Sydney to the Max

Jada, I'm so sorry Syd's late.

I'm sure she'll be here any minute.

In the meantime, you know what's always fun?

Helping me choose which bike horn to order.

-Number one... number two... -

-or horn number three. -

Well, they're all great in their own way.

I know. Lemme honk 'em again.

-Number one. -

Oh no. He's brought out the bike horns.

Jada, I am so, so sorry that I'm late.

It's all good.

Don't worry. I'll decide myself.

I'm going with number three. No, two.

-Okay, one. Oh yeah! That's a winner. -

Again, Jada, I am so sorry.

I'm the worst lab partner in the world.

It's just that after fencing practice,

I always have to straighten my hair,

but I forgot my flat iron,

so I had to borrow one from a friend,

and then she took forever,

going over every single...

And I am still making you wait. So, science!

Listen, I get it.

I tried flat ironing my hair once,

and after burning my fingers

and frying my hair, I gave up.

So, I'm team natural and loving it.

And it looks great on you.

And I bet your natural hair would look great, too.

Syd, just curious, have you ever considered it?

As in no flat iron?

Because Clampy and I are inseparable.

Yeah, I named it.

Yeah. That's what I'm saying.

No Clampy, no chemicals.

Your hair in its natural state.

I'm talking Black girl magic cute.

Huh. I don't think I've ever considered it.

Don't get me wrong. Your hair looks great like this,

but there are other styles that would look just as fire.

So, for our science experiment,

I tested the pH...

And you're looking at your hair, aren't you?

What? No, why would I be looking at my hair

in a napkin dispenser?

There's a full-size mirror in the bathroom.

I will be right back.

Hey. Photo albums?

I didn't know we were taking

a walk down memory lane. Scooch over.

Aw, look!

It's your toothless years!

-So sweet! -

Dad, can I ask you a question?

: Honey, you can ask me anything.

When did I start straightening my hair?

You have come to the right person.

Mom! Little help, please!

Oh, Max, what did you do now?

Nothing. Sydney has a hair question

that I'm sure you can answer better than me.

And without even knowing the question, I'm also sure.

What's going on, Noodle?

My lab partner Jada asked

why I never wear my hair natural,

and I didn't have an answer. Have I ever worn it that way?

Sure you have.

See?

Here at the state fair,

and here at the Martin Luther King parade,

and here at the first day of kindergarten.

You cried so hard that day.

Oh wait. That was me.

But all of these pictures are with Mom.

Wait.

Did I start wearing my hair straight after she died?

I guess so.

Someone needed to take over hair duties,

so I brought you to my salon.

And that's where they straightened your hair for the first time.

Did I like it?

You loved it.

You even made me buy a flat iron so I could do it every week.

Huh. Well,

maybe it's time I wear my hair natural again. I just...

wish I knew how to do it.

I guess I will have to figure it out.

-What you doing? -Ah!

Gah, I hate when you do that!

I know! That's what makes it fun!

Actually, I'm perfecting

my handsome but humble look for picture day.

Picture day? When is that?

In two days. They mailed out a letter about it.

They did? Oh, this is bad.

Really, really bad.

-Why? -If my mom finds out about picture day,

she's going to make me get a relaxer.

Oh! I always relax before picture day.

I skip my homework, take my time in the morning,

and come in as late as possible.

Wait, I do that every day.

No, Max. I said relaxer, not relax.

It's the stuff that straightens my hair.

My mom always makes me get one for picture day.

So, what's so bad about this stuff?

Okay, imagine being held upside down

and having your scalp dipped into a volcano.

Why do you have to go through that?

My mom says it makes my hair look nice and manageable.

In my experience, these moms know

a lot less than they claim to.

Thanks, Max, but I have to get home quick

before my mom gets a hold of that letter.

I hope you don't have to get dipped into a volcano!

Wavy? Curly? Straight? What do you wanna be?

Make up your mind!

I got your emergency hair emoji.

We haven't used that since Sophia

tried to trim her own hair!

Yeah, that was a rough night.

So, what's the emergency?

I wanna stop straightening my hair and wear it natural.

OMG! This is huge! Monumental!

I know, but the only thing is I don't know anything

about styling it natural.

What about online hair tutorials?

Just the other day, I learned

how to crimp my hair with two forks!

Then I had to watch another video

on how to get forks out of your hair.

Well, I found a tutorial,

but I couldn't even get past the first step,

which is determining my hair number.

Hair number? That's going to take a long time, but okay.

-One, two, three-- -

No, not the number of hairs, the hair number.

There's this universal hair chart.

Your hair number is based on your natural hair texture.

Straight hair is 1,

wavy to loose curls are

2a through 2c,

uh, curly hair is 3a through 3c,

and tighter curls are in the 4's.

You get the idea.

Not as often as I'd like.

Can I see that?

At first, I thought my hair was a 2a,

but then the back of my hair is a 3a.

I'm never gonna figure out which one I am.

-Found it! -Really?

Yeah. I'm a 2b!

Sorry. Not helping.

I just... I wish my mom was here.

She'd know what to do.

Wait. I'll call Grandma Maya. She'll know!

Yeah! And who better to judge your hair

than an actual judge?

- -It's her voicemail.

Hi, Grandma Maya. I need to talk to you

about something important.

I mean, not crazy important,

but important. It's my hair.

I wanna go natural, but I'm really confused.

I mean, not crazy confused, but confused. Is this confusing?

Anyway, Grandma, just please call me back.

If you don't hear back from your grandma,

how are you gonna wear your hair to school tomorrow?

The only way I know how.

-With the help of Clampy. -

-Alisha? -My life is over!

-What's wrong? -My mom got the letter about picture day,

and already made my hair appointment.

Now, they have to dip you in that volcano stuff?

Yeah! But it's not just about the relaxer.

I don't wanna change the way I look.

I like my natural hair, and I don't wanna look back

at my middle school pictures and think,

"This isn't the real me."

So, what are you gonna do?

Maybe I can just hang out here, so my mom can't find me,

and I'll miss the appointment!

Hang out here? Like all day, just us?

-Is that okay? -Yes!

I mean, if you have to, you have to.

- -Mom? What are you doing here?

Oh, didn't I tell you? I live here.

Hello? Oh hi, Maya. Nice to hear from you.

Oh yeah. I've been good. Thanks.

Oh, Alisha? Yeah, she's here.

Sorry, I'm a bit distracted.

Max and Alisha are doing some sort of wave dance.