Miss Scarlett: The enigma that is Teresa Lisbon. Snapshots of her adolescent years and defining moments, coupled with the story of how she came to meet a mysterious blonde boy in a circus tent.
Note: I don't know what possessed me to write this, I've just always liked the idea of getting to know more about Lisbon's teenage years. Hope you enjoy it, please review!
Disclaimer: I do not own "The Mentalist" or any other copyrighted products mentioned.
When Teresa Lisbon was twelve years old, her mother died. She would never forget the moment after the funeral when her youngest brother, Tommy, had come up to her, his head barely reaching her waist, and looked at her with his green eyes shining, asking, "Resa? Where did Mommy go?"
She had looked down at him, his concerned, innocent face, knowing something was wrong but not knowing what...she hated it. But she knew in her heart she had to be strong, for her brother's sake. That was the first time Teresa Lisbon decided to hide her emotions.
"She went to heaven, sweetie." She whispered, fighting back tears. Her brother looked up at her quizzically, his brow furrowed the same way hers did when she was confused. She watched his crestfallen expression as his mind whirred, trying to comprehend that his mother was never coming back... She never wanted to see him looking like that, not ever again. That was the first time Teresa Lisbon vowed to protect someone.
"What's heaven like?" Tommy asked timidly, and she closed her eyes in despair, wracking her brain desperately for an answer to her brother's impossible question. Finally, she found her voice, and hoped the words were enough for Tommy, because she was rapidly running out of strength. "It's a beautiful, wonderful place; where everyone is happy and life is always fun. It's where everyone wants to go."
She sighed with relief as she watched her brother's face light up with sudden understanding. "Like the circus?" he exclaimed triumphantly. Her face turned up in a tight smile as she blinked rapidly, trying to dispel the water from her eyes. "Yes. Like the circus." She gulped. Leaning against the wall, Teresa closed her eyes and tried to think about anything except her mother. She couldn't hold it together if she thought of that crash, the sickeningly loud cracking sound that she had instantly known was the breaking of her mother's neck. Lying next to her mother's body, waiting for the paramedics to arrive, desperately yelling at the wonderful woman next to her to wake up, whilst all the while a creeping, sinking sensation in her stomach told her it was useless...
"Resa?" her brother's small voice jerked her out of her downward spiral.
"Uh-huh?" she asked wearily, exhaustion overpowering her as her grief began to take over.
"Will you take us there? Me and James and Michael?" asked the small boy, and she struggled to push through the array of emotions that consumed her.
"Where, sweetie?" she asked, sounding unintentionally irritated. Her brother cringed a little at her harsh tone, but continued on. "The circus? So we can visit Mommy." That was the first time Teresa Lisbon had her heart broken.
She steeled herself, setting her jaw and trying to imagine a future without her mother. Eventually, she said in a level voice, "I promise you, when I'm grown up, I'll take you to the circus." Her brother's face broke into a blindingly sunny smile, and seeing him so happy, if only for a moment, made the world seem bearable again.
When she was fifteen years old, Teresa Lisbon was sitting at the kitchen table in her house; studying for a maths test she had the next day, when she heard a loud, sharp knock at the door. Frowning, she got up, checking her watch. Her brothers were all upstairs and her father wasn't supposed to be home for another hour. Warily, she opened the door a slight crack, and her emerald-green eyes widened when she was greeted by the sight of two police officers.
"Are you Teresa Lisbon?" one, a burly older man asked softly, a hint of something in his eyes that she would later recognise as pity. "Yes," she replied cautiously, still partially hiding behind the door. His partner, a pretty young woman with short blonde hair and glasses, looked at Teresa gravely. "May we come in?" she asked.
When telling a fifteen-year-old girl that her father had just died of alcohol poisoning and that she and her three brothers were now orphans, the young policewoman stayed so composed and strong. When Teresa became catatonic, unable even to cry, the woman stayed with her, not comforting her, but just being there. Later, when Teresa thought back to this day, she remembered how admirable that woman had seemed to her. That was the day Teresa Lisbon had decided she wanted to be a police officer.
The day after she received the news of her father's death, Teresa got up out of bed, showered, and made breakfast for her brothers before sending them off to school like any normal day. They were too stricken to protest. Instead of going to do her maths test, she stayed home and cleaned the house from top to bottom, went to the grocery store and made dinner for the boys coming home. After dinner, she washed their soccer uniforms; made sure they all brushed their teeth and got them all to go to bed before ten o'clock.
