Her Name Was Vernita Green
A Kill Bill Fan-Fiction by Sassy Lil Scorpio
Title: Her Name Was Vernita Green
Fandom: Kill Bill
Character: Vernita Green a.k.a. Copperhead
Theme Set: Delta
Rating: T
Disclaimer: Vernita Green, Bill, Beatrix Kiddo, Lawrence Bell, and all other names mentioned in this writing are the property of Quentin Tarantino. No copyright infringement is intended.
Author's Notes: 50 Sentences based on 1 character is a Live Journal (LJ) community. Some sentences may come off as run-ons and I might have some comma-splicing—I did my best to proofread for that. This form of fan-fic is harder than it appears, especially when you come across a word and don't know how to relate it to the character you're writing about. I highly recommend this exercise—it's a good break from longer fics and allows you to delve into one character's mind and experiences by writing one sentence a piece.
Thank you, Digital Tempest for your encouragement! This fic is for you!
01. Blend
Under the guise of Jeannie Bell, Vernita Green blended in quite well with the stay-at-home mothers living in Pasadena; so well in fact, that no one would've ever thought she used to be a professional killer.
02. Stain
Her consciousness was stained with Beatrix's blood and although she tried to wash it away, it always stayed with her.
03. Island
Vernita discovered that every assassin is an island; this was especially true after she left the Squad and cut off all communication with the Deadly Vipers.
04. Apple
Nikkia loved her mother's homemade apple pies, and Vernita loved making them for her.
05. Paper
The marriage certificate was a simple piece of paper to Lawrence Bell, but to Jeannie Bell, it meant Vernita Green no longer existed.
06. Relax
Before she entered Two Pines, Vernita told herself to take a deep breath and relax: at this point, Beatrix was simply a target to hit off, and not a close friend.
07. Leaves
Whenever her mind wandered back to Two Pines, Vernita often thought of crinkled colorful autumn leaves; she had no idea why she made the association between fall and a bloody massacre.
08. Proof
When Bill told her that Beatrix had awakened from her coma, Vernita had demanded evidence, and he gave her the full details of O-Ren's death—that was enough proof to watch her back, since she might be next on Beatrix's death list.
09. Ugly
When she had first walked into the chapel, Beatrix was dressed in a beautiful white dress and by the time the Vipers had finished with her, her face was bruised, torn, and bleeding, and Vernita had scoffed at her: you are one ugly bitch!
10. Book
She entertained the thought of writing a memoir loosely based on the events of her life before she became Jeannie Bell.
11. Brood
Vernita hated to see Bill brood over Beatrix's disappearance, he acted unlike himself, withdrawn and quiet, and she did the only thing she could do: give him his space while he silently mourned the woman he loved.
12. Mesh
When Lawrence mentioned buying a wire mesh fence to keep Barney enclosed in a section of their backyard, it dawned on Vernita that she was truly living the life she always wanted as Jeannie Bell: a housewife and devoted mother, concerned with little things like mesh fences; and far from the vicious assassin who used to carve her target's body with a butcher knife.
13. Soft
Vernita always had a soft spot in her heart for children, since she was robbed of her youth at an early age.
14. Shelf
Vernita loved to decorate the shelf that her mother-in-law gave her with trinkets that reminded her of Lawrence and Nikkia—later on, she would knock down that same shelf on Beatrix.
15. Alone
There were times when Vernita felt utterly alone in her own house, despite the affection from Lawrence, and the happiness she had with her daughter, Nikkia, and pet dog, Barney.
16. Fall
Vernita overheard O-Ren and Elle badmouth Beatrix when Bill first discovered that she was pregnant and getting married to a man in El Paso; their comments about look how low Bea fell, were catty and nonsensical, and a tiny part of her was inclined to agree with Budd when he mumbled about Beatrix bettering herself by living an honorable life rather than jetting around the world and killing people for money.
17. Knot
When she finally tied the knot with Lawrence, she was relieved and thrilled—now she could truly begin her life as Jeannie Bell and forget about her violent past as Vernita Green.
18. Crowd
Three's a crowd, Elle once told Vernita, regarding the love triangle situation with her, Bill, and Beatrix.
19. Denial
She had been in denial when she first found out that Beatrix was lying in a coma—there was no way she could've survived Two Pines; this was the first of many things Vernita would come to deny, later on she would deny the assassin side of her life and pretend it never existed, but for now, her attention was focused on Black Mamba.
20. Train
Sometimes Vernita wanted to jump on a train and leave the Squad behind, but she knew better than to run from Bill, there was no telling to how he'd react—and this was way before the massacre at Two Pines.
21. Fur
Lawrence loved to spoil her all sorts of extravagant gifts, including pricey fur coats.
22. Chrome
For her twenty-eighth birthday, Lawrence brought her a pair of chrome earrings.
