She brandished the scissors in front of me, turning them sideways to let me have full glimpses of them every angle.
"Is it scary?" She thrust blades at my cheeks. The tip poked my skin, a small prick that made me flinch. I squeezed my teary eyes shut. I should have known that I would wind up in such a predicament. It was all too obvious from the start…
"Hey, how long are you going to tease her?" came a voice behind my ears.
"It's no fun if you can't make them squirm! Besides, I'm not going to cut her."
My heartbeat slowed a little at her comment. That made the whole scenario a bit better, but I was unsure what exactly they were planning…if it was something worse than being cut by a pair of scissors…
She removed the scissors from my cheeks. "I'm going to give you a make-over, Tsumiki-san. There's a saying how physical looks don't match a person's personality. In your case, I am going to give you a new hairstyle that reflects your ugly personality!"
The person behind me clasped me harder around the middle. I let out a cry as my classmate rushed over to me and snatched a hand-full of my hair, pulling my head to the side. The fibers of my hair snagged, some of them breaking as my scalp prickled. She was laughing, a shrilly gasp escaping from her mouth. My eyes watered but I could easily make out her movements. The tension from my hair loosened as she cut; strings falling to the ground and sticking to my uniform.
Again, she grabbed more hair, snipping in every direction. Making zigzag motions and curves. When she was bored, she gripped my forehead, pushing the back of my head. We were face-to-face now, her pupils like bottomless holes. Pulling my bangs, she cut them in grotesque shapes, letting the blades scrape my eyebrows.
She couldn't contain her laughter; her mouth stayed wide open, blowing her breath into my face. I winced, biting my lips to prevent myself from sobbing. My throat quivered and I let out muffled groans. I must have drawn blood from biting my lip so hard because there was a ferrous taste on my tongue.
A loud crash boomed in the back. She paused, my hair falling out from between her digits. Suddenly, her face contorted, all glee wiped away.
"What the hell are you doing!" a voice screamed. My classmate staggered backwards as someone ran up to her and slapped her squarely on the side of the face. A metallic sound, the scissors dropped to the floor. I was released, flopping to the ground with no strength left in my body. The only thing I could do was watch as a fight ensued.
My classmate leaned over the desk, a hand to her cheek where she was struck. The other person, the one who held me against my will, threw a punch at the new arrival. Whoever it was…managed to dodge skillfully, maneuvering around them.
Not knowing what to do, I rolled into a ball on the floor. My voice crackled as I openly blubbered over the situation. Why was this happening to me? They probably needed to let some anger out and I was more than willing to allow them to do those things to me…I was helping them…
"Saiyonji-san, you should be ashamed of yourself for this. This is worse than your typical pranks," the voice from before said.
That's who it was…Saiyonji-san. I could hear her crying now, worse than me, a squeaking hiccup.
"Erk! Her hair just needed some trimming so we decided to…to cut it for her…"
"Do you think I'm going to believe your bullshit? Look at her…her hair is a complete mess now. You took this way too far and I'm not going to let you do it anymore."
Saiyonji-san sniffed, hiccupping between every word. "I…I won't do it again…I'm…sorry!"
The voice didn't answer; it was silent except for the sounds of Saiyonji-san's sniveling. I didn't notice it at first, but I had stopped crying myself, straining my ears to hear their conversation. The floor around me vibrated, followed by a slam.
More shuffling.
"Are you all right?" came the voice.
I hesitated for a second until lifting my head.
"E-Enoshima-san…!" I gasped.
She walked away from me to flip the light switch on. The art room flooded with light and I was able to see her completely. Her hair was slightly tousled…from dodging the attack I suppose. Aside from that, there was not one scratch on her body. Saiyonji-san and the other person were gone…
Giving me a faint smile, she offered a hand to pull me up.
" …I am all right, you don't need to worry about me…" I whimpered, ignoring her out-stretched hand as I lifted my heavy body off the ground. Around me, trails of my hair were strung this way and that. I didn't know how exactly I looked now after Saionji-san cut through my hair. Either way, I didn't care.
"Tsumiki-san…you're not fine," Enoshima-san replied. She seized my shoulders, her hands quacking on top them. "You need to sit down."
"But…I have been sitting down the whole time," I said. I tried to grin to show her that I was well, but my lips quivered. My whole body shuddered, flashing back to the anxiety I felt while Saionji-san ripped through my hair.
