A/N: Before you start wondering if perhaps you've wandered into the wrong story, yes this is a Lila chapter. (No! Don't leave yet!) And yes I know I'm switching persons and POVs and wreaking all sorts of havoc but after all this is a Curly story, it's not supposed to make sense…I probably won't do any more from her POV in this story though, hence this is chapter 1.5 rather than 2. And besides, I wanted a chance to prove that even Lila can be interesting from the right perspective. Not funny, really, but interesting at least. I promise there is a point to all this. I just don't promise that I'll actually tell you what it is. :) ~PJ
Chapter 1.5
Change
There are times when nice, pretty, sweet, kind, smart, funny and perfect just isn't good enough.
- Lila's mother, on why she married Lila's father
Lila was awake. She had been awake for a long time, lying in her bed listening to the sounds of her father making breakfast. She really should get up and go help him.
But she didn't.
He would be worried about her. It was almost six o'clock and she was still in bed, pretending to sleep. Lila didn't own an alarm clock. She had never needed one, getting up before sunrise was simply natural to her. She always enjoyed mornings, helping her dad get ready for work and readying herself for school.
Today, however, she wanted to stay in bed. For as long as humanly possible.
But there are some who insist that Lila was not strictly human, and for her to be in bed after six was a near impossibility. So with a small sigh she slid out of bed and padded quietly to the bathroom. She picked up her cute little pink toothbrush and then stood there staring into the mirror for a while.
This was also something Lila didn't do often. Moments of quiet reflection were usually reserved for wondering if it would be best to go feed the ducks in the park or participate at the Soup Kitchen after school. Or perhaps deciding which boy she should sit next to at lunch. Never contemplating her own image.
She never needed to look in mirrors, really. She knew she was pretty, her mother had told her so once before she died, and that was all Lila needed. And even first thing in the morning she never seemed to have sleep in her eyes, or pillow marks on her face. And her lovely long wavy auburn hair was always perfectly in place. She rarely needed to brush it really, though she did – 100 strokes every night – anyway. It was, however, slightly different this morning, and that was why Lila was staring.
"Lila?" Her dad. She should go downstairs, let him know she wasn't ill.
"Just a minute Father," she called, then winced at the sound of her own sing-song voice.
He was going to be angry with her. She had never seen him angry, and she wondered what it would be like. Would he yell? She had never heard him yell. That might be ever so hard to hear.
First though, she needed to get dressed. She looked at her fuzzy bunny pajamas ruefully. Suddenly they didn't seem to quite match her. She finished brushing her teeth and went to her wardrobe.
It was very green inside. Her favorite color, of course, and it always set off her eyes and hair nicely. But today she was looking for anything but green. She almost thought about wearing black, but knew that there was no such color in her closet. She went through it carefully though, just to be sure. Green, green, yellow-green, blue-green, light green, dark green, pea green, pea soup green, green the color of her eyes, green the color of her room, and, for some unknown reason, a lavender dress that was three sizes too small. And a yellow swimsuit.
This wouldn't do. She had to have something else. She opened one of the drawers where she saved old and ill-suited clothes to give to charity. Aha. A dark blue shirt that was a bit short on her, and further in a gray pleated skirt she had never worn. Lila put them on and was pleasantly surprised when they fit, though she had to pull the shirt down slightly to keep from exposing her belly.
It was almost 6:30. Quickly she finished getting ready and went downstairs to meet her father.
**********
Lila's father was, at that moment, about to go up to get her. It was obvious that his poor girl was sick, and he was going to have to force her to stay home from school today. It always broke his heart to have to do that, she loved school so much. But her health was more important.
Just as he put the scrambled eggs on the table, however, he heard the tell-tale creak on the stairs that meant Lila was on her way down. He straightened up and turned to smile at his daughter.
It was not his daughter.
At least, that was his first thought. But before he had a chance to panic he realized that the girl standing in front of him was in fact Lila. A Lila wearing a too-small sweater for his taste. A Lila who slept in until six in the morning.
A Lila with freshly dyed black hair.
A Lila he wasn't sure he liked.
He attempted to remain calm. He had read about such things in the many teenager books stacked in his personal library. It was just a phase, it would pass. The important thing was to offer love and acceptance no matter what. Love and acceptance, yes, that was the ticket. He drew a breath.
"What the hell did you do?"
Lila's eyes widened in shock. Hm. Perhaps that wasn't the best way to begin. Lila looked down at her feet.
"I…I dyed my hair."
"I can see that. Why?"
"I wanted to, just ev—I just wanted to." But he had heard it. His daughter had stopped herself from using that adorable phrase she had said since she first learned to speak. That did it. Something was very wrong.
"Anything else I should know about?"
She looked up at him. "I'd rather not go to school today."
Love and acceptance, love and acceptance…
A controlled breath. "And why not?"
"I just…can't."
A light dawned. "Is this because of what we talked about—" A sharp look – had she ever looked at him like that before? – cut him off. So he had hit a nerve. Ok then, this he could deal with.
"Well then let's talk about this. You have to go to school. No—" he held up a hand to cut her off this time, "That's not up for discussion. Now let's talk about…what you've done."
"Do we have to?" She sat down at the table and for a moment seemed more like the child he knew.
"Yes, we have to. Look, I realize that teenagers go through a stage of "finding themselves" but that doesn't mean you have to change everything about you. Your beautiful hair…your clothes…your way of life – it doesn't all have to change just because you—"
"Dad, I told you. I wanted to do this."
"And I'm telling you, you don't have to! Lila," he calmed himself enough to speak softly, "These things…it's who you are."
There was silence for a few moments. Then Lila answered just as quietly.
"Then maybe I don't want to be me anymore."
And before her dad could think of anything else to say, she picked up her backpack and left the house.
A/N: Back to Curly next chapter, I promise! (and erm, back to funny stuff as well…) Oy, here's to Lila, world's greatest Mary Sue…
SassyAngel: Shall be continued, I promise.
Maxine: I love Curly! He'll be back in the (real) second chapter…
That Sock in the Fridge: I'm glad you liked it, more craziness next chapter…
Chief: See, there was a reason I led Curly away on a leash…
Sleather Chonkers: Curly's Gary Stue, and Lila's riddled with angst? What is wrong with this picture? :)
Poison Ivory: Finish your Christmas story!! :)
pogo: yeah, this is a major break compared to Hot Air. It's just silly so it's easy to write, lol.