The Unforgettable Party

1396 S.R.

Merry-14, Pippin-6

Lila Goldworthy was an unusual girl. She was the only hobbit ever known to have straight hair. Her reddish-brown hair hung down in straight strands, not showing any signs of a curl anywhere. Nobody had ever seen anything like it before and many felt it was in some way "unnatural". She had learned at an early age to cover her hair up so people wouldn't stare or laugh at her.

One time Lila was in the town square with her mother, when she accidentally bumped into Lobelia Sackville-Baggins, making her drop her basket of eggs. In a rage, Lobelia snarled about how rude Lila was but that it shouldn't be a surprise what with a mother like hers…after all, everyone in town knew that her mother had been unfaithful, and had had a fling with a human, which was why her daughter was so bizarre.

Wilcome Cotton often laughed at her and said she must have human blood in her. This upset Lila greatly because she had never met a human before, and had only heard very bad things about them. Because of this, she usually wore her hair in braids pinned on the top of her head and a bonnet over them.

Lila didn't have many friends and spent most of her days sitting under a large tree by her hole reading books. But Lila was thirteen years old and she wanted to make friends. She worried over whether people would like her or not. She was very self-conscious about her hair and felt that she would just die if anybody made fun of her.

She was rarely invited to parties, so when she was invited to Hilda Bolger's fourteenth birthday party, she was very nervous. Her mother had made her a special dress and matching bonnet just for the occasion.

Lila walked along the dusty road kicking up dirt. She had her head held down, not looking at the other hobbits walking along to Hilda's party. Once she reached the doorway, she stopped and gathered her wits for what was to come. She looked around and took in her surroundings. The hole was well kept, with ankle deep grass and a few knobby trees in the front yard. Off to one side a brook trickled lazily. She was a bundle of nerves as she took a deep breath and reached for the door knocker.

She was greeted by Hilda's mother who introduced her to the crowd of young hobbits. Soon the party was under way, with young hobbits laughing and talking amongst themselves. Lila wasn't used to being around so many people and felt scared that she might be singled out and would make a fool of herself.

She looked around and saw that everybody seemed to know each other already. She just stood there, not knowing what to do. She wandered around for a while and found the study. It was quiet and away from everyone, so Lila slipped in, took a book from one of the shelves and sat down in a chair by the window.

Lila was deeply absorbed in her book when she was startled when a child walked up to her. "Why are you in here? Why aren't you with the others?" the child asked.

Setting her book down, Lila blushed and said, "I don't know any of them. They were all talking and I felt left out."

The child looked concerned. "But don't you want to be there? I'm here with my cousin Merry. He's looking for me, so I'm hiding. What book are you reading? Why are you wearing a hat inside? My name's Pippin, what's yours?"

Lila was amazed that he said all of that and wasn't even out of breath. "My name is Lila, I'm pleased to meet you Pippin," she responded, holding out her hand to shake his. Pippin took her hand and being the suave six-year old he was who had seen his cousin do this a few times, kissed her hand. Lila smiled; he was the cutest child she had ever seen.

"Why are you wearing a hat inside?" Pippin repeated.

Lila blushed again. "Well," she stammered, "I always wear it. If I didn't people would laugh at me. My hair is different and I get teased a lot." Something about this inquisitive child made her open up to him. She couldn't explain why, but she felt she could trust him.

"What's so different about it?"

Lila untied her bonnet, unpinned and took out her braids, revealing to Pippin the shame that was her hair.

Pippin gasped when he saw her hair. He reached up and ran his hands over it, marveling at it. It was soft and smooth and he loved the way it felt. "I like your hair!" he exclaimed.

Lila had never met anyone who felt that way. She was so overcome with emotion that she started to cry. Pippin couldn't stand to see anybody upset, so he scrambled up into her lap and leaned his head on Lila's shoulder. "Don't be sad," he implored her, putting his small hands on hers and squeezing them encouragingly.

"I'm not sad, I'm very happy, really," Lila explained.

"Oh, I see. Merry told me girls are funny that way. He says girls cry when they're sad, happy, and angry, so you can hardly ever tell what they're thinking."

"Really, what else has he told you about girls?" Lila asked, curiously, smiling through her tears.

"He told me if they hit you it means they like you. One time I was chasing this girl around and I pulled the bow off her dress and she punched me. So that means she loves me. We're going to get married when we grow up."

At this moment, another hobbit entered the room. He walked up to Pippin and exclaimed, "Aha, I knew you had to be here somewhere. Come on, they're serving the pudding now!"

"Merry, this is Lila, my friend. Lila, this is Merry, my cousin," Pippin introduced the two young hobbits to each other.

Lila had forgotten that her hair was clearly visible, so Merry got a good look at it. He'd heard about her and her hair of course, but had never gotten a chance to see it before. He thought Lila was very pretty. All of a sudden, he felt his throat dry up and his palms begin to sweat. His heart pounded as he looked into her dark brown eyes. Merry had never felt like this before and he wasn't sure how to act.

Lila looked at Merry with much the same reaction. He was a very handsome lad and her heart fluttered as he politely shook her hand.

The two hobbits stood, awkwardly looking at each other, unaware that Pippin had snuck out of the room for his share of the pudding.

Merry had to say something. He just didn't know what. So he opened his mouth and said the first thing that popped into his mind: "Your hair is as straight as an arrow!" He meant no offence by this; he really thought her hair was beautiful. But Lila was very sensitive and she felt that he was teasing her.

She felt her heart break into a million pieces as this tender moment was ruined. Her eyes filled with sad tears and rolled down her cheeks and she began to sob. Merry had no idea what was wrong, but felt that somehow it was his fault and he felt terrible.

Lila ran from the room, her long flowing hair streaming behind her. She ran out of the hole and away from the party, to a secluded area on the far side of the hole shaded by trees. The tree was next to a small stream that flowed lazily through Hobbiton. Lila sat on a stone and sobbed until her eyes burned and her head ached. After a while, her crying subsided and she wiped her eyes. As she looked up for the first time, she saw Merry standing in front of her.

He didn't want her to have hurt feelings and he thought she was about the most beautiful hobbit he'd ever seen. He dropped to his knees in front of the stone Lila sat on. He gently lifted his hands to her hair and stroked it. Lila cringed at first, but relaxed when she realized Merry wasn't teasing her. He moved his hands to her face and drew it towards his. He was sure Lila could hear his heart pounding as he kissed her. It only lasted a few seconds, but it felt like forever.

Merry stood up and sat next to Lila on the stone. They spent the rest of the afternoon dangling their feet in the stream and talking. They became good friends by the time the party was over. Merry held Lila's hand as she walked home a very happy hobbit after her first and best party.