Blanche was the kind of woman that most people could walk all over. Being kind and considerate she was prone to place others over herself, which made her fall in love too fast. She grew up as the only girl with seven noisy, rowdy brothers. They all lived together in a run- down cottage in the English countryside. It had barely any central heating or electricity. Then, she was known as Snow White. She always hated her mother for giving her such a name. It made her sound like some kind of cupcake- sickly sweet and fluffy and soft- qualities which a brilliant for a cupcake, but will do people no good in the real world.
Snow White started school late, at the age of twelve in " Princess Eugenie's Academy For Young Men and Ladies". She did not care much the classes- they were just tedious, it was her friends that mattered to her the most- but she has no idea where they are now.
It wasn't long before Snow White had gained a reputation, as 'the good girl' at the academy .She was growing tired of the constant name- calling so, at the age of fifteen, Snow White bunked off school. She reckoned it would just be for the day, so her friends would see the real Snow White- the bad one. But she grew fonder and fonder of her new found freedom. No classes- No whiny younger brothers to cook for and tend to. This was the life she had been waiting to lead.
The first thing she did was changing her name. Blanche seemed like the ultimate choice. The name made her sound both gorgeous and sophisticated at the same time. Then she took the bus down to central London, with only her lunch money to spare. It was easy enough to get a job. All she had to do was walk into the nearest KFC and don the uniform and hat.
She was working a night shift one Wednesday night when she met him. Chris, the modelling agent. She could remember his order precisely- large coke, chips and a cheeseburger with beef and tomato. Blanche took his order. She only saw his face clearly when she asked for £5.50. His eyes went immediately to her jet-black curls, which were tumbling out from the back of her hat. He simply said "Come sit down with me, you look hungry"
She nodded and as if in a trance, came and sat down with him.
He chewed nonchalantly at his burger and asked her lots of questions.
"Blanche- that's a nice name- are you French or something?"
Blanche would blush and tell him the answers. None of them were true at all. She was not eighteen. She had not lived in London her whole life. She had no rich relations, but it all came spewing out of her mouth. It was like she was telling him a fairytale version of her life, instead of the hard, cold truth. It was not long before he introduced himself. "My name's Chris Regent. I work for a modelling agency here in London. The reason I called you over is I was wondering if you'd be interested in any work, I have a photo shoot tomorrow and I really need someone …"
Blanche could not believe it. Her- A Model? He must be on drugs or something. Her brain tuned out of the conversation, from sheer shock. Minutes later She had woken up and the first thing she heard was- "I can really see you in peroxide blonde… what do you say?"
One contract later, Blanche was in a taxi next to Chris on the way to the hotel where the shoot would take place. He was going on and on about how the hairstylist would be so excited to work with her and how she would love the accommodation. Blanche was so excited- this was the real London. The swanky hotels, the black taxis and the expensive restaurants. This was what London was about
The day of the photo shoot arrived and Blanche was treated to a luxurious lie- in, and breakfast in her silk-sheeted bed. She got several phone calls from Chris that morning. He kept on coaching her on all the stuff that she would know and always ended each sentence with "darling". She liked all this special treatment from Chris. This was something she could get used to.
Walking down into the lobby to Blanche felt like she was entering an entirely new world. Gold leaf covered every square inch of the place and the few gaps were filled with lots of extravagant-looking black satin. Blanche started out posing on an armchair. She let her hair merge into the satin as hips hugged the gold evening gown. She loved modelling straight away, she poured her soul into it and relished the feeling of the camera only having eyes for her. She popular among the photography crew and they were constantly praising her on her "so-called" modelling abilities.
Days into the photo shoot and Blanche was having the time of her life. Her relationship with Chris was developing quickly and she liked the direction that it was going in. Her hair was now peroxide blonde, (As Chris wanted), and it now finally suited her name. The last day of their shoot in the hotel, Chris leaned in and kissed her goodnight. He told her that he'd never worked with anyone as special as her. He sucked her in then left her wanting more
Blanche treasured every one of his smiles and recalled each compliment from that day on. Each day she could feel the tension mounting between them. Then one night she got up out of her suite, feeling brave, and knocked on his door.
The next few months were carried on in the same fashion. The modelling agency was getting more publicity, and becoming rich and Blanche was soon making the covers of every magazine. And alongside her in most of the pictures, was Chris, shielding her from the paparazzi. It looked like there was a safe future for her. She had a loving boyfriend… or maybe partner. She had frequent fantasies about their celebrity- worthy wedding, But Once her mourning sickness began, those became nothing but fantasies. By now she was sixteen and a half. Chris, seeing her size got suspicious of her and warned her about her eating habits. He started getting angry each night and Blanche got scared of him and did not know how to stop him. Then one night, when he found out that Blanche was pregnant, threw the chair at her in a rage, and left her in agony in the hotel room.
Blanche lay there in the same position, crying in agony. She couldn't even remember why he had thrown the chair at her in the first place- some stupid reason that she just couldn't remember anymore… She tried to pretend that this was all a dream, but no amount of wishing could help her turn back time. After some time had passed, a butler, hearing her cries, managed to open the door. He called an ambulance and they managed to get her to the hospital on time. However, the baby was miscarried.
Blanche stayed in the hospital for some time recovering. She looked over at what she had done, and how bunking of school had landed her a baby, and lost her, the one man she thought she loved.
Most days she would just watch TV. Her name appeared on screen once, but only to say that the baby had been miscarried and Chris had taken off. This only made her more miserable. When she had run out of tokens to put into the TV she would just stare into space, crying for Chris to come back.
One day, while Blanche was being fed her lunch she saw a nurse lead some children to the next ward. They looked so sweet in their identical gowns. Out of intrigue, Blanche got out of bed and followed them. They where chatting excitedly, and playing games. Blanche wondered why they where in hospital. She went and asked the nurse- "Emm, I don't mean to be rude, but the children, why are they here?"
The nurse gave her a resigned look and said, "They all have Leukaemia"
After Blanche recovered, she came to work with the children in the ward. She dedicated her life to it. The children became so important to her. They taught her how precious life was and gave her the will to live, as she watched them pass away, one by one. Then one day she received and invite that made her stomach churn. So Blanche took the bus and slowly adjusted back to "Snow White". The name almost felt nice now. It felt so much "cleaner" than "Blanche", the name she had wrecked.
She spent the bus journey chewing her nails. She wasn't sute wether the invite was fake or not, but she felt that she had to go. The bus suddenly jerked to a stop and Blanche got out and took the route she had taken almost eleven years ago. On arrival to her destination, she ran up the steps, flung open the door. What she saw shocked her more deeply than anything else she had experienced…