She blew a huge, wet raspberry at the evils that stood outside her door, slamming the door to her 'room' as she did.
"Loser!" yelled Brynna.
"Maybe we can get Mom to kick her out," suggested Amelie.
Juliette sighed, leaning against her door and letting her feet slide out from under her. "Cinderella story?" she muttered, "yeah, right. Where's my fairy godmother? Where's my Prince Charming?"
Her life was the epitome of hell. She gazed out the small window of her attic/room at the beautiful view that she couldn't enjoy. A mess of auburn curls fell into her face, blocking her vision and she blew them away. She had a life that most people would kill for, one that she neither wanted nor was grateful for. Her parents were the same ones who had put her into this world; they were still horrible. Her sisters were what she was supposed to be: perfect, pink, and precious.
Instead, she worked on the ranch with all the hired people, she knew how to ride a horse (and was good, too) and she had never wanted to be the youngest daughter of a rich business man. Her and her family represented both sides of the south: the rich aristocratic part, and the not so pretty, not so rich, farm-owning, truck-driving, family oriented part of it. She played volleyball in high school; her sisters did cheer. She excelled and graduated with several letters from universities soon to follow; Brynna had barely escaped flunking and Amelie never got her diploma.
Why couldn't life be simple? Juliette wondered pathetically.
"Juliette!" screamed a shrill voice. She sighed.
She stood up and jerked open the door, screaming back, "What?!"
"Get your butt down here!" her mother yelled. "You call these dishes clean?"
She ran down the stairs singing under her breath, "…he ain't feelin' anything…my world, my heart is standin' still…and I'm livin' in a hurricane, when all he can say is man, ain't it such a nice day…" When she arrived at the foot of the second flight she had gone down, she paused. She focused on the conversation going on downstairs, realizing that a voice she didn't recognize was joined in it. It was male, definitely.
"…we believe your daughter has some qualities we look for at the school I represent," the man explained.
Her mother gasped. "Did Brynna make it to a modeling school? Oh, my goodness, how fantastic! We always knew she'd do it!"
Juliette snorted to herself. Brynna was ug-lee. Platinum blonde hair, all permed up, and implants bigger than her head.
The man spoke again. "No, ma'am, I was actually referring to—"
"Amelie? An actress? Oh, Amelie! She always was one with a flair for the dramatics!"
Amelie was just an idiot with a flair for hooking up with her friends' boyfriends. She couldn't string four words together.
"No. I was talking about your other daughter. Miss Juliette." The man finished with a tone of finality, like what he said was drastically important.
Her parents were silent. "Why?" burst her father. "She's not nearly as pretty as her sisters, I'm sure you'd much rather take one of them—?"
"No, sir, I'm sure. You see, she won't be coming back home when I take her to my—school. It's more like college, really." The man sounded surprised at her dad's clear dismissal of the possibility that Juliette of all people could excel in something.
Juliette stood with her eyes wide open, not breathing, waiting for Brynna to pop out of the shadows, screaming, "Loser! I can't believe you fell for it!"
"Well-," her mom said uneasily, "she should be right down, I called her a few minutes ago…"
Juliette waited ten seconds before coming down the last flight of stairs.
"I cleaned the dishes, mom, I know I did—oh. Hello." Juliette pretended to falter when she saw the man: brown hair, suit and tie, and a very official looking brochure in hand.
"My name is Mr. Coulson," he smiled and shook her hand.
She eyed him suspiciously. "Juliette Rosewood," she said.
"I understand that you recently graduated from high school?" he asked kind enough.
"Uh, yeah. About six months ago, but yes." She noticed something in his inside coat pocket: a lump, about the size and shape of…"Why are you carrying a gun, Mr. Coulson?" Juliette cocked her head.
He smiled, not at all the response she was expecting. "I can be a very paranoid person. Ever since I fought in Afghanistan, I've been very jittery about sneak attacks."
"Oh, okay. Sorry to ask." Juliette didn't think the story quite fit.
"Julie, honey," her mom said as warmly as she could, "Mr. Coulson wants you to attend his school. It's a university." Her tone said, 'Say yes,' but her eyes said, 'If you accept, I will let your life become hell.'
Seeing as Juliette's life was already hell; she figured getting away from her family would be the best thing for her. "Sure I'll go," she said brightly. "Sounds great!"
"Wh—" her mother faltered.
"I'll get my stuff packed now, and we can be on our way. Why don't you stay here for a day or two to help me with my boxes?" she smiled at him and he smiled back.
Okay, Juliette thought, maybe I can be my own fairy godmother.
A/N: Recently, I had an epiphany. I figured out that my fics….SUCK. They all revolve around a two dimensional romance that has no background and is somewhat annoying.
SO…I added a dimension. A backstory, a beginning. And it might suck anyways, but it's better than what I had, so whatever.
ALL suggestions are welcome, except slash ones. I don't ship any slash. I'm sorry. It's just not my thing. Please review, it'll make my day!
Oh yeah: I NEED HELP WITH TITLES.
That will be all.