Riley Hopper's life wasn't exactly 'normal' to begin with. The cancer diagnosis, eventually leading to the tragic death of her little sister had torn her family apart and had left a hole in both her and her parents' hearts. Her parents got divorced...
I stood in front of the mirror in our bathroom, staring at my reflection as I released nervous, shallow breaths. I looked down at the pair of scissors in my hand, glancing at the hair in my other one. This whole thing seemed crazy. I've always had long hair, always even when I was a kid, I'd never tried anything different with it. I didn't even know if it would look good if it was short.
And yet, I found myself desperately wanting to cut it off, the reason being that I didn't want to stay stuck in the past anymore. Tonight is the night of my Senior Prom, and then a week after that I'll be out of high school and still trying to figure out what the heck I want to do with my life. But I don't want to do it stuck in the past of the traumatized girl trapped in the Upside Down. I want to reinvent myself and truly move on, and as small as it is...just the slightest attribute that will separate me from that girl will make me feel like I'm making progress.
Before I could second guess it any longer, or even begin to talk myself out of it, I lifted the scissors and cut off half of a huge chuck of hair. I gasped, dropping the scissors in the sink as the realization set in of what I had just done. I pressed my hands over my mouth, suddenly feeling very emotional as I stared at the now chin-length section of hair in the mirror. It wasn't about the hair, it was more than that. It felt like I had just cut away a piece of myself, and the person that I had been the past two years, and I was looking at a new version in the making. I smiled, liking the feeling and picking up the scissors again, continuing to cut. I snipped carefully, trying my best not to botch it and make myself look like a Chia Pet.
Within about ten minutes, all the hair was trimmed off and lying in the kitchen sink and I was staring at the new and improved Riley Hopper. I opened the medicine cabinet, grabbing a can of Mousse and weaving it into my hair, maneuvering it until it had a naturally messy look that I instantly fell in love with. I noted that it made me look older, which I appreciated as I fished my make-up that I hardly ever wore out from the drawer.
I put on dark green eye shadow to match my black and green prom dress, as well as some bright red lipstick. Once I had done that, I slipped into my dress and my shoes and surveyed my reflection in the mirror again.
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I didn't even look like me, with my new hairstyle, along with the unusual sight of me wearing make-up and a dress, but weirdly enough, I liked it. I liked the way I looked. Who knows, maybe this really is a new chapter of my life.
"Riley! Steve's here!" Dad called. I took a deep breath, quickly spraying some perfume on myself before walking out into the living room. Eleven was there too, sitting on the couch with an amused smile on her face as Dad stood with his arms crossed, staring Steve down while Steve glanced around the room uncomfortably. Eleven glanced up as I came in, being the first one to see me.
"Your hair!" She pointed out. The sound of her voice caused the two men to turn around and look at me. I nervously tucked my now-short hair behind my ear.
