Aken watched, his heart pounding in his chest. He could not ignore the sight of his twin sister, Adana, just a few rows away, surrounded by Nandy. Nandy’s sharp, mocking voice pierced the room. “Why were you staring at me? Your hair looks terrible,” Nandy sneered, twirling a pair of silver scissors in her hand. “It’s so filthy and messy. And with that short cut, you look like a boy. Maybe I should just shave it all off.”
Adana’s face turned red, her hands clutching the edge of her blazer. She tried to laugh it off at first, her soft voice trembling, hoping Nandy would get bored and move on. But Nandy’s smile only grew wider, her eyes glinting with something dark. She gripped a fistful of Adana’s hair and pulled hard, yanking her head back. The other students froze, their laughter fading. No one dared to move. Their eyes darted between Adana and Nandy, afraid of becoming Nandy’s next target. They sat there, some biting their lips, others hiding their faces behind textbooks, too scared to speak up, but horrified by what they were witnessing.
Adana winced, trying to hold back tears as Nandy held her hair tightly. “Nandy, please let me go,” she whispered, her voice shaky. But Nandy just laughed, and with a sudden wicked grin she brought the scissors close to Adana’s scalp. Snip. A small lock of Adana’s hair fell to the floor. “What’s the matter? Afraid?” Nandy mocked, snipping away more hair with each word. She was so close to Adana’s face that her breath brushed against her skin. “You want to look like a boy, right? So let’s make sure everyone sees you as one.”
Aken clenched his fists, his whole body trembling with anger. He looked around the room, meeting the eyes of his classmates, hoping someone would step in. But everyone else was looking away, pretending not to notice. He could not believe they would all sit there watching his sister’s humiliation like it was some twisted show. Then Nandy tugged on Adana’s hair one last time, slicing off a larger chunk. Adana bit her lip, the tears now spilling over as she hid her face, her shoulders shaking.