I worked really hard on this, so no flames please!
She sits in the front seat of his pickup truck. They're cruising along Route 66, a picture perfect moment. The breeze is cool and refreshing, and the scenery was beautiful, and simple. Rolling hills turn into purple mountains, blue sky turns into the setting sun.
"Josh?" she asks, smiling softly at him.
He rubs her back, soothingly, a signal for her to go on.
"Can we stop and watch the sunset?"
He pulls over abruptly. That's what she loves about him. He asks no questions, he just delivers.
"Babe, did I ever tell you how beautiful you are?"
She sighs. He tells her this almost everyday, and it never gets tiring. After all, her face is worth a quarter of a million dollars. In plastic surgery. She flashes back to that day.
"It won't hurt!" says the doctor with the black bangs. But, Olivia is scared. What if it doesn't work? What if she doesn't like her new face? She voices her fears to her mother.
"Dah-ling! Trust me… I've done it a million times."
Olivia starts to have second thoughts. What if her face turns out like Joan Rivers? What if she already likes the way she looks? She had heard her father and mother talking the day before.
"Kate, she's too young!" her father's voice is full of concern for his baby. His only daughter. He didn't want her to change her face. He thinks she's beautiful just the way she is.
"What would you know?" her mother is loud. Sharp. She does care about her daughter, but in a different way. She wants Olivia to change.
"I'm a plastic surgeon!" silently Olivia pleads to her father. Daddy, I don't want plastic surgery! Tell mom no!
"Have you seen her Jarod? That girl is as ugly as one of cinderella's stepsisters! She'll never get a man if she looks like a pug gone wrong!" A sharp pang hits Olivia's heart. Pain fills her, and tears spills out of her eyes. Please make it stop!
"How dare you Kate!"
"Jarod! A mother know's her daughter best. Do you want me to take you to court again?"
"Fine!" Olivia can hear her father throw up his hands, and storm out. She sinks to the floor in silent sobs.
Now, she gets ready. She puts on the hospital gown. Gets ready. Closes her eyes. Hugs her father as tight as she can. One more silent plea. Please daddy?
He hugs her back, and waves as she slowly advances towards the operating room. Towards her doom.
"Josh? What colors can you see in the sunset?" they are sitting on the trunk of his truck, facing the deep valley below. A faint "Stay, Stay, Stay" by Taylor Swift can be heard from the car radio. He has his arm around her, and she is leaning her head on his shoulder. They both are staring into the sunset. Mesmerized.
"Uh, red, orange, purple…" she cuts him off, her laugh as light as a bell.
"No Josh! Be creative! Hmmm, let's see, rusty red, butter yellow, magenta… now you do some."
Instead of answering, he puts his palms flat on the truck, fingers facing backwards. He leans back, content. Smiling at his girlfriend. Olivia smiles too. She turns her head, and catches a glimpse of herself in the rear-view mirror. Sun bleached blonde hair that falls to her waist, perfectly tanned skin. Peacock blue eyes, and perfect full lips. A perfect amount of freckles are sprinkled on her face. Her face has one her a lot of boys, but deep inside, she dislikes it. It's fake. The reason everything on her face is perfect, if because it has been laid out with a ruler. Her real face was a little ugly, but at least the birthmark on her cheek was real!
She sighs. Enjoy the day, Olivia. Enjoy what you have. But the problem is, she doesn't really have her face. Her parents. After all, her parents are the ones that payed for it!
She remembers the first day at school with her new face.
"Olivia's not here!" yells Massie Block, 6th grade class president. The rest of homeroom sighs, annoyed at Massie's constantly bossy tone. Then Olivia walks in, wearing a revealing top, that her mother said would "show off her new body." She just felt uncomfortable.
"I call hooking up with her first!" yells an obnoxious boy from the back of the class. All the children laugh.
"Is that Olivia?" asks another boy.
"No," answers Massie "It's Faux-Livia."
Olivia feels her fake cheeks turn red. Why mother, why?
"Okay babe, time to go! We have to reach home by midnight!" Josh says, jingling his keys in his hand. She heaves herself of the trunk, and, jumps into the passenger seat. Josh starts up the car, and tries to pull out. A truck happens to be passing by at the exact moment. Olivia screams. They crash.
Beep, Beep, Beep, Beep the sound of the heart monitor fills her head. Everything is blurry for a minute. It's like she's drunk. Then light fills the room, alerting her senses.
"She's awake!" yells a redheaded doctor, with a high ponytail. A lot of people cheer.
"You can come in now!" yells the doctor to someone outside the room. Olivia searches her brain. Why is she in a hospital? Then reality strikes her harder than lightning. The car crash. Josh. Her parents run in the room.
"Where's Josh?" she asks them confused. Her mother takes one look at her, and faints.