Perfect || Niall Horan

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***FLASHBACK***

 

“Mum, I can’t go to school. They’ll laugh at me because of my hair,” I tell her, crossing my arms in a pout.

 

“No one is going to laugh at you sweetie. You’re beautiful,” she says with a reassuring smile as she pulls up to the front door. I smile, my confidence being boosted as I exited the car and kissed my mum goodbye.

 

The previous day I had gotten a haircut for my sixth birthday. It was much shorter than I had intended it to be. I hated it more than I hated anything else. Going to school was the last thing I wanted.

 

I found my way to my classroom, keeping my head down the way there. If people were staring, I didn’t want to know. Once I got there, I put away my bag. Kids slowly shuffled in, but luckily my desk was at the back. No one noticed me or my hair. At least not yet.

 

The kid who sat next to me eventually showed up. He took his seat and looked at me. I thought for sure he would say something, but he didn’t. He looked at my hair, then at my face, then at the board. He didn’t say a single word. I was grateful.

 

I got by everyone else until recess came. The teacher dismissed us, and I went to play on the swings as I did every day. I didn’t have many friends. I was sort of a loner. One kid stopped right in front of my swing. I quickly slowed down so I wouldn’t kick him by accident. He had a smirk on his face, and his arms were crossed. His friends slowly joined him.

 

“What’s wrong with your hair?” he asks me. I wanted to run away. I didn’t want anyone to talk about it.

 

“Nothing. I got it cut,” I say shyly. He started laughing. The boy sitting a few swings over from me glanced at him, then at me. It was the boy who sits next to me in class. He didn’t do anything though. He just watched the situation unfold.

 

“Why?” the mean kid asked, his friends now laughing too.

 

“Because,” I tell him. “It was too long.”

 

“You look like a boy!” he shouts loud enough for everyone on the playground to hear him. “April is a boy!” he shouts again. I felt like hiding and never coming out. I wanted to disappear and be alone for the rest of my life so I would never have to face these people again.

 

“April is a boy! April is a boy! April is a boy!” they all sang in the most taunting melody I had ever heard. I couldn’t take it anymore. I pushed through the crowd of people surrounding me.

 

I ran around the school to the front and then proceeded down the street. I kept sprinting down the sidewalk as quick as my little legs would take me. Eventually, the sidewalk ended, and I came across a trail. A small little dirt path surrounded by trees. I followed it without a second thought only to discover the sound of rushing water. I looked up and wiped the tears from my eyes. It was pointless, because only more tears replaced them.