The Makeup Wipes Project

Chapter 1

My name is Svetlana Pantelieva. I moved to New York when I was a young girl with my mother. My dad was an alcoholic. He was always a violent man who was addicted to booze and gambling. My mother, Sofia Pantelieva, was the breadwinner. She'd work day and night at the general hospital as a nurse. Since she worked a lot, she was rarely home. My мама would only come by to rest or to pick up some food. During that time, my dad would take care of me. However, he'd just get drunk and yell at me. If I was lucky, he'd only hit me once or twice. All I can say is that our house would be a mess after one of his violent outbursts. It didn't help that he'd spend all of mom's hard-earned money at the casino. Overall, my mother and I lived in misery. One night, during one of папа's tantrums, she snapped. She yelled at me to go pack my things and get into the car. My dad, realizing what's going on, pleaded with my mother to stay. She ignored him. We got in the car and we drove to the airport. Мама booked the first flight to New York. She had family in New York. Her cousin, Irina, immigrated there in the early 2000s.

We stayed there for a couple of months. Мамочка found a job at the local hospital and rented a small but cozy apartment a little further from the city. I was enrolled in a public school since my mom couldn't afford a private school or even a prep school. Since I was only 11, I picked up the language easily, even though it was challenging at first. I was at the top of my class in every subject and all my teachers were very impressed. I generally stayed away from people. I didn't have many friends growing up. Relationships were complicated, they weren't worth it. While other kids my age were running around going to parties, recklessly jumping into relationships and getting knocked up, I stayed in my room and studied. That's all I did. Study, study, and of course, study. Thanks to all my hard work, I graduated early and was accepted to a prestigious university out of state. The men who went there were terrible. Such brilliant young men, and yet so hateful. They'd harass and annoy the female students, particularly the ones who'd wear make-up. I'd usually try to ignore their pointless comments, but one of them stuck to me. ''One wipe and it's all gone''. That comment sparked something new in me. Something vicious, something that I've never felt before. It was a strong and powerful rage. I stood up from my chair and faced my misogynistic classmate. It was Jason Patterson. Of course. ''I'll make you look like a fool. Some day, you'll regret behaving like this, you misogynistic asshole'', I yelled at him. He stood there in disbelief. He couldn't believe that just came out of my mouth. I, Svetlana Pantelieva, who was always so quiet and who just minded my business. His surprised expression quickly changed to a smug smirk. '' We'll see about that'', he said. That day, I left the classroom with a new ambition: to create the most successful makeup company on the continent.