God Please Save Us,, || Reilo Jarlo || unOrdinary

Chapter 5

Seraphina stared down the girl in front of her. When Seraphina drew her eyebrows together so did she. When the magenta queen grimaced so did she. That was because she was looking in a mirror. The reflective panel was in the way of the girl Seraphina so desperately didn't want to be anymore. Her hair wasn't in a ponytail, instead her magenta strands fell around her like tiny waterfalls. Her hair was so long that it trickled down to her waist. The locks were wavy and at times unruly. That was why she had always preferred to have it up in a ponytail where it was out of the way.

For as long as she could remember, Seraphina's mother - Narissa - had always insisted on her having long hair. She seemed to have been so fond of her daughter's hair. She said that it was too beautiful to cut short. That she should avoid any haircuts that would drastically short its length. Whenever Seraphina was in that chair, a barber's cape around her, she would only get a trim - no more and no less. But now as she stood in the bathroom, she wanted far more than a trim.

This hair. These locks. These strands. They were like a riptide. Forever threatening to gobble her up. They were so suffocating. At times she felt like she was drowning. The magenta waves clashed together, so loud and monstrous. For so long, Seraphina had succumbed to these waves and whirlpools. She had done what was expected of her for so long that she hadn't taken the steps to ensure her own satisfaction instead of the satisfaction of others. And now, she was ready to break free from all that. To finally live. To lead the life that she wanted to lead not what others wanted her to lead.

It was dark outside still. It was a Monday. A school day. Elaine was still asleep. Seraphina stood in her bathroom with the lights off. The only source of light was that of the moon that shone through the window. Because of this, everything in the small room had a purplish tint to it. No, more of an indigo. Her hands gripped the sides of the sink as she watched the girl in the mirror - the girl she hated. If only she could break through the glass and choke her till the girl she was supposed to be was no more and she could finally walk out of that room as herself. She released her grip from the sink. Seraphina reached for the scissors with her right hand and held some strands of hair with her left.

She breathed in and out and in again.

The first few snips were always the hardest. They were worth about only an inch or two. It was then she shook her head, regret filling up her stomach making her feel a bit nauseated. She sighed and crouched down. Now she was at eye level with the cabinets and two drawers that were below the sink. She opened a cabinet first. Searching blindly for something to hold her hair back. A hair tie, a scrunchie, a rubber band - anything. Seraphina sighed realizing her mistake and stood back up. Shaking her head, she thought that she must be too tired. It's too early to be up - it's still dark out, Seraphina thought to herself. She reached for the drawer and opened it discovering the hair ties she had always kept there. Taking one of them, she rolled it onto her wrist. Then, she pulled back her hair, trying her best to not miss any stray hairs. Seraphina began to braid her long hair until she could no longer braid it. She took the hair tie around her wrist and tied it at the end of her braid. If I'm going to do this, she thought, I'll do it in a way that's not so messy.

Now...

She grappled the scissors once more and took it to her braid. She mumbled as she realized that she probably should've made at least two braids instead of one. In one braid, her hair was almost too thick to cut through. She shook it off though - she wasn't in the mood to undo the braid and braid two more of them. The queen was already cutting out and if she took time to do that then she had time to have second thoughts. Second thoughts that would make her stop cutting it. Second thoughts that would make her want to revert back to what she once was. Back to being the girl in the mirror. But she didn't want that, now there would be no second thoughts. She could do what she wanted to do, think what she wanted to think, say what she wanted to say. She would follow through with this.

It's now or never, she thought to herself.

Seraphina got to work. She cut and cut and cut until her fingers ached. The braid was off. It was on the ground now. It wasn't a part of her anymore. She stared back in the mirror to see a different person. Her hair was shoulder length now but there were many split ends and climbs of hair that didn't belong. Though her fingers were begging her to stop, she continued. With each snip her hair became shorter and shorter. She cut it until it looked even and pristine.

"There, that looks better," Seraphina thought aloud. For the first time she saw her own reflection in the mirror. No longer was it that strange girl that stared back at her all prim and perfect. The corners of her lips curled up into a smile. She felt free, invincible, unstoppable. But above all, she felt like herself.

There was a knock at his door. The noirette grumbled and rose from his bed. He looked over at his alarm clock, which by the way hadn't gone off yet. The knocks at his door persisted. "Hold on! I'm coming!" He yelled towards his bedroom window. He jumped out of bed and rushed to get on his school uniform. After that, he rushed to the bathroom and brushed his teeth. A groan emitted from his throat as he realized how long it would take to gel his hair. He tried to do it as fast as he could. But things like this take time. The helmet hair does not come easily. It is something one has to master to do it right. And he would not stand to walk outside if it was not done right.

By the time he had answered the door, he had had it with the knocking. When he opened it, a girl five inches shorter than him with short magenta hair appeared."C'mon, time for school, John." Seraphina said cooly. "Wh-" John opened his mouth but a sound came out instead of a sentence. She raised an eyebrow. "What happened to your hair??" John finally asked. "I cut it. Isn't that obvious?" She deadpanned. She closed her eyes. "I said I was going to do it wasn't I?" The queen smirked."Yeah, but you said this yesterday! I thought you meant that you were gonna get it cut like... I don't know, a week from now?!" John exclaimed. She shrugged and turned away from him and started walking. She flicked her head back towards him.

"Are you coming or not?"

John scratched his head and sighed. "Coming!" He called after her and began to walk too."So," he said when he caught up to her. She looked up at him.

"'So' what?"

"Any other changes to your hair that you're thinking about doing?"

"Hmmm... I'm thinking of dying it," she tapped her chin.

"Sounds fun, mind telling me when? Cuz I'll expect to hear that you dyed it during class!"

She chuckled at his joke.

"I'll dye it tonight. I actually bought some when we went to the mall the other day,"

"Ok, Cool." He hummed as they continued their routine walk to school.

W/C: 1346 words