The Erudite Girl

In

 I glanced over and met Macey’s gaze, she looked just as elated as I did.

 “We did it!” she said coming over to where I was standing. “We both got in!” I felt like a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders as I gave her a high-five.

 “I’m so relieved,” I sighed, leaning against the wall. “I can’t believe I actually did it.”

 “Me either,” Macey agreed. She ran her hand through her short brown hair then seemed to remember that we were still in our pajamas. “Hey, want to go back to the room and get dressed?”

 I was about to agree when my answer was interrupted by a wail. I looked over just in time to see Sarah break down in tears. The shorter girl immediately went over to her, trying to comfort her. It was a futile attempt. I had a sense of deja-vu as I remembered the events of the previous day. First there was the girl that hadn’t gotten into the compound, then there was the boy who had tried to finish his test. Every time I succeeded, it seemed to be overshadowed by what could have happened.

 I looked at Macey who looked like she was feeling the same way I was. Why did this keep happening? Why was I all of a sudden doubting the system that had been in place for years?

 “She may not have been nice, but I would never have wished this on her,” Macey whispered. This turning people away was bothering me to the very core. I tried to shake it off, was it Amity that had made me feel like this was so unfair?

 “Let’s go back to our room,” I said back to her. I couldn’t take it.

 When I got back to the room, the sight of a set of blue clothes laid out on the bed brought back some of my original feelings of elation. I really had done it, for now I was in! I quickly dressed in the given white blouse and blue skirt, feeling very official.

 “This is awesome,” I announced after a moment of silence. Macey looked at me and smiled.

 “I know!” She pushed open the door and I followed her a short ways to the girls bathroom. “I never thought I’d make it this far.”

 The bathroom was really full when we went it in. By now, most all the girls who had gotten in were happily chatting and getting their selves ready. The girls who hadn’t gotten in were already gone.

 I joined in the chaos, splashing my face with water then tackling the task of my long blond hair. I took one of the provided hairbrushes and got halfway through before it was completely stuck. I looked at it then had a revelation. I didn’t have to keep it this long! In Amity long hair was the custom, it was considered pretty and peaceful. But here that would just seem like a burden.

“Macey?” I asked. She looked over at me from where she was trying to smooth out her short hair.

 “Yeah?” I looked at my hair one more time hoping I wasn’t going to regret this. I wasn’t. Half-way down my back was too long.

 “Will you cut my hair?” She gaped at me.

 “Are you sure? I cut my hair and I hate it now.” I shook my head.

 “Not as short as yours, just not quite so long. Like shoulder length.” Now she seemed to think I was a little less crazy.

 “Okay.” She grabbed a pair of scissors from the basket of hair supplies and came over to me. “Are you sure you want me to do this? I’ve only ever cut my friend’s hair.”

 “Yeah,” I replied. “I trust you.” I really did trust her. I didn’t need it to be perfect. I suddenly grinned. There was something nice about knowing that the people around you didn’t care how you looked. In Amity, looks were one of the biggest of my concerns. Now I knew no one around me would care, so I didn’t have to either.