“Leave us alone,” yelled Legend. She slapped Dina across the face, pushing all of her rage, her memories of sinister names toward her, into her hand, into her throw, and once it touched Dina’s face, a loud slap was heard like thunder echoing through a valley of sharp thorns. Shocked. But for a moment, it felt so good to Legend.
Legend looked at her hand and chose to cry even more. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it,” Legend said; the thought of hurting another human being caused an overcast of melancholy to shoot through her veins. She ran out of the classroom while everyone looked at Dina in amazement; they couldn’t believe that Legend actually inflicted pain on her. She ran down the hallway with misery in her feelings that tortured her soul.
How could I do that…? Legend, you can’t shake hands with a fist.
Her running and rambling thoughts came to a halt when she ran past her teacher who noticed tears in her eyes and long strands of hair in her fist.
“Where are you going, Legend?” the teacher asked. Legend walked up to her and cried on her right shoulder, gazing at the brown lockers in front of her face, seeing the word ‘ugly’ written in marker on the one in front of her.
“I don’t know,” Legend cried out. Jenny exited the classroom, ran toward them, reached Legend’s back and her embrace with the teacher, and grabbed her away from the teacher’s clutch, giving her a tight hug.
“I want you two girls to get back to class immediately. Whatever happened, it could wait till after school,” the teacher said. She walked away from Jenny and Legend.
“I can’t believe you actually slapped Dina, you go, girl,” laughed Jenny, striving her hardest to cheer up Legend.
“I can’t take this anymore,” Legend whimpered, walking back to the classroom.
“I know how you feel, but there’s nothing we could do about it, Legend.”
“Oh yes there is!” Legend held anger still, but when she reached the classroom door and stared at Dina’s throbbing face through the door’s window, she felt a surge of regret.
“What are you talking about?” Jenny questioned. They entered the classroom and saw everyone sitting in their seats while Dina stuffed tissue in her nostrils to control the bleeding. Of course Dina was embarrassed, but her arrogance caused her to stare Legend and Jenny down, even though she feared them at the moment.
Before Legend sat back down in her seat, she saw Dina with a red handprint on her face. Legend looked away from her, still noticing the nameless light inside of her trying to get brighter, and replied in a whisper to Jenny, “I’m talking about the model search, I’m going to it. I don’t care what anyone says, I’m still gonna go to it!”
“But they only accept girls who are beautiful,” Jenny whispered. She sat down across from Legend despite the fact that the entire classroom looked at them, wondering what conversation they were holding.
“Well, then I’m just going to have to find another way to get invited to it.” Legend smiled when she released those captive words that her mind only dreamt about saying, and continued to smirk even as the teacher told the class to stand up and say a prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance. “Jenny, I don’t care what anyone says about it, I’m going, and that’s final….” A new feeling came to Legend and she strived to use it, to follow it, and trust that it would lead to victory in whatever it wanted her to do. And Legend wasn’t going to ignore it; not this time.
As they said the Pledge of Allegiance, the teacher turned her eyes on Dina’s face. The teacher’s eyes lit up with turmoil, recognizing Dina’s red face and bloody nose, being used to seeing her beauty only without a scratch, a zit, or a blemish. She walked up to Dina and asked, “What happened to your face, Dina…?” And Legend continued to smile. Success, at least a moment of it. And Legend enjoyed it.
Chapter Two
Legend sat in the principal’s office unaccompanied, worried and waiting for the principal to walk in. To her, in the strongest part of her aura, memories of the sun shining on her in past days of her youth, she recognized for the first time in her life she had sinned by inflicting pain on another. She looked out the window of the office and the rain came into her view, pounding on the window faster than her heart could beat, eyes could blink, faster than her sight could gaze at the hand that struck Dina’s arrogant beauty. Legend owned that hand, it was hers, but possessed by something stronger than she knew, something so great that it soared across Dina’s face, made its point known, courageously went outside the box of insecurities that Legend kept a tight seal on, and thrived with greatness for all the class to witness, even Legend. A change was in the air.
She got up from the seat and walked over to the window pane. It was like she was attracted to the rain, spellbound to every drop that fell, making a loud sound that depicted that of a lost voice trying to be heard. Following the rain, she looked up at the gloomy sky and smiled, sympathetic to the clouds, understanding the heavens, as she does every day and night when she gazes up at the stars, trying to discover what secrets lay in their enigma-like sparkles that seem like a waltz of nirvana.
