The Copper-Haired Song

"She's weird....."

"I know. She always has her hood pulled up, even if it's ninety outside."

I could hear them, even with my hood up and back turned. I didn't say anything, though. They hadn't been there that Night.

I focused on my painting. It had tongues of fire reaching up from the bottom, and a torn bag spilling a stuffed bear, a doll, a plate of food, and a notebook into the flames. I was halfway through the details of the doll when the teacher told us we had five minutes to clean up. I set the brush in the sink and let the water run. Someone else would rinse it off and put it out to dry.

I lifted the canvas off of the easel, and set it on the Unfinished table. Ms. Colin had a table, just for people who hadn't finished their work.  Her only rule about the table was not to touch what wasn't yours, unless you had permission from her. She only gave two students that privilege;  Me, and my best friend, Coleen.

The bell rang for the end of the day. I went over to my locker, ignoring shouts of 'Hey, hood sistah!' and 'Sup, Lady, G?'. I was looking forward to walking home alone.

Before the Night, my mother would wait a block away and walk me home. When we got home, she would have me set out my homework and I had a half hour of free time. When that was over, she would help me with homework. If I finished early enough, she would call my dad up, and we would go out to eat.

Not anymore. I shouldered my bookbag and followed the crowd outside. I would follow the library geeks as far as Rocksand Drive. Rocksand led up to the Square, a series of four roads that made the border for the neighborhood business area. It was more of a rectangle than a square, but businessmen don't like geometry much. Obviously.

I used to live closer to school, before the Night. It was a good five blocks' walk, which meant fifteen minutes. Now, it takes me 30 minutes on a good day to get home.

Three months ago, the Night happened.

I had been sleeping when it started. I had woken up during the night, and I had smelled faint smoke. It didn't register how warm the room was until I heard my mother screaming my name. I saw the fire, a foot from my bed, reaching towards me. I screamed and fell down. My hair caught alight, and my mom ran into my room. She grabbed me and threw a wet towel over my hair. I got up, and she nudged me towards the door. I stumbled towards it and somehow made my way downstairs and out to the front lawn.

My mother never came outside.

The firemen arrived fifteen minutes later. They aimed the hoses and sprayed. I hoped that my mother had somehow made it out, but I couldn't see her. My dad held me close as the flames turned to smoke and the charred rubble into smoldering ruin. I saw a small lump, the size of a human, lay, five feet from the front door. I let out a scream. My dad held me closer, and I fainted.

The next day, I woke up in a hotel. my dad was on another bed, crying. I could hear him. He told me what he had scaveneged: Jellybean's leash (he was our dog, he was out with a family friend that night), a china plate, and an envelope of pictures, from when I was three. I stared down at my knees, and I felt my face burn. I got up and looked at the mirror.

Burns stretched up my cheek, reaching for my hair. My braid was half a foot shorter. I fell over and cried.

I walked into my house, right now. I pulled down my hood, revealing the long burn marks still scored in. My hair was still burned on one side, and long on the other.  I pulled the hoodie of off me and threw it into my room. I didn't need it here, my dad didn't care about my appearance, and Jellybean was a dog.

The next day of school, I managed to get through my morning classes without a comment about my hood. The teachers didn't say anything about it, they knew why.

During lunch, though, my luck changed.

I had managed to get through the lunch line. A kid turned towards me. I didn't recognize him. He reached over. Time slowed down. I froze as he pulled my hood back. My hair fell, uneven. My burns flared up. The boy stared at me in a look of shock.

"I..I'm sorr-"

Before he could finish, I dropped my lunch and ran. I pulled my hood back on, heading towards the Arts Hall. I ducked into Ms. Colin's room and stopped.