No More Pigtails
Kimmie Possible sat in her 1st grade class in quiet embarrassment. Her best friend since Pre-K Ronnie Stoppable was busy being the class clown again. At least, he kept his pants up this time. She could not understand how he could lose his pants like that. He even had a belt on but they seemed to fall down constantly.
That was not Kimmie's big problem however. All the girls she had gone to Pre-K and Kinder with had changed when they came to Middleton Elementary. None wanted to run around in the playground anymore. They all just sat around at recess and talked.
During recess today, she had kicked the ball past all the boys into the 5th grade area and the boys made her go get it. 2 of the older girls there had held onto it and began taunting her.
"Oh, Lonnie, look at the little baby 1st grader in her precious little pigtails."
"Yeah, Connie, red hair and freckles too. Almost enough to make you sick."
"Can I have the ball back please and thank you?" Kimmie asked.
"OOO, polite little thing ain't she? Little sister could learn a few things from this one."
"Hey, Lonnie, Connie, give the kid her ball."
"Why Brad, are you sticking up for the brat? A Flagg in shining armor, who would have thought that could happen."
Lonnie tossed the ball past Kimmie back toward the 1st graders saying "Fetch." and shooed Kimmie away.
Kimmie just she ran after the ball.
That night, Kimmie lay in bed thinking about what happened. The big girls made fun of her pigtails. She was not the only girl in the 1st grade wearing pigtails. The more Kimmie thought about it the stranger it seemed to her 6 yr old mind. She eventually went to sleep and forgot about it.
A few weeks went by and Kimmie noticed each week fewer girls came to school with pigtails until she was the last one. She had barely noticed until all the girls were in the bathroom line. Looking ahead, she saw nothing but a line of short hair or ponytails. Looking behind her she saw the same; short hair or a ponytail. For some reason she felt left out.
Monday morning, Ann Possible was brushing out Kimmie's hair and reaching for the hair bands.
"Mom? Um … can I just get a ponytail from now on? All the other girls stopped having pigtails and I am the last one." Kimmie just looked up at her mother with sad eyes.
Ann smiled gently at her daughter. She recalled her own school days and knew this was going to happen soon. Her baby was now a 'big' girl and 'big girls don't get pigtails' as Ann remembered telling her mother.
"Of course, sweetie."
James was a little puzzled why Ann just wanted to be held that night but he just did it and kept his questions to himself for now.
From the Author: There is little in a parent's life more traumatic than the moment your baby daughter moves up a rank into womanhood. Pigtails to ponytail, girl to teenager, teen to adult. Mine is hitting teen years soon and all the hair things from her grade school years are sitting in a drawer gathering dust now.
