Inyanga's Star and Other Constellations

III.i When Inyanga Goes

Character name meanings

Neshama: Soul in Hebrew נשמה

Girls at the school

Mingxia: Bright Halo in Mandarin 明 霞 

Sabra: From צַבָּרִית (tsabár) Prickly Pear Cactus‎ in Hebrew or סְבָרָה (svará) meaning Conjecture or Hypothesis.

Yanyu: Words, speach or spoken language in Mandarin 言语

Canción: Song in Spanish

A/N: I don't speak alll of these languages, corrections from native speakers invited and appreciated.

When Inyanga Goes – Act III scene i

The wide bright mirror Inyanga sat in front of, bordered by orbs of light, showed her in her full glory. Full color, yes, but not just that. Her hair. A nice eight inches of it coiling in every direction.

For years she had kept it at various lengths between cadet short and completely shaved. It was a frugality of both money and time. Took thirty seconds to wash — unless she wanted a longer skull massage — and didn't need to be trimmed when she was too busy with schoolwork. When it was shaved close, she spent (wasted, expended, squandered) zero time styling. Yet one trip with Storm to her stylist magician Neshama, and she was back. Not unlike Storm's dark halo, her own tresses were back, thanks to growth spells that gave her eight inches of coils and extra anti-grav spells that set them extra afloat. The smile that took up her face was no spell. She was just happy.

Her own words echoed in her head.

"Beauty? I don't care about that. I'm not vain, I don't need that. I only need to be myself," and then the words she had thrown like stones at Storm, "What kind of vain, attention-seeking, spoiled little rich girl would spend time, and money,which is time, trying to look beautiful on campus? We're here to learn, not look pretty." Well, who doesn't like to be beautiful?

She started to laugh right out loud, and when Neshama and Storm looked at her, she couldn't stop, she could only try to cover her hand with her mouth and try to hide behind it.

"You don't like the cut?" Worry in the tone, Neshama scurried back from the sink.

"I love it," Inyanga said, breathing in to sober up. "It's not that. I'm just happy."

And Storm, with that mind-reading ability that was starting to make Inyanga suspicious — yet the girl's gnomon was not in her hands but on Neshama's counter doubled by the mirror — said, "What kind of spoiled," she wagged her hips one way, "vain," and the other, "attention-seeking—" and back to the left—

"I know, I know. I am sorry I said that."

Coming up, hands on hips always, she said, "You don't think confidence in your appearance will have a positive impact in your school performance?" She straightened up and the hands on hips pose became a super hero strength stance, which appeared in the stylist's mirror a second time, as if there were two of her, ready to save the empire (if not the world). Her flared red skirt gave the image of a cape. No animated threads today, just a bold outfit, with bold red boots. She went on, "Those endorphins you release when you smile — they are good for the mind. You needed this."

Inyanga laughed and shook her gravity defying spirals. "I needed this." She didn't point out that she couldn't afford this. She didn't ask whether Storm had thought about how many girls on campus couldn't either, and whether she was gonna foot the bill for all of them — though if she were to treat a hundred girls to a trip to the stylist magician she would be the most popular girl in school, and the Gloriams could afford it, even with ongoing subscription-spell-model hair care, and Storm would win student magician president in a cinch with that kind of bribery. But anyways. Inyanga wasn't asking. She was done questioning for just a moment. She wasn't just happy, she wasn't just herself. She was beautiful.