She was like the sky, it being normally beautiful, but wearing a repulsive mask now, and for that it cries out a downpour, attempting to release agony that the ground feels, absorbs, and takes in without any question or comment. She stared at the heavens with a straight face, finding it engaging to see, and then closed her blue eyes, waiting for the rain to clear and the blue sky to appear. This would be her epiphany, premeditating it of course, defining life, as she knew it, proving to her that if the clouds could part and the blue sky could be shown again, that her pain, too, could part, and her beauty would shine for the first time. She craved this so badly to be her sign that one day, soon, her life would show meaning, would glow trust and hope, and her beauty that was hidden would break through her soul of loveliness and be confident enough to glow like the sun above with great radiance that not even the worst of evil could ever destroy. She yearns for the fairy tale, cries for the moment her life could turn into that of a princess’s destiny, and that she would have the privilege of choosing that life to endure with prosperity to guide her. But the rain didn’t cease, it did not part and allow the sky of blue to show, and with that, her epiphany never came. But her hand that struck Dina was still attached to her, the part of her body that, for the first time, she had no control of. She comprehended that perhaps her hand’s actions denoted the beginning of a mental metamorphosis, a change for the better that symbolized Legend’s metaphoric voice speaking for the first time, being heard and showing that she will no longer tolerate the mental abuse given to her in past afternoons like this one. But she wasn’t sure, for Legend only depended on her spontaneous deal with the heavens to part, which didn’t, forcing her to accept that her life would never adjust for the better.
So, she waited, like she always did, closed her eyes and prayed for everything she desired; simplicity was in her wisdom. It was like her life was filled with nothing but lonely prayers, longing wishes and dreams that she hoped would live with her. Instead, the rain poured more.
Nevertheless, her concentration was interrupted with great speed as the office door slammed shut and the principal walked in. “Alright, Legend, why did you and Jenny beat up Dina?” she asked. Legend stared at the principal’s wrinkly face and cabbage-shaped hair, hesitating on answering, wondering if she was of sound mind to answer such a question at this instant.
“Because, Miss Ryan, she was making fun of us again.”
It should have been obvious to Miss Ryan already that Legend was the victim, but Dina’s wealth and beauty were so poisonous to anyone’s eyes that all they could do was look away and choose another to blame.
“Legend, listen to me, Dina claims that you and Jenny beat her up, because you knew she was competing in some model search. Dina’s going to something tomorrow that has to do with this search, and she might not get invited to go to the main event next month, all because of you. Dina also–”
“She’s lying, the only reason why we
inflicted pain on her, is because she was inflicting pain on us. The only thing that alienated and separated the type of pain she was causing is that her pain was felt physically, ours was felt mentally, as it is every day. She calls us immoral, sinister names, but I know it was erroneous and wrong to hurt her like we did. Trust me, I didn’t mean to slap her, but at the time it felt good.”
“She has been harassing us for a long time, and for that, inflicting pain to us. And for that whole time Dina and her friends have been doing that, you still didn’t give her any punishment. We only hurt her once, that was today, and already you want to give us punishment,” Legend explained in a defending pose, feeling her anger producing her voice to grow. “That’s not fair at all. If you knew the pain she was bringing about to Jenny and me, she would have been expelled a long time ago. Dina and–”
“Alright, I heard enough…. Listen to me, Legend, you’re a very bright young lady, and for that I was shocked to hear you slapped Dina like you did. This is your last year here, and then you graduate. Don’t let those girls bother you and cause you to get into trouble or any dilemmas, when you’re so close to leaving this school with a clean record,” Miss Ryan said. She then pulled out Legend’s file from her desk. “You have already been accepted to three major universities with a science scholarship, one with a literary.” She handed Legend her file.
“I know, but after hearing those names called at you for a long time, you have to stand up for yourself. I would rather risk losing a scholarship over principle than getting a scholarship and losing your integrity. Plus, this incident won’t influence or affect my scholarship!” Legend handed her file back to the principal and tried to calm down her voice. Her lungs felt sore.
“Well, don’t be too positive about that. If you get kicked out of this school before you graduate, these scholarships could change,” Miss Ryan warned. She put Legend’s file back into her desk drawer, adding, “You’re one of our brightest students here, you practically know about every single star that the human eye can see. Plus, your grades in other subjects are straight A’s. Legend, just stay out of trouble, I already discussed that with your friend Jenny. Also, while you’re here, start coming to school more often, for the scholarships’ sake, and for your mother’s. As you know, I called your mother up today, but I didn’t call her about this little incident. I know that you and your mother recently moved closer to this school, and maybe that has something to do with your anger. But, overall, I want to see you succeed, Legend. Alright?” She surveyed Legend’s eyes and how they rolled up and down with a sharp attitude.
“Yeah.”
“I didn’t hear you!”
“Yes, I said yes,” shouted Legend. Miss Ryan smiled at her.
“Alright, that’s more like it. Hopefully I won’t see you again in here.” Legend got up from the chair and walked over to the doorway.
“I’m sure you won’t, Miss Ryan.” Legend exited the office and saw Jenny down the hallway.
“What happened?” questioned Jenny. Legend came up to her. They both walked out of the school with silence to Legend’s tone. It was like she was filled with so much rage that her voice went out of whack, focus, lost within so many negative emotions. “Legend, what happened, did you get into trouble?”
They walked out into the rain and Legend continued to seize her voice. She gave a look of non-empathy, emptiness to her eyes, misled by her own prison of what her definition of ‘beauty’ really was. “No, I didn’t get into trouble, I just got a lecture that really upset me,” replied Legend. She looked at the sky and glimpsed a rainbow appearing. Suddenly, the rain vanished and Legend stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, staring at the rainbow. The sky finally removed the gloomy mask and shined its beauty, but Legend still wore hers and she knew her mask wouldn’t be removed so easily. Still gazing at the rainbow, Legend whispered, “Jenny, I’m going tomorrow, to see if I could get invited to the model search next month.” Jenny followed her eyes to where they lay and saw the rainbow also, and then looked back at Legend. “I hope and pray they accept me tomorrow….”
