Title: Ten Things I Hate About You - Part five (a)
Author: Akane "Bunny" Tendo
E-mail: HelgaGPataki@excite.com
Rating: R
AN - WARNING!!! WARNING!!! **This fic is meant for the adult audience, it is not intended for viewers younger than 17 years of age. ** WARNING!!! WARNING!!! Also, the characters, as you'll see in the later portion of this section, are more sensitive, emotionally. And please remember that just because Helga does not end up with Arnold in the BEGINNING does not necessarily mean that will be the outcome of this story. That's it, enjoy!! ;)
*indicates further explanation below
~*Ten Things I Hate About You*~
First there was darkness… overwhelming darkness. Then came the faint view of light through the flesh of her eyelids. Sensing it was now morning, she gradually allowed her eyes to flutter open, slowly exposing the near-blinding morning light to her vision. Suddenly, one hand shot through the air, grabbing hold of the nearby blanket solely to enclose her from the morning light.
"It's morning already?" she asked herself as
she layed back against her queen-sized bed. "I swear, I have to get blinds for that
window! It's a Saturday for crying out
loud." Taking the hint that the heavens
would no longer grant her wish of longer nights, she reluctantly dragged
herself out of bed. "I guess it's
another long day," she said as she made her way to the bathroom.
Looking through the mirror, she did a take
of herself for several moments; looking from one angle to another, studying
every possible flaw in her appearance. "Surely, I look good enough to get his mind off of whatever distraction
he's been holding onto lately," she told herself as she studied her gem-like,
green eyes.
After retrieving a good glimpse of herself,
she decided to take a long, warm bath to soothe her troubles. After all, it must be quite difficult having
photographers at your side day-in and day-out. These situations, along with the horrors of schoolwork, may cause severe
wrinkling to one's facial features!
Allowing the gentle water to splash against
her skin, she began to think back on her life. The dream she had always wanted since she was a child… to be a model.
"Not just a model," she thought. "A
supermodel." But was that really her true wish?
She came from a family rich in the
entertainment business. Therefore, she
felt compelled and at some instances, forced into that path. It was what was expected of her.
~*Flashback sequence*~
Brightness is all that was evident at first,
until the child was finally able to distinguish the room before her from the
light shining within her eyes. Looking
around, she could see through the haze dozens of shadowed figures hovering over
her tiny form. She was no more than
four years old then.
"This one seems fit enough to carry on the
family name," started one with a smile that usually meant he was solely out for
money. He was, as she later recalled,
the family businessman.
"Oh, I'm not so sure of that," answered
another. "Are you sure she has the
right facial structure? You never know
once they get older, lad. They grow on
you and before you know it, you're thrown with the princess's frog
instead."
"I'm more than sure that will not be the
case," answered a man with a deep voice. This one she knew very well as her father's. She began to smile at the thought that her father was sticking up
to her, being that she was his only daughter. That is, until she heard the rest of his speech. "My daughter will become the best model in
her years, no matter what I have to do to make it so!" he shouted, his voice
deep and meaningful.
"We'll see about that," said the others with
slight chuckles as they left the room.
Before she knew it, she was held up high
into the sky by her father's hands. "You will not disappoint your father, now will you?" he asked her,
piercing his eyes deep within her own. "You will work hard to do well within this family, no matter how old you
are," he bellowed down to her. "Your
mother didn't die on me having you just for the sake of you being born, you get
that?!" he continued, till he could see the tears cascading down her
cheeks. "Now go up to your room and
change out of that filthy wardrobe. And
have Lilian do something with that hair of yours," he said as he placed her
down and walked over to his study.
Endless nights she had spent crying in her
room, fearing she would not be good enough for him, let alone the rest of the
world. "Please, God," she would plead
to the heavens. "Please make me
beautiful for my father when I grow up."
Within years, she began to lose her
inner-child. Her entire life would now
be in the hands of others. The secrets
she hid within her solely to get by within her own family, let alone the rest
of the world.
~*End of Flashback*~
Shaking with both fear and self-hatred for the
life she did not entirely choose, she rinsed all remnants of soap from her
body. Allowing the tears to mix in with
the flowing water, she began to concentrate on her thoughts for her current
boyfriend.
In the recesses of her mind was a growing
fear. "Will he leave me if he ever
knew?" she asked herself as she positioned her body before and over the
seat. "I have to… there's no other
choice," she told herself as she focused on the future of her task; beauty,
perfection, and the love of her father and everyone around her. But most of all, "control." She needed a bit of that in her life. It was the only thing she could fully
grasp. The only thing in her life that
she could say she was doing based on her own free will.
As she placed her finger through her mouth,
she heard the beeping of her answering machine.
Hey, it's Nerissa! Sorry I can't be in right now. Leave me a message and I'll get right
back
to you!
"Hey sweety," came that all too familiar voice from the other end. "I'll be a little
late for dinner. But I'm looking forward to it. I can't wait to look into those
beautiful eyes," he said before
the click of the receiver was heard.
At the sound of his voice, her finger
quickly withdrew from her mouth. "What
am I doing?" she asked herself aloud, hoping her voice could give wake to her
actions. Stepping up, she looked once
again into the mirror before her. "I
was never good enough for him was I?" she asked the figure in front of
her. "Beauty and no heart," she said in
a whisper before she through an object at her mirror, shattering it. "Am I to lose him just as I lost them?" she
asked no one in particular.
Taking the silence as an answer, she did her
daily routine before making her way out. "I can't dwell on this for the rest of my life," she told herself. "Must go on. If not for myself then…" That thought layed dormant in her mind. Another thought of ending this hurt gone to naught.
*Again, this is only 1/3 of this part. I'm trying desperately to get this story
through. This one I feel extremely
emotionally attached to. It's a brief
introduction into this character's life.