"Before you go anywhere," he said quickly, "we're gonna have to do something about that hair of yours." "Oh, yes, that," Erin sighed. "Go get the scissors." In just a moment, Winston reappeared, carrying a large, heavy pair of silver scissors. Erin hoped that Winston hadn't seen her quail at the sight of them. She felt her chocolaty brown hair and immediately felt no remorse at the thought of losing it. "Okay, go ahead," Erin said confidently. Winston lifted the scissors and was about to chop off a section of her hair when she turned around and said, "No. Wait." She walked over to the mirror and gazed at her own freckled reflection. That was the Erin that was under Sharon's beck and call. That was the Erin that desperately daydreamed that something impossible would happen. That was the Erin who was afraid of taking command of her own life. She smiled grimly. The new Erin wouldn't be afraid to be a rebel, a leader, a girl who didn't have qualms at the idea of conquering her own destiny. She turned defiantly to Winston and set her jaw in a grim line. "Okay. I'm ready." She closed her eyes and let the blades snicker-snack her thick hair. At last, Winston stopped, and she looked down to see locks of wavy brown hair scattered on the floor. She smiled and bent over to pick up a curl of hair. Then, defiantly she tossed it to the ground and walked over to the mirror. She felt lighter, taller, stronger. She gazed at the face in the mirror, her mind taking a moment to recognize it. Erin grinned at her new appearance. This was the new Erin. This was who she was going to be. * Erin stumbled into the main room of the hideout and surveyed the mass of boys. She took a step back, barely recognizing them. "Colin? Jack? Is that really you?" Two ruddy-faced pirates nodded back at her. "All right. Your disguises are perfect - I barely even recognized you. So, Colin, Jack, Charlie, and Todd will be the pirates. Tucker and Samuel, and Daniel, you'll be the lost boys they captured. We can say that we gave shot Tucker in the leg. You be a pirate too, Jon. Eric and Nick.you can go around to that bluff up there, and Winston, you go to that cliff over there. You'll be the lookouts." "But Erin, Charlie and I have to be together," Daniel whined. "All right, all right. Charlie and Daniel will be pirates," Erin agreed. "What about you, Erin?" asked Jack. "Me? I'll be a pirate, too. Lookouts, if you see anything suspicious, hoot like an owl." 3 boys hooting like owls replied to Erin, and she tried not to laugh. "All right, let's go." * A group of pirates with chained-up lost boys stealthily made their way towards Hook's ship. A group of boys dressed in green clothes, whispering among themselves and occasionally hooting like an owl, followed close behind. A giggle broke out somewhere in the group of pirates, but was quickly subdued by eleven whispered "Shhh!"s. Two boys dressed in black split away from the pirates and captives to their post on Spyglass Hill. Erin smiled grimly. So far, everything was going perfectly to plan. She puffed up her chest and practiced looking like a pirate. She ran through the plan in her head. The pirates and she, their leader Toothy Tom, had captured these three lost boys near Mermaid Lagoon. They would stay on the ship long enough to find out if Tiger Lily was on board. If so, they would lock the lost boys up with her. Later, they would smuggle both of them out. But if she wasn't. Well, Erin had to admit she didn't know what she'd do if Tiger Lily wasn't on Hook's ship. A moment later, Erin felt a hand on her shoulder and spun around. It was only Winston, breaking off from the group to head to his lookout on Crumbling Cliff Point. "Erin.good luck." Winston smiled awkwardly and turned around to run away from the group to his post before Erin could say anything back. She could still feel the place where Winston's hand had rested on her shoulder and it made her a little bit calmer.