"Come with me and you'll be in a world of pure imagination/Take a look and you'll see into your imagination/We'll begin with a spin traveling in a world of my creation/What we'll see will defy explanation/ If you want to view paradise simply look around and view it/Anything you want to do it/ Want to change the world/ There's nothing to it/ There's is no life I know to compare with pure imagination/Living there you'll be free if you truly wish to be."-Pure Imagination: Fiona Apple (Originally From Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory)
Bittersweet
01: Day Dreamer
My name is Valerie Hudson; I am a sixteen year old girl living in the heart of Gotham City in New York. I think I'm fairly pretty, I have strawberry blonde hair and I sleep with big curlers to ensure it's perfectly curled when I wake up in the morning. I have a little bit of acne, my biggest problem right now is blackheads on my nose. I'll have to pick up some face cleanser for that situation. I really like my eyes, their a bright greenish blue kind of color and I have long thick lashes. They look even more badass when I coat them in mascara. And yes, I am the granddaughter of the famous "Gotham City Beauty Queen" Bernadette Hudson. Nana is my dad's mother, and while he doesn't seem to appreciate her legacy I do.
I have to wait until I'm eighteen to participate in the pageant, I'm not even sure it's something I would like but I want my nana to be proud of me. I'm obsessed with Marilyn Monroe, my walls are completely plastered with her immortal image. I fell in love with the Hollywood icon when I was nine years old. And I was furious when my parents wouldn't let me change my name to "Marilyn Hudson" my grandmother and I watched all of her movies together, my favorite is Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. I know everything about her, I know her movies backwards and forwards. Her tragedies only make her more wonderful in my opinion because I know that whatever I'm feeling Marilyn has gone through it too.
"Stop crying right now. Don't you let them know their getting to you. Look at you, you're fucking gorgeous. Hold your head up, put on some heels and red lipstick and be strong" I say to myself whenever I start to get upset; usually it works and I'm fine but of course sometimes it doesn't. I haven't seen my mother since she left my dad for a handsome gambler named Nicholas Bernal. They've attempted to reach out to me, but I locked that door long ago. My favorite person besides Marilyn is my grandmother. She met Marilyn once at a huge party, she tells me the story over and over and I never get tired of it.
I'm a hyper-feminine person by heart, and while I deck myself out in cute dresses and ribbons for my hair I'm actually quite rotten inside. I don't have a lot of friends, I don't care much for other people. I'd rather be by myself. It's not that I'm shy or anything like that, I just don't like other people. I'm too busy living with my heads in the clouds to make friends. Having friends is a pointless thing. Humans are born alone and we die alone. I prefer to be very independent person.
But you see, here's the thing. If you somehow manage to get close to me, if I regard you as someone special. I will treat you like you're the greatest thing since Lewis Carrol's "Alice in Wonderland" which happens to be my favorite book. The only people I'm close with is my nana and my father, I'm polite and friendly with people when I meet them but I have no intention in getting to know them and be their friend. Sorry about it, I guess.
I was born on April 28th 1995 in Gotham City. That's right, born and bred in the heart of this crime ridden city. People are often surprised that I'm not some tough butch girl considering the dangerous environment in which I was raised. Those people are stupid. I often fantasize that I'm a princess and Gotham City is my kingdom. I sit in class with my chin resting on my hand with a faraway expression on my face. Some people day dream to escape something that's hurting them; bullying or abuse things like that. I live a good life, people leave me alone and my dad gets paid well. I day dream because the real world is too boring and ugly for my taste.
The news won't stop talking about some guy named "Lane" or was it "Zane"? I don't know, I don't care about the news. It's so boring, so I watch one of my favorite movies "Funny Girl" instead and since no one is home I don't refrain from singing along to the beautiful Barbra at the top of my lungs. My father, in case you're wondering, works at the Stock Exchange. I'm not sure what he does exactly but apparently it's super important. I'm in the middle of belting out "Don't Rain on my Parade" when my phone chirps happily. It's a text from my dad. I turn down the television a little annoyed.
In case I don't make it. I love you so much.
Huh. Well my dad's job is really dull, I figure he's just playing with me. I'll text him later, after my movie. Suddenly the news interrupts Funny Girl with "Breaking News" and I scowl angrily. Wait…that's my dad's work. My stomach tightens up, no be calm. It's nothing. We are not those people, those unlucky to whom horrible things happen to for no reason. But then again, if it's breaking news it must be important. I turn the volume up and force myself to pay attention to what the balding news anchor is saying. "…hostages. The GPD is said to be handling the situation with great care" hostages?
My father is being held hostage? I swallow the lump in my throat, I'm not going to lie and say my dad and I are super close. We're not. He's the strict workaholic and I'm the silly day dreamer with my head in the clouds, he's constantly telling me to grow up. But he's my father and we love each other. "The hostages are walking out, no one appears to be hurt" the man says. I breathe a sigh of relief. But I can't see my father. I move closer to the television. I forgot my glasses in my bedroom, I hate wearing them. Suddenly men on motorcycles come shooting out of the main entrance. My father is on the back of one of them. It hits me that this isn't a problem I can ignore and wait to go away. My dad's life in danger and I'm really scared for him. I sit, frozen, completely unsure of what to do.
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