When she finally lay down in her tiny single divan, she couldn't sleep. All she could think about was the empty, hollow feeling inside of her that had haunted her all day. All day she had been alone, and not once had she thought about herself, or her father's death. All she had thought about was looking after her brothers, and making sure they had everything they needed. And though she should've felt guilty for not grieving, she didn't. Because she knew the most important thing was to look after her family. And that day, at fifteen years old, was the day Teresa Lisbon grew up.
When Teresa Lisbon was sixteen years old, she had a fiery, explosive argument with her social worker, that ended in her finally convincing him that she was old enough to care for her brothers without foster parents. For the last year they had had the same argument over and over, and she had behaved impeccably to prove her point, working as a waitress in the local bar on weekends to make money, keeping the house spotless, learning to cook, keeping her grades up, the lot! The social worker had tried to explain that he was worried that she didn't have any time to "associate with other students". She had tried to explain that he was talking a lot of bull, and she had plenty of time, just no real desire to hang out with wastes of oxygen that populated her school. He had eventually given up and she had stridden upstairs to her brothers' room triumphantly announcing that she was now their legal guardian.
They ordered pizza to celebrate, and watched movie after movie, the four siblings laughing and teasing one another just like they used to, before...
The night drew on, and eventually the festivities died down, with the two older boys fast asleep on the couch, and Teresa sprawled out on the rug on the floor, her eyelids heavy. She rolled over, and jumped when she met two large green eyes, identical to her own, staring back at her. "Hey, Tommy," she whispered sleepily, ruffling her youngest brother's floppy dark hair. "Resa?" he asked, still using his childish nickname for his beloved big sister. "Yeah buddy?" she replied, drowsiness threatening to consume her. "Now that you're grown-up, can we go visit Mommy?"
Teresa froze. No-one had mentioned their mother since her funeral. Their father had gotten too upset every time her name was mentioned, and it had become habit to avoid the subject, even after his death. She steeled herself for the brick wall of emotion that was about to crumble on top of her as she thought of her mother; her warmth, her voice, her musical laughter. However, to her surprise, Teresa found herself smiling. She hadn't allowed herself to think of her mother for so long, it was nice to remember her. Like meeting a friend she hadn't seen in a long time. She looked fondly down at the cross pendant that hung around her neck. It was the only thing of her mother's she had left.
Beaming at her brother, she replied, "Y'know what Tommy? I think we're in luck. Heaven's in town."
Warm sun beams delicately caressed the back of her neck as Teresa led her brothers across the fairground. Crowds of people swarmed around them, all chattering excitedly as the scent of candyfloss and salted peanuts washed over them, the atmosphere tingling with anticipation.
Teresa gazed around in wonder. She had never been to a circus before, and the general happiness of the place was infectious, with cheerful music cascading around them, and carnies yelling their challenges at the top of their lungs. Choruses of "Prove your strength!", "Gotta try to win!" and "See the amazing wonders of Cirque Du Folle!" rang out around them as Teresa counted out tokens and gave four to each of her brothers, keeping only two for herself. It was all they could afford.
"Ok Michael, you take James and Tommy round the stalls, and you boys play whatever games you want. I'm gonna go and try to find out what times the "Psychic Boy Wonder" show's on at. Meet back here in half an hour?" she suggested, and the boys all nodded at her in agreement, before running off at breakneck speed to spend their token. Teresa chuckled and shook her head at their endearing childishness. Even Michael, who was thirteen, was excited to be here.
She watched their retreating figures bound off into the crowd and then turned towards the towering candy-striped tent about twenty feet away. Her shoes squelching in the slightly muddy grass that had been churned up by thousands of feet, she set off in the direction of the tent. Upon reaching the tent, she found a sign displaying all the show times.
Her eyes scanned the tattered sign, straining to read the faded letters, and she hummed her favourite song as she tried to think of the best time for them to see this "Boy Wonder". He can't possibly be psychic, she thought sceptically, but she thought the boys would enjoy it.
Suddenly, she felt a crawling sensation on the back of her neck and her hair stood on end as she got the almost certain feeling that someone was watching her. Hastily she whipped around, feeling more than a little uneasy as she studied the heavy crowd, searching for the source of the feeling. She turned full circle, and had almost dismissed the churning of her gut when she met a pair of piercing blue eyes, staring shamelessly at her as their owner leaned casually against the side of the tent.
She looked away, hoping he'd be sensible enough to move now that he'd been caught, but no such luck. When she looked up again, there he was, brazenly staring right at her. She studied him for a moment. He couldn't have been much older than her, a year or two maybe. He had curly, blonde hair and tanned skin, and towered a good head over her. All the while, he continued to stare silently at her with his strikingly clear blue eyes. She fiddled nervously with her mother's cross pendant under his intense gaze.
