Silent Pantomime

Chapter 10 | Tart

Chapter 10🌌:

Sometimes you meet a person and you just click - you are so comfortable with them that you don't have to worry about being yourself in front of them. You don't have to pretend because they feel just the same as you do, as if you have both known each other your whole lives. Some people don't believe in love at first sight, but surely they can believe in meeting for the first time can change your life. Because that click doesn't un-click.

But that wouldn't apply when I was meeting my new family.

My first thought when I woke up in the morning was "ugh". Ugh about my dad's marriage to someone he'd never mentioned, ugh about having to meet this step-monster, ugh about life in general. Imagine when you have a pen that is jammed, so you scribble and scribble on the paper to try and make it work, but you cause the paper to crease, then the ink explodes everywhere, random scribbles appear on the paper, the pen snaps, the paper rips. My life felt like that bit of paper. My life felt that "ugh".

Eventually I managed to pull myself out of bed, it was nearly 9am which meant my letter was about to be dropped off. I lulled downstairs to the letter box and as expected my letter was waiting for me - same red wax, same scratchy writing, same "Hey Hazel".

"Hey Hazel,
Is this the part in the story where you are fairer than them all, so you have to run away to a cottage in the woods? But would you manage to twist the story so you don't eat the apple? Because you've had lots of experience with poison and murder - right? Sorry if I'm offending you, really I am, but if you do have an opinion with me just raise your hand. Then cover your mouth with it, because we don't want anyone to find out about our little secret now, do we? But anyway, if you do run away to a cottage and a stranger offers you an apple, take it. Because an apple a day can keep anyone away if you throw it hard enough. So break a leg today Hazel.

Oh and I can hear you."

I smiled, at least someone was on the same page as me on my life being a pre-Disney fairytale. I quickly ran back upstairs and hid the letter underneath my pillow before taking a shower. My mind was filled with all these thoughts about how different my life would be - they would have to live with us right? I mean this woman was marrying my dad. Why were they getting married? Did they love each other? When were they getting married? How bitchy would this Annika girl be? Would they be as awful as I was expecting? I let out a long, annoyed groan before I turned up the heat for practice of the burning hell I would soon have to face.

***

I arrived at the restaurant half an hour early to give myself a heads up on the best possible places to make a run for it if need be. Sixteen is a good age to get adopted, right? We were eating in some basic middle-class restaurant along the high street, the definition of average. I would have walked straight past it without a second glance if I wasn't forced to come, but unfortunately I had to go there or "there would be consequences"; whatever they might have been.

I stood around the waiting area, drowned in boredom, the entire atmosphere of too boring and too quiet was so strong, that it broke through the barrier of teenage girl and tapping away on her phone. I looked around until I saw a boy around my age, who looked just as dull as the place we were in.

Perfect.

A great way to get attention is from being with someone who you would deem as below you, because there must be at least one person not as good as you out in the big wide world. If someone thinks they are better than you, they will barely look at you, let alone give you the time of day, so always go for someone who is not as good as you. I smiled up at the boy who noticed me looking at him and I walked over. He pulled at his collar and stood straighter, as if even eye contact with me could break a sweat. "Hello!" I said, purposely trying to sound larger than life. "Um hi," the boy gulped, visibly nervous. How cute. "How are you?" I asked in an overly chirpy voice and touching his arm lightly. His gaze went to my hand and he went an even deeper shade of red, "Fine and dandy," he murmured faintly. "Fine and dandy," I repeated with a watermelon grin on my face and a gap between each word. "What's your name?" I asked the boy who clearly wasn't very good at talking to me; or people in general. "Marcus," he muttered.

Great, even his name made him sound like a weasel.

"I'm Hazel!" I laughed and then I patted his shoulder lightly because I heard my dad's voice entering the restaurant. "My dad is here now, but can I please give you my number?" I asked and twirled my fingers around my hair. The boys eyebrows lifted up, "Um...um...er...really?" He blurted out. "Of course!" I smiled and shoved a napkin with my number on it in his hand. It was the perfect crime as I would be remembered as the pretty girl in the restaurant who gave him my number, which should make him feel good about himself; and I would get loads of messages and attention from a boy, with the bonus of getting the satisfaction of him constantly thinking about me for as long as I ignored him.

As long as I give him the silent treatment.

I walked over to my dad in the foyer with the all-too famous Katherine and Annika. Katherine's face immediately scrunched up as she saw me but I just shot her a big beaming smile. "Sorry I'm late, I was just having a..." I paused trying to think of the right word, "...conversation." Katherine looked at me in the most passive aggressive look possible and put on a smile. "Mhm I saw you talking to that boy over there," and she let out a half laugh - half snort.

"Never expected my new daughter to be such a tart!" She laughed once again, being passive aggressive once again.

Tart. Translation - old lady term for slut.

I smiled graciously at her and held out my hand for her to shake it. "Mmm I'm sweet like one!" I laughed back, holding onto her hand for a millisecond too long, and just a tad too tight, "It's so lovely to meet you!"

Editing Lauren Talking
my parents have started to call my dog a tart and i don't know how i feel about it. i don't want to live with Katherines. Katherine is a bitch. We don't like Katherine. We have no hope for her, spoiler alert, she doesn't get a redemption arc as she doesn't deserve one.

I hate Katherine.

Also i hate this chapter rereading it, I feel so cringe it's from over a year ago and I really love writing but I haven't updated in 17392739812 days.