Stupid wide eyes like a lovesick puppy

staring at the mirror in awe, happy

from head to toe

bubbling over with giddy happiness

a bottle of champagne

exploding over someone's

lavender-painted nails.

A lilac tee, v-neck, she'd finally grown into it

and black straight-leg jeans

she purchased yesterday.

Grey converse.

She felt cool.

The song I feel pretty came to mind

as she painted on borrowed lip gloss

and pinched homemade

clip-on earrings to her ears.

She grinned.

She wanted to laugh at everything,

felt reckless,

and instead of thinking and

turning down the idea

like most of her reckless thoughts

she undid her hair

pulled sewing scissors from her desk drawer

and as the sound of the shower

trickled to a stream

and her brother stepped out to

tell her it was time to leave for school

she snipped an inch

off a dark brown curl.