Imperfections
Jo clenched her teeth as Aunt March tightened the strings on her corset. "Is this really necessary?" Jo groaned once again.
"Of course it is, don't be ridiculous," Aunt March scoffed. "When I'm through with you, you will finally look and act like a proper lady."
Jo cringed at the thought. "Does this corset really need to be that tight?" She could barely breathe and her sides now hurt along with her feet which were crammed into tiny, uncomfortable shoes.
"Of course! Now stop complaining," Aunt March ordered. She stepped away from Jo and made sure everything looked fine. "Now that's much better, come look at your reflection, Josephine."
"It's Jo," Jo remarked, annoyed.
"Well 'Jo' sounds very boyish and Josephine is your birth name and it's more feminine anyway," Aunt March pushed a mirror in front of Jo. "It's about time you acted more like a girl."
Jo gaped in horror at what she saw. "W-what have you done to me?" She gasped. Jo was now dressed in a frilly pink dress with her hair pulled to the sides in pigtails with matching pink ribbons on each end.
This was terrible! Jo would never wear something like this. She never had bothered to consider wearing anything pink and ruled the thought out completely. She prefered to wear dark or striking colors that were just as fierce and bold as her personality. Never something as delicate or girly as the dress she was wearing now. This suited Amy's style better. Not Jo the tomboy.
"See, isn't that much better? You look very elegant in that dress," Aunt March said.
"I look like a fool," Jo grumbled.
"Nonsense!" Aunt March scowled. "It's much better than what you were wearing before and this outfit looks very nice on you."
"Sure it does - as long as you don't move or breathe," Jo muttered. She shifted uncomfortably in the dress. Pain shot up her leg from the shoes. Jo could already feel the marks forming on her feet since the shoes were so tight. She would probably have blisters later.
"Don't be ridiculous, now straighten up! Keep your chin up, shoulders back, back straight. Posture is very important," Aunt March lectured her.
Aunt March reminded Jo of a bird the way she kept pecking at every single one of Jo's imperfections. "Let's see...is there anything else to fix..Oh my goodness, your gloves!" Aunt March exclaimed in horror. She was so caught up in Jo's dress that she forgot to check the gloves.
Jo's gloves were splattered in ink stains from that morning when she was writing another one of her scripts and the ink spilled and some of it landed on her gloves.
Aunt March ripped them off Jo's hands and pulled out a fresh pearl colored pair and handed them to her. "Put these on," She instructed. This time Jo didn't complain. Even though she didn't like wearing gloves, her hands often got sweaty and she often ruined them, Jo was glad to finally have a new pair.
"Much better," Aunt March noted. "Now I will be right back with some tea and sandwiches and teach you the proper table manners."
"I already know my table manners," Jo objected.
"Well sure you do, but you don't use them as often as you should. And it doesn't hurt to review," Aunt March replied as she turned to the door. Jo started to reach for one of her books she was reading earlier but was stopped by Aunt March.
"Josephine, this is no time to be reading, now put that nonsense down! You need put aside those silly stories you write and your books and focus on being a proper lady, finding a great husband and starting a family..." Aunt March rambled on.
Jo sighed in annoyance, Aunt March ignored this. "Isn't it going to be a few more minutes before the tea is ready anyway? Could I at least step outside to get some air for a few minutes?" Jo asked. The corset made it hard to breathe and if she could get away for a few minutes, she would try to loosen it.
"Very well, but don't get yourself dirty or go too far, I will call you back in when everything is ready," Aunt March said before leaving the room. Jo jumped up and hurried out to the door. Jo didn't plan to go far, her feet hurt too much and she doubted she could get very far in those shoes if she wanted to. Also, there was no way she would go into town dressed the way she was now in all the pink and ruffles.
Jo ran or limped around to the side of the house so that she wouldn't be so visible to Aunt March if she were to look for her. Jo slowly undid the strings on the back of her corset, some of which were so tight her fingers were sore from trying to undo them.
After she successfully undid all the strings, she started to tie up the corset again but loose enough so that it would be comfortable, but tight enough so Aunt March wouldn't notice.
Jo dusted her hands together after she finished and looked up when she noticed a familiar boy with dark brown curls walking by.
"Laurie!" Jo called out. He looked over at her and burst out laughing when he saw what she was wearing.
"What's so funny?" Jo demanded.
"What happened to you?" Laurie gestured to all the pink and bows she was wearing.
"Aunt March decided to give me 'lessons' on how to be a proper lady," Jo wrinkled her face in disgust. Laurie started laughing again. "I don't find that very funny, Laurie," Jo snapped.
"JOSEPHINE!" Aunt March called out the door. "Where did you go?" She stopped when she saw Jo and Laurie by the side of the house and her eyes widened when she saw Jo.
"Oh my goodness! Josephine! Did you loosen up the corset?" Aunt March demanded.
"No," Jo lied.
"Yes you did! It was NOT that loose when I did it! And you're in the presence of someone else too like this? You should be ashamed of yourself! Get back inside!" Aunt March grabbed Jo by the arm and started to drag her back inside. "I'm so sorry about this," Aunt March apologized to Laurie as she led Jo back up the stairs. "It's all right, really," Laurie said.
"Oh no, no, no, it's not all right. This will simply not do. Jo needs to learn her manners and how to be more ladylike," Aunt March scoffed as she open the door
Laurie made eye contact with Jo and snickered and Jo sent him another annoyed look before Aunt March ushered her back inside the living room. The door shut as Jo braced herself for the next set of horrors Aunt March had in store for her.
Author's Note: Inspired by a true story. I really was forced to wear a pink dress (minus the bows). I used to be a tomboy when I was younger and my mom used to nag me the way Aunt March nags Jo. Anyway I hope you liked my story and please review, it would make me very happy :)