Chapter one: Prologue
November 3, 1948
"So we're picking up Axelle today?" Amber Von Tussle asked eagerly. She was so looking forward to having a permanent playmate. Someone she could boss around and the other girl wouldn't have any say so!
"Yes Amber, we're picking up Axelle today; and right when we get home we are going to get a doctor to fix that horrid nose of hers. Honestly Frank, did you have to pick a half Jewish child?" Velma Von Tussle complained.
"Well her story touched me. Also she seems to really need a loving family who will take care of her." Mr. Von Tussle explained.
The family reached the orphanage in Paris. A plump middle aged woman was waiting for them.
"Are you the Von Tussles here to pick up Axelle?" She asked in accented English.
"Yes; may we see her?" Frank asked eagerly. The rest of the family nodded.
"Right this way." The woman said showing them in.
The orphanage was run down as most were; cockroaches ran across the floor, the floor was covered in filth and the wall paper was peeling off. They made it to a small room; there was Axelle. Axelle had curly dark hair, her father's big nose, and big wide dark eyes that. She had a blue coat and Green Beret on, along with gray tights, a plaid skirt and tattered shoes.
"Axelle,le nouvelle famille est là pour vous ramener à la maison." The middle aged woman said to Axelle (In a nutshell the lady said to Axelle that her new family was there to get her). Axelle looked awkwardly at her new family.
"She's ugly;" Amber whispered to her mother.
"I agree, but don't worry sweetheart we'll fix her nose at least. That'll make her look a hell of a lot better." Velma whispered back to Amber. Amber nodded with relief.
"Why isn't she talking?" Amber asked the lady. The woman got on Amber's level.
"That story is to tragic for you." She said to the three year old.
"Well you can at least tell us the parents. Amber get to know your sister." Velma said pushing Amber toward Axelle. The two girls started "playing" (it was mostly Amber messing with Axelle's hair; which Axelle wasn't really going for)
"She came to us when she was about four months old. The local undertaker brought her, she was all covered in blood. Axelle's mother committed suicide by eating a gun. According to the mother's suicide note she couldn't bear to live without her dead Jewish lover who died in the camps. She hasn't spoken a word at all. We figure it's all psychological . Otherwise she's completely normal for a child her age." The woman explained.
"Oh geez, how tragic" Velma said with false emotion, putting her hand over her heart.
"This is her mother. Her name was Nicole Renard, she was a well known opera singer here. So much promise, and talent wasted. This is her father, Moyshe Bernheart, he was also did theater, but he did plays; like Shakesphere. Again, more talent wasted." The woman said handing the Von Tussels pictures of the parents. Axelle had Nicole's curls, but she looked most like her father. The eyes, the nose, the dark hair; he wasn't conventionally handsome, but he was alright. Mr. Von Tussel looked at the pictures, regret on his face.
He had met Nicole when he was in Paris as a soldier in the army. He promised her that he would bring Moyshe back alive. Frank then went undercover disguised as a guard at Auschwitz, and there he met Moyshe, who succumbed to TB right after the Russians liberated the camp. Before Moyshe died, Frank promised him that if anything happened to Nicole, that he would take care of his child.
When he returned to Paris before returning to America, he found out about Nicole's suicide and immediately started the process to adopt Axelle. It had been hindered because of hi wife Velma and her racist ways. Also the birth of Amber, was a small hindrance. He had only convinced Velma to let him adopt Axelle because he promised her that he would let her go on an insane shopping spree on L'Avenue des Champs-Élysées.
"Dear, what's wrong?" Velma asked him.
"Oh, nothing honey." Frank said snapping back into reality. He quickly handed the pictures back to the orphanage worker. He then heard a small yelp from Axelle who was having her hair pulled by Amber.
"Amber! Stop that at once!" he demanded.
"But daddy! I'm just trying to put her hair in ponytails!" his daughter said taking out some ribbons from her jacket pocket. Frank started to approach Amber to pull her off Axelle who was now starting to cry. Velma held him back.
"Let her do it honey. It's sisterly bonding." the blonde woman said with a smirk. After watching the scene, Axelle now had her hair in two poorly made ponytails and her cheeks were tear stained.
