Orchard

5

Not even 5 minutes into that class, and the class phone rang. My English teacher, Ms. Dubois, picked up the phone. "Yes?" She answered in her high-pitched voice. She was maybe 25 and she had red hair and freckles all over her body. She hung up the phone and said, "Celeste, your mother is here to pick you up early. Collect your things."

I felt like an elephant had sat on my chest as soon as she said that. I couldn't breathe. I did not want to face my mother, I thought I had till the end of the day. I was shaking as I grabbed my backpack and shoved my binder into it. Ms. Dubois looked at me, she seemed concerned. "What's wrong Celeste?" She asked, titling her head. "Oh nothing!" I said sharply and hurried out the door with my belongings. Maybe I didn't have to go to the front office, I could just find Demitri and we could run out of the school and hide at his house or something! No, that's ridiculous. I felt sick to my stomach, I knew what would happen when I got home.

I approached the office with caution. My mother was sitting there in one of the velvet seats. "Celeste, there you are!" She said, "I was beginning to worry!" Oh please, you're putting on this act for the office ladies. She signed me out and as soon as we were out the door, and out of sight, she slapped me across the face. "Why?" She asked angrily. I knew she was talking about me skipping class, and more importantly, why was I with Demitri. "We just missed class mother and he's new here I wanted to show him around!" I pleaded. "I don't believe that." She scoffed, and yanked my arm, "Were going home."

When I got home, I ran to my room and cried. I ripped all the bedding off of my bed and threw it across the room. She heard my sobs and came into my room, "Why are you crying?" She said, and she sat next to me and stroked my hair. "I don't know." I lied, and I felt her tug my hair, she whipped out scissors fast as lightning and cut my hair. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" I shrieked. She had cut my hair up to my shoulders, and it was butchered too. "Maybe now that your beautiful hair is gone, that boy will leave you alone!" She yelled, and stormed out. I was in so much shock that I couldn't even cry. I had long hair ever since I could remember, I always had the longest hair out of all my friends. I kept petting it and stroking down, expecting a long flow of hair, only finding it to abruptly stop at my shoulders. I gathered all the hair she had chopped off from my bed and threw it away.

I was sitting at the dinner table when I realized the hag still had my phone. I kept thinking about Demitri. My mother smiled at my silence because she thought she'd broke me, but she was completely wrong. "Here," She said, handing me a bowl of Blanquette de Veau. I didn't even want to eat but it smelled so good, I love veal. Mother is a great cook too. So I ate, and I continued to think about Demitri and wondered if he had tried to call me, or dashed frantically around the school to find me. I felt bad, I felt like it was my fault. If I hadn't suggested Pierre's we wouldn't be in this mess. Mother watched me eat, and then she said, "If you even think about going around that boy again, I'll mess up more than just your hair." I looked at her in shock, who the hell was this woman? Sure my mother was always controlling, sometimes violent, but not to this extent. What had made her hate men this much? I got up from the table and didn't say a word to her after.

When I went to bed, I didn't even care about my hair anymore. I would go to the barber tomorrow after school and get it fixed up. The only thing I cared about was Demitri. He had taken over all my thoughts and filled my mind. I was excited to see him tomorrow and hoped he would be walking up my street, just like he had when I had met him.