And there, another school day. Another school day...

Laminia sighed to herself as she ran her fingers through her cotton candy hair. The Schoohouse's second bell had just rung, so class was now in session.

"Alright students," The Adulther's obsidian eyes glittered as she examined the room. "Today, we will be focusing on the history of Oceanuris. Starting from the very beginning." She smiled as she grabbed a Graphie stem and wrote on the board. "Once upon a time, there was..."

Laminia stared at the board, her face solemn and her arms sitting in a linear fashion.

"Psst," Cotton tapped her shoulder. "Y'know, I can offer you a comb after today's Schoolhouse session." Her voice traveled smoothly in a quiet tone. "For your hair." She pointed at her own strands. "Maybe it will become as pretty as mine! Not to brag though."

"Yea, after." Laminia hissed. "But I want to focus on the session for now." She curled and played with her hair–compressing her lips into a frown–and turned back to the board.

Cotton also turned away, with a small smile on her face as she swung her legs from under her desk innocently.

"Valencia the Great. That's what we call her. With her undefiable loyalty, reliable nature, and confidence, she protects us all from any enemies and rules the Oceanuris that we know of today." The Adulther said.

Wow! Laminia thought to herself. Imagine, being able to live forever and being able to have loads of confidence and beauty. What an amazing existence that would be. Her eyes sparkled at the thought.

Beauty...

Cotton chewed her lip, constantly averting her gaze forward and back to Laminia.

Oh, whatever is what Laminia wanted to think.

But she knew that look all too well.

#

"Laminia, your hair is shedding again, pick it up."

"Adulther! I think Laminia is sick!"

Those calls echoed in her mind and in the room as the session went on. She tried to cover her ears in hopes it could block out the noise. And she tried to only think about the fact that she had to focus on the current session.

But it was all futile. After the session was over for the day, she absorbed nothing for her Step's and growing up's sake. All she heard throughout the day was "you're a dog", "even Valencia Qa can't save you!", and "my, you aren't pretty at all!".

Cotton didn't even give the comb she promised to her that morning.

Laminia walked by Yeserno and Uwala down the Oceanuris Market, outside of the Schoolhouse. The sky was painted in bright blues, yellows, and oranges. There were also sparks of pinks in the sky, illuminating a rather sunny afternoon.

Even though that's not how Laminia felt at all.

"Well, how do you guys think Nai is doing?" Laminia asked her brothers.

"Fine," Yeserno mumbled.

"Yea," Uwala shyly added. "Anyways, I have schoolwork from the Schoolhouse. It's not a lot, but I'd prefer to get it done now.'

Laminia looked at both of them. Uwala seems a bit gloomy, she thought. And Yeserno...well. He looked at Laminia and her spine run cold. Her eyes darted away. A bit distant. Their–her and Yeserno's–Adulther's voice rang in her head.

"Look, children. One day, you will understand that you must grow up to survive. That is why grown-ups can live on their own; they are confident, brave, and instilled with an abundance of discipline. Kids, when you become Step 4 and grow up, you will understand."

Laminia twisted the strands of her hair, twisting it tighter and tighter until she no longer remembered why she was fiddling with her hair, while they all walked home without uttering a word.

#

"You guys are back!" Nai Leiyun ran and gave them a hug. "I made some food that'll hopefully fill you up." Leiyun escorted the three to the floor. On the floor was some Ballo Bait with savory, fatty oils. "You're going to have to eat with your hands. And I would've tried to go for actual meat, or fish even. But Ballo Bait was the best I could afford."

"Thank you, Nainai!" Uwala exclaimed. His small hands instantly reached for one of the Ballo Bait balls that was covered in that savory oil that Leiyun barely saved up for.

Nai Leiyun stood up as she watched them eat. Yeserno reached for one of the Ballo Bait balls and plopped it in his mouth, as Uwala grabbed another in delight.

"Save one for your sister, you guys!" Nai Leiyun giggled, even with a tired breath.

"Aren't you going to eat, Leiyun?" Laminia asked as she looked up to her.

"No," Leiyun simply replied. She didn't want the others to worry for her. She barely saved enough money for that meal, and they'd go hungry with another mouth to feed.

She could still survive, after all. "I have to go find some items in your rooms to sell, if that's fine by you all." Leiyun wasn't very confident with herself lately–in the sense that Ms. Lalana paid her from ten Pesing Pebbles to six to four to none at all. Sometimes she got enough. But most days, she barely saved enough for a few Ballo Bait flowers.

How did Nai and Tai even do this?

At least Nai Leiyun managed.

"Bye, Nai," Laminia waved her hand slowly as Leiyun sauntered away.

#

Nighttime has finally arrived. The moon is shining in the sky, and people settle down, unwind, and relax as they tuck in their bed soundly, even with the small sounds at night. Oh, but still; people tucked in whatever they would sleep in every night. From couches to medium-sized beds to small mattresses barely enough for two.

Not Laminia.

Laminia held a small mirror as she stared at her reflection in the dark–if it weren't for the dim Youmlay berry beside her. Her freckles were everywhere and her cotton-candy-puffball-dustball hair flew everywhere, as well. Somehow, Yeserno slept soundly on the foam bed as Laminia sat on the floor, making occasional grunting sounds.

How can I make myself prettier? How could I make myself prettier, like my Stepmates? How can I be like those grown-ups? Confident. Laminia's mind was loud in the silence.

