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The only way out of the country was on a manure wagon. That was the price of being wanted after blowing up a dictator and his soldiers. They travelled in the manure wagon for days without any fresh air or seeing the blue sky when a familiar itch returned.
Nile: "When we get out of here, I'm going to spend two weeks in a hot tub with plenty of bobbles and plenty of cocktails."
Nile scratched her hair, followed by Booker, Joe, Andy, and lastly, Nicky.
Andy: "Stop staring at me, Nicky. I'm not your boyfriend."
They all scratched their hair again.
Nicky: "Joe, let me have a look at you."
Joe: "Anytime, Babe. Look away."
Nicky took Joe's head and bent it before spreading the curls.
Andy: "Let me guess: lice."
Nicky: "Afraid so. When we get off this train, we have to do it."
Nile: "Do what?"
Booker: "Shave our heads and burn our clothes. If you want, I can shave your head."
Nile looked at Booker and then at Nicky.
Nile: "No way in hell am I letting you or anyone else shave my head. You leave my hair alone."
Nicky: "It's the only way to get rid of the critters for good."
Joe: "I feel your pain, Nile. I hate losing my curls, but Nicky is right. We have to shave our heads."
Nile: "There is shampoo to deal with the..."
Andy: "And how will you buy shampoo when we're currently being wanted in five countries and counting? If we show our face in a store with a camera, then we got people after us. It isn't up for debate. We shave our heads, and you should be glad Nicky is the one shaving your head and not Booker."
Booker: "Someone is still not over the haircut I gave you back in 1917."
Andy resisted saying anything and closed her eyes to get some more sleep while she was scratching her head.
Nicky: "Come here, Joe. I want to enjoy your curls before they're gone."
Joe placed his head in Nicky's lap so Nicky could run his fingers through the curls. They both knew they would miss this until the curls returned again.
Nile: "Is it really necessary? Shaving my head."
Nicky: "Afraid so, but Nile, we have done this for as long as Andy has lived; whenever we got lice, we shave our heads. Hair will grow back again."
Joe decided to tell Nile what happened in 1917 in an attempt to lift her spirit a bit.
Joe: "Back in 1917, we had to flee Russia in a cattle wagon after a mission. We also got lice after two weeks with the animals, but we made it to Berlin. At first, we decided to wait for Nicky, but then Andy and Booker got so tired of the scratching that they shaved each other's heads. It didn't make them look any prettier."
Joe gave Nile a wink.
Booker: "As I recall it, it was that comment that resulted in you also getting a new hairstyle. It took us a bit to catch Joe, but in the end, we shaved his head too."
Joe: "And as I recall it, you and Andy were in such big trouble with Nicky that it took ages to forgive you because he was anything but else impressed by the result."
Nile: "What did you do, Nicky?"
Joe: "Let's just say that Andy and Booker made a tactical retreat until I was able to calm down my man."
Nicky: "Which took its time. It takes a lot to calm me down."
Nile laughed as she scratched her head for what time she didn't know.
Nicky: "Get some sleep, Topo. We're getting off soon."
A couple of hours later, when they crossed a bridge, they jumped off the train and into a river below. When they reached land after some swimming, Andy and Booker were the first ones to get their head shaved by Nicky, who always had a razor knife on him. Then they left to search for some clean clothes.
Nicky: "Joe, your turn."
Joe: "Give me a moment to say goodbye to my curls."
Nicky: "I'm also mourning the loss of the curls, but I need you to show Nile an example. That it doesn't hurt to have your head shaved."
Joe sat down on the stone with a deep sigh, feeling happy that it was Nicky doing the shaving.
Joe: "The next time we get lice, I suggest we bring shampoo, as Nile suggested. I'm really missing my curls."
Nicky kissed Joe on the head. It made Joe smile.
Nicky: "You're still beautiful in my eyes, Love. Nile, your turn."
Nile took a deep breath before she sat down on the stone.
Joe: "Need a hand to hold?"
Nile: "No, no..."
Nile looked down at the ground and saw one of her long hair locks. She didn't know why it happened, but she started to cry. It made Joe kneel in front of her and took her hands in his.
Joe: "I also cried the first time; I lost my curls, and so did Nicky. But the good thing is that hair grows out again, and you're lucky that it's Nicky who is shaving your head."
Nicky: "And I promise, when we get to Rome, we're getting you the nicest wig we can find if you want. And a wig gives you the option to try out new hairstyles, plus they come in all kinds of colours."
Nile: "Thanks, I would love that. What if we start a new tradition together? Whenever we shave our head, we try out wigs together."
Joe: "I think it's a brilliant idea, right, Nicky?"
Nicky: "Right. We could get Joe purple hair."
That made Nile laugh that the boys were so supportive. It made things a lot easier. When Nicky was done shaving Nile's head, he handed the razor knife to Joe.
Joe: "Wanna do it, Nile?"
Nile: "No thanks. I think I leave it to you."
It didn't take long before Nicky was also bald, just as Andy and Booker returned with clean clothes in bags. They all stripped down and threw their old clothes on the fire before jumping into the river to get washed before they found something to wear in the bags.
Andy: "Before you ask, Nicky. No, we didn't steal the clothes from a charity container. Let's just say we paid for the clothes, and a man walked away very happy with 500 Dollars."
Nicky nodded. It was good enough for him.
Nicky: "I got an idea. May I?"
Nicky held up a scarf he found in one of the bags, and Nile nodded. Nicky wrapped the scarf around Nile's head.
Nicky: "Hope you like it. A long time ago, I saw women in Africa wearing scarves on their heads like this."
Nile looked at her reflection in the water and smiled before she hugged Nicky.
Nile: "Thanks, Nicky. It does help."
Nicky kissed Nile on the forehead. After making sure that all the things that could contain lice were burned, including the cut-off hair, they made their way towards the border.