I had lice today. 

Well, not really lice today, but it started about four weeks ago. 

Anyway, my little sister, Elenor, was brushing my hair when all of a sudden she screeched, “Jackie!  It’s a bug, a little bug in the brush!”  Elenor hates insects!

Mom came over and scolded.   “Elenor, please do not scream while I am on the phone.”

“But mommy, there’s a bug and its on the hairbrush”.

Mom picked up the hairbrush and examined it.  After a couple of silent minutes she said one four-lettered word, “lice”.

While my sister asked mom what lice was, a million thoughts went through my head.

 “Lice?”   I was thinking, “Oh, no, no, no!  I absolutely hate lice. I can’t have lice!  I mean I don’t like lice.  Why me?  Why do I have lice?  I mean …”

“Oh!” I said out loud  “I must have gotten it at Anna’s house in Bellingham, didn’t I?  Didn’t I Mom?”

“Well.”  Mom looked up from the brush.  “That would make sense.  Ms. Mello did say that Anna had lice the weekend before.”

“What do we have to do to get rid of it?”

“We’ll, have to cut your hair”, mom replied.

I looked at my long, silky hair that reached my waist.  “How short and when?”

“Right now”, mom said. 

“Here?” I asked.

 “Yes, Jackie, now please get out on the patio.”

“Wait a sec.  You’re cutting it?” I asked.

“Of course”, mom said, taking out a pair of scissors from the junk drawer.

“No mom, please!  I don’t want my hair cut!”

“I’m sorry, Jackie, but your hair is very thick and long and it would take quite a while to get all of the bugs out.”

I started crying as my mom led me outside. My sister followed me outside and shouted, “How short?  How short?”  Tears flowed down my cheeks.  I cried harder, but I  stilled.              . 

I heard Mom open the scissors.  I bit my lip and forced myself to stop the tears.  Then it came.  “SNIP”.  I froze.  “SNIP, SNIP, SNIP.” 

All done,  sweety”. 

I raised my hand slowly to my head.  From the top of my head I parted my fingers and ran them through my hair.  Then I screamed!

My hair was short.  To me, very short.  Shorter than shoulder length.  It was as short as Elenor’s. 

Picture Day was the day after I got my hair cut.  I look so much different from fifth grade.   I tried to look happy for mom.

In class Matt said I looked better with longer hair.  My best friend, Amy, whirled around,  and said, “Matt”.   

Later that day, Charlie came in late and when I saw that had short hair, his mouth hung open for a full minute.  I shrugged and turned away.  My teacher, Mrs. Brumble, was giving a boring lecture to Matt, so almost all of the class had pulled out reading books. 

Well, apparently a lot of kids had lice over the weekend, so we had a school lice check. 

Amy had to cut her hair too!  Shoulder length!  Lucky!  My other friend Katy goes along with anything, so she cut her hair like mine.  And now she calls me her twin sister!  Katy’s fun, but sometimes she gets a little crazy!

Julia Dietz, a fourth-grader in Linda Reese’s class at Methow Valley Elementary School, wrote this for an assignment.