Chapter 2

((A/N in this chapter you learn about Columbia's past! Please R&R!))

Magenta had noticed that after Columbia had gotten into the car she seemed different. Her already pale face seemed paler, she was not singing to her favorite rock songs on the car stereo, and her happy-go-lucky personality had faded away. She was also fiddling with the silver ring that Eddie had bought her for their 1-month anniversary, "It's a shame that Frank had to put him in the deep freeze" Magenta thought. "Columbia?" "Yes?" Even Columbia's voice was somewhat different, almost as if someone had let go of some of the helium that her voice seemed to carry. "Are you alright? You seem nervous about something." " Don't worry about me I'm fine! " Columbia said, flashing the best fake smile she could manage. Magenta could tell Columbia was definitely NOT fine but decided to say nothing more and kept on driving.

Columbia looked at the large sign in front of her school from the car window. It read "St Marys" in large blue writing and had a fancy coat of arms beside it. The car came to a sudden stop and Columbia picked up her bags and got out of the car. "It vill be OK" Magenta said in a somewhat reassuring tone that for some odd reason made Columbia even more nervous. "Thank God" Columbia said to herself, seeing that there were no kids outside or in the foyer. "Wait a second if there are no kids here that must mean that class has already started! Dammit!" Columbia ran as fast as she could to her first class. Of what seems like an eternity of running through the seemingly endless halls of her new school Columbia finally reached her first class. "Mr. Trojan. Room 217. Math. Yup, this is it" Columbia was still nervous but could not help giggling at her new math teachers last name. She knocked on the door and a man, slightly balding but no older than 35 greeted her at the door. "You must be Columbia. You are late, but I will let you off this time since you are new, but next time don't be so sure." He led Columbia into a nearly colorless classroom, the only colors coming from a few posters with equations on the walls. "Class we have a new student, Columbia. Please welcome her." "Welcome to Saint Marys Columbia." The class said in a monotonous voice as Columbia sat down. "Now class, please turn to page four-hundred-and-forty-four of your textbook."

For most of her morning classes Columbia daydreamed. She did not remember half the things the teachers were talking about since she had not been to school in three years but of course, the teachers didn't know that. Columbia had now been staying with Frank for three years. She remembered the day she met him like it was yesterday...

Columbia was sixteen at the time. She was walking home from tap recital when a blue pick-up truck drove by and stopped at a red light. Out of curiosity, Columbia looked to see who was driving. She was surprised to see that a heavily made-up woman was driving. In her town it was considered un-lady-like for a woman to drive a pick-up truck. "Wait a minute," Columbia said, when she realized that the driver was not really a woman at all. She had never seen a transvestite before and if it wasn't for sex-ed she would have never heard of them either. All of a sudden the transvestite looked at Columbia and gave her a devilish wink and motioned for her to get into the car. Normally she wouldn't have done these kind of things but it was something about the man's eyes that made her think that her normally-dull life would be spiced up somehow if she went with him. She didn't know that she would be staying with this man for a very long time.

Columbia was woken up from her daydreaming by the bell that signalled that class was over. She looked at her schedule as the students started to file out of the classroom. "Oh no, not lunch" she whined, lunch was the block she feared most because people could then make a judgement of her. Some kids looked at her oddly, and she was not sure why. It could have been her talking to her self, "Oh they probably think my voice is weird," Columbia thought, she was made fun of at her old school because of it. "I hate school" she muttered as she trudged out of the classroom.

Columbia went to her locker to get her lunch. A bunch of girls were at the table across from the locker and were murmuring to each other. "Look at that new girl," one said in a perfectly audible whisper. " Yeah, apparently her name's Columbia and she's from outta town. Have you heard her speak? She sounds like a chipmunk on speed!" Another girl giggled "And have you seen her hair? Apparently she got in trouble about it with the vice principal at the interview. Her father then said it was natural. Ha! What a lie," "Have you seen her eyebrows! They're hideous!" Columbia wanted to go over to those girls and give them a piece of her mind but her emotional side took over and she ran to the washroom in tears.

Columbia spent her lunch in the washroom stall hoping that no one would notice her there. "I knew I should not have come back to school" she sobbed while taking a bite from the hot dog that magenta had given her for lunch. "Why can't I stay home with Frankie and Mags. Stupid girls." The intercom interrupted her sobbing "Students please note that school will be over after lunch today because the teachers have a staff meeting. If your parents are not informed about this please report to the office and phone home."

Columbia sighed, wiped her eyes, and left the washroom since the bell was about to ring. She already had her bags with her, because she did not want to return to her locker because of those girls. Just as she got to the school's foyer the bell rang. "Thank God its over" she said as she ran to the blue pick-up that already waited for her in the schools parking lot.