under pressure

higher education

Bree walked past Andrea and Brandon, sending them a smile before Andrea pulled her over to them. She had an annoyed look on her face, as did Brandon.

"Your brother is complaining because he has three tests next week, so he can't do the article on the swim team. Do you think you could do it?" Bree nods, looking at her brother who's now extremely annoyed.

"It's easy for you to say, you don't have a job." Andrea turns around as she begins to walk away.

"You think running a paper is a picnic?"

"You must be too good to be true then." He says, sarcasm evident in his tone.

"Look, Brinan said she'll do it for you. Don't be so rude just because you got a C." Andrea said, making Bree snort.

"What are grades anyway? They're just some weird, arbitrary reference points that don't measure what a person really knows," Andrea and Bree look at each other, trying not to burst out laughing. Brandon shifts awkwardly, looking down. "I've never gotten a C before. Especially in History."

"Well, maybe we can study for the next quiz together, if you want." Bree raised a brow. It was a known fact to everyone that knew the two, except Brandon, that Andrea had a big crush on him.

"I suppose you got an A." He said, deadpanning.

"What are grades anyway? Bye." She then walks away, leaving the two there to laugh.

—

"To change your hair, you can change your life." Brenda said, trying to convince their mom to let her change her hair. She had talked to Bree about it. She was doing it for Dylan McKay, Brandon's friend. While Dylan was really attractive, Bree had met him before and honestly looked at him as an older brother figure. A rebellious older brother.

"Spending 300 dollars to change something, which is already beautiful and healthy, is just insane." Their mom said, making Brenda frown.

"Then I guess every girl in West Beverly is insane." She lets out a scoff, peeling an apple.

"Well, if they're spending 300 on a haircut, they sure are." Bree snorts, making Brenda glare at her.

"I'm not talking about a haircut, Mom. I'm talking about a perm, or extensions, or maybe even a weave." Her mother gasps.

"Don't you dare," Brenda asks why, making her mother annoyed. "The people that do those things to themselves do it so they can look like how you already do." Brenda lets out a huff.

"In other words, I have to stay boring."

"For 300 dollars? I'm sorry, but yes." Brandon walks in through the door, his notebooks in his hand. He greets his sisters and mom, breezing past them.

"How'd it go today, genius?" Brenda asks, making him turn around.

"I got an A on my History quiz." Bree's head snaps over to him, confused.

"Really?" He nods.

"This isn't an ordinary A, Mother. This is a monumental achievement." Brenda said.

"Bren-"

"Oh Brandon, don't be so modest. Danzel's a total Nazi."

"Good job, kiddo," His Mom said, also happy. Their dad walks in, a tennis racket in his hand. He asks what's a big deal, making Brandon purse his lips. "Brandon got an A on his History exam." Their mother told him, proud of their son. He pats his back, also proud.

"That's great, not that I'm surprised." Brandon mutters thanks, leaving up the stairs.

—

Bree sits on the toilet of the bathroom, eating chips. Brenda and Kelly were in front of the mirror, the blonde helping Brenda change her hair. Kelly had a bottle of dye in her hand.

"I'm telling you, Brenda. Mixing the two colors together is what really brings out the highlights." Bree raised a brow at this, not really trusting the blonde's expertise.

"My mother is going to kill me." Brenda said, shaking her head with a smile on her face.

"Why? She's the one that needs to do something with her hair," Bree lets out a snort, the two girls staring at Kelly in disbelief. "What? She does." The three girls laugh together. Bree looks at the instructions on the boxes, standing up to read them.

"It's good that we got the ash tint because that's what keeps out the red highlights," She then looks at it again, a bit confused. "Or puts them in. It doesn't matter." Bree says, throwing the boxes out.

"What do you mean it doesn't matter?" Brenda asks, feeling alarmed.

"Brenda, relax. Meditate or something. I know what I'm doing, also Bree's here to help me," She says, grabbing her shoulders. Brenda eventually nods, letting out a sigh. "Now, this process takes all night. But, when you wake up in the morning, you are going to be a brand new woman." Kelly says, pouring the liquid onto her hair. Bree could see that Brenda began to panic a bit, so Bree grabbed her hand, sending her a reassuring smile.

—

"Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God!" Brenda yelled from the bathroom. Brandon and Bree walk in and their eyes widen. Her hair was poofy and her hair looked like it was two different colours.

"Oh my God, what happened?" Brandon asks, looking at his sister. Brenda shook her head, laughing nervously.

"I coloured my hair. Oh my God, what am I gonna do?" She asks, looking at her siblings. They both have their lips pursed, trying not to laugh.

"Move. To some other city, far far away, where no one knows who you are. Start a brand new life. Bree and I will go with you. We'll dye our hairs too and join the circus." He says, making Bree start laughing. Brenda glares at her, pointing a finger in her face.

"Y'know, I thought it looked weird last night. But, you and Kelly swore to me that it was normal and that it would look fine. Now, look at me!" Bree rolls her eyes, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, it's not that bad. Just pretend it's cool, or punk, or...something." She says, not knowing what else to say.

"It is something," She mutters, her arms crossed over her chest. "It's hideous and I hate it."

"Then, why'd you dye it?" Brandon asks, making Bree smirk at her. She knew that she wouldn't admit that it was for Dylan, especially not to Brandon, who was friends with him.

"I thought it would make things different." Brandon looks at her, pursing his lips.

"It has, Brenda. Believe me."

"No, it hasn't. I'm still the exact same person that I was on the outside, only now I look worse." She then hits both of her siblings shoulders, walking away. When she leaves the bathroom, Bree and Brandon burst out laughing, making her yell at them to shut up.

—

Later that night, Bree watched as Brenda dyed her hair back to brown. After the two girls got a really stressful lecture from their mother, Bree thought that Brenda was happy that her hair was back to normal. She looked at herself in the mirror with a smile on her face. They hear a knock on the door and they see Brandon walk in, a soft smile on his face when he sees Brenda's hair brown again.

"Look at you." He says, walking up to her. She smiles at him, letting out a sigh.

"Yeah, back to basics." She says.

"Hey, at least we don't have to join the circus anymore," Bree says from her spot on the toilet, making Brenda roll her eyes, still a smile on her face. "It does look a bit different than before." She says, standing up to touch her hair.

"Dylan says it looks incandescent." She says, with a smile on her face. Bree smiles, happy her sister was happy. Brandon furrowed his brows, confused.

"My friend Dylan?"

"My friend Dylan." She says, walking out.