not quite rebellious

Jabari typically has a two-inch fro. Yesterday he came to school with his hair in braids, which is common among my students, but something that he hasn't done before. I'm not sure whether it is because of the texture of his hair or because it's not long enough, but his hair wasn't braided very tightly. There were little tufts sticking up here and there, and everyone kind of giggled when he walked into the room. By halfway through the day, one of the braids had come undone. His hair stands straight up, so he was strutting a perfect tomahawk. He's kind of the class rebel, anyway, so it fit with his personality, but there was one problem: the tomahawk wasn't down the middle of his head, it was about two inches off the center. So instead of looking rebellious, he looked lopsided and a little top-heavy, as though he was about to careen off his path and crash into something just off to his left. He spent the rest of the day that way, and the students kindly didn't mention his altered appearance. I don't know what happened when he got home, but today his hair was braided again, still with the little tufts here and there. Today all the braids stayed in, but I'm looking forward to tomorrow. If the braids come out, I will make sure I get pictures.