Celia

I managed to get through my class without breaking down again. I got a couple of curious looks from classmates I’d shared notes with a time or two before, but nobody really seemed to be too interested in my hair, at all. And most importantly, Keith hadn’t freaked out and dodged me.

I still hadn’t seen exactly how bad it was. I’d glanced at it a little when I got dressed, but I’d been in tears and the reflection was blurry. All my lovely hair -- my veil, my sanctuary, was gone. It wasn’t that I was vain about it, not at all. It was that I’d really felt like my hair hid me from the world when I needed it most. I hadn’t even thought about it much over the last couple of years.

Mom used to nag me to cut it, so I’d stop hiding behind it, but she’d stopped and I hadn’t thought about it since. It was a part of me and I’d left it to grow. Now, Rachel had cut it all off with malicious glee.

I checked my phone as I left the building and saw that Keith has sent me a message. I smiled because h