"Say things like what?" Karyn asked as she entered the room.
"Nothing!" Jon and Brandon both said. Jon was already embarrassed enough by the story, and Brandon just didn't want to get Karyn pissed off. She gave them both a quizzical look, but brushed it off.
"Alright, let's get down to studying then." She pulled her history book from her messenger bag and the three gathered around the coffee table in Brandon's living room.
Nearly an hour went by, and Jon had gotten so wrapped up in trying to remember details about the French Revolution that he had put the events from earlier totally out of his mind. He had more important things to worry about anyway. Karyn was trying to explain who Robespierre was, when she absently ran a hand through her newly platinum mane. As she did, her fingers got caught up in a tangle. She tugged a bit to get the tangle out, when Brandon took notice.
"Oh, looks like you've got a knot... hold on." And without a second thought he stood up and walked away, returning seconds later with a hairbrush. He sat on the couch and waved Karyn over, who promptly sat on the floor in front of him. Brandon began running the brush through Karyn's hair, working carefully to work out the tangle, then proceeding to brush out the rest. Karyn sat contentedly the whole time, not saying a word. Jon just stared.
"Uh, Brandon... what are you doing?"
"Just brushing Karyn's hair. Can't let her go around getting such pretty locks all tangled, now can we?"
"He's right, Jon," Karyn said, seemingly oblivious.
"Now, do you want me to braid it or just put it up in a ponytail?" Brandon asked her.
"Hmmm... let's go with the braids."
And, even though Jon was pretty sure Brandon had never done much maintenance on his own hair, he began gathering and twisting Karyn's hair like he'd done a million braids in his lifetime. Suddenly, Jon was reminded of his wish, and the strange new neighbor. Something inside clicked, and he had a bad feeling that she was somehow responsible for this. Without a word, Jon left. He walked briskly home, hoping he could figure things out before any more strangeness confronted him.
