Ellie and the Tiara
July 4'th, 1998,
Oh, what a day!
The Fourth of July. Just me and my dad. But that isn't just it. It's the fireworks, the heat, the fun of friends.
Why friends? Well, my dad said I could invite some friends to the Fourth of July since my grandparents live so far away. I had Rachel, Joey, Max, Ilene, and Andrea. They are five of my best friends, so I invited them to come and celebrate the Fourth of July at our Michigan City house in Indiana.
But it wasn't just friends that made that day fun, it was my dad. He always helps us to light sparklers in our yard, and the fireworks that we always get at Crazy Carter's. He always sets them off on the hill we have, and we watch them go up in the sky, when they blow up like a bomb.
But seeing the real fireworks is the real fun. We pack more sparklers and a candle, and we play with them in the park, a few yards away from the field, and we play with them until the fireworks start.
Once we get back from the fireworks, we have ice cream from Irene's Ice Cream and Yogurt Parlor. (Chocolate is the BEST at that place.)
Then, we stay up until eleven watching our favorite movies. Once they're all over, me and my friends have a sleepover in my room.
I wish stuff like that could happen every day.
July 5th, 1998,
Today, we went to Prunella's for breakfast.
We do that every 4'th of July when morning comes. Then, my friends all have to leave.
But that meant I got to spend the rest of the day with my dad.
All day, he and I sat on the top of Mt. Baldy. It's a mountain of sand that over looks the east shore of Lake Michigan. We were sitting underneath a tree, and just cuddled. He was also telling me a story that he made up himself.
It's very relaxing when we do this. It's always like the both of us are in a world where adventures happen every day. A place where anything exciting could happen. That's how it feels when I listen to my dad's stories.
But that day wasn't the best in my life.
We were both just sitting under the tree when we heard screaming coming from midway down the mountain. My dad raced to the edge, and saw a woman running down after a girl who was tumbling down the mountain.
Wasting no time, we both raced down the mountain and chased the tumbling girl as she reached the bottom where a large boulder sat. I stayed with the woman, hoping to calm her in case her daughter died.
But the woman wasn't very pleasant to be with. She shouted at me the minute I caught up to her. "What are you waiting for? Get down there and help my poor daughter!"
I obeyed her and raced down the mountain. My dad had the girl in his arms, and she looked rather hurt. Her leg was red from hitting the boulder, and there were bruises on her arms and knees from falling down the side of Mt. Baldy. My dad gently put her down beside the woman and she began crying. "Thank you so much for helping my little pumpkin!" the woman said picking up her hurt girl.
"No problem," said my dad. "Well, I'm Scott Farmer, and this is my daughter, Ellie," he said gesturing towards me.
"My name is Victoria Reynolds, and this is my daughter, Estella," said the woman shaking hands with my dad. As if she was really trying to be nice, I thought. But then, at that moment, I sensed some sort of evil inside of Victoria. Judging by the way she had yelled at me, I felt maybe she wasn't going to treat me with respect if they became friends.
Then, we went back up the mountain, Victoria mingling with my dad. It kind of made me gag looking at them talking like they were boyfriend and girlfriend. Estella, however, came up to me and said, "Wow, your dad is a nice guy."
"Thanks," I said after a moment's hesitation.
Then, she looked down at my SOFFE shorts. "Like your shorts," she said with an obvious sort of sarcasm.
I smiled weakly.
I felt a tap on my shoulder. "Bella, Victoria has someone for you to meet," my dad said excitedly.
"Okay," I said looking at a small girl sitting under a tree.
Victoria sat beside the girl. "Scott, Ellie," she said, turning quickly to snarl at me. "This is my daughter, Jasmine."
Jasmine smiled. "Hi guys!" she said.
Sadly, she looked just as goofy and weird as Estella and Victoria.
I wish I could have zapped them away right at that very moment, putting them out of our lives. Forever
August 21, 1998,
Boy, have I never felt more sick!
My dad and Victoria got married.
Yes, married. I was made the flower girl, while Estella and Jasmine were bridesmaids. My dad suggested I be the flower girl to make it fair for us.
But that didn't make me happy.
Victoria was my stepmother now. And Estella and Jasmine were my new stepsisters.
After the wedding, when Victoria and her daughters moved into our house, Estella and Jasmine took no thought of asking me and just hopped onto my computer and began IMing their friends. Jasmine just plopped her bags on my bed, not bothering to unpack them. She then joined Estella in IMing her friends. I tried asking them to get off, but they just ignored me and kept on IMing their friends.
I left them and went to find my dad. But I found them sitting on the couch, acting all lovey-dovey.
I was on my own for now, until my dad got away from Victoria.
August 30'th, 1998,
Today was not what I thought it was either.
This afternoon, we went to the beach. Victoria, Estella, and Jasmine sat down each admiring themselves in little pocket mirrors. My dad was swimming with me in the big waves we had that day. He was picking me up, and hoisting me up into the air, dropping me into the waves.
But that was when it happened.
A huge wave came upon us, a wave so big, that no one could have survived it. I jumped down, but it was too quick for my dad. It pushed him below the water, and he didn't come up for a while.
I looked all over the water for him, but my poor dad was nowhere to be seen. I raced to the shore and told Victoria.
"The poor man," said Victoria as if she didn't even care.
"Did you hear me?" I nearly shouted. "My dad, your husband, is GONE!"
"I only married him so I could finally have a father for my girls. But now that he's gone, you are now going to become our housemaid. You are going to work around the clock, and my girls will take your room. You will go up to live in the attic."
"I WON'T!" I yelled at her.
"Yes you will, young lady!" said Victoria. "I wear the pants in the family now, and you will do as I say, or the punishments will be extremely severe!"
I didn't dare complain back to her. At that instant, I knew my life had taken a sudden turn. My dad was dead, my room was now taken by those ogresses, and Victoria was in charge now.
But being a housemaid, that was wrong.
My happy life is now over!
August 31'st, 1998,
I can't believe it!
Estella and Jasmine now have my room, and I now live in the attic. Thankfully, I still have my computer, my bed, and all my stuff. And Victoria took away my phone so I couldn't call my friends.
But she forgot about my computer. Sadly my friend Ilene is the only one with a computer, so I can still IM her.
Now, I'm the one who has to make breakfast, school lunches, and dinner even. I'm the one who orders pizza and Chinese, and I clean the house. No one does work in the house but me!
I spent the whole of today crying and IMing Ilene. She tried to make me feel better, but not even her best jokes or her best advice could make her feel better.
But now, the only time I see Ilene is at school.
And I'm going to be seeing the Ogress family 24 7!