Hair Chapter 1The first thing I remember is bright lights and syringes, doctors hovering over me. From what I understand, most babies are born at a hospital, with tests, needles, and nurses all making sure they are healthy. Then, a day or two after they are born the majority of babies leave the infirmary, except for the few that are born sick. However, I was continuously surrounded by those doctors, those lights, that euipment. !lways scared of the next injection, the subseuent test that was going to make me uncomfortable and insecure. "ut I wasn#t sick. I know this because the doctors were always discussinghow my results came back normal and how my body was functioning properly. If I were to estimate, this continued until I was $ or % years old.I recently read about animals raised in captivity& when they grow up on their own, without any family or playmates, they do not know how to function in social situations. 'ou can probably envision how myfirst experience with other children went. 'es, it was as much as a failure as possibly imaginable, only it was worse. "ecause of my obsession with hair.()oku, get off the table.(I turned to look toward the doctor, surprised. The staff rarely used my name. I am not sure if all of them even knew my name.(*kay, +egun,kyouju,( I responded. *n the other hand, I had personally memori-ed all of the doctors#names, despite not knowing their appearance. Their faces were always obscured, surgical caps on their heads, and surgical masks covering their faces. They also wore big goggles over their eyes and gloves on their hands. I could only tell the doctors apart from their voices and their mannerisms.+egun,kyouju walked toward the security door. .he took out a keycard that was hidden in her lab coatand swiped it on a terminal. /ext, she put her thumb on a scanner and an automated voice crackled through a speaker& (0lease state your name.((+egun Tomoyo.( 1ith that, the door opened and +egun,kyouju stepped through, paying no attentionto me. "ut instead of closing the door and stifling a bored (goodbye( like she usually did, she stood still. (2et off the table,( she repeated, turning around. I followed her instructions. (2ood. 3ome.( I awkwardly walked up to the door, but dared not to place my foot through the threshold. (I said to come,( she repeated once more.I looked up at her. It wasn#t like her to give unclear orders. (I don#t understand,( I said.(0lace one foot in front of the other.(I took a microscopic step forward.(Through the doorway.(("ut I was told,((4on#t make me repeat myself.(.he didn#t. I stepped through the door and&(!sset out of containment,( rang the automated voice. (!sset out of containment. 0lease take precautionary measures,(+egun,kyouju entered some kind of code into the terminal and the room fell to its usual beep,filled silence. (Ignore that,( she said. (I forgot to disarm your security beacon.((1hy do we need to take precautionary measures5((Take a step toward me so I can close the door.(Sssssssshhhh. The steel slab slowly closed. For the first time, I saw the back of the door and I didn#t hear the constant beeping of monitors and clanking of metal. It made me uneasy.(3ome,( said Megun-kyouju. 1e walked to a small, dim,lit room, which was not as exiting or noisy as the other room. (0ut your arms up.((!re we doing exercises5( I asked.(I am changing your apparel.( .he peeled off the skintight one,piece that covered every inch of my body, from my collarbone to the tips of my fingers and toes. .he replaced it with some other kind of clothing, but it was so dark I couldn#t see what it looked like. The only thing I could tell was that it wasmuch more comfortable than the one,piece. .he also grabbed my feet 6which were not covered in thisnew outfit7 and began putting something on them.(1hat are those5( I asked.(.ocks and shoes.(1hen +egun,kyouju finished changing me, she left the room for a minute. (.tay here and don#t do anything.( .he came back also wearing new clothes, although her back was to me. !s she turned toward me and turned on the light, I was hoping I could finally get a look at her face, but it was covered in some kind of cloth that was wrapped around her neck several times. .he wore a different kind of surgical cap that came all of the way down past her ears. .he had dark goggles over her eyes and gloves on that were different than the powdery, plastic ones she always wore. Her lab coat was also much bigger and heavier than usual.(1hy are you dressed like that5( I asked.(These are winter clothes. They are meant to keep my body warm due to the cold weather outside.(.he came toward me and began to put the same kind of funny clothing on me, including the weird surgical cap, neck,cloth, and gloves. Then it occurred to me. (!m I going outside too5(('es.(()eally5 I am excited. Is that the right word5 "ecause I have never been outside. I mean, I have read about it in all of the science books you gave me, but there were never any pictures in them so,((8nough. 1e are running late. 1ear these.( .he pulled out another pair of the dark goggles.(1hy do I need these5(('our eyes are not accustomed to sunlight.(They weren#t. 8ven with the extra protection, my eyes couldn#t help but suint against the fresh sunlight, and my skin couldn#t help but bristle as the dry wind brushed against my cheeks. 1e walked a short while in silence. 1here to I didn#t know. +y eyes still hadn#t adjusted to the natural light and I was attempting to take everything in at once, a whirl of new sights, smells, and sounds. .ky scrapers, car exhaust, birds chirping. I have read about these in science articles.I also heard and saw people talking. 0eople. People?There were not many because it was early in the morning, but there were people. I glanced around, trying to see what they looked without all of the surgical attire. However, because of the cold, everyone had their head and faces covered like +egun,kyouju and me. 8ven without that, I don#t think I would have been able to make out their faces9 the intense sun on my unaccustomed eyes blurred out the finer details.!fter another minute or two, we arrived at a small building. (8veryone is already inside because of thecold. 4on#t do anything. :et me introduce you to the instructor first.( .he grabbed my hand and pulledme inside. (Hello Fujibayashi,sensei, this is )oku,(!t a moment like this, you would assume that I would be overwhelmed, having never been around other children or normal humans. That the chaos, noise, and commotion would completely overpower all of my senses and I would break down. "ut instead, the opposite happened. I spotted something in the crowd of children that completely caught my attention, more than the new faces, colors, and all of the other things I didn#t understand.That was the first time I saw it. It was fascinating. It came in different shades, lengths, and textures. It was almost like an extra layer of skin and yet it was different, more nimble. I took off the cap on myhead and touched my bare, prickly skin. 1hy didn#t I have this5 1hy had I never seen it before5 Then I reali-ed. They shaved my head every day. 8ven so, there were no mirrors. .ometimes I would see my reflection in the glass and metal around me, a bald head and a longing face. The rest of me was always covered in that one,piece, which I reali-ed was very different from the other children#s clothing. I also had never seen my bare body when I had to use the bathroom because my special one,piece absorbed and broke down my waste. 1henever the doctors did change my one,piece or gave me a bath, they covered my face (for protection(. Fro what?!nd as I said, the doctors themselves were always covered. 8ven now, +egun,kyouju was hiding behind that neck,cloth, as if she didn#t want anyone, let alone me, to see her face.I looked around the room. 8veryone had it, even the other adult +egun,kyouju was talking to. ! girl 6although I didn#t uite know the difference at the time, except for their tone of voice7 was running around, the strange material hanging all the way down past her waist. I had never seen something so flowing and loose.()oku, come. I need to introduce you to your instructor.(I glanced over at the (instructor(, but I was distracted. The girl passed right by me, the substance so long that it brushed against my cheek as she ran. It was soft yet bristly at the same time and I couldn#t help myself when my fingers reached out and grabbed a fistful of it 6it!s hard yet "le#ible7, yanking so hard that she fell backwards, hitting her head on the hard floor.;apanese 4ictionary&kyouju, 0rofessor