The woods were not as dreadfully deep as I was afraid of. In fact, I would say that it only took us a few hours to get to the other side. We didn’t run into any vicious, wild animals. You could count a squirrel we saw, but that’s about it. So far, this has been the least amount of danger we’ve managed to find for ourselves.
Outside of the woods, we come to find a small town. There are not many major buildings, but at least there is a Wal-Mart sign we catch a glimpse of off in the distance. It looks like the place is full of homes, churches, the lone Supercenter and a school.
“Think there’d be a cheap hotel here? I’m almost out of reserves after the damned train,” Ali says to me, looking around. We’re both trying to catch our bearings. Where did we end up? At least she’s being civilized with me, again.
“If there’s a Wal-Mart, I’m sure there’s at least a motel,” I say back to her, wiping the sweat from my forehead. It’s pretty warm and muggy around here. The mosquitoes are out in full force, too.
“I think it’d be a good idea if we ditched our outfits. I don’t know about myself, but you stink,” She says to me, throwing a punch my way. She grins and a little snort escapes from her nose. I’m glad to see that she’s being playful and civilized, again. I was afraid she’d still be mad at me after the talk we had going into the woods.
“You’re a bitch!” I say jokingly, pretending to sniff my shirt. “Yeah, I think that’d be the best bet. I’d kill to take a shower.” I smell like I’ve been in a circus tent with an elephant for a year, or something. Let’s just say this-- I reek of pure, unadulterated nasty.
“Be careful what you wish for.” Ali winks at me. “Come on. Let’s go get ourselves a room.” She’s killing me. Is she playing with my emotions on purpose? Is she torturing me for the fun of it? I can’t seem to figure her out half of the time. Maybe she’s found some hope since we stumbled out of the woods.
I follow Ali down an ancient, worn path. It looks like this may have been a bike trail or something at some point in the very near past. The dirt is extremely compacted. It feels like I’m walking on concrete pavement. The grass looks like it’s starting to try and grow again where it had been trampled to death. I kind of like the way it looks. Fresh beginnings. It’s an interesting concept. The symbolism resonates so deep in my own heart I can’t help but take notice.
Once we get to walking towards the direction of the shops and Wal-Mart, we see a few motels down the road. “It’d probably be best to stop off here before we walk to the motel. It seems stupid to make a second trip,” Ali says to me.
“Sounds good to me. Once we get to the room, all I want to do is take a freaking shower and lay down.” We walk side-by-side into the store through the “EXIT” doors holding hands. It’s the first moment I’ve actually been able to feel warm and fuzzy on the inside. That’s a nice feeling to have. I just wish I could share it with Ali without fear of rejection or attitude.
The Wal-Mart is extremely small. I guess I should have expected it since we’re in such a small town. The Supercenter is not what I would imagine really qualifies as a true Supercenter.
I’m not even sure what kind of a city this is. I wouldn’t even consider this town a piece of the suburbs. This is the closest thing to a rural community I’ve ever seen. The cows at the fence down the road kind of tipped me off.
In the Wal-Mart, I try my best to look beyond the meager provisions the town has to provide us. We pick out a couple of plain backpacks, three ordinary outfits each, dinner for the night and extra underwear.
The backpacks are your typical school backpacks. There’s nothing special about them at all. The outfits we bought were the standard jeans, simple cotton t-shirts and cheap shoes.
We want to blend in. Let me correct myself—we need to blend in. We can’t afford to stand out any more than we already do. I don’t think that two girls kissing in the middle of the street and holding hands while walking down the sidewalk would be perfectly acceptable around here. Of course, that’s just a personal assumption.
Ali also bought a pack of Camel Menthol Silvers and a pair of scissors. “What exactly are you planning on doing with the cigarettes and scissors, Ali?” I ask her. Neither of us has ever smoked in our entire lives. Why would I want to start now? It doesn’t make much sense to me. I don’t really like the smell of them, either. I hope she doesn’t plan on making me smoke any. Then again, this week has held many firsts for me.
“Usually people smoke cigarettes, Val. Please don’t tell me you are that sheltered. I know better than that,” She said and teased a wink at me. I hate when she bats her eyelashes. I adore her eyes and she knows it. Those damned things turn me into liquid.
After we paid for our stuff, we walk down the road and up to this tiny motel that advertises tenants to pay by the hour. “That’s special,” I say, turning to look at Ali. “Are you sure you want to stay here? That kind of seems dirty. What if they don’t wash the bed covers?” Just the thought makes me shudder in disgust. I’ve seen those reality shows. It’s not pretty.
“Do you see any better options?” Ali asks me, waving her arms around her body towards all directions of the vacant town. The lights on the hotel next door aren’t even lit up. We’re screwed.
“True,” I say as I look around the dark street. There’s nothing else around here. I mean nothing. Every inn, motel or hotel is either shut down or advertising the same thing. Might as well make it work here.
I hold the door to the small office open for Ali. She kisses me on the cheek as she makes her way through the entrance, skimming her body seductively against mine. “What a flirt,” I think to myself as I roll my eyes. No matter what she says or does, I’ll never be able to let Ali go. I grin a little and walk in behind her.