23. Heart
Vernita was never one to wear her heart on her sleeve, but she couldn't hide her mounting rage as Beatrix told her in the most casual voice that she was going to die; and that to make it even, she'd kill her daughter and her husband.
24. Intention
Vernita's intentions were totally different from Bill's that day; she didn't intend to kill Beatrix and nearly protested when Bill took out the Colt .45—but she knew better and stayed silent when she heard the gunshot echo through the tiny chapel.
25. Push
Beatrix was really pushing her buttons, especially when she talked about murdering her daughter and her husband; that's when Vernita knew she had to kill her right then and there, so she took out the cereal box where she had hid the gun she had brought earlier…
26. Look
Vernita never forgot the look in Beatrix's eyes when she stared up at the Vipers from the chapel floor: it was a pained look that revealed how hurt she was by their betrayal…and how furious she was that they had the nerve to humiliate her on what was supposed to be the happiest day of her life.
27. Weight
She felt a two ton weight was lifted off her back, when Bill gave her his permission and blessings to leave the organization and start her own life.
28. Spider
While B.B. learned about death by watching Emilio flap around on the carpet, Nikkia learned about the same subject when her mother squashed a spider that had weaved its way into the living room—and Mommy had to explain to the sobbing four-year-old why the spider's legs were mashed up.
29. Robe
Walking around the house in the green terrycloth robe and matching slippers that Nikkia gave her for Mother's Day, Vernita realized how comfortable she had become in her new life.
30. Umbrella
Vernita once went to the hospital to visit Beatrix, but she couldn't bring herself to go into the building; and she ended up standing outside in the pouring rain without an umbrella.
31. Surface
When Nikkia walked through the door, Vernita hoped the anger and surprise she was feeling didn't appear obvious on the surface.
32. Idea
Once Vernita found out from Bill that Beatrix had awakened from her coma, she knew her death was imminent; however, she had no idea that she'd show up on her front door when she least expected it.
33. Diamond
Diamonds are forever, Lawrence had said, after she accepted his proposal of marriage and he slipped the ring on her left ring finger.
34. Blind
Vernita wondered if she had revealed her true past to Lawrence, if he would've believed her or if love would've blinded him and allow him only to see Jeannie Bell, the only persona of hers that he knew about intimately.
35. Flow
She was surprised at how forward Lawrence was when they first started dating, and when she questioned him on this, he simply said, "let it flow, Jeannie, I'm in no rush…I'm sorry you got that impression."
36. Movement
As her life ebbed away, Vernita still had time to reflect on Beatrix's expertise at killing—her movements were still smooth and professional, as if she hadn't spent a day encased in a four-year coma.
37. More
The more distance she put between her and Bill, the better; although he was once a father and mentor to her, she Vernita wanted to pretend her connection to him never existed once she left the DiVAS.
38. Honey
Once, after a session of passionate love-making, she asked Lawrence what she tasted like, to which he replied in a husky whisper: like honey.
39. Weather
When Lawrence had asked her why she looked so depressed one Sunday morning, she attributed it to being under the weather; but the truth was she was reminiscing about what happened at Two Pines three years before.
40. Blue
The color blue haunted Vernita; it was Nikkia's favorite color and the color of Beatrix's eyes.
41. Double
She knew that asking Beatrix to spare her and her daughter's life was a double standard; after all, Vernita hadn't spared her that day in Two Pines, even though she knew that Bea was pregnant at the time.
42. Braid
The only time Vernita wore her hair in cornrow braids was during the Two Pines massacre; to wipe out that day from her memory, she wore her hair in a million other styles—anything except cornrow braids.
43. Thread
Her life hung by a mere thread of chance—the tiny chance that she would defeat Beatrix and finally kill her.
44. Angels
Vernita always told Nikkia before turning off her nightlight: dream with the angels.
45. Daydream
While pregnant with Nikkia, Vernita often daydreamed about the possibilities and aspirations she had for her little girl, never knowing that she would only be in her baby's life during her first four years.
46. Nightmare
The night before her wedding ceremony to Lawrence, Vernita suffered horrific and graphic nightmares of Beatrix walking into the chapel, shooting all the guests and her groom-to-be, and then beating her to a bloody pulp.
47. Honor
She felt Beatrix had betrayed Bill by running out on him to be with another man, so in Vernita's eyes, it was an honor to beat up the very woman who betrayed her boss and mentor.
48. Palm
Vernita's palm was moist with sweat as she dug into the cereal box reaching for the gun; there was nothing to be nervous about, she'd shoot Beatrix and kill her, this thought assured her and she felt better as her finger wrapped around the trigger…now she just needed to aim at her final target.
49. Screen
When Vernita went to let Sarah in, she lamented that Lawrence still hadn't brought an outer front door with a screen.
50. Warmth
The warmth of Lawrence's body against her own was the only comfort she had as she counted down the days until Beatrix's arrival.