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CHAPTER vii: UPENDI
SIX MONTHS LATER
Once upon a time there had lived a girl who wanted nothing more than to be like her father, to make him proud in the wrong doings she did. At the time, all the things she had learned from him and the ways her environment treated her, were all the rights things―stealing, being mean, paying no mind to people's feelings, rudely ridiculing others, being rotten to the core. But when she was granted the opportunity to prove a prince and his kingdom that she was nothing like her father, she had a little bit of trouble doing so.
Auradon was contagious, just like The Isle of The Lost. It was easy to enjoy what Auradon had to offer because The Isle was the complete opposite. The fresh fruit, the freshly baked cakes, the smells, the buildings, the stores, the school's, the people, everything. Auradon had it all and it really showed how much Kleo had on The Isle, which was close to nothing.
Yes, The Isle gave you freedom and the people there had character and the culture was strange, but it wasn't a good place to live or raise children. Kleo was a product of her environment and her father's bad influence only made it worse. Auradon only showed her what she really wanted from life and being bad wasn't one of them.
She wanted to be good. But not too good to the point she forgets where she came from and completely morphs into a different person. But she still wanted to be bad, break the rules, speak her mind, act brutish. It was hard to be both when you had expectations to meet. Her expectations have changed drastically over the last six months. Transforming her whole being of being the girl with wild hair, scary scar, and ripped clothes to freshly (and frequently) groomed hair and looks, beautifully sewn dresses and skirts and heels that hurt her feet, lightly applied makeup with the help from her surrogate sister Evie. It was a big change in such a short time, but Kleo knows she needs to adapt to survive, otherwise she will be chewed up and spit out by the press that has been following her all morning and afternoon!
They shout her name as she tries to, stealthily but fails, scurry across the front of the school's garden. She tries to run but the heels (Evie, Mal, and Tiger Peony practically held her down that morning to get them on her feet) she's in are limiting her escape. Kleo's back heel is digging into the grass, her journal (that was replaced from her old, beaten up one) almost slips out of her hand, along with her phone and her new (very expensive) purse Ben gave her two weeks ago. Kleo wants to go hide in a tree again but she doesn't think Evie will appreciate her ruining her shoes even more.
Kleo can't run anymore when the group of reporters corner her in front of Adam's statue. He's the Beast right now, and Kleo wants to turn into a Beast of her own herself. But she got scolded the last time she turned into a lion, scaring the group of reporters to death, nearly biting the leg off one of them. She shields her face from all the flashes of cameras as they irritate her eyes. They all shout questions at once.
