Brave enough

Cap. 1: Mirage

A beautiful red dress caressing my skin, long enough to touch the floor around my feet, tucked in a pair of velvet red hells. Such a perfect colour to match my pale skin. I can mirror myself in a little artificial lake near the pink marble catwalk I'm standing on: my makeup and my hair are in a word perfect. Far away, I can listen to Lindsey Stirling's Waltz echoing in the air. I love this piece! My body start waiving to the sound of the music becoming more intense, and my eyes close.

A noise enters the scene, almost covering the music...some steps, I guess. I open my eyes and I see a masked tall figure approaching me from the end of the garden. Only the light of the candles settled on the grass surrounding the catwalk helps me figure out who might be. The tall boy stops right in front of me circling my waist with one of his arms. I can't tell, even from this distance, the colour of his eyes, his smell or the colour of his hair. He slowly raises his free hand till he grabs the chin of the Venice mask he's wearing and starts to pull it away gently...

Drin drin drin drin...oh fuck you! You always have to wake me up at the best moment, don't you?!

I roll out of my bed, trying to walk on my 7 a.m. wobbly legs, and I stop right in front of my mirror. I mean, look at me: not tall, not short, on the thin side, with a pretty standard figure and an anonymous face: a non-special body at all. Some non-special short dark curls falling messily on my non-special dark eyes.

Anyway, first day of school! Someone kills me please.

Ah but my outfit will be surely special! I like to dress with my style, even if I have to endure some judging eyes. I don't care, I tried all my life to suit a character that was not me, and that instead other people tried to assign me and now I'm full enough of this: I fucking wear what I fucking want! And anybody has a say if I combine a galaxy backpack with black and white squares pants!

I open my wardrobe searching for my flower stamped hippy trousers and my crop grey hoodie. Time for shoes: pink lacked ones? Oh, sure! Ok, now I can have breakfast. I fold the clothes on the bed and bring my non-special ass to the kitchen.

Mom: "Good morning"

Me: "Good morning"

Mom: "Slept well? You seem kinda happy for your first day of school"

Me: "Nothing special at all...but with a beautiful red dress"

Mom: "What?"

Me: "Nothing...what's on the menu for today's morning?"

I ask absently as I pour myself a glass of orange juice

Mom: "I'm making eggs, you need energy for your first day"

Me: "Thank you mom..."

I take a seat at the table while gulping on the juice and scrolling through my Instagram.

Mom: "Do you think you're going to speak with Susan today?"

Ok, not exactly the question I wanted after such a good dream. Susy is, well, was my best friend, but this summer we had a terrible argument for something I did that she refused to tell me. I didn't hang out with her all summer, and considering that probably she is my only friend you can imagine how beautiful my summer had been.

Me: "I don't know mom...it's complicated...she refuses to explain me why she is so angry with me, how can I fix my mistakes if she doesn't tell me what the hell I've done?...I tortured myself all summer trying to figure out what unconsciously I could have done to her but nothing comes to my mind!"

Mom: "Maybe is something stupid"

Me: "She didn't answer my phone calls all summer, my texts too. I think it's not something stupid"