Inner Beauty

Chapter 1

Anna glanced at herself in the mirror of her dressing table.

Her hair was brown and straight. Her eyes the colour of mud. Her nose and cheekbones far too sharp for a woman. She couldn't imagine any man finding her attractive.

Earlier that day, she had walked along the beach. She had smiled at the children playing close by. They reminded her of her once younger self.

She noticed the man and woman ahead of her holding hands and talking. Her one wish was to have such intimacy with a man.

That wish had yet to be fulfilled.

A football whizzed past her head and landed a few feet from her. She looked to see where it had come from, but she shouldn't have bothered. The man had called out to her before she had even begun scanning through the crowd.

"Hey, you! Can you throw that back to us?"

The voice came from a man she had never seen before.

He was handsome. Too handsome, really. His hair was dark and straight. His features were sharp and proud. He was tall, and she could tell from where she was that he'd tower over her. She couldn't see his eyes, but she was certain they must be beautiful.

He smirked at her now. "Are you going to stand there all day staring, or are you going to throw me the ball?"

Her face flamed.

She had been staring. How embarrassing!

She quickly turned and picked up the ball. She aimed for his head when she threw.

How dare he speak to her like that. He didn't even know her.

Her aim was not so good, nor her arm so strong. It landed a few feet in front of him, and he jogged forward to pick it up.

He didn't give her a backward glance.

She didn't know this man, but it stung that he hadn't even taken the time to say thank you.

She didn't feel like walking anymore. She turned back the way she came, so she could walk back to her home.

Her face was red even now as she looked at herself in the mirror.

How could she have been so stupid?

For a minute there, she had hoped the man would see her as a woman. Her looks were too plain for any man to consider her beautiful. What made her think such a gorgeous guy would find her the least bit attractive? She should know better by now.

She was tired of thinking about it now.

She got up, took off her robe, and slipped into bed.

Thank you all so much for reading and commenting. This is a rough draft, so there will be mistakes. Please keep that in mind!

There have been a lot of comments about how I use 3rd POV and that is just how I write when I don't edit. Also, some seem to think my chapters are too short. I write on my phone most of the time, but I'll start using my computer more.

What did you think of this first chapter? Do you like Anna's character so far?