Natalie Murray
The End
Natalie shut the book with a thump and let out a sated sigh.
While reading, Natalie’s imagination took flight. She left behind the grey, monotonous and even torturous world that she lived in and submerged herself into the pages of old, dusty, yellowed volumes and experienced a fantastical and unreal world. The world in words had always appealed to Natalie more than the world she lived in. It may sound like a cynic’s anecdote. And that was exactly what Natalie was. A cynic. And she had good enough reason to be so too.
Natalie glanced around and saw her classmates frolicking in the schools grounds. Running, laughing, shouting, giggling. How immature. She contemplated on going over and telling them to lower their volume a notch, but gave up on the idea. She did not want to be a bigger “Ms. Bossy-Know-It-All” than she already was, in the eyes of her schoolmates. Sometimes, when she was being rather analytical and perceptive of her life, she thought about it. Did it really matter what everyone else thought about her? She was too much of a social reject/nerd/freak to care about her social reputation. But then she was also more mature, insightful and self sufficient. No matter how much Natalie thought about it, the idea of her having friends and being popular seemed laughable. No, she was not an introvert. She wasn’t shy, unconfident in front of crowds or freaky. She just liked having things her way. She was best when she was with teamed herself. She liked being wrapped up inside her whizzing brain. But when it came to standing up or herself, she was a ruthless and indisputably correct, and confident person.
Also Natalie was a pretty girl. Slender, tall and good-looking. Her ebony mop of hair fell to her shoulders but was usually tied up in a messy but. Her dark and voluminous hair was complemented by a pair of intelligent, deep and enchanting brown eyes. Whenever she answered a question in class, read a book or did something that interested her, these chocolaty spheres would glow with a strange fire.
The shrill bell from inside the school building indicated that the free period was over. Natalie recalled her schedule and decided to take the shortest route to the Lab as she needed to have a chat with Ms. Mason, the Biology Teacher. Natalie got up from under the shady chestnut tree, looking longingly at the patch of soft turf. She walked across the lawn in her usual confident and purposeful manner with her head held high and hands piled with books.
After school was over, Natalie walked home and started browsing through take-out menus, arranging the night’s dinner. She ordered Pizza and Salad switched on the telly, hoping to catch the Harry Potter marathon. At around 9.30 as she was working on her World History essay, the door clicked open and her father, Jack walked in. Neither Jack nor his daughter acknowledged each other, just like every other evening. He hung his coat on the rack and went into the kitchen. The pizza – or rather its remains - lay forgotten on the cold granite counter of the kitchen. Jack figured out that the Pizza was Natalie’s and that she’d probably what to eat it at some point of the night and felt best to leave it the way it was rather than to face her wrath. He snooped around the refrigerator and cabinets and set up a meal of Instant Noodles, fruit juice and some bread for himself.
Natalie completed her essay and went into the kitchen. Her stomach was begging her – rather loudly – to eat something. She found the pizza exactly the way she’d left it. Half-eaten, cold and soggy. She dished it in an old, chipped china plate and heated it in the microwave. Her empty stomach even made the vile pizza seem scrumptious. For a second, Natalie wondered if her father had eaten, but then put away the thought. She reminded herself that if he did not care, she shouldn’t either.
Natalie had a turbulent childhood. And that is putting it easily. Her mom Diana passed away when she was just a toddler and left Natalie with her heartbroken father. Natalie had heard that Diana was an extremely beautiful, elegant, smart and captivating woman. She was blond and light-eyed. So looks weren’t a thing that Natalie had inherited from her mother. But her mother slender and tall, not unlike her. This was all she knew about her mother and that information had come from old video tapes and photographs. Jack hadn’t uttered a single word about his wife. Ever. When Diana died of mysterious causes while she was on a trip to France, Jack was forlorn. He loved Diana more than anything in the world and when she passed away, he almost gave up on life. He lived, but he was a mere shell of a person. He went from an astute stockbroker to a lazy employ in the SPAR around the corner. He had a stocky built and like Natalie, his hair and eyes were dark. He never showed any affection to Natalie as she reminded her too much of Diana. He was not there when Natalie needed him and she abhorrent him for that. She was despiteful towards him. She detested the fact that she had no one who loved her. It was at an indescribably early age that Natalie had learnt to take care of herself.
