2 Extraordinary I was sawing through my stack of American Girl magazines but I kept on cutting Finally my ponytail dropped from my hand and fell to the floor with a thump I stared down at the pile of hair I closed my eyes then opened them again The ponytail was still on the floor My eyes traveled up to the mirror My long hair was gone Staring back at me was a girl with much shorter hair bigger eyes and a longer neck I looked different and I knew that inside I’d become a different person too I turned away from the mirror and pulled out my spe cial box from my bottom dresser drawer I had covered the box in pink construction paper decorated it with hearts and written the word Anna on it with glitter markers I picked up a photo taken a few weeks before Anna went to camp last spring without me right after we promised each other we’d cut our hair for Locks of Love Short-haired Anna peered back at me her eyes shining as a big smile stretched across her face We were outside Shear Magic Salon and Anna had her arm around my shoulder hidden under the long hair that fell halfway down my back I flipped through the other photos Anna and I dressed up as salt and pepper shakers for Halloween Hanging up side down from the jungle gym Holding onto the same boogie board as the waves crash around us I lingered on my favorite from last summer on the Fourth of July We wore red white and blue hats with sparkly tassels sticking
Miriam Spitzer Franklin 3 out of the top and we had our arms around each other making silly faces Pulling my eyes away from the photos I stared into the mirror thinking about how I could magically transform into the kind of person I wanted to be This year I had to become all the things I’d never been before Brave Daring Smart Talented Extraordinary in every way like Anna I had to become extraordinary because yesterday I heard the most amazing news Anna was going to have surgery in a few months that could fix her brain and turn her back into the person I used to know And when she woke up in the hospital and saw me again for the first time I was going to be the best friend she could ever have If I turned into an extraordinary person then Anna had to forgive me for all the promises I’d broken And she’d have to forget about the huge fight we had right before she went to sleep-away camp over spring break the fight that ended when Anna asked me to leave and slammed the door behind me The next time I saw her was in the hospital Anna couldn’t talk she couldn’t understand what people were saying and she didn’t act like she knew me at all And if she remembered the fight I sure couldn’t tell Pansy Time for breakfast Mom called I shook the memory of Hospital Anna right out of my head and ran down the stairs two at a time
4 Extraordinary Hi Mom Dad I said dropping into a chair at the kitchen table Hi honey What do you want for Mom’s voice trailed off as she looked up from the lunch she was pack ing Her mouth dropped open and her eyes got big and round Pansy Louisa Smith What in the world have you done with your hair Dad peered at me from over his newspaper Then he choked on his toast I ran my fingers down my neck which felt pretty good without all that heavy hair against it I’m giving it to Locks of Love To help girls who lost their hair from cancer Silence Dad wiped crumbs from his mouth and cleared his throat Mom was still staring at me like I’d dyed my hair in rainbow colors and gotten a Mohawk But all I did was cut off my ponytail I poured myself a glass of orange juice Remember when I was going to cut my hair back in March Of course honey Mom said her voice softening You and Anna planned it together Well I finally did it I said I promised Anna I’d do it and it’s not nice to break a promise Mom nodded then popped a bagel in the toaster She and Dad gave each other The Look which they’d been giv ing each other a lot this summer It meant I’m worried about Pansy Maybe she needs to talk to a psychiatrist
Miriam Spitzer Franklin 5 Mom had asked more than once if I wanted to see a doctor to talk about things I’d told her no that I was defi nitely not interested in talking to some stranger I hadn’t convinced them though They didn’t think I could hear them from across the hall but it wasn’t so hard to figure out they were talking about me in hushed voices in their room at night While the bagel was toasting Mom smoothed my hair with her hand and gave me a hug Are you all right I’m great It’s the first day of fifth grade And I’ve always wanted to give my hair to Locks of Love so I thought today would be a good day for it But why didn’t you tell me Mom set the bagel on the table I would have taken you to the salon There are people who cut hair for a living you know I tucked a loose strand behind my ear I like my hair the way it is Well except it makes my neck look funny Do you think my neck is too long Dad laughed You have a lovely neck Mom said with a smile Then she picked up her phone and checked her schedule like she did every day I have to show a couple of houses this morning but I’m free all afternoon I’ll call my hairdresser and see if she can fit you in after school What was the hairdresser going to do glue my hair back on my head Mommm I already told you I think it looks perfect
