“You know someday I am going to be so famous, that I will be mentioned before the President in the same headline”, Lara said as she placed a black clip pinned with a plastic red rose in her head and turned around to smile at her elder brother Billy.
“You are full of shit, you are never even going to make it to the papers in your entire life”, he said and threw an egg at her. It hit her forehead and soon her face was smeared with the yolk. She was stunned for a few seconds, she had no idea he was hiding an egg in his hand.
“Oww, You pig!!”, she screamed and threw whatever she could grab at him, but he had already run out of the room.
The fourteen year old looked at herself in the mirror, she was wearing a dark blue denim skirt and a cotton white crop top over it. While the contents of the egg made a mess of her face, she could see two eyes staring back at her in the mirror, they were glistening with a thin layer of tears, soon they were filled with it.
This was by far the most humiliating thing her brother had done to her yet. she hated the smell of eggs and now she was covered in its hateful odor. Some of the yolk had fallen on her top too, she looked at it and started crying loudly, it was her favorite top. The last thing her mother had gifted her, weeks before she died.
“I will get you for this Billy, you pig”, she screamed more to herself, she had heard him slam the main door, he was already out playing with his friends perhaps.
She went to the bathroom to get herself cleaned up and cried as she washed her faced. She vowed she will get her revenge and some day prove to her brother that she would make headlines.
The year passed quite eventfully for her, she had fiercely increased her participation in all extra-curricular activities in school. She was dying to be famous but nothing spectacular happened to her. She managed to get a few mentions in the school paper for winning a few debates. But they never gave her the sense of achievement she needed. Her brother continued to bully her at school and at home. The father hardly cared for their existence.
Soon it was time for summer vacation and then the new grade. Lara enrolled into a summer beauty pageant for teenagers in the city but she could not make it to the finals.
Throughout the rest of the break, her brother gave her grief for losing the pageant.
“Here comes Miss Universe my friends, that is my sister Lara, did you not read about her in the papers today”, he would say, every time she passed him and his friends.
She was hoping things would be a little different at least in the new grade at school, may be a new friend or even new opportunities.
And then her day of glory came. The school had built a cricket ground along with a stadium which was state of the art and even before it was finished, the stadium was decided to be host to an upcoming national championship. And none other than the President was to inaugurate the stadium.
Lara was one of the privileged few, picked up to be the flower presenter for the President when he came for the event.
The chosen girls had to however pay for the dresses they were expected to wear for honoring the President. But money was never a problem with her father. It were other things he was incapable of handling.
She had two weeks before the event and she could not stop smiling about the whole thing. She would get to present flowers to the President.
“Maybe my picture would even make it to the paper the next day”, she flashed her tongue at her brother.
“Keep dreaming you idiot, I have better things to do”, he replied and went back to reading his graphic novel. They were only one year apart.
Lara however could not stop gloating about the honor she was bestowed with and could go on about it forever.
Two days before the event, while she was on her routine walk back along the locality’s basketball court where her brother played with his friends, instead of the usual mocking he called her to come join them.
“I don’t play basketball, why should I come”
“Oh come here, we have something very cool to show you”
Curious, she went to the basketball court, but she walked with caution, even though she secretly admired her brother, she hated him for all the bullying he subjected her to.
“What is it?”
“Close your eyes, we will show you a magic trick”, he grinned, all the others smiled and greeted her in a friendly manner. They were six boys and two girls that day.
She did not trust them much, but they were usually nice to her and always asked her brother to cut it out.
“What magic trick, I don’t want to see any magic trick, I am going home”, she said suspiciously and started to walk away.
“Oh come on, it is actually a very cool trick”, it was Lila, she used to be a prefect at school, Lara really liked her.
She stopped and ask them what it was.
“Okay, you see Gary here right, close your eyes and count thirty and when you open your eyes you will see him levitating three feet above the ground level”, her brother said.
“Does sound cool does it not?”, Gary said, smiling at her. He was cute, she smiled back and agreed.
She started to count to thirty and as soon as she neared twenty eight and cold splash of water hit her head and flowed to her body. She screamed and opened her eyes.
She was covered in murky water and rotten flowers and the cold air made her shiver, while her brother and her friends laughed at her.
“Hello flower girl”, her brother said and took her picture with his phone.
“Maybe this will make headlines on your facebook page”, he waved his phone at her and guffawed.
“Nooooo”, yelling loudly she lunged at him, she snatched his phone from his hand and threw it and started running towards home.
It was a long run of shame for her, this was easily his worst pranks, she could not believe he conspired with his friends to humiliate her like that.
Soon her shame was replaced with fury, and as she cleaned up at home, she thought to herself she would kill Billy if he posted that picture anywhere on the social media. Dragging her feet out of the bathroom, she heated some food in the microwave oven and headed straight for bed, even though it was too early. She would show them what she was capable of, they think they got the better of her, but she would have the last laugh.
Two hours later, Billy’s voice woke her up.
“You better be thankful that my phone is fine and that I am not going to post that ugly picture of yours anyway”
She ignored him and went back to sleep, but it hard to come by again and the day’s events kept playing in her head again and again.
The next day at the breakfast table, Lara was glaring at Billy with anger, who did not seem to care about anything in the world.
“You do not look very excited, I thought today is the day you get to present flowers to the President”, her father asked her as he spread better on his toast.
“Oh she has finally realized nobody wants to take her picture, all the other flower girls are way prettier, no headlines for our ugly duckling here”, Billy sniggered.
His smartness was greeted with a nice buttered toast on his face, as Lara hurled with good aim and left the table in a huff. She grabbed her bag and left for school. Today was her day of glory and she was going to ensure everybody took notice.
As soon as she reached school, she was brushed into the green room to change into the dresses they flower girls were to wear.
She took a final look at the mirror before leaving for the stage, a beautiful girl in a white cotton dress stared back. All of them were in a white cotton dress with a red belt at the waist, the neckline was round and modest, there was a lovely black lace paneling on the sides of the dress and the flared hemline ended right beneath the knees.
The President was dressed as usual and looked every bit the intimidating personality he seemed in papers and television, with kind knowing eyes and a smile that gave nothing away.
When it was Lara’s turn to present the bouquet to him, she flashed her best smile ever and they looked at the cameras for a picture. She slowly slipped her right hand away from the bouquet and slid it towards the belt and took out something that was tucked underneath it but could not be seen.
As the President said “thank you”, Lara handed over the bouquet completely and raised her left hand in front of him and with all her energy brought her right hand in the air to reveal a small blade and slit her left wrist. Some of the blood fell on the President’s face. Lara laughed and then screamed, soon her face twisted in pain and she fainted.
She did find mention before the President in the headlines the next day.
SCHOOLGIRL KILLS SELF IN FRONT OF THE PRESIDENT
GIRL SLITS WRIST AS PRESIDENT WATCHED AGHAST
GIRL PRESENTS FLOWERS TO PRESIDENT, THEN KILLS SELF
TEENAGER’S SUICIDE SHOCKS NATION
TEENAGE SUICIDE UNDER PRES’ NOSE
Hi, your descriptions are measured- as in you don’t describe anything more than it’s required, which is great! But I do feel she has not gone through anything so serious as to commit suicide. Or maybe, to bring that out, a short story may not be the best choice. Anyway, I hope you keep writing more! Really enjoy your blog. And your girl drawing is awesome.
Hey thanks, glad you liked the blog. Yeah, perhaps a longer narrative would have suited it, but life is like that, people do things one cannot understand!