"You want a picture?" she asked irritably, unnerved by the unfaltering intensity of his gaze.
"Yes please," he answered, and whipped out a tiny Polaroid camera, blinding her with the flash before she had a chance to react. "What the hell?" she yelled, bemused and enraged by his odd behaviour. But he wasn't listening. He was immersed in studying the photograph.
"You have a good face, you know." He stated, as if it was the most normal thing in the world. She raised her eyebrows, exasperated by this stranger's attitude. "To draw." He added, and she was at a loss for words, feeling flattered and creeped-out simultaneously. "Uh...thanks?" she spluttered, totally taken aback and completely unaware of how to handle this psycho.
She looked at his clothes. He wore dark blue shorts and a light blue polo shirt both slightly too small and in need of a wash. His hair was unruly and he had a distinctly dishevelled-yet-carefree air about him. Carnie, she thought, and sighed inwardly. These people were impossible-or so she'd heard. "Whaddya want?" she asked rather rudely, hoping the boy would get the message and leave her alone. He ignored her question completely. "What was that song you were humming?" he asked, as if she hadn't spoken. "The melody sounded very...haunting."
She wrinkled her brow at his absurdly random question, but decided the quicker she answered it, the quicker she could get away. "'More Than Words' by Extreme," she replied stiffly, and turned to leave. To her surprise and alarm, he grabbed her arm and held it. Not hard, but firmly enough that she didn't move.
"What the hell are you doing?" she exclaimed, her eyes wide with fear and anger. He immediately let her go, putting his hands up in surrender. "Woah, calm down, I just wanted to give you this." He replied evenly, handing her a tiny paper frog made of a playing card. She regarded him quizzically. "A frog?" she asked, her tone sceptical. He nodded. "Well this makes everything better doesn't it?" The strange boy smiled, and his smile was so bright, so genuine, it dazzled her.
"You gave me a song, I'll give you a frog. A frog for a princess." He said cryptically, and she scoffed.
"Whatever. Thanks...I guess." She said, holding up the frog. "I'm leaving now." Turning on her heel, she began to walk away.
"You're very pretty you know." He called, and she turned back around, her face turning a bashful shade of pink. She twirled a lock of her dark hair subconsciously around her index finger as he continued. "So we have a princess, a frog...now I'm sure there's supposed to be a kiss in here somewhere." He flirted, his oceanic eyes glinting mischievously. Teresa's heart fluttered around a little and her stomach lurched. "Oh yeah?" she replied, and he nodded, and all of a sudden the mysterious boy was very close to her. Then he kissed her, and it was like a thousand volts went through her lips and melted into honey inside her. That was the first time Teresa Lisbon kissed a boy.
Her head spun, and she felt dizzy as he pulled away. She waited a second before she opened her eyes, poised and ready to ask him his name, but when her eyelids lifted, he was gone. Bemused, she looked up just in time to see a head full of golden curls bobbing up and down as he ran. He stopped for a moment, yelling "I'm sorry for your loss!" back at her, before disappearing behind a tree as he scampered away across the fairground.
She looked down at the frog in her hand and shook her head in disbelief. Blinking, she tried to clear her mind, and was thrust into a panic when she remembered her brothers. They would be waiting for her! As fast as she could, Teresa sprinted through the throng of people, clutching her little paper frog in one hand and her bag in the other. To her relief, her brothers were standing, fully intact, next to the hotdog stand. She slowed down and walked over to them, still trying to fathom out what had just happened. "Hey guys," she panted, gesturing at them to follow her. "Let's go."
To James and Tommy's disappointment, the "Psychic Boy Wonder" show had been cancelled that day, as no-one could find the boy. It was only later, lying in her bed that night, when she was replaying her encounter with the mysterious boy at the circus in her head that she realised what he'd said to her. "I'm sorry for your loss."
She hadn't told him about her parents' deaths.
When she was thirty years old, CBI Senior Agent Teresa Lisbon met CBI Consultant Patrick Jane for the first time. Only, there was something inexplicably familiar about his piercing blue eyes...but she couldn't quite place it. She found him to be a decent enough man on first impression, and although he was intensely irritating, she liked him instantly. Five minutes after studying her meticulously (which made her more than a little uncomfortable) he started to hum a familiar haunting melody that she immediately recognised as Extreme's "More Than Words".
And that was the moment Teresa Lisbon fell in love with her consultant.