VERONICA MOST UNIQUE
By Gia Shah
My name is Veronica, but I like to be called Nica. I like to be unique! I am the kind of fourth-grader who likes to experiment with the way I look. Girls usually wear pants to school, but I like to wear shorts over pants. I even like to wear mix-matched socks. I think they are a conversation starter. I think it is a good way to get noticed. My mom doesn’t mind when I dress differently but she says, “When you look very unusual, you might hear teasing as well as compliments.” One time my unique experiments went too far.
I was watching a music show on TV with Taylor Swift in it. She had cut her hair short and dyed it blue. I thought to myself, “How cool is that? I could get a short haircut like that too.” Nobody at school had a hairstyle like Taylor Swift. I would be the first! So, I googled a YouTube video on how to cut my own hair. The lady in the video looked like a fashion model with her beautiful haircut. She had brown silky hair that was dyed purple at the ends. My hair is light brown and very straight. Not much to notice. I wanted her hair!
The hairdresser on YouTube announced, “Let me show you how to get this new haircut.” I watched carefully as she explained the steps. “I suggest standing in front of a mirror so you can see what you are doing. First, you need to get the supplies. You'll need scissors and a comb. To begin this haircut, pull all your hair forward and comb it with maximum tension. Then, grab half your hair on one side and find a reference point of where to begin to cut. After that, you grab some of that bunch of hair between two of your fingers. Your fingers have to be parallel to the floor. You have to twist your fingers to be at a 45-degree angle, so it's going to be shorter in the front and longer in the back. The last thing you do is you cut right above your fingers. Now repeat the process with the other half of your hair. It’s easy! You don’t need money to go to the salon. You can cut your hair yourself!”
I felt so confident! I didn’t have scissors for cutting hair but I did have paper cutting scissors, so I used those. Then, I got my comb. I stood in front of the bathroom mirror. “Here I go!” I pulled all my hair forward and combed it really hard – isn’t that “maximum tension”? Then, I parted it down the middle. I grabbed half of my hair on one side and found a reference point to cut. I chose my shoulder.
We are thrilled to introduce you to our newest published author, Sloka Edara! Sloka recently published her book, Bridge of Starlight, through our Fresh Ink publishing program. In Fresh Ink, youth authors with a completed draft of a novel are mentored through a chapter-by-chapter revision process. At the end of the program, the author is guided through the publication process resulting in an ink-and-paper book they can hold in their hands and share with other readers!
After that, I grabbed one bunch of hair between two of my fingers. My fingers were supposed to be parallel to the floor. But I couldn’t see the floor between my fingers and hair. Was it parallel? Then, I had to twist my fingers to be at a 45-degree angle so that hair would be longer in the front and shorter in the back. I wasn’t sure what a 45-degree angle was, so I just made my best guess. The last thing I had to do was cut right above my fingers. It felt a little weird looking in the mirror because it was kind of backward. I cut the first half bunch.
My book is called Bridge of Starlight. It’s a book about a normal girl, Charlie, a bit paranoid, whose whole world is thrown into a frenzy in one afternoon. As if the people she loves being abducted isn’t enough already, she finds herself in a secret magical organization that reveals hidden information to her. And her whole life changes. Just like that. Soon, she finds herself thrown into a conflict that she didn’t know about until that one fateful afternoon. And the question is: Will she succeed alongside her friends? Or will she suffer the consequences? My book is called Bridge of Starlight. It’s a book about a normal girl, Charlie, a bit paranoid, whose whole world is thrown into a frenzy in one afternoon. As if the people she loves being abducted isn’t enough already, she finds herself in a secret magical organization that reveals hidden information to her. And her whole life changes. Just like that. Soon, she finds herself thrown into a conflict that she didn’t know about until that one fateful afternoon. And the question is: Will she succeed alongside her friends? Or will she suffer the consequences?
Oh man! Now the front was longer than the back. So I cut it some more. Now the left side of my hair was too short, so I had to do the same thing for the other half. I kept looking in the mirror. It didn't look anything like the cut that the YouTube lady showed how to do, but I had to keep going! I wanted to get both sides even. I cut and recut and recut until my head was almost bald! I began crying. I did not look like Taylor Swift. I looked like my father with his bald head! Being bald was way scarier than wearing shorts over pants and mismatched socks!
I looked at my watch. Mom was going to return home from the store in a few minutes, and I had to hide my bad haircut fast! I didn't want Mom to know because I was so ashamed. Now it would be my problem to fix. All by myself. I took the vacuum cleaner from Mom’s bedroom closet and I sucked all the hair off the floor. I looked back at my watch. Now I only had five minutes to hide my haircut. I glanced in the mirror. I was the Bride of Frankenstein!
We are thrilled to introduce you to our newest published author, Sloka Edara! Sloka recently published her book, Bridge of Starlight, through our Fresh Ink publishing program. In Fresh Ink, youth authors with a completed draft of a novel are mentored through a chapter-by-chapter revision process. At the end of the program, the author is guided through the publication process resulting in an ink-and-paper book they can hold in their hands and share with other readers!
I felt terrified. I rushed to my bottom dresser drawer and grabbed the only ski cap that I owned. It had cute, fuzzy kitten ears and whiskers, and I used to wear it when I was five years old. It was kind of small so I had to stretch it and pull it down to put it on. I would have to come up with excuses for wearing it. I would probably be wearing the kitten cap all day, every day for months! I looked in the mirror again. Usually I like to get noticed, but now I just wanted my plain old self back. This was beyond a bad hair day. I felt like a freak.
