Walmart preferred shopper, while Divine has probably never seen the inside of one. There is no reason she should want to be my friend. Even though I know this, my feelings are still raw.

  Divine and Alyssa don’t stay long because they have a few more stops to make. I know that Rhyann will be seeing them later on, because I overheard them make plans. I wish Rhyann or Alyssa had thought to include me, but they did not, so oh well.

  Defeated, I decide that I will never be a normal teenager. I will never have a mother to love me, and I will never have a circle of friends like Rhyann has in Divine, Mimi, and Alyssa.

  “What’s wrong, Kylie?” Rhyann asks me after they leave.

  “Nothing,” I respond glumly.

  “C’mon, I know something’s up,” she tells me. “You were so excited about meeting Divine. Now you look like you’re about to cry.”

  “I’m not about to do no crying. I met Divine, and she is not what I thought she was. That’s all.”

  “What do you mean by that?”

  “I guess you didn’t see the way she stared me down when you introduced us. She hardly spoke and then walked off.”

  “I don’t think she meant any harm by it,” Rhyann says, defending her. “She’s tired from flying, and trust me on this—she’s not the friendliest person when she’s tired.”

  “I don’t think she liked me.”

  “Kylie, she doesn’t know you. It was just the first meeting. You’ll see . . . Dee’s going to put you on her B.F.F. list before the summer ends.”

  I frown. “List? She has a list?”

  Rhyann laughs. “It’s just a saying, Kylie. There’s no real list—at least I don’t think she has one. You can never tell with Dee.”

  “It’s fine if she doesn’t want to be my friend,” I say. “Her cousin Alyssa was real nice to me, though.”

  Rhyann breaks into a grin. “She’s Southern, too.”

  “GRITS have it going on,” I respond.

  “Girl, why you talking about grits? Are you hungry?”

  I laugh. “Not grits, Rhyann. I’m talking about G-R-I-T-S. It means ‘girls raised in the South.’”

  “Okaay. I like that.”

  I smile.

  “Seriously, Kylie, you don’t have to worry about Divine. She is going to like you as much as I do.”

  I’m not so sure, but I let the matter drop. If Divine doesn’t want to be my friend, I’ll still be f
ine.

  When I get home, I tell Miss Lucy, “I met Divine today.”

  “How did it go? I know how excited you were about meeting her.”

  “I don’t think she liked me,” I say. “Rhyann says that she was just tired from traveling, but I don’t know. Her cousin was nice, though.”

  Miss Lucy drains her pasta, then places it back on the stove. “Well, Rhyann could be right.”

  “She wasn’t rude to anyone else,” I say. “To be honest, Divine wasn’t exactly rude to me—she just wasn’t interested in talking to me. She talked to Miss Marilee and China, and then she made plans with Rhyann. She and Alyssa left after that.”

  Miss Lucy stirred the spaghetti sauce. “You wanted to be included, didn’t you?”

  “I’ve always admired her. It is not like I want her life or anything. She just seemed like a nice person in the pictures I have seen in the magazines. I just thought it would be nice to get to know someone like her. Her parents had some drama, but she seems like she’s dealt with it well. I guess I felt like she could relate to what I’m going through.”

  “I’m sure you’ll see her again. Just see what happens.”

  The next day, Divine shows up at the salon while I’m in the back putting away a new order of supplies.

  “What is she doing here?” I ask in a low whisper.

  “She must have a hair appointment,” Rhyann responds matter-of-factly. “Go on up and check her in. I need to rinse China’s client.”

  The last thing I want to do right now is deal with the diva.

  Biting my lip, I walk up to the receptionist area to greet her, since it’s my job. Before I can open my mouth, she smiles and says, “Kylie, hey . . . I have an appointment with China.”

  I return her smile. “She’ll be with you shortly.”

  I wait for her to walk away from the counter, but she doesn’t. Instead, she says, “I didn’t get a chance to really talk to you yesterday. We had just gotten in, and I wanted to stop by here to see Rhyann and book my hair appointment.”

  Putting a hand to her hair, she says, “I know you can tell that I need a serious perm. I was so tired. Alyssa told me that I might have offended you, and I want to apologize. I didn’t mean it.”

  “We’re cool,” I say. I’m touched that she thinks enough of me to say she’s sorry. As for Alyssa, she’s at the top of my friend list, right under Rhyann. That’s if I had a list.

  “I’ve heard some really nice things about you from my girl,” Divine is saying. “We used to be the fabulous four, but I see now that we’re going to have to become the fab five. That sounds better anyway.”

  I laugh. “Naw, I think y’all will still be the fabulous four. There’s nothing fab about me.”

  “Well, you could use a few fashion tips,” Divine says, checking out my outfit. “I know that we’re just getting to know each other, so please understand that I don’t mean what I just said in a bad way, Kylie. If you are beautiful on the inside, that beauty will even shine in a paper bag. That’s what my Aunt Phoebe says all the time.”

  “She sounds like my Grandma Ellen. She talked like that.”

  “Where are you from?”

  “Statesville, North Carolina. I sound country, huh?”

  Divine dismisses my words with a wave of her hand. “I live in the country, so don’t even sweat it. I like your accent,” Divine responds. “Rhyann’s always telling me that I sound Southern now.”

  “That’s because you do,” she says from behind me. “C’mon, Diva. I need to shampoo you.”

  Before Divine leaves, she tells me, “Kylie, I’ll talk to you in a few.”

  I meet Rhyann’s gaze and grin.

  “I told you,” she mouths before following Divine to the back of the salon, where the shampoo bowls are located.

  I seat my client in the chair beside Divine to shampoo her hair. While I’m working, I can hear her conversation with Rhyann.

