As Jon hurried to class, he could feel the purse slapping against him, and the skirt swishing around his legs. No, never mind, we'll just be late, he thought. This is all just too much right now.
By the time he got to English class, Mrs. Kline had already gotten things started in class. Students were actively talking in groups around the room as part of some assignment, so at least he wasn't disrupting things mid-instruction. Mrs. Kline turned to Jon as the door opened. "Jon! You're running late, I see!"
"Yeah, um, sorry," he grimaced. "Food accident in the cafeteria and I needed to get a change of clothes."
She smiled as her eyes flicked up and down. "Well, at least you got something with a little flair to wear!" She jutted out a hip as her smile broadened. Jon just tried to stare blankly. Mrs. Kline was one of the younger teachers at the school and doubled as the advisor for the school theater productions. It was appropriate, at least - everything about her was just a little dramatic. Her makeup was a little bold, her clothing and walk were confident and sure of itself, and the boys who had her in class would often talk about her herself more than her instruction. Jon, like any teenage boy, was not immune to her good looks or how she seemed to strut everywhere, but now was not the time.
I CANNOT get a boner while wearing this, he thought. If the skirt part starts to rise in front of everyone...
"Anyway, sorry, what did I miss?" he quickly asked in desperation.
Mrs. Kline gestured towards his usual seat in the back corner. "Just discussing the themes in the reading from last class in groups before sharing perspectives with the class. There's only another minute or so, but you can catch up."
Jon gave a quick nod in appreciation, and found his seat. Usually he would talk with Pete when Mrs. Kline gave them these discussion assignments, but he was already talking to someone else. He turned to his left, where Steve was sitting silently, bored with the assignment. Jennifer Taylor, one of the main drama students, had clearly given up on trying to talk to Steve and was just tapping a pen on her desk in annoyance.
Steve glanced over at Jon. "Since when did you join the cheerleading team, bro?"
Jon shook his head. "No, this is just what I was able to get to wear after you screwing around in the cafeteria knocked all that food on top of me."
Steve made a face. "Oh, yeah. Sorry about that." He looked Jon over. "At least it shows off your arms well, bro."
Jennifer turned to look at Jon, then nodded to his wrist. "What's that about?"
Jon looked down. "Oh, um, the scrunchie? I was given it when I got the uniform. It's just on my wrist until I don't need the rest of the uniform." Wait, do I return the uniform? How does that even work? he thought.
Jennifer rolled her eyes. "I guess you need some longer hair or something." She started to turn back to face forward again, but stopped and sighed. "Here, copy off me."
She reached up to her scalp and pulled. A giant mass of long black hair emerged, a duplicate of the hair that fell halfway down her back. She'd always kept it long so she had more versatility in the roles that she played in the school's theater productions, and now, as she placed it on Jon's head and he felt it settle down over his arms and face in a giant mess, Jon had the same versatility.
It quickly became apparent that Jennifer had simply given him the length of her hair, and not any styling or caretaking - it was just Jon's hair but much longer in all directions. From underneath the unbrushed mass covering his face, Jon screamed in his own mind. "Thanks, Jennifer, I guess." He tried to blow it out of his face, but there was simply too much of it. Defeated, he gathered it in his hands, and deftly tied it back using the scrunchie from his wrist. How wonderful that that skill came along at some point, he thought with a mutter.
