"Are you going to cut my hair off?"
"No, but we have to pull it back. Here, sit down." Samantha sat on a rock and Prudence took a wire brush from her apron. At the first swipe of the brush, Samantha yelped with pain; it felt worse than Prudence yanking her to the water's surface by the hair. "Sorry. It's really tangled."
"Can't we leave it? My hair won't do anything bad."
"I told you, it's forbidden. Try to sit still." Samantha bit down on her lip until it bled while Prudence continued to tear the brush through the wet tangles of Samantha's black hair. I won't cry, Samantha told herself. I've cried enough already.
At last Prudence finished tormenting her. From the apron, she took out a pair of white ribbons and hastily tied a pigtail on either side of Samantha's head. "I wish Miss Brigham were here. She knows how to do braids," Prudence said.
"It's fine," Samantha said, although she resolved to yank out the stupid ribbons the first chance she got. At the sound of a bell, Prudence's body went rigid. "What is it?"
"It's the bell for morning services. We're going to be late!" Prudence took Samantha's hand, dragging her back onto the path towards town. A pain worse than that of Prudence's brushing stabbed Samantha's feet with every step. She wanted to stop and rest, but the way Prudence's fingernails dug into her skin told her there was no time to rest. Samantha sucked in a breath and ran faster.