The Masks of Amelia

As per Usual

Amelia woke up to the sound of screaming, as per an unfortunate usual. She tried to recall the last time she hadn't, and came up with sometime last month, when it had been incessant whining. The intercom crackled with huffing breath, and the sheer shrillness of it meant the huffing belonged to Ava. There was also screeching in the background, which she then assumed was Olivia. And, of course, Lillian would be dead asleep. That woman slept through everything her daughters did, until Amelia gently entered her room and slightly nudged the carpet. Amelia's father would likely be passed out on his desk, having stayed up too late with research, again. Truly, it was a miracle to see that man out of the context of his work.

She groaned and sat up in order to prepare to see what was so drastic at 5:30 in the morning today. The sky was just beginning to turn pink when she opened her curtains and squinted at the world. It was the same fancy Victorian neighbourhood as all the rest. More of a gated community, really. It sickened her to think about all the snobs in those quiet little houses, sleeping peacefully. She silently wished for a pack of dogs to come through, howling everyone awake so they could suffer with her.

The wish only lasted for as long as it took her to turn toward her overstuffed corner of clothing. She shoved on jean shorts and a plain tee shirt, just another pair of things in her incredibly banal closet. It was hard for her stepfamily to tell whether or not this truly reflected her personality, or if she was merely putting the clothes on as a front. She was tossing her too-long hair into a blonde bun when she heard the stomping. Amelia quickly stepped out of her room and shut the door behind her. It was locked out of habit with the key on a chain she'd lifted from one of her sisters' rooms around her neck. If she didn't lock her room, the things in there would be gone faster than she could slip them back in. That is, if anyone could be bothered to come up the stairs looking for her. While highly unlikely, she wasn't willing to take that risk.

She dashed down the steps before Ava could even contemplate whether it was worth coming upstairs to get her. Olivia had set fire to one of her plants again. Amelia didn't know why Olivia tried to tend to the greenhouse. Fire elementals were never good with plants. Although at least plants didn't try to sing, like Ava.

Once she'd put out the plant fire, she put it on her mental checklist to get another plant from the greenhouse that day. While she was making the family's preferred summer breakfast of eggs and avocado, Ava warmed up her 'singing voice' in the living room. Ava always refused to practice in the music room, because she insisted that to do so was to deprive the rest of the world of her wondrous voice. Amelia thought it was because she was desperate for attention, and wanted everyone to bleed from their ears. The girl was painfully tone deaf. Occasionally Amelia considered pulling a double Van-Gogh. It was difficult to blame her.

Olivia was already at the table by the time Amelia finished the food, but Olivia was usually the only one there, so she took the two other plates to Ava and Lillian. Ava simply ignored Amelia and went on with her practising. Both of Amelia's stepsisters were very pretty, but, as they did nearly every day, had piled a week's worth of makeup on their faces with little finesse. They went through many brands, looking for the perfect shade of blush, or toner, or foundation, or lipstick. And every time, they'd throw it out. Well, they'd throw it on their floor, which was essentially the same thing.

Amelia cleaned her stepsisters' rooms, and every time she stepped foot in there, it was as though a tornado had gone through, but when she left, it was immaculate, and a few items emptier. Amelia was a slight kleptomaniac, and generally stole some things of her stepsisters'. Nothing they ever noticed. They were so spoiled they couldn't even keep track of what they gained and lost. This occurred about once a month, and like almost everything else Amelia did around the house, went unacknowledged.