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Allie
They’d had all the pizza they could eat. They’d played a bajillion different games. And now they were all holed up in Sadie’s room, braiding each other’s hair.
It was the best ending to the best day Allie could have ever imagined.
Even Hayleigh had finally relaxed enough to let loose, once Sadie had put her foot down about no wedding talk. It was like Hayleigh had been waiting for someone to tell her it was okay to just be Little for the night, and after that she’d practically become a different person.
“Oh my gosh! I can’t believe I almost forgot!” Abandoning her station behind Allie, Sadie jumped up and raced for her closet, where she disappeared behind all her different costumes. She emerged after lots of rustling and muttering, holding up a brown box with a victorious smile on her face. “I ordered something weeks ago and I keep forgetting about it, but tonight is the perfect night for it!”
“I hope it’s not junk food.” Hayleigh moaned, clutching at her stomach. “I can’t eat another bite.”
“There’s always room for more junk food,” Sadie assured her. “But no. This is something much better.”
Ripping open the box, Sadie pulled out two small tubs, one in red and one in green. “Washable hair dye! So we can make our hair Christmas colors!”
“Oh!” With a squeal of delight, Hayleigh jumped up and plucked one of the tubs from Sadie’s hands, turning it over to read the instructions. Her face fell as she scanned the label. “It says it could take weeks to wash out. I can’t have Christmas hair for my—for next week.”
Giggling at Hayleigh’s attempt to avoid the outlawed W-word, Allie pushed to her feet and took the tub from her. “I could probably get away with doing the ends of my hair. My workplace is pretty laid back about it and I’m sure Michelle wouldn’t really care. Why don’t we do Sadie first though, so we don’t run out.”
“Good idea! To the bathroom!” Sadie shouted, and they all raced for the other room with a loud battle cry.
“So, how mad is your Daddy going to be?” Allie asked as she and Hayleigh brushed out Sadie’s pigtails. They’d decided they would each take a side, and that way Sadie could have one green pigtail and one red one.
“I don’t actually know.” Giggling, Sadie gave a half-hearted shrug. “I’ve never asked if I could dye my hair before.”
“You know you’re going to be in trouble for not asking, even if he doesn’t care about the hair,” Hayleigh pointed out. Holding up a scoop of red dye, she continued in a somber tone, “So, speak now, or forever hold your peace. At least until your Daddy is spanking your butt.”
Squaring her shoulders like a soldier about to ride into battle, Sadie met their eyes in the mirror. “Do it!”
Allie scooped up some of the green dye and met Hayleigh’s gaze over Sadie’s head. “Ready?”
Still not looking quite convinced that this was a good idea, Hayleigh nodded. “Count of three?”
“Yup.”
“One… two… three!”
In unison, they both dumped a handful of the thick dye on Sadie’s head and smeared it across her hair.
“Oh my god,” Allie whispered. “It’s so…bright.”
“Lemme see!” Jerking away a little too excitedly, Sadie whipped her head toward the mirror. The sudden, forceful movement sent globs of red and green dye flying, splattering across the walls.
All three girls froze in place, not even daring to breathe as they surveyed the damage.
“Shit,” Hayleigh muttered under her breath, then immediately slapped a hand over her mouth, eyes wide.
“Okay, okay. Ummm. Towels. We need towels.” Voice rising with obvious panic, Sadie whipped her head back and forth, which just made things worse as more and more dye splattered the walls.
“Sadie, stop!” Hayleigh and Allie cried, both of them grabbing a hold of her to keep her still.
“Girls? Is everything okay in there?”
Again they froze, staring at each other, eyes wide and frightened. Butterflies exploded in Allie’s stomach at the sound of Master Derek’s voice. This wasnotthe fun kind of trouble she’d wanted to get into tonight.
“We’re fine, Daddy!” Somehow, Sadie’s voice managed to sound cheerful and carefree, as if they weren’t all on the verge of getting their bottoms absolutely roasted.
But something must have given her away because the knob on the bathroom door began to turn. Moving purely on the instinct of a Little girl about to be in Big Trouble, Allie dove for the door, throwing her body weight against it to keep it shut as she flipped the lock.
