The New Thalia

Chapter 4

Chapter 4

3 years ago

Change me

My mom shakes me awake when we get to the next town.

"Sweetie. Wake up." Her voice pulls me out of my wonderful dream land.

"Mmmmm... Where are we?" I rub my eyes.

"We just got to Portland, Oregon. I found a small drug store where we can get your stuff, and there's a diner next to it so we can eat."

I look around at the small line of stores at the edge of a small parking lot. Drug store, diner, salon, coffee shop, and a book store.

Mom gets out and talks to the van drivers. When she comes back, she pulls out my crutches and helps me out of the car.

"Thanks."

"No problem baby. I told the movers that we were going to get some supplies from the drug store and we'd be in the diner in a few minutes."

I nod. We make our way to the drug store but as I step up on the curb, my crutch gets caught on a drainage gate. I crash to the ground and groan.

"Even with all that physical rehab I still can't walk right..." I mumble to myself.

My mother rushes to my aid and sets me up right. "Are you alright?"

"Of course not."

"Thalia... Brighten up, sweetheart!" She opens the drug stores doors for me. "Okay what first?"

"Hair dye. Then make up."

"Okay." She scans the signs above the aisles then leads the way. "What color?"

"Dark brown. Like that lady's hair." I point out to a woman down the aisle looking at deodorant.

"Sure. Sure. Dark brown." She looks over the shelf and picks up a box. "How about this one?"

"Perfect. Make up next."

She goes over to the next aisle. "What style? Natural, party, girly, goth?"

"Umm something dark, but not total goth."

My mom thinks for a minute then plucks a few bottles and containers from the shelves and brings them back to me. "Good?"

"Yeah. When we get to Seattle, can we get rid of most of my clothes and get some new outfits?"

"Course, honey." She rubs my shoulder with a worried look in her eyes, but it quickly disappears. "Let's go check out."

-----

When we're back in the car and driving, I pull out my journal and start writing.

All those months of wanting a new body and new life and finally happening. I'll have a new style, hair, make up, clothes, personality. It's a fresh start. Sure it's a small thing to change my entire self over but it's worth it. I don't want that old life anymore. I'll have friends, maybe dumb down a bit, except for tests, of course. I can change the music I listen to. People from Seaside, OR won't even recognize me. I mean not that I'll see them anywhere. Seattle is huge, nobody would find me even if they moved there. Thank god. I needed an out and now I've gotten one.