‘That’s OK,’ I said quietly. But I still didn’t understand. ‘Why did you do it, Hannah?’ I asked.
‘I didn’t mean to,’ Hannah said.‘It was an accident. I didn’t think about what would happen when I cut off your pigtail.’
I was stunned.‘You mean it really was an accident?’ I said.
‘Yeah. Sorry.’
My mind raced. Hannah has always been bigger than me, better than me, smarter than me. I never even imagined that she made mistakes.
‘You mean, you didn’t plan to cut it like that?’ I said.
‘Nope.’ Hannah sounded like she was smiling. ‘But it looks OK now, don’t you think?’
‘But why did you stop talking to me?’ I said. ‘If it was a mistake, why did you blame me?’
‘Blame you? You blamed me!’ Hannah said. ‘Did you know what would happen if I cut it in a pigtail?’
I didn’t say anything. I’d had no idea.
‘You didn’t know either, did you?’ Hannah said.‘We didn’t realise how short some bits would be.’
She moved her legs away from mine.
‘But I’m the one who got yelled at,’ said Hannah.‘Just because I’m older, I’m not allowed to make a mistake.’
I stayed quiet, thinking.
‘And then you started crying and yelling,’ Hannah went on. ‘You just acted like a baby again and Mum felt sorry for you. I hate that.’
Was it my fault too? Was I blaming Hannah all this time, when it was partly my fault too?
We were both quiet. I thought about the day that Hannah had cut my hair. It seemed like a long time ago — when I still felt like a little girl. Things were different now, somehow.
Hannah moved her legs back to touch mine. She didn’t seem angry anymore.
‘Why didn’t you tell Dad what happened?’ Hannah asked quietly.
I sighed. ‘I don’t know,’ I said. ‘It has nothing to do with Dad. It’s between you and me.’
‘He was so angry!’ Hannah giggled.
I giggled too.
Now it all seemed really silly.
‘Yeah, thank goodness for Felicity,’ I said.
That did it. Now we were really laughing.
‘THANK GOODNESS for Felicity!’ Hannah repeated in a funny voice, trying not to laugh too hard.
After that, we giggled and talked and tried to stay quiet until we fell asleep.
It turned out to be a really good night.
For the next few nights, Hannah sneaked into bed with me. She stopped looking so scared and she started sleeping properly. She started talking to me again, too.
Hannah even helped me fix up my room. She offered me a poster of Robert Pattinson to put up on the wall, but I said no thanks. I don’t like Robert Pattinson.
In the end I put up a poster of Taylor Swift. Maybe I’ll try to grow my hair to look like her too.
Hannah helped me to pack away all the teddies and dolls. She was about to throw them in my wardrobe, but I told her that a messy wardrobe was bad luck.
Hannah looked at me strangely when I said that.
I never told Hannah about the secret spot or what I’d done. It doesn’t seem to matter anymore. And Hannah never told me that she believes in ghosts. But we talk about lots of other things.
These days, Hannah still sneaks into my bed some nights. But I don’t think she’s scared anymore. I think she sleeps in my bed when she wants to talk.
Hannah told me about Josh, who plays the clarinet in the school band. And I told her about Sam, even though there’s not much to tell.
Hannah doesn’t hate me anymore. I’m not sure exactly when she changed her mind. Maybe it was me that changed. I don’t just mean my hair — these days I never feel like a little girl, I just feel like me.
Sister Spirit Page 3