Chapter 1 - The First Snip
The sharp metallic click of the blue scissors echoed too loudly in the quiet afternoon classroom. Maya sat rigid in her wooden chair, her long dark hair bunching up inside the collar of her oversized grey hoodie as cold tears tracked silently down her flushed cheeks. The classroom was stifling, smelling faintly of old floor wax and chalk dust. Behind her, Mrs. Vance gripped a thick fist of glossy dark strands, her face set in a mask of cold discipline.
"Please, Mrs. Vance, I'm sorry," Maya whispered, her voice trembling as another tear spilled over her lower lid.
"Sorry doesn't fix a filthy attitude, Maya," Mrs. Vance replied, her short brown hair shifting as she tilted her head with clinical indifference.
The cold blades closed again, severing another heavy lock that tumbled uselessly into Maya's lap.
Across the room, Leo stood up so fast his wooden chair scraped harshly against the linoleum floor. His hands gripped the edge of his desk, knuckles turning white through his plaid shirt.
"Stop! That's enough!" Leo shouted, his voice cracking slightly with a mix of fear and sudden fury.
Mrs. Vance didn't even flinch. She slowly turned her head back, her expression like stone, clutching the clump of dark hair in her left hand like a trophy.
"In this classroom, I make the rules," Mrs. Vance said coldly, her eyes narrowing as she stared down the defiant boy.
Before Leo could fire back another angry warning, a loud metallic click broke the heavy tension. The heavy classroom door swung inward, revealing a tall man in a dark jacket standing in the threshold. Mrs. Vance froze instantly, her breath catching in her throat as her eyes widened in sheer, unfiltered terror.
"Oh!" Mrs. Vance gasped, dropping the scissors onto Maya's desk with a sharp clatter.
The man stepped forward into the dim light, and as he looked at the cut hair in Maya's lap, his face went completely pale.
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"What the hell is going on here?" the man asked quietly.
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