  “So are you and Madison talking at all?” Rhyann asks.

  “Not really,” Divine answers. “His baby is due in a few months, so I guess he’s trying to deal with all that.”

  I can’t help but wonder who they’re talking about, but I turn my attention back to my client’s head as I prepare to rinse her.

  When I’m done with my client, I place her under the dryer per Miss Marilee’s instructions. When the timer goes off, I’ll rinse the conditioner out of her hair and take her to Miss Marilee.

  China has been teaching Rhyann and me the proper way to roll a client’s hair, but right now we only work with mannequin heads.

  Divine takes a seat in China’s chair.

  When we’re between clients, Rhyann and I take a few minutes to chat with Divine and China. I mostly just listen.

  The telephone rings. I take off to answer it and end up staying up front because more clients venture in, including a couple of walk-ins. When Rhyann gets backed up at the shampoo bowl, I give her assistance.

  When China is done with Divine’s hair, she comes to the front desk to pay for her services. While I ring her up, she says, “Kylie, we’re all going to the beach on Sunday after church. Would you like to go with us?”

  I’m totally surprised by her invitation. Divine actually asked me to accompany her and her friends to the beach? This is like a dream come true.

  “Kylie,” she prompts. “Did you hear me?”

  I swallow hard. “I’m sorry, I . . . you caught me off guard. Are you sure you want me to come with y’all?”

  Divine gives a slight nod. “Why wouldn’t I?”

  I don’t respond that I’m not like them. I don’t have a celebrity parent or a huge bank account.

  She pays me in cash.

  “I would love to join you all, but I don’t have a car, Divine.”

  “We’ll come pick you up,” she responds. “Mimi has a car, and we’re picking up Rhyann, so we can get you, too.”

  “I don’t live near Rhyann,” I say. “Maybe I can meet you at her house, though. I’ll check to see if that’s okay.”

  “That’s fine with me,” Rhyann announces when she joins us in the reception area. “We’re going to have so much fun.”

  I give a tight smile. I’m excited about spending time with Divine, Rhyann, and Alyssa, but this will be my first time meeting Mimi. I don’t know how she’s going to act around me, since I’m not really one of them.

  Divine leaves the shop a few minutes later when her mother and Alyssa come to pick her up. I sneak a glimpse of Kara Matthews while she’s sitting in the car chatting on her cell phone.

  What am I thinking about? I don’t belong around people like Divine and Mimi.

  Just the thought of being around them makes my stomach quiver in anxiety.

  Maybe I shouldn’t go, I decide. I really don’t have anything in common with those girls, despite the fact that I desperately want to be friends with them.

  Chapter 7

  Divine came back to the beauty shop today,” I announce cheerfully as soon as I walk into the apartment. “She even apologized for the way she treated me yesterday, Miss Lucy.”

  “That’s real nice of her.”

  I nod in agreement. “I was so shocked. She’s really cool, and she even invited me to go to the beach with them on Sunday after church. Do you mind if I go?”

  Miss Lucy shakes her head. “Honey, you go on and have yourself a wonderful time. You need to spend time with other girls your own age.”

  “I’m going to take the bus to Rhyann’s house, and Mimi, another one of their friends, gonna come and pick us up. Miss Lucy, I can’t believe that I’m going to be hanging out with them. Mimi’s dad is on that new show Legend.”

  “I like that show,” Miss Lucy says. “Honey, I’m so happy you’re finding friends.”

  “I really want them to like me.”

  “They will,” Miss Lucy tells me. “You’re a very likeable person, Kylie.”

  Deep down, I really hope Miss Lucy’s right.

  The next couple o
f days pass slowly. The closer we get to Sunday, the more nervous I become about spending time with Divine and Mimi. Rhyann and Alyssa are pretty normal, and I can relate to them, but the other two—they might think I’m nothing but street trash.

  The other thing that bothers me is that I don’t have a swimsuit. Miss Lucy told me that Walmart carries them, so I’m hoping to find something on sale. I don’t want to be the odd girl out.

  My stomach churns nervously every time I think about going to the beach. I can’t believe that I’m actually going to kick it with Divine and Mimi. This is like the coolest thing ever.

  I really want them to like me. I want so much to be a part of their circle. No way I’d ever tell them this, though. Not even Rhyann.

  This will be my little secret. That way I won’t be disappointed if they don’t want anything to do with the homeless girl.

  I wish Sunday would just get here already.

  After church, I take the bus to Rhyann’s neighborhood.

  She is at the bus stop waiting for me. “We’re going to have so much fun today,” Rhyann tells me. “I’m telling you now that Mimi and Divine are crazy. They may be divas, but they like to have fun.”

  “So they’re pretty down to earth, then?”

  Rhyann nods. “Yeah, they’re cool. I wouldn’t be dealing with them otherwise.”

  I relax a little while we walk to the next block, where Rhyann lives. She introduces me to her aunt and brothers.

  “Your aunt’s really nice,” I say to Rhyann.

  She agrees. “I don’t know what I’d do without her. She took us in after my mom died. Auntie Mo gave up a lot to raise us and her own children.”

  Divine and Alyssa come with Mimi to pick us up.

  Rhyann introduces me to Mimi, who says, “I’ve heard a lot of nice stuff about you. Welcome to our little group.”

  I smile.

  We grab our bags and head out to the car.

  “I love the beach,” Alyssa says after we get there. “I could stay out here all day long.”

  I agree.

  Divine, Alyssa, and Mimi all have on really nice swimsuits with matching cover-ups. Rhyann’s suit is similar to mine in design, which leads me to assume she purchased hers at Walmart or Target, too. At least she has a nice wraparound skirt for hers. I have an old T-shirt and a pair of basketball shorts over my swimsuit.