Peering Into The Pages
-
-
A Pleasant Delusion
-
Vanity, it seems, only blesses those that seek to gain
She has been born with the gift of gab coupled with the blight of pride
No one, not even her best friend understands her addiction to herself
Engrossed in artificial appearance becomes her wasted effort
Those that refuse to see the splendor that is within
Will never witness the magnificence of true beauty
---Page 14 of the Little Pink Book
-
-
She wore a red sweater. Black pants. The self proclaimed fashion queen of P.S. 118 always wore a red sweater and black pants. If you were to go up beside her, and listen in on another one of her fashion lectures there would always be mention of Caprini boots. Anything that was beautiful, or matched her idea of beauty was praised and welcomed. Many like as myself failed to adhere to her rules, and because of this were under the constant scrutiny of our classmates. When I first met her, I noticed that she liked pretty things, things that were only glossy and wonderful on the outside. When we were younger I would wonder how she would feel if the tables were turned.
Would she buckle under the pressure? Could she meet her own standards? We're in art class now, and she is having trouble grasping the concept of impressionism. Our assignment had been relatively easy, butshe somehow managed to find the homework difficult. I studied her then, laughing and giggling with Lila and I knew that she would never survive if she were to lose all that she loved so much. Her silky black hair and her stylish shoes were just fleeting sources of happiness. If they were to disappear, she would be just another dull person amidst a sea of similitude.
Nevertheless, she managed to prove me wrong. Nadine came into our biology class later on with yet another horsefly specimen. She tried to get her friend to touch the bothersome fly, but like any normal person Rhonda pushed the tiny little bugs away. Grinning like the cat that ate the canary, Nadine pulled out a crystal clear jar, and inside we all could see fuzzy little caterpillars sliding against one another. Though they appeared harmless, most of the girls in the class refused to touch the insects, let alone look get near them.
My curiosity was peaked now, even after several attempts to ignore the shrieks of semi-frightened teenage girls. Even Geraldo, who usually was calm about everything, admitted that he wouldn't touch the poor creatures with a ten foot pole. Our teacher, Mr. McGreeley was not as forgiving. Nadine having already scored her class points for bringing in a live specimen, watched with glee as the class squirmed away from weird looking caterpillars. They looked pretty cute to me, but I sometimes found strange things pretty.
"It's not so bad. It's kind of cute when you think about it. The fuzzy brown and black colors make it look like a fat walking piece of felt."
Rhonda, who had all but returned to her Vogue magazine, waltzed back up to the lab table. She lifted the little creature into her hand, and giggled softly as it slowly crawled in her palm.
"This tickles. You know, these little guys aren't so bad when you think about. I guess they are a little cute."
I smirked at her change of heart.
"They'd have to be if Princess Rhonda likes them."
Phoebe giggled beside me, and the class played with the fuzzy bugs grateful for a brief departure from boring talks about mitochondria.
-
-
-
Footnotes: Yea, so that was it. What did you think about it? Reviews are both appreciated and welcome.