She stood up, her feet whispering on the floor as she ambled in the dark, as she held the Youmlay berry and hand mirror in her hand. In a few seconds, she reached the kitchen–after all, the house was not that big. She traced her finger on the cupboard nearby, looking through every drawer and inch of the furniture.

It was mostly empty. Just stores and reserves of food. There were no utensils or plates inside, but there was some simple cooking equipment. A cutting board, a spatula.

And a pair of scissors.

She grabbed it, gripping it in her hand, and placed the Youmlay berry down on the cupboard along with the mirror. Then, picking up the mirror, she stared at herself–almost tempted to turn away. And holding the scissors in her hand, she moved it closer to her hair.

Snip. Snip.

Snip. Snip.

Bits of hair fell off as she kept going and snipping. And, after a while, she stared at her hair that was now a shorter puffball. She set the scissors down on the cupboard. She sighed to herself and gathered the chunks of hair that fell to the floor, throwing it in a rattan-styled dustbin nearby.

And she twirled her hair with her finger as she walked back to her and Yeserno's room, rubbing the lone leaf on the Youmlay berry to turn it off. Holding the mirror still as she went inside, she set the berry and mirror down as she settled in the bed and closed her eyes.

Now I'm pretty. Now I'm confident. She bit the insides of her mouth as she sighed and drifted away.

#

Laminia found that she had been getting more compliments, the more nights she spent trimming her hair out and the more days she spent twirling it out. But still, where was that wholeness? Where was that confidence that she so desperately desired–practically for her whole life? Where was the confidence that grown-ups had?

Snip snip snip snip.

"Your hair is looking much prettier! Oh, but I'm not saying it looked bad before!"

And Laminia, despite getting older, still felt the same inside. She didn't feel strong, she didn't feel confident. She didn't even feel like an adult. She felt the same.

She closed the bathroom door with a pair of scissors in her hand, the afternoon (and after Schoolhouse hours) light peeking in from the window.

She grabbed the pair of scissors once again and snipped. Snip. Snip. Snip. Sni—

Laminia heard a knock at the door.

"Laminia, we are going to eat now." A female voice called from the other side. Oh, it's Nai.

"I'll be there in a bit." She answered.

"You said that for the last...I don't even know," Leiyun let out a tired chuckle. "C'mon, just open the door. Are you having bathroom problems? I can come and help." Nai Leiyun opened the door, her hand pushing the handle. And she saw Laminia, scissors in hand as she stared right back with biting lips.

Nai Leiyun glanced around the room. Chunks of hair fell off and were on the ground. She let out a quiet gasp, eyes darting all around the room before looking at Laminia. "Laminia? W-what is this?"

"Nai..." Laminia's eyes ran into the other side of the small bathroom.

"Laminia," Nai Leiyun kneeled to the floor and picked up a loose "puffball". "Did you do this?" Leiyun's hands reached towards each clump of hair on the floor and scooped them up, then she lifted herself to stand as she placed it lightly on the bathroom counter.

"Nai...well, I..." She stuttered before taking a breath and pulled the ends of her hair. "LOOK AT ME!" She shoved the scissors in her hand into her hair before Nai Leiyun swiped it away, with such force yet without a scratch. "I LOOK DISGUSTING! MY FRECKLES ARE A MESS. I CAN'T CHANGE THAT TO LOOK CUTE LIKE UWALA'S EVEN IF I WANTED TO. AND MY HAIR. IT'S SUCH A DISASTER–UNLIKE YESERNO'S. AND IF I SNIP THEM OFF, MAYBE I'LL FEEL AND LOOK BEAUTIFUL. LIKE YOU DO! LIKE THE OTHER KIDS IN MY STEP WHO LOOK STUNNING!" Laminia crumbled to the floor. A whimper and a whine came out while her face buried into her knees and arms. She sniffled.

Nai Leiyun kneeled down beside her as she stroked one of the girl's strands. Though Laminia had puffy hair, she also had puffy hair. It wasn't like the thin strands that most of her Step had, but it was like a cotton ball. A thick, fluffy cloud right in their reach to touch that was so solid–if clouds were not made of evaporated water and ice crystals.

And Leiyun knew what it was like to think grown-ups were confident. In the Bakery, she hardly felt strong or competent at all there. And the grown-ups there were no different; they were scared and frightened and insecure just like she. It's like I haven't grown at all.

"Well," she started. "It's okay to not feel confident in yourself sometimes. But I'll tell you this; you are and will always be beautiful no matter how old you grow. It may not feel like that, but if you look hard enough, you'll see beautiful things that you haven't before."

She stood up and took Laminia's hand–holding it as their arms stood near Laminia's kneecaps–and she opened her arms like a butterfly. She stood up and stared at the mirror with Nai Leiyun and her grown-up arm lovingly around her shoulder. "See there? You have fluffy and wonderful hair, super nice and like your own pillow."

She massaged and stroked the tips so gently, while Laminia looked like she was either ready to run away, push Nai Leiyun away, or smash the mirror right in front of her. Or maybe all three.

"And here," she added. "Your freckles? They're so cute! Like mine. But yours are like tiny, adorable chocolate chips."

Laminia sighed. Her face was flushed, yes. Perhaps I'm not used to compliments. And a bit agitated. What was it that Nai Leiyun saw that I didn't? Was it because she's a grown-up? I knew it. She lightly pushed away Leiyun's hand and arm as she walked towards the door.

"I don't like chocolate chips, Nai." Her hand planted flat as she pushed the door open. She bit her lip and stared down, her eyes trembling in a shallow yet ever growing pool. "You should know that."