A Modern Interpretation
Imagine a private girls’ school that holds the Prom as a tea dance — that is, during the day, possibly at a destination (that’s the boat). Belinda is the Queen Bee, who has The Hair, the Baron, from another school is the Pick Up Artist, who always collects a trophy from all his scores, and brags about how far he got to get them. Belinda has a frienemy, Clarissa, who'd like to bring her down a peg, and also owns an heirloom stork scissors in a case, that can pass as jewelry in front of the chaperones. Baron brags he can score Belinda, Clarissa says she can help him. Belinda is going to have an updo with butterfly curls, and Baron figures he’ll get one of these with Clarissa’s scissors. This can be spun into him having his way with her.
The day dawns. Clarissa wakes up to Twitters on her cell phone, and fusses with her hair and outfit, aided by the family maid, while the family parrot and the cocker spaniel don't respond to her.
Baron works out and gets his game on. They get on the boat. Once there, Belinda plays a great game of Uno, and seeks out the coffee urn, followed by Clarissa and the Baron. While Belinda has her back turned, Clarissa gives Baron the scissors, and the cut is made.
Clarissa puts her hand back, having felt something, and feels…nothing. She screams, and pulls out her hair sticks to face Barron. A fight breaks out.
(Cue Sparks's "This town ain't big enough for the both of us")
And then…
…she gets her period. Visibly. In front of everyone.
On her way home, a sympathetic adult tells the tale of the Coma Berenices…
"Coma Berenices." Brother Brian remarked, looking at the darkening sky. Belinda looked up. "You can't see it in the city. That's the point furthest from the center of the Milky Way. Think of our galaxy as embracing us, like a great big old uncle giving us a hug.” He laughed softly. “That’s what it always looked like to me, when I was a kid. Our galaxy surrounds us, up and down and all around in a cozy safe hug, all around us. Except just that one patch.”
Belinda suddenly forgot that she was supposed to be bored. “What’s…out there?”
He laughed again. “The rest of everything. The Universe. It’s called the Coma Berenikes, Berenice’s Hair.You'd never see this in the city. So far, the Milky Way has had you in its embrace. But at this very moment, you see beyond the rest of us. You are going into uncharted territory, into adulthood, into the Future Universe. I envy you.”
Again, there was silence. And she said, “Thank you.”