I heard the front door unlock and Mom carried in a load of grocery bags.
“Nica, will you help with the groceries?” she asked.
“Sure,” I said, hoping that she wouldn't notice my cap. I rushed out the door to carry in some bags. Mom glanced at me as she put the eggs in the refrigerator.
“I didn't think it was that cold outside.”
As I carried in the groceries, I thought of more excuses that I could use for wearing a ski cap. I knew that kids were going to ask me questions about the ski cap when I wore it to school.
The next day at recess at school, my best friend Lily asked, “Nica, why are you wearing that little kid’s ski cap?”
“I wanted to look cool for school today,” I lied.
“Well that cap is not cool. It’s babyish. C’mon! Take the cap off, I promise I won’t judge.”
I had no choice but to either take the cap off or come up with another excuse. So I lied again. “My mom asked me to keep it on so the sun won’t burn my face.”
For the rest of the day, everyone in my class teased me about the kitten cap. I felt like I didn’t belong. And I didn’t like lying to Lily.
On Friday morning I got out of bed. My eyes felt like I had rice bags on them because I stayed up late at night watching the TV, admiring how short and beautiful Taylor Swift's hair looked. I put the kitten cap back on. When I got to school, I put my backpack on the hanger, and then I walked shyly and slowly straight to my classroom. I felt super ugly. At recess, I played on the monkey bars with Lily.
“Can you show me how you do that special flip you do on the monkey bars?” she asked.
“Sure,” I replied, forgetting all about my cap. As I did the flip on the monkey bars, the cap fell off! “Oh no!” I screamed. I jumped off the monkey bars and ran to get my cap, but it was too late. A few kids were staring at me. I put it on, pulled it down hard, and rushed to class feeling sick in my stomach. After school, I rushed back home. My head felt hot and sweaty, so I went straight to the shower to shampoo my head and cool off. Right as I shut off the faucet, Mom walked in.
She gasped. “Nica, what happened to your hair?”
I began to sob. “I tried to cut it myself.” I was sobbing and sobbing. Mom grabbed the towel and slowly wrapped it around me, thinking about what to say next. She led me into my room and we sat on the bed. She studied my hair like a scientist looking at fossils. She grabbed the hairbrush and tried to comb it down. Parts of it just sprang back up.
“Please buy me a wig, Mom, please?” I figured that she’d say no. Wigs are expensive. “Or at least buy me some more ski caps so I can keep hiding my hair?”
My book is called Bridge of Starlight. It’s a book about a normal girl, Charlie, a bit paranoid, whose whole world is thrown into a frenzy in one afternoon. As if the people she loves being abducted isn’t enough already, she finds herself in a secret magical organization that reveals hidden information to her. And her whole life changes. Just like that. Soon, she finds herself thrown into a conflict that she didn’t know about until that one fateful afternoon. And the question is: Will she succeed alongside her friends? Or will she suffer the consequences? My book is called Bridge of Starlight. It’s a book about a normal girl, Charlie, a bit paranoid, whose whole world is thrown into a frenzy in one afternoon. As if the people she loves being abducted isn’t enough already, she finds herself in a secret magical organization that reveals hidden information to her. And her whole life changes. Just like that. Soon, she finds herself thrown into a conflict that she didn’t know about until that one fateful afternoon. And the question is: Will she succeed alongside her friends? Or will she suffer the consequences?
Mom took a deep breath. She finally replied, “No, I won’t buy you a wig.” She put her arm around me. “You are learning an important lesson. You made a choice when you wanted a different haircut, so now you're going to have to use your courage.”
I felt so disappointed. I could picture myself in school for months wearing the same kitten ski cap until my hair grew out, probably around summer break.
Then Mom added something else. “Since tomorrow is Saturday, I will take you to the hair salon. My hairdresser will trim your hair to make it look more even.”
I felt glad that there was some kind of solution. On Saturday, I could hardly wait to go to Trim Time Salon.
“Bella, this is my daughter Veronica,” Mom told the hairdresser. “She needs a hair repair!” Bella put the apron around me and fingered my hair.
She smiled. “Were you trying to cut it to look like Taylor Swift?”
I nodded. How did she know that?!
“Well, I can cut it to be more even, and would you like me to dye the tips of your hair blue to look like Taylor Swift?”
“Yes! Please do!” I answered, feeling relieved. For the next hour, Bella snipped and trimmed, she measured and combed. Then it was time for the hair dye. She took out the baby blue hair dye and rubbed it on the tips of my hair. When she was done, I was no longer Bride of Frankenstein. I was a blue-haired superstar! She took off my apron and I got up from the chair, looked in the mirror, and jumped up and down.
“Thank you Bella, I love it!”
Then I hugged Mom.“Thank you for taking me to the salon. I love my hair now!”
On Monday morning, I strolled into the classroom with a big smile. I knew people would be watching me. Lily noticed me first.
She gasped. “No more kitten cap! I love your hair!” She rushed over to me and stroked it. “Can I take a photo with you?”
“I want my hair that way too,” my friend Robin said as I twirled around to face her.
“Well, if you want to get your haircut, don’t cut it yourself! You should go to the salon! Also, really think about it before you do it. It will be a big change!”
I was so relieved that my bad hair days were behind me. Next time I’ll think it through before I try my next unique idea. Maybe next week I will paint my fingernails yellow and pink. That I know I can do all by myself!