Two Strands of Hair Anonymous

School was almost over and I could not wait to walk out of the gloomy library. Just when I thought I was done for the day, I noticed four girls sitting two tables away from me. They talked loudly without any concern for the quietness around them. Their hysterical laughs caught my attention. I thought to myself: What is so hilarious? I tried to concentrate on my biology textbook but eavesdropping was too tempting.

The first line of the drama I heard was the most memorable and still rings clearly in my head. “Oh gosh, did you see her head?” one of the girls sputtered to a friend next to her. “Yeah, of course. I mean, how obvious can it be. That looks totally weird,” the friend responded. “Can’t she wear a hat or something? How does she walk around like that?” the first girl asked, in a louder voice. “Seriously, what happened to her?” a third girl chimed in, joining the nasty conversation. “It looks like she’s got two strands of hair," sneered the first girl. "If I was her, I would wear a wig!”

A series of giggles followed. The girl in question, the subject of the taunts, was ill. Without hair, she looked different from the rest of us - especially those girls who had long and beautiful hair. As a new student to the...