A Voice in Her Room
Chapter: Two
Fourteen hours earlier...
"Maebe!" Mary Wattkins called up the stairs. "Come down, the bus is coming soon!"
"Okay, just a minute!"
With a smile on her face, she returned to the kitchen to continue doing the dishes. The worn wooden floorboards creaked slightly under her feet, an almost comforting sound she had become accustomed to. The kitchen, like most of the house, was built with a rich dark wood, giving the room a warm presence. Mary loved the house. It was old, almost Victorian, and it wasn't especially big. The halls were quite narrow, everything seemed to be made of wood, the floor creaked, there was a slight draft during the winter, and multiple fixes had to be made to it, but she loved the house.
She chanced a glance out the window above the sink, and observed the yard out back. It was a fairly large yard, a majority of it shadowed by an ash wood tree with an old swing hanging from one if it's branches. The lush green grass was neatly trimmed, and enclosed inside a tall wooden fence. Purple Asters lined the fence, and side of the house, creating a sweet aroma once one stepped outside. Mary smiled at the yard. It was one of the main reasons why she wanted to move into this house with her husband.
She brushed a strand of auburn hair behind her ear, and smiled at the thought that it matched most of the house. Brown hair was a very popular trait in her family; almost all of the girls on her side of the family had brown hair. Maebe had also inherited the trait. In many ways she looked much like Mary; fair skin, auburn hair, rosy cheeks, full lips, but her eyes were of her father's. Beautiful, piercing green eyes.
Maebe was already breathtaking at only seven years old. She would be beautiful when she grew up.
The rushed pattering of feet turned Mary's attention to the kitchen entrance. Her daughter jumped through the doorway, her stockings allowing her to slide along the wood floor.
"Mom, can you put my hair up in pigtails?"
Mary smiled once more at the question asked everyday. Maebe loved pigtails. She left the sink to kneel behind the young girl, and put the soft brown locks into the desired style. When she was finished she turned the girl around, and fixed the slightly messy bangs over her forehead. She then fussed with the short-sleeved denim dress, making sure it fell evenly past her knees.
"Mom, It's fine!" Maebe said, swatting her mother's hands away.
"Where are your glasses?"
Maebe shuffled her feet for a moment, hesitant to answer. "...In my room."
"Well, then, go get them."
"But I don't like my glasses!" She complained.
"Why not? You picked them out."
"They make me look ugly!"
"They do not make you look ugly." Mary argued, trying to calm the girl down.
"Yes they do!"
"Look, sweetheart..." She sighed, taking a seat at the kitchen table, and scooping her daughter into her lap. This must just be an insecurity thing, she thought. All little girls had to go through it sometime. "I know you're just getting used to your new glasses, and it's going to take some adjustment, but you just have to bare with them for a while-"
"But they make me look ugly!"
"Now, why would you think that?"
"Because they do! And Freddy Jacobs said so."
"Is that a boy from your class?"
Maebe nodded.
"Oh, honey." Mary snuggled the girl close, and cooed softly into her ear. "You do not look ugly in your glasses. You are a beautiful little girl with or without them, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise."
"But Freddy said-"
"I don't care what Freddy, or anyone else says, and neither should you. You are beautiful. And it doesn't matter what other people think, it only matters what you think of yourself. And just because Freddy says it, doesn't make it true."
"How do you know?"
"I'll tell you a secret." Mary whispered, casting a mischievous glance behind herself, and causing her daughter to lean closer to hear. "Sometimes, when boys make fun of you, it really means that they like you."
"Really? Ew!" Maebe made a face as if the secret had disgusted her.
Mary smiled, and tapped a finger on the child's nose. "Do you feel better?"
The girl nodded, a bright smile on her face. That's one of the other stunning things about Maebe, she didn't stay behind the clouds for too long.
"Good, now go get your glasses, it's almost time for school."
"Okay!"
Maebe hopped off her mother's lap with a new smile, and ran upstairs to grab her glasses. She quickly placed the dark purple, square-rimmed glasses over her emerald green eyes, and bravely turned to look at herself in the mirror. She scrutinized herself, still hating how they looked on her. She felt hidden behind then, and a little awkward. She didn't like they way they rested on her nose, and they made her eyes look weird. The doctor said they would help her to see the board in class better, but she really didn't like wearing them.
Maebe still thought she looked ugly. But, she still had to wear them.
Slipping on her shoes, she carefully secured the black strap with a satisfying snap. She liked the way it sounded when it snapped. Then she rushed down the stairs, careful on the fifth step, since she almost always tripped on that one, and grabbed her purple backpack next to the front door.
"All set?" Mary asked, entering the front hall.
"Yup." Maebe said with a cheerful dip of her heels, slinging the pack over her back. "Bye mom!" She said, running up to hug, and kiss her mother.
"Have a great day at school!" Mary called, opening the door, and watching as her daughter hurried outside, down the front step towards the sidewalk.
Maebe waved back at her as she caught up with one of the other neighborhood girls, Victoria, and joined her to walk to the bus stop.
Mary stood at the front step of their modest, comfortable home, watching them walk a ways down the sidewalk, admiring the beautiful day. It was perfect; not a cloud in the sky, the slight breeze perfectly balanced the heat of the sun, and the purple Lobularias decorating the walk were in full bloom. It was a beautiful day. A perfect day. An innocent day.
One would never expect it to end in fourteen dead children, and two dead teachers.