Author's Note #1: I just thought I'd take a little break from 'One Night' and write a little compilation of chapters about an original character, Maggie Curtis, who I hate to say it, is based a little on myself, particularly physically. It's written in the form of both a diary and a normal story, written with an 'I' speaker, I can't remember which person that is? Here in the first chapter she retells the story where she first meets Finn Hudson, which does not end particularly well.
The Ballad of the Ugly, Shy Girl
Monday 1st January 2011: Entry #1
Today was fun. A new school and a new start, isn't that what they say? I tried to make an effort with making some new friends but the classes were too chaotic, but I watched a couple of kids at lunch and they seemed nice enough. People just can't seem to understand that I'm normal even if I don't look like it. I am still the same sixteen year-old who left her few best friends in New York to travel to some dead-end town in Ohio because her parents split up over two months ago. My mom left with my sister and me because of her new job as part of a new advertising firm among other things. Lima hasn't got anything going for it, all save a supermarket, a low-grade high school and maybe a few dive bars here and there.
I guess an explanation is needed before I go on. It all happened at birth, despite the whole delivery being successful; something about me didn't feel 'right' as my mom puts it. Turns out it was a lot more serious, a facial 'disfigurement'. This led onto months of treatments and surgeries, my mom suffered much more than I did before I could even talk or walk, which ironically is something the doctors told her I wouldn't be able to do. Since then, I haven't been quite the same and somehow it has forced me to build a stronger backbone. The constant staring and jeering didn't help and my schoolwork began to suffer because of it as I started to neglect anything remotely academic as the bullying intensified.
So after my parents' divorce was finalised, my mom moved my sister and I out to a faraway place where she hoped no-one would stare and assume they knew everything about us. The house we live in now is smaller than the one we had in New York, considering that was an large two-floor apartment and this is a modest three bedroom semi-detached house on a uneasily quiet suburban street, mixed in with other houses that look exactly the same, so we can't exactly put our own unique stamp on our brand-new home.
Here's how the first few hours in Lima, Ohio passed by. As soon as I stepped through the front door, I decided to assert my authority as the older sibling, in a successful attempt to get the bigger bedroom. After everything in my collection of big brown boxes were packed away into their rightful place, I quickly made my way downstairs, managing to mistake my footing as I tripped on the sneaky bottom step. I noticed my mom's absence, instead choosing to turn on the tiny terrestrial television and staking my claim on a solitary corner of the three-piece suite. Wherever my mom had gone, my sister had obviously gone with her, which was quickly becoming a blessing in disguise.
My eyes suddenly began drift, my head too slipped off of my hand. Thinking nothing of it, I decided that going to sleep was probably my best bet, especially if I was going to get a good start for school the day after (looks like that didn't happen!).
This is where it gets juicy! As I was trying helplessly to get to sleep, I woke up to a loud knock on the door. Realising that I'd left a long, clear trail of drool down the side of the couch, I quickly tidied up my appearance as best I could and rushed to the tiny hallway.
He was tall, insanely tall, like a weirdly cool woodland creature. His eyes were a brilliant brown, almost the colour of my favourite chocolate. His hair was meticulously spiked up and stylishly cut. His lips pursed as he caught sight of my dishevelled appearance. His hands fit tightly inside his pockets and his feet began to kick the porch step.
"Hey I'm Finn. Finn Hudson" He said with his Mid-Western drawl and his hands still deep in his pockets. I couldn't help but feel steadily intimidated by his height as I stood at just five foot and two inches tall. As his nerves began to kick in again, the constant vandalism of my front porch continued.
"Well Finn Hudson, would you mind not kicking a hole in my front porch?" I shot back with my sharply rehearsed wit, trying to stand confidently on the balls of my feet. The tall, dark stranger (What a cliché?) stopped quickly and pointed down the street proudly. Leaning out of my doorway, I noticed a house at the end of the road which stuck out from the rest with its large driveway and a thin row of shrubs that lined the outside.
"My mom told me to come over and greet the new neighbours and so here I am" I managed to smile through my falling fringe, holding out my sweaty palm. He misunderstood my gesture, trying to string a sentence together with surprising confidence.
"I'm trying to shake your hand, whether it's secret or not? I don't know" He struggled to laugh at my awkwardly confident tone. I however hid away shyly underneath my long, baggy sleeve, knowing that my abrupt confidence was a step too far.
He turned away suddenly, I thought instantly I'd gone too far for my own good. I was quickly proven wrong when my new 'friend' slowly edged towards me, holding out his hand in front of mine. I smiled, deliberately trying to not mess up a perfectly good handshake with my over-eagerness.
The playful banter continued as he stood on my porch, watching my every move with his dark brown eyes. I quickly forgot the 'thing' that had stood in the way of making friends in my old school and in my old town. It seemed Finn could see what lay across my face but chose to ignore it because of the plain truth that I am a real person, not just a face with not an ounce of beauty and prettiness left.
"So I better get my school-bag packed before I fall asleep again" I realised my mom was now listening into our conversation as she leant out of the car window. I could already hear my sister's sniggers from the back seat as I leant against the front doorframe. Finn turned and smiled with an unusual awkwardness as only one corner of his mouth curved as he spotted my mother at the height of my own embarrassment.
"So I guess that's your mom?" I nodded quietly, listening to a click of the doors as my mom and sister walked up the drive, sniggering amongst themselves. Finn held up his arms as they brushed past him, I managed to stop the blushing that had already reached my cheeks.
"Yeah and that whirlwind of terror and destruction was my little sister, Hannah" Politely, I tried to excuse myself, keeping my outward appearance poised and comfortable as Finn continued to watch me carefully. Finally I insisted that my schoolwork was calling me and I whispered my goodbye as I watched him walk down our drive and along the quiet suburban street.
"I'll see you at school probably. I'll give you a shout if I see you around" I gave him one of my pleasantly weak smiles, closing the door behind me and preparing to chastise my embarrassing little sister and my mother who was equally terrifying.
Well that was yesterday and so Finn Hudson, you son of a gun, you promised (well it wasn't really a definite promise but it was the closest thing I was going to get!) that you'd 'give me a shout', well where was it? I honestly thought he was different, like an anomaly in a world of judgemental, self-confessed beautiful people. So as I sit here on my bed, surrounded by unfinished homework, instead venting out my compressed anger for one Finn Hudson into my specially printed leather-bound diary, I begin to feel as though my new life in Lima, Ohio will soon turn into an unhappy one with obstacles and difficulties that I'm not scared to face.
So even though the only one to read this will be me and only me, I'll end this entry with a fitting quote to see me through till tomorrow.
"The clock is running. Make the most of today. Time waits for no man. Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift. That's why it is called the present."
- Maggie Xx
Author's Note #2: Chapter One! I'm sorry if people out there either don't like OC's or slight Mary-Sues . But hopefully all can be forgiven and you can leave me a 'nice' review !