"Axelle honey, can I hold you?" Frank asked her approaching her with outstretched arms. Axelle gave him a bewildered look, since she didn't understand his words, but she interpreted from his body language that he wanted to pick her up and hold her. The man seemed nice, and the worker lady said he was a part of her new family, so Axelle figured it would be ok for the nice man to hold her. The orphanage worker handed the Von Tussel's the final paperwork, and then they left with new Von Tussel.
Fourteen Years later
Axelle was sitting in her final class of the day. In a few minutes she, Amber, and all the other supposed "Nicest kids in town" would get out of school early to shoot another episode of the Corny Collins show. Axelle could now speak, and her nose was now a little ski slope due to plastic surgery. She really didn't like dancing on TV. She'd rather be writing songs and plays. Her mother Velma hated her singing voice. She said it wasn't "Conventional" and that "only old people listened to opera." Mr. Von Tussel loved her and appreciated her, until his untimely death when Axelle and Amber were ten. Also Axelle noticed that her mother always gave her a disgusted look, like Axelle was inferior to her as a human being. Axelle sometimes wondered if she had been adopted.
She and the other kids got on the bus to go to the show. Axelle sat by herself as always. It had always been challenging for her to make friends because in her mind, people were intimidating. She knew that people could be cruel, and she wanted to avoid as much pain as possible. Also she didn't think that anyone could really be her friend. Velma always told her that she was ugly, and that she was too awkward for other children to make friends with her, and Axelle believed that. All the other teen cast members only spoke to Axelle if they needed her to do their homework for them.
On this day, however, one of her cast mates came seeking her counsel in a matter that was anything but academic.
"Hey Axelle, can I talk to you?" Brenda said tapping her shoulder.
"Um sure, what class do you need help with?" Axelle asked.
"It's not about school, and I'd rather talk about this in private." Brenda responded, a slight nervousness was in her voice.
"Oh okay, we can talk privately." Axelle said as they walked to a private part of the set.
"I would have talked to Amber or some of the other girls about this, but I think you'd be a little more trustworthy than them." Brenda explained. Axelle's wide eyes grew a tad wider. "Someone views me as trustworthy, and wants to confide in me? Wow, I'm flattered! Well I do help these people cheat on their school work, so it would make sense." Axelle thought.
"Axelle you can keep a secret right?" the black haired girl asked anxiously.
"Of course, what is it?" Axelle responded. Brenda pulled her back to the hall, where they couldn't be overheard.
"I'm pregnant and Corny is the father." Brenda said her eyes filling with tears
"Corny? As in Corny Collins the host of this show?!" Axelle asked stunned.
"Yes that Corny!" Brenda exclaimed starting to sob.
"How did this happen?" Axelle inquired.
"It was a few months ago at Amber's birthday party. I had a little too much to drink, and Corny led me upstairs to your mom's room, he was drunk also. He told me that he was going to help me feel better if I laid down on the bed. I did, and he started to undo my blouse...I told him to stop, but he didn't listen. He made me have sex with him." Brenda said tearily as she threw herself into Axelle's arms. Axelle was stunned, Corny was a good guy! He was drunk though, and Axelle knew that Corny was a mean and obnoxious drunk because of how he behaved at the last St. Patrick's day party that was held at her house. She didn't think that Corny would force someone to have sex with him against their will.
"I do have an idea on how to fix this though." Brenda said calming herself and letting go of Axelle.
"That's great! What is it?" Axelle asked eagerly
"I heard there's this new thing called an abortion... They usually do it behind the hair salon because real doctors aren't allowed to do it." Brenda said.
"No, no, no you don't want that on your conscience." Axelle said.
"Why? What is an abortion?" Brenda asked. Axelle slapped her hand against her forehead.
"An abortion is where they kill the unborn child! Do you want that? Also a lot of women have died because of what happens behind that salon." Axelle explained. Brenda started to cry loudly. Velma, hearing the disturbance, appeared out of no where. She took one look at the girls and came up with her own false conclusion. She shooed Brenda away and started to pull Axelle's hair like Uncle Vernon did to Harry in the first movie.
"What happened?" she asked harshly.
"Nothing she just overreacted." Axelle said wincing, not wanting to reveal Brenda's pregnancy.
"Bull crap, now get out of my face you piece of crap." Velma said throwing Axelle against the wall. They walked away in opposite directions.