My vision blocked. Something soft pushed against my nose. Her arms wrapped around me tightly. I could smell her perfume. A flowery smell with a musky undertone. I stood there confused, my face pressed into her breasts and her smell filling up my nostrils. We were in this position for over a minute until she let go of me. Her hands remained on my shoulders, her face parallel to mine. She wore the same smile that melted my heart, but her eyes glassed over from crying.
"You're fine now, Tsumiki-san," she reassured me as she removed one hand to wipe her eyes. It left mascara smears along the tops of her cheeks. "You might not like what they did to you, but that can be fixed. You're safe now and I promise they won't bother you again."
I gulped, my eyesight abruptly growing blurrier. Then, it all came out. I cried into her chest, my hands grasping her shirt. My wailing subdued by her body mass. Her arms were around me again, locking me in a tight embrace. I couldn't help it…everything just rushed out and spilled all over her…and she was willing to let me do it.
Her hands left my back to dig between us and pull up my face. She held my head up in a position so that we could see each other. She cried with me, rubbing my cheeks gently.
"I'm angry at what they did to you. You never deserved this in the first place. I do want to ask you though, would you mind if I fixed your hair for you?" She detached herself from me and bending down, picked up the scissors that Saionji-san had left. She meekly held up the scissors in a nailed hand.
"…I don't want to trouble you with anything…"
"No, I totally insist! You can't walk out of here after what they did to you," Enoshima-san said. Twirling around, she pulled up a chair and mimed for me to sit down. Hesitatingly, I lowered myself to it.
Once again, I was in her debt. Was this all set up? I wondered if she purposely had Saionji-san attack me so she could come to my rescue. I didn't mean to doubt her, but I honestly could not believe that she was doing this all out of the purity of her heart. Sometimes, a person steps in to help me, but never again. It was the first time the same person helped me a second time.
She must have had one of those collapsible brushes in the pockets of her uniform because she started combing my hair with one. A gentle sensation, like someone blowing on my neck, made my neck shiver. Her fingers glided through my hair effortlessly, sometimes brushing against my scalp as she partitioned chunks to cut. I heard the sounds of careful snipping. She took her time, pausing with my long locks still in her hands to analyze where the next cut must be made.
After she was satisfied, she walked around to my front. Tilting her head, she studied me, her blue eyes darting around. It made me uneasy, and my face grew hot from her staring. I tried to remind myself that she was just cutting my bangs.
She pulled the brush through my bangs with one hand, using the other one to cut with the scissors. Small tufts of hair fell to my lap. I did not dare move to brush them away in case I messed up her work. Enoshima-san was close to me. Her perfume perforated my senses again. She was almost sitting on top of me…
"There! All done," she declared. I blushed, petting my bangs where she had cut. "I couldn't get them straight. She cut some parts really short, so I improvised and added an angle to them. I think it brings out the beauty mark you have under your eye actually."
"W-what…!" She giggled. "I mean…thank you Enoshima-san…"
I left the chair, observing her bring a broom out of the storage closet to sweep up all my scattered hair. I wanted to do it, but she wouldn't let me.
"Enoshima-san," I began as she was finishing up. "I'm sorry, I-I…never got to meet with you today."
"It's no big deal. We did get to see each other again in the end. Even though we both look pretty beat up!" She laughed again, and I chuckled in spite of myself. "Besides, we always have the next day to have lunch together."
She can't be a real person, I thought. She was too understanding…too nice about everything. I can't accept her gratitude.
We promised each other that we would eat lunch the next day. Enoshima-san had a photo-shoot later that day and wouldn't be available to do anything after school. She offered me her pinky, explaining that she would be alert for anyone who hurt me again and that we would definitely eat lunch together. Intertwining our pinkies together, we swore to it.
As I watched her walk away, her hair bouncing on her back, my heart thumped and thumped…and I didn't want it to stop. Her hips swayed while descending the stairs and I couldn't remove my gaze from them. It was hypnotizing.
That night when I went to bed, my heart still thumped. I replayed the scene in my mind, our bodies melding together while we both cried and her brushing my hair. The prickling of my neck. Her face close to mine. Her fingers massaging my cheeks as I openly sobbed in her arms. At each memory, my heart beat faster. I wanted to cry out. I was stuck inside a cage. A person like her would never reciprocate the same feelings I harbored for her…
I finally understood…I had fallen in love with Enoshima Junko.