We get our room key from the creepy guy up front. “You’re in Room 130 down the hall there. Don’t make too much noise, my room’s right next to yours,” the guy says. “I’m Bill. If you need anything, dial ‘0’ on your room phone. Can’t guarantee I’ll be there to answer it, so leave a message if it’s important.” I don’t think we’ll need to bother Bill at all. He reminds me of some villain from a serial killer movie, or a child molester. I can’t decide which.
In the room, we lay the contents of our bags out on the bed. We probably should have bought our own blanket. You know, just in case. I still don’t feel completely comfortable with the thought of actually touching the bed, yet.
“Are you ready for a makeover?” Ali asks me as she waves the scissors around her head, making snipping noises by clicking both sides together. My face freezes. There’s no way she’s thinking about doing what I think she’s thinking about doing is there? The surprise has to be obvious on my face because she points at me and giggles a little.
“What are you doing? You’ve got to be joking, Ali,” I say in pure astonishment. I’m shocked. Ali would never cut her hair off. She’s been refusing to cut any amount of hair off her head since we were young kids. Her hair was rarely even trimmed!
My mom used to make me get my hair chopped off up to my ear lobes before the heat of summer came. Ali would make fun of me and call me silly names like “Mushroom Head.” I would be so jealous that her parents would let her grow her hair out as long as she wanted. She was so lucky.
“Does this look like a joke?” She asks me as she takes a clump of hair in her fist and shears it down to her scalp. I mean, she took the scissors as close to her skin as she could possibly go without drawing blood. What the fuck is she doing?
“She’s lost her damned mind,” I think to myself as I watch her go to town on her hair. This trip has finally tipped her over the edge into the abyss of insanity. She’s finally gone off the deep end. I still can’t grasp the concept of what’s happening. Is this what everything has come to?
“No, I guess not.” My face has to look ridiculous. I’m in complete amazement. I can’t believe Ali just cut away at her crown of golden hair. She was always so proud of her angelic tresses! She even seems excited about it.
I just stand there staring out her, mouth gaping wide open, as she enthusiastically finishes the job. All the while, she giggles at me with an amused smile sweeping across her face.
“Think anyone will recognize me?” She asks as she rubs her nearly bald head in the bathroom mirror? She’s so proud of her self. “How do I look?” She dances around the bathroom happily.
“Actually, you look great. Just need to even it up a bit,” I say. And it’s true. She does look good. She doesn’t need hair to be beautiful.
Ali slips one of the new razors from a Wal-Mart bag and smooth shaves her scalp. “Seriously, Ali? I think we could have fixed it…” I say. I’m still extremely surprised and taken back by the course this night has taken.
“No way, Val! I’ve always wanted to do this. I just needed a good excuse. I think running for our lives is a damn good one, too!” She says, laughing as she rubs her shiny, smooth skin. I didn’t know she’s always wanted to cut her hair. Why would she put it off for so long? Is there anything else I don’t know about her? I didn’t think we kept secrets from each other. “It’s your turn,” she says as she twirls in semi-circle.
“I’m not shaving my head, Ali,” I say. I get that wish granted. But, she does cut my hair very short. She even snuck some bleach for my hair behind my back. It’s too late to stop her now!
Once the deed was done, I looked in the mirror. I feel like a completely different person. I look like a platinum blonde version of Peter Pan or Tinkerbell. I’ll be honest, too. I kind of like the new me.
She starts the shower water and begins to disrobe herself. The steam from the water begins to rise over the curtain and rod holding it in place. My heart starts racing.
Normally, Ali would ask me to excuse myself or give me some sort of clue to leave. I should not be in here right now. She looks back at me before she opens the shower curtain and nods towards the tub. Was she just asking me to join her? What’s going on here? These are not the usual hints I get from Ms. Ali.
Is everything happening tonight a big joke? Is the joke on me? I’m so confused.
Ali hops into the hot shower and laughs. Her confidence seems to be completely restored. I hastily clean up Room 130 and get ready to take my own shower. That’s what I’m supposed to do, right?
And then, out of nowhere, it hits me. We are two new people. We’re not the same Ali and Val that we were before tonight. Don’t get me wrong, we are the same people. We have just changed, though. I can’t explain it.
Maybe now is the time for me to make a bigger change in my life. I’ve been gutsy on my own terms, but I haven’t had the nerve to make Ali mine, yet. Fuck what I’m supposed to be doing. I’m tired of making everyone else happy and doing what they think is the right thing. I’m going to be me for once in my life. It’s another beautiful first to write on my list.
I nervously undress myself outside of the bathroom door. What am I doing? What if she rejects me? “Stop thinking,” I reason with myself. Thinking always gets me in trouble. Thinking and worrying is why I am not as outgoing as Ali. It’s the very reason I wish I was more like her, actually. This is going to happen.
“Remember, Val, screw what you’re supposed to be doing. Now is the time,” I think to myself, slowly building confidence in my mind.
I slowly open the bathroom door, steam pouring into the room behind me. Stepping into the shower, I hold my breath intently. Ali doesn’t seem to notice my presence. I gently caress her shoulders and tickle my fingertips down her back. Ali turns to me and pulls my face into hers.
CHAPTER 15
The Morning After the Perfect Night