Free Mirror in the Forest: Book One by B. Groves

will always be something in exchange.”
     
    Jessica nodded enthusiastically. “I will. Thank you so much!”
     
    Jessica couldn’t get home fast enough, but finding her dad still fast asleep in the chair.
     
    She ran up to her room, and stood there for over an hour just admiring her hair in her own mirror. She took a brush to it, and laughed when the brush went right through without getting tangled like it usually did.
     
    She couldn’t wait to show it off to Tessa and Alex tomorrow in school.
     
    Now the other girls couldn’t whisper about her frizzy hair anymore.
     
    With a contented sigh, she got ready for bed. She usually woke up her dad, but she was too tired. Tonight, he was on his own.
     
    “What on earth?” Mary stood there in her nurse’s uniform shocked at her daughter the next morning.
     
    Jessica smiled brightly and asked, “Do you like it?”
     
    Mary came over to Jessica, and began to run her fingers through her hair with a wide-eyed expression.
     
    “How did you do this?”
     
    Jessica hadn’t thought of that, and looked around for a second trying to think fast.
     
    “Tessa called me last night after Dad fell asleep. There is this new conditioner on the market with a new flat iron, and we tried it out. You should see Tessa’s hair,” Jessica said smiling at her lie.
     
    “I need that. Do you remember the brand?” Mary said still touching Jessica’s hair.
     
    “I will find out the brand and let you know,” Jessica said, not having any intention of doing so.
     
    “You look beautiful,” Mary said proudly.
     
    For the first time in years Jessica was wearing her hair down to school, and she felt so much better. She hadn’t cut it in a while, but knew she didn’t need one. It was perfectly soft and healthy on it’s own now.
     
    “Did your father see it?” Mary asked.
     
    “Nah, I didn’t want to wake him up just about my hair,” Jessica said.
     
    Mary laughed a little. “Men don’t notice that stuff anyway.”
     
    Jessica giggled and her father came down for breakfast.
     
    “My two favorite girls. Jessica…..” Donald said, giving his daughter a puzzled look.
     
    Mary smiled widely at her husband’s reaction and said, “I guess I was just proven wrong.”
     
    Jessica began to laugh as her mother explained to her father what Jessica had done to her hair.
     
    “Your daughter went over Tessa’s last night and they did this. Doesn’t she look great?”
     
    Donald shook his head in disbelief. “Yes, she does, but she is always beautiful to me, anyway.”
     
    Jessica blushed, and hugged both of her parents.  
     
    Jessica felt great that morning, and for the first time she felt light and happy in a long time.
     
    Mary fretted over Jessica’s hair as she dropped her off at school that morning, but Jessica actually didn’t mind it this time.
     
    Jessica knew she was turning heads, and was complimented more than she had ever been in her life. She almost sunk into a corner with the attention, because she wasn’t used to having eyes on her, unless someone had something mean to say.
     
    “How did you do that?” Tessa asked in astonishment when they finally met up.
     
    “Oh, just a wish came true for me,” Jessica answered as she got her books out of her locker. She didn’t do her homework, but knew she could easily make it up.
     
    Tessa smiled. “You look great, but I am sure it takes longer to get that way.”
     
    Jessica shook her head, and said, “No, I just dried it, added a new conditioner, and flat ironed it.”
     
    “Nice.”
     
    “I think I will go into hairdressing, if I can make miracles like that,” Alex said jokingly walking up to them.
     
    Jessica punched him in the shoulder, but knew that was his way of complimenting her.
     
    Jessica got some more compliments and thanked those that walked by.
     
    Then she turned and saw Danny Davenport walking with the other baseball players.
     
    Jessica suddenly felt nervous and tried not to