Starfish and Roses

Ember's Backstory

Perfection. That was what was asked of me ever since I was a child. I am December Balistreri, the most powerful heiress in the area, and I hate every minute of it. Don't get me wrong, I didn't mind all the pressure when I was a child. Being homeschooled till the age of 12 was exciting for me. I was able to learn at my own pace and focus on subjects most kids don't learn. I learned etiquette, ballroom dancing, violin, piano, painting, and focused most of my efforts on math, English and Latin. Was it lonely for me? Not really. I had Tabitha. She lived on the grounds of the estate with her parents. They were 2 of the gardeners on the estate that tended to the plants and helped my father tend to his vineyards. He has a passion for making wine like his father before him. Anyway, Tabitha and I were good friends, and my parents allowed her to be with me during some of my lessons, when she was finished school for the day. It was even more fun when she brought Cori over for the first time when we were around 8 or 9 years old. We were inseparable. But then it went downhill when I reached the age of 10.

My parents and I went to a charity event. I don't remember what it was for, that fact wasn't important for me to know. I was introduced to strangers within the same social class as us, the same social circle as my parents. That's where I learned about status. I wasn't allowed to mention being friends with Tabitha. I had to stand up straight, keep my good posture and only speak when spoken to. I wasn't allowed to speak to any of the children that my family disapproved of. Children of families that were our business competitors, children from families that are new money or have a lower social status. Children from families that lack any business potential. I was only allowed to befriend those that can provide business opportunities.

I felt guilty. In that moment while standing silently, looking perfect, I knew I was doing something wrong being Tabitha and Cori's friend. After what I was told, I knew my parents wanted to present me as the perfect daughter. The perfect heiress. They allowed me to keep my friendships, luckily, but I had to hide it. I hated hiding the truth, it felt like a betrayal to my good friends.

After that night, I was forced to study harder, learn more subjects and languages. I studied French, Portuguese, Italian, Greek, Mandarin, Japanese, Spanish, and German. I had to read books of a higher level. By the age of 12, I had already read most of Shakespeare's works, Edgar Allen Poe's poems, and Goethe's "Faust" in both English and the original German. The only books I was allowed to read for pleasure were from Jane Austen, the Brontë sisters, Charles Dickens, and Nathaniel Hawthorne. I had to be perfect.

I hated my life back then, and still hate it to this day. I hate the money attached to my name. Being part of the Balistreri family became a chore. It wasn't easy being December Balistreri growing up. I couldn't be just smart; I must be the smartest. I couldn't be just polite; I must be the politest, the most poised, the most intuitive.... I must be the best at everything in comparison to every heir and heiress because that's what my bank account is.

The next problem is my name. It not just the name of Balistreri that causes problems, it's also my first name, December. Why was I named December, you may ask? Well to be honest it's kind of a cute story. You see my parents met each other during their 20th year in the month of December during a Christmas ball at the Emmerson Estate. "It was love at first sight" they always told me. The next year, in December, my father got up the courage to ask my mother out on a date. They dated for a full 2 years until my dad proposed to my mother in December. After a full year of planning, socializing, building up on investments, they got married at the end of the year in, you guessed it, December! So when I was born2 months premature in December, instead of February like the original estimate, my parents knew that they wanted to name me after their "Lucky Month". Sweet story, but still didn't help me when I reach high school at the age of thirteen. That's right! I had more troubles coming my way.

If the weird name wasn't enough of a problem, there was also the topic of boys. Specifically, boyfriends. Now when you are as rich as I am, you have to date within the same bank account. Although after few... ahem... failed attempts, such as: the violent one, the perverted one, the moron, and the one that lied about his family's bankruptcy to try and gain my family's fortune to reclimb the social ladder, my parents agreed that I can look passed the bank accounts and focus on good qualities such as intelligence, hardworking, perseverance, pursuit of a stable career, a general respect towards women... you know, a good man. Not that finding a date outside of the social gatherings was possible due to the bane of my existence.

Then comes the final piece of the puzzle to complete the misery that is my life. Dante Chambers. Rich jerk from the country club that my family is apart of. The Chambers are our competitors. There were a multitude of failed attempts of a merger due to some disagreements, starting from my great, great grandmother, Estelle Amelia Dorothy Everson, who refused to marry Jacob Francois Chambers (for good reason I assume). Grandma Estelle fell in love with Richard Matteo Ernesto Balistreri, so she decided to marry him. Then there was great grandpa Georgio that had a rivalry with Anthony Chambers which made it difficult to have him marry the young Daniella Chambers. Then Nonno Theodoro got his girlfriend stolen by William Chambers so that strengthened the hatred... either way, our families hated each other long before he became my problem.

Dante made my school life a living hell. I was enrolled in private school at 13, which is normal for some rich kids, so I was a bit guarded and didn't know who to trust. Not that it mattered anyway, no one wanted to approach me. Part of it was because of my status and name; they perceived me as some sort of snooty, judgmental heiress because of it. So, I was alone, which was heaven compared to Dante intruding on my solitude to annoy me and pick fights. He was more than a family competitor, more than an annoyance, more than just a thorn at my side. He was disgustingly immature.

For an heir to fortune as great as the Chamber fortune, he acted below status. Every week he would have a new girl on his arm, each girl of low status but no brains or personality that can overlook it. They all had something in common, they were from families that paid lots of money to send them to this school to find a rich husband. They were destined Gold Diggers. Not that he cared, he would just use them an lose them. Disgusting behavior for an only heir. He would often attempt to insult me by comparing me to those bimbos, downgrading my looks, personality, you name it. In class he would throw crumbled pieces of paper at my head. During break, he would approach me and sarcastically call me "princess" and tease me about my first name. He spread rumors and convinced the school that I was a snooty, judgmental brat. Not only did he ruin my social life, my possible dating life within school, my overall mood... he also made school life so hard that I was forced to transfer out. My dad allowed me to transfer to Tabitha and Cori's public school if I added a new extracurricular on weekends for one month. I agreed and added fencing to my long list of extracurriculars. Public school was easier because status and money wasn't part of the commoner lifestyle. No one besides my two best friends knew who I was, until Urban Wright came into the picture, but that's okay. I even dyed my brown hair pink that year and kept it up till this day. I finally feel whole again with my best friends beside me.