“Well, I’ll go with you, but I’m just going to warn you that you might not have such a good time. Listen to me, they only accept pretty girls, not–” Jenny explained.
“–Not ugly girls like me, I know, I heard that said to me almost my whole life, Jenny … and I’m not going to hear that ever again! Ever!” Legend ended her words of defense and they started walking, silently thinking of their own fears and wants. As they walked, Legend found a grimy penny on the ground and picked it up out of traditional habit.
“I’m sorry if I hurt you by saying that, Legend.”
Legend looked at the penny. She was more interested in the object than Jenny’s words. Her eyes didn’t see any date on the penny, not even Lincoln’s face; it was only copper with no designs on it, worn out like Legend’s energy.
“It’s not your fault. I am ugly, and I know that. You’re just saying the truth, like a good friend should say. I just wish that beauty would come to me, so that the whole world could see it,” Legend said. She dropped the penny on the ground and continued to walk with Jenny. The penny rolled down the sidewalk and away from them, progressing onto the street and rolled past four parked cars while Jenny and Legend became further away from it. It suddenly dropped into a pothole filled with dirty water, and sank deep into it. “I just wish for that one thing.” Legend held a tear in her right eye, not knowing the penny had reached the bottom of the pothole, heads up….
Chapter Three
Adreamlike landscape filled the otherwise elite room, grasping decorative, ravishing beauty that hung from all edges of the walls. Shadows that displayed young girls nervous by the sight, and silhouettes of older adults gaping at the intriguing innocence, as if they were judging them by the amount of nerves that filled their juvenile personas were what ached in the air, smelling like the sweat which formed under the girls’ already smeared make-up. Red velvet drapes hung from several large chandeliers, and the classical music that played in the magnificent space filled the air, giving a voice to the stunning fresco paintings that were etched in the walls, and breathed life into the large, painted vases that stood on green, marble pedestals spread out throughout the room. Red velvet was everywhere, covering the floors and mingling its way into the walls while the light from the chandeliers reflected off the material, giving the velvet a glow that radiated the room, giving a soft shade of red and peculiar shadows that bounced off the youths of beauty. Nirvana, or at least a sense of it, was frolicking around every corner, but all eyes were not on the room at all, but on a single woman by the name of ‘Paula’. She sat in the center of the ballroom-like space at the Drake hotel, watching as girls stood in a long line that stretched all the way out to the Chicago streets. The young knew she was of importance, the way her posture was straight, her clothes were intriguing and make-up was perfect, and how her figure sat behind the center of the table made her status climb high in the imaginations of the girls.
Paula started to get drowsy, looking at the time up on the wall that read 6:50 p.m., while girls of all ages showed their pictures to her and anticipated that Paula saw beauty in their image. “So, Paula, did you see any future supermodels yet?” a man asked, smiling and sitting down beside her. He also began looking at pictures of the young girls who perceived him suddenly as a person of importance, like Paula.
“Well, Steve, if you want me to be honest, I don’t know,” Paula replied. She peered her sharp eyes at an obese girl walking up to her. The girl handed a photo of herself, Paula looked at her picture and then grabbed a stamp and pressed it hard over the girl’s photo. The stamp read ‘Denied.’ “I’m sorry,” Paula said to her. The young, obese girl formed tears in her eyes and ran away. “You know, Steve, this is the one part of this job that I hate. I just wish that this world would accept beauty from the inside! Or perhaps this bloody business.”
“Then why did you turn her down?”
Confusion struck Paula’s b
rown eyes, gazing at Steve like an ignorant chimp. “We’re inviting some of the top modeling agents to come to our search, and I don’t want to disappoint them by showing average girls. They want beautiful girls, and especially girls who stand out: I’m going to give them that!” Paula then played with her long, blonde beautiful hair, twisting a few strands together: a nervous habit. She then put her hair up in a bun while the line, which consisted of young girls from fifteen and up, with a single dream, grew longer. “My one dream is to find a girl who’s beyond beautiful, that’s all, Steve,” Paula whispered. She placed a pencil in between her hair to keep her bun in place. “The evolution of this business is changing every year. First they want skinny women, then fat, or voluptuous as the critics put it. Then it changed to big foreheads, small foreheads, and on and on. Steve, I can’t keep up. But I do know what I’m looking for and I still haven’t found her.” Then she noticed a young girl who stood right in front of her. She lingered up toward the girl’s hair and saw how it was long, brown and beautifully kept. She looked at the girl’s gorgeous face as well as her figure and slowly dropped her mouth. Steve stared at her also with amazement on his face as the young girl handed Paula a photo of herself. Paula, nervous from the excitement of this girl’s attractiveness, looked it over and saw the girl’s name at the bottom of it. “So, is this your real name, Dina?”
Mask of A Legend Page 4