Ella Lorena Kennedy was not beautiful. Often she would look at her reflection in the mirror and wish that she had a face that men would melt over. She also wished that she wasn't so painfully shy in front of men. She also wished that her annoying cousin wasn't courting Joe Fontaine, the boy of her dreams.
Ella was sitting in room, reading a book. Out of nowhere, there was a shrill, phony laugh. Susie was outside her window. Ella knew that Susie was making that noise on purpose; Susie knew that Ella had a crush on Joe. Ella rolled her eyes and went back to reading her book. Ella found the going-on's of the book much more interesting.
It was interesting to think back to her youth, one time, Ella and Susie had been the best of friends. Then suddenly, Susie got two funny bumps coming out of her chest, and she suddenly became boy crazy. After this, Ella found the joys of books.
Ella looked a lot like her father, Frank Kennedy, a man she didn't remember. She had his face. She knew that because she had one picture of him. She had ginger-brown hair, with her mother's emerald-green eyes. She had small breasts, and her figure was slender.
The main father she remembered was her stepfather, then ex-stepfather, then stepfather again, Rhett Butler. It was a long, complicated story, and Ella didn't really like to think about the shame that her mother had brought on the family.
Ella wasn't really sure when everything happened, but she knew it began with her Aunt Melly. Her Aunt Melly was the kindest, sweetest, person Ella had ever known. Ella, at times would fantasize Aunt Melly being her mother. Sadly, Aunt Melly died, and her mother sent her and her brother, Wade, to her childhood home, Tara, where she had been ever since.
Ella's mother, Scarlett, never really seemed to care about her. Ella never understood why. She seemed to like Wade, her half-brother, but she always seemed irritated by Ella.
What her mother did was a horrible sin, she disgraced the O'Hara family with a divorce, and then worse, she had a baby in secret. Cat. That was her name; Ella had met Cat only twice. She seemed nice, but Ella was rather afraid to get close to Cat.
When Aunt Melly died, and Scarlett sent Ella and Wade to Tara, Ella's life had been filled with death. First, there was Ella's little sister, Bonnie, then Aunt Melly, then Mammy, her harsh, but loving Mammy, who had been more of a mother than Scarlett ever had. Ella stayed at Tara, with her Uncle Will and Aunt Suellen. Suellen and Scarlett were sisters. Ella had become fast friends with Susie, who was closest to her age. Suddenly, Scarlett was gone, and went back to Atlanta. She came back a few years later with Cat, and Scarlett was rarely seen again.
Following Scarlett's departure, Wade and Uncle Will became like father and son, while Ella and Susie became best friends. Ella's two other cousins, Jane and Martha never really bothered Ella or Susie.
Suddenly, Susie got her breasts, and became a flirt. Ella found reading, and she noticed her Aunt Suellen's cold looks. She also didn't know why Suellen gave her such cold, hateful looks. Ella knew that there were some buried secrets in the O'Hara family, she was interested in what they were, but she also felt that they were best kept hidden.
Ella was now seventeen; and she soon would be getting her trust fund. That was one good thing about being Scarlett's daughter; Scarlett and Uncle Rhett had lots of money. She could leave Tara behind, and never look back. Ella wasn't very happy at Tara, and had always dreamed of going back to Atlanta, or going to Charleston, Savannah, or maybe even New Orleans. Scarlett had set up the trust fund during her last visit. Wade had his also, but Wade was a farmer, and all he cared about was Tara, so he bought some of the land surrounding Tara, and had a little plantation of his own. Wade was also engaged to be married to Anne Robertson from Fayetteville. Anne was nice, but never really seemed to pay attention to Ella.
The time was now April, and Ella would be retrieving her fund in less than a month. Wade and Anne were also to be married at the beginning of May. Ella wondered if she would ever be a wife, if any man would marry her.
Ella continued to read her book. She was coming to the end of the book, and she would have to go with her Uncle Will to Fayetteville to return those books to the library. It was a small library, but it had books that were entertaining to read none-the-less. Ella heard another shrill sound that was a combination scream and laugh. Ella couldn't contain her curiosity for this, she had never heard that from Susie, she closed to the book and went to the window, and pulled back the curtain, and saw Susie embracing Joe in a hug. Ella wondered what had happened between the two of them. She would find out soon enough….
