Oh Suzannah, Don't You Cry For Me

Chapter Seven: Pressure

Chapter Seven: Pressure

Standing in front of the bathroom mirror that afternoon, Suzie realized that cutting her hair proved more difficult than she imagined. Brown hair littered the sink and the floor, the scissors shaking in Suzie's trembling hands.

After sending in the recruitment form, Suzie ran home, afraid that the police would catch her for lying on the enlistment papers. She did not know what would happen if they caught her, but she did not want to find out.

She sent the form—she could not turn back now. She wanted to fight the battles, end the war, and bring Bucky home.

With her hair shorn in ragged edges, Suzie realized that she did not think her idea through. She knew that to blend in with the other soldiers, she had to cut her hair, a task that Suzie struggled with. She had cut Becca's hair before, but never her own. Ma usually cut everyone's hair, her delicate fingers trimming with skilled precision.

A wave of grief washed over Suzie and she dropped the scissors. The metal clattered on the floor, missing her toes by mere inches. Her fingers clutched the edge of the sink as she tried to breathe through the pain in her chest.

A small knock on the door broke through the hammering in her head. Taking a deep breath, Suzie wiped her eyes with the back of her sleeve and reached down to pick up the scissors.

"Are you okay?" Becca's voice called through the door.

"I'm fine," Suzie replied, reaching up to snip another section of hair from her head. The lock of hair floated down onto the sink, adding to the accumulating mess.

"Can I come in?" Becca asked, her voice full of worry.

"No."

Like a typical sibling, Becca did not listen. She swung open the door and froze as she spotted Suzie's uneven hair.

"What are you doing?!" Becca cried, her mouth agape.

With the scissors posed to cut another part of her hair, Suzie glared at her sister. "I told you not to come in. Go away."

"Your hair—"

"I know. Go. Away."

"Why?" Becca questioned, her hand still frozen on the door handle.

Starting to become annoyed, Suzie slammed the scissors down onto the sink. "'Cause I'm busy and I wanna be alone right now!"

"But your hair's so pretty, why would you cut it?" Becca protested.

"None of your business. Please leave."

Becca shook her head and stared at Suzie with utter confusion. Suzie tried to ignore her sister and returned to her trimming. But, when neither of them spoke for over a minute, Suzie whirled around in annoyance, the scissors gleaming in the bathroom light.

"Rebecca Peony Barnes, if you don't leave me alone right now, Imma cut off your hair!" Suzie shouted.

To her credit, Becca did not flinch. Instead, Becca crossed her arms over her chest and glared at Suzie.

"You did something stupid, didn't you?" Becca said.

Taken aback, Suzie lowered the scissors and stared at Becca in puzzlement. Of course, Becca would know; she had Ma's knack for knowing whenever the kids did something dumb. Becca had caught Bucky sneaking out of the house several times, but he had always convinced her to stay quiet, a skill that Suzie did not have. The kids had an untold agreement that "snitches ended up with stitches." Or in the one case where Travis ratted Bucky out to Ma for messing around with one of the choir girls during church—"snitches end up with a black eye."