“Theoretically,” I picked up the prompt, “You’re going to be a hero. You have a crystal clear image of what you’ll look like as a villain. Your every expectation is that you’ll stop being a hero at one point and return to villainy.”

“That’s not theory. That’s fact.”

“But what is theory is… what if, to avoid your hero self and villain self getting mixed up, you tried something different, in the here and now? It keeps your villain persona distinct.”

Ashley folded her arms.

“Different how? I get the impression you have something in mind,” Sveta said.

“Pshht!” Ashley made the sound, shushing Sveta.

“Don’t pshht me.”

“What if, theoretically,” I said. “You cut off the hair? White hair for a white costume. You can still do something with black accents here and there, but we can go more… white goth. Or something in that vein.”

“I’m not goth,” Ashley said. “And I’m not cutting my hair.”

“Theoret—” I started.

I saw her expression change.

More seriously, I said, “You cutting your hair could be a commitment. You could go back to being the long-haired villainess, but only after a period of time. You’d be locking yourself into being a hero in the meantime.”

“A hair-based time commitment,” Sveta said.

“There’s no reason to do it,” Ashley said. “To preserve my costume? For that minor gain, I’m supposed to risk looking like a simpleton? No.”

“What kind of black accents?” Kenzie asked.

“No,” Ashley said.

“Black around the eyes, like heavy eyeliner, maybe decoration in the hair, or as part of the mask, something to frame the edges of sleeves and dress.”

Kenzie went still. She gave Ashley a sidelong glance.

“What?” Ashley asked.

“Back before Mrs. Yamada told me I wasn’t supposed to give anyone a birthday present, I was thinking about what to get you.”

“If Mrs. Yamada said no, then there’s probably a reason,” I said.

“The group was new and Ashley and I were only just starting to talk, so it would’ve been weird, I think. It wouldn’t be for just Ashley either, it’d be for the group.”

“Spit it out,” Ashley said.

“Eyes,” Kenzie said. “I can put these things in your mask and it would project over your eyes. We could have you wear a white costume, and then there would be bits that are black, and then we could make your eyes totally, one hundred percent black, or totally white.”

“Hold up,” I said.

Kenzie turned my way.

“When you say something like ‘I can make this’, I have to ask… how easily?”