An average sized, curly brown mass of hair was curled up in the corner of her room. Her blue eyes swam across the pages of her newest find. Seventeen year old Kisa Atlas was basically a normal girl; she reads books in her room and was somewhat of a clutz. The only thing not very normal about her was her personality. She was uncharacteristically loud and headstrong, very unlike her parents; at least that is what she is told.
People found Kisa to be a good person most of the time but everyone avoided her for one reason-she wouldn't tell a lie. She was brutally honest. In her freshman year, she made a senior boy cry because she told him off. Ya sure, that senior boy was really rude, but he didn't deserve the things Kisa called him.
Kisa had a right to though, at least in her mind. She was abandoned by her parents when she was too young to remember and now that she's older, everyone is encouraging her to be more like them. I bet they don't even know my parents.
So now she's cuddled in her corner with her only friends; books and manga. She knew she should be outside, making real friends but she couldn't put any of them down, they were just too much fun! She loved the characters and the worlds and how they just seemed better. She really wished she could be in their worlds, fighting bad guys, instead of being here, on this boring Earth, living the life of an orphan and forced to be someone she didn't want to be.
"Kisa Atlas!" yelled a screeching Alba. "Get down here now!"
"Argh," Kisa grumbled in annoyance, closing her book. Probably more chores and lessons. Kisa thought as she got up.
As Kisa left the comforts of her books, she looked back on her life. When she was younger, Kisa led a gang of kids in the area, jumping fences and fighting wild animals. But one incident ruined Kisa's life. While her friends and her were fighting a really vicious dog who had attacked a smaller kid, it's owner found them and beat them all up. Then he set his dog on them. While Kisa was all ready to fight with her friends, they kept pushing her away and telling her, "Run!" Kisa wouldn't run but couldn't fight because her friends were holding her back, so by the time the police arrived, many of her friends were torn up and close to death. All she remembered was the tears and pain.
Kisa rarely talks to them any more but being in the same high school with them didn't help either. They sometimes found themselves in the same places, like fencing and physics club, and grudged along for awhile. But after a couple of days, they couldn't help but hang together. Kisa estranged herself from the group but they'd intentionally find a way to catch her after school and steal her away from her daily tasks.
The tasks they pulled her away from were learning the basics of college mathematics and world languages. That was freshman year. Alba, her caretaker, told her that her parents put aside the money for her to do these things, so she can grow up to be a success. Kisa saw her parents generous benefaction as them 'grooming their prized dog'.
Kisa knew that she wasn't an orphan. Her parents were alive, but they lived lives away from her, never really treating her as their daughter. Suko and Kilah Atlas were the two up and coming business moguls of the future. They had their grubby fingers in everything; retail, hospitality, technology, international construction, bio weapons; everything. And they were 'grooming' Kisa for the family business so that when she turned eighteen, she could join them.
She never wanted that life and made it apparent to everyone who knew her. Kisa knew saying she was an orphan was a lie, but it seemed like it was the truth. It felt right.
Kisa closed the door to her room and looked down over the balcony to the ground floor, where her white haired, cranky caretaker stood stomping her foot in annoyance. To Alba's left, a rusty pail and mop teetered on two wheels.
On top of all the lessons and schoolwork and activities, Alba had Kisa do the chores around the house. Alba said it was building character and would pay off in the end, but Kisa knew that Alba's definition of caretaker was having a cushy job and not having to do anything.
"Alba." Kisa said quietly, stepping off the last couple of steps.
"Oh goodness, Kisa, what took you so long?" Alba said, wearing a gross grimace on her face.
Kisa looked up to her third floor flat thinking how she could've been any faster. "I apologize Alba. I must have lost track of time."
"That you did," Alba grumbled. "Now, mop this floor and clean the curtains then get to the ballroom."
Another thing Kisa abhorred above all the rest was the dance lessons. Madem Kuzo was her teacher and was even worse than Alba. Kisa had once broken her ankle and bruised her hip during a practice, but Kuzo refused to allow Kisa to stop. By the end of the three hour practice, Kisa's eyes were red and her whole right leg was purple and on the verge of blue. When Kisa went to the doctor the next day, she was instructed to tell him it was an accident during P.E. Coach Natalie was fired the next day.
Kisa picked up the mop and pail and began to clean the floors. When Alba saw that Kisa was doing as she was told, she turned to leave and said, "Kisa I want to be able to see my face in these floors by the time you're done. You remember who is joining us this weekend."
She remembered instantly and grimaced at the thought. Kisa's parents were staying with them this weekend. Kisa now understood why the chores were piling on. Alba usually let the place get somewhat dirty when it was just her and Kisa, but when Kisa's parents told her they were coming, she had Kisa clean everything until it sparkled.
Kisa's parents didn't pay any attention to her when she was younger, but now that she was old enough to be their business partner, they come checking up on her nearly every month. These visits would turn into formal business meetings where they would quiz Kisa on the dealings of the company. Kisa ran through all the questions she could think her parents would ask until she had finished her chores. Alba re-entered the room with a beautiful ball gown in her arms. "Madem Kuzo said she wanted you to wear this during practice," Alba said, holding up the ball gown for Kisa. Alba was a tad shorter than Kisa, but what she lost in shortness Alba made up for in loudness. Kisa recalled many times when Alba's voice overwhelmed Kisa's brashness.
The gown was a dark blue tutu with a golden, curved line running along it's side. It looked beautiful but to Kisa, it was her next test. In a week, Kisa would be presented to Juilliard not as a student but as a guest performer for an upcoming show. After she would be accepted, Kisa would perform in the show making her debut. Not only would she become a pre madonna, but her family would now have access to the respect and prestige of the Russian ballet audience. Among them would be the newest president of Russia and his influence over the controversial bioweapon program his country was running.
Kisa's life was about to turn on it's head. She would be traveling and dealing with important leaders, creating an even larger business empire for her parent's legacy.
Kisa snagged the dress from Alba's arms and walked into the nearest room to change. When she came out, she looked like a vision of beauty. The dress was ordered a size smaller so Kisa would stand out above the rest. The body of the dress pressed against her chest and stomach, making her very uncomfortable. Kisa wasn't overweight but she wasn't supermodel skinny either. As she walked across the open space between her and the ballroom, it became apparent to Kisa that this dress couldn't even fit a supermodel snuggly.
Madem Kuzo took Kisa though her audition and practiced her performance. Kuzo was unnaturally kind to Kisa today, leading her through steps and even encouraging her after practice. Kisa became worried.
"Kuzo, is something wrong." Kisa asked. Kisa realized that she was genuinely worried about Kuzo. Even though Kuzo was still horrible, she did have her good points. Kisa sometimes missed practices and at first Kuzo would blow her top but when Kisa told her she was with her friends, Kuzo brushed it off. Kuzo was always reminding Kisa that relationships come above everything else.
"No, Kisa I'm fine," Kuzo said with a tint of annoyance. Kisa pulled back and was about to leave when Kuzo grabbed Kisa's arm and pulled her back. "Kisa, no matter what happens tomorrow, I want you to know you are an amazing person." Kuzo paused for a moment, looking intensely into Kisa's eyes, then released her grip on Kisa's arm and left the ballroom, leaving Kisa in a state of disbelief. Kuzo had always been an angry old ballet teacher, who wanted nothing but to teach and leave.
Kisa smiled at her teacher's notion and thought upon its meaning. Tomorrow would define what her life would become.
And who would be in control.
