Pigtails

A story of a girl who lost her two best friends, her pigtails.

When Jane woke up that morning, she looked at the photograph beside her bed. It was taken when her mother was still alive. Her mother was dressed in a pretty, red, church dress that always complemented her hair. Jane was next to her. She wore a pink blouse and a purple skirt. She wore her hair as she always did, in two braided pigtails. It was the first day of the second grade, the day she lost her mother. On the way back from dropping her off at school, her mother had gotten into a fatal car crash. She didn't survive.

Those pigtails made her mother so happy. Every morning, her mother would tell her to come downstairs to do her hair. Always in those braided pigtails. She'd kept that tradition. She wore her hair like that everyday. It made her happy knowing that her mother could look down from Heaven,see them, and smile. 

She walked to school that morning, happier than usual. That all changed when she walked into first period. All of the girls laughed at her everyday because of those pigtails. She didn't care enough to take them out. She wanted to keep them. She knew her mother liked them and that was all that mattered. She wanted to keep her mother happy. She sat down and realized they had gone completely quiet. Mrs. Johnson had come into the classroom.  Halfway during history class, everyone started snickering. Mrs. Johnson had the worst hearing, she had no idea of the faint laughter erupting around her classroom.

Jane felt a small tug on one of her long pigtails and moved slightly so David, the kid that sat behind her, knew to quit it. He would occasionally pull on them when he got bored just to mess with her. But his time was different, he didn't let go. Instead, he tugged harder. She turned and heard a snip. She faced him, her face had gone completely red.  He was holding one of her braids in his hand. She slapped that smug smile off his face and took her braid out of his hand. She stormed out of the classroom, crying. No one followed her. She heard yelling, from Mrs. Johnson, and laughing, from all the students.

She ran to the girls' bathroom. She cried until the principal showed up. She hugged her but Jane didn't want to be hugged. She ran. She had never ditched school before but she couldn't stop running. She ran all the way to her father's barber shop. 

When she entered, he immediately came to her. He enveloped her in a hug. She didn't mind this one. She cried into his shoulder. When he asked what was wrong, she held up her braid. He sat her down in his chair and began working on her hair, ignoring his other customers. When he was done, she looked in the mirror. Her hair was at her shoulders. She hated it. She wanted her long hair that almost reached her waist. She couldn't wear her pigtails with this hair. She expressed this to her father.

"It's okay. You're mother loves you with or without pigtails. It'll grow back in time." He took his daughter's hand in his and lead her to the back room. He hugged her and told her he had to go back to work, people were waiting on him. She nodded and headed home. 

She laid on her bed and fell asleep.

Her dream was weird. She'd had dreams with her mother in them before but this felt all too real. Her mother walked up to her, and tussled her hair. "I love it! About time for a change!" she said and kissed her daughter's forehead. "And I love you." Then, she disappeared and Jane woke up.

Reviews

[Kris10]

Very sad but touching. I'm a teacher and I hope I am never that clueless! Maybe she could get even with that boy?

[Quinn W]

Thank you! I may not have written it but if I were her that boy is DEAD tomorrow. She slapped him once she can do it again! Don't mess with Jane.

[12.09am]

This was so beautifully written, you definately have a way with words, they just flow as if they are magical! This was very sad, but beautifully ended, great despcription right throughout !

[Quinn W]

Thank you so much! Really feeling the love today! You have such a way with words as well! really love your writing!

[Jacob Clifford]

This is a really pretty story. Its very straight forward and easy to follow. It was sad, but it ended on a positive note. Well done.

[Quinn W]

Thank you!

[Edyn]

Absolutely stunning, I loved how compact and thought provoking the story was. My one critique is to choose words that make the sentences flow together more. But spectacular work

[Quinn W]

Thank you so much!

[Dave]

What a sad, but beautiful story. I was charmed by it from the very start. I wish I could write such short, compact stories. Mine tend to run on a bit longer.

[Quinn W]

Thank you! There's no problem with long stories, they're better in my opinion.

[Dave]

I'd love to know how to post them here from my computer without having to write them all over again.

[Quinn W]

To post them on your computer just go tot the website, obviously. Then if you click on the "writing" tab there should be a tab that says "add writing" and the form will pop up. You will also see a "manage writing" tab that allows you to edit others you've posted or delete one if you need to.
Hope this helped.

[barleygirl]

Very imaginative story! I was transfixed from beginning to end. Your writing is strong & well-crafted. I prefer a straightforward story like this about everyday human feelings & interactions. You showed us all the details of what's going on, so we could picture the story as we read. The feelings expressed were strong & palpable & understandable & realistic. I also love when a sad story ends on a hopeful note. It turns this into an inspirational read.

[Quinn W]

Thank you! That means so much to me!