Chapter 1 is dedicated to… I don't have any reviews yet so I guess it isn't dedicated to any one.
Drew: How about you dedicate it to me?
May: Why not me?
Drew: You're lousy at coordinating.
Me: -bops Drew on the back of the head- I'll just dedicate it to the two of you. This chapter is dedicated to May and Drew.
Drew: You mean Drew and May.
May: -launches herself on top of Drew and starts beating him up-
Me: -sweatdrops- Er… Here's Chapter 1!
Chapter 1
Nineteen year old May Haruka sighed as she read her notes one more time through. Keep head down, speak when spoken to, do not contradict…
Yes, she was (yet again) going to visit the town matchmaker (for the thirteenth time). Of course, after twelve tries, she knew all of this junk, but it was the doing it part that was the problem. None of the rules followed May's heart, and there was also the problem that she didn't want to get married to someone she had never met. She wanted to marry for love. Not that she had much of a say.
May sighed again, and stood up and stretched. She had to get to her mother's beauty shop before she went to the matchmaker and she was pressed for time as it was. She did her morning chores with no mistakes (a first), and was feeling hopeful until her father, Norman, called, "May!"
May followed his voice and found him sitting under a cherry tree in their backyard. Later in the spring its branches would be filled with small pink flowers. "Morning, Dad!" She said cheerfully.
"I thought you were to see the matchmaker today?" Norman asked, his brow furrowed.
"I am!" May said, her smile fading a bit.
"Then shouldn't you be there now?"
May's eyes grew wide and she started running to town, trying not to run into anyone and send them flying. She stopped in front of a white building panting. An elderly woman came rushing out the door.
"May!" She said. The woman was May's Grandmother. "You're late!" She crossed her arms.
"Sorry!" May said embarrassedly.
Grandma unfolded her arms. "It's alright; fifteen minutes won't kill us all. Now, come on!" The old woman grabbed May's wrist with a surprisingly strong grip and pulled her inside, and over to a tub of water and pushed May in.
"It-it's FREEZING!" May cried as she rubbed her goosebump-covered arms.
"It would have been warmer if you were here on time," Her mother, Caroline, said gently as she walked into the room.
"Could you have kept it warm?" May whined.
"No" Grandma snapped. "Now, hurry up!"
May was quickly washed, then dragged to get what she would be wearing, then yanked over to get her hair and makeup done.
After about an hour, Caroline stepped back and looked her daughter up and down, a small smile spreading on her lips. "I think we've outdone ourselves" she said to Grandma.
"Pfff. Pretty is as pretty does." Yet she smiled also, and stepped over to her granddaughter. "You are pretty, my girl. Here," She pulled a red and white comb from her pocket and placed it in May's bun. "It doesn't match at all, but it's for luck"
"Thank you" May said humbly.
"Look at yourself," Caroline said, pointing to a full length mirror in the corner.
May stepped over to it and let out a hastily stifled gasp. She was beautiful. As winter was just ending, she had been given a robins-egg-blue long sleeved blouse, and a long turquoise skirt. She had a navy blue miniskirt on top, and a white sash tied around her waist so tight she could hardly breathe. Her comb stood out boldly in her deep brunette hair. Her face was white with powder, and she had pink cheeks, red lips, and pale blue eyeshadow. She was gorgeous, but… it wasn't May.
Bells suddenly rang in the town square. It was time to meet the matchmaker.
"Hurry, hurry!" Caroline cried. "Good luck, sweetie!"
May rushed out of the shop and joined the line of about five other hopeful maidens. Looking around, May saw people point at her and nod their heads. May felt her face grow warm, and the beginnings of butterflies in her stomach. The girls filed into a courtyard in front of a small studio, the matchmaker's studio.
The matchmaker finally stepped out. Ms. Hitoshi was a short, plump woman with dark brown hair and darker eyes. Her hair was tied back in a tight bun with chopsticks forming an "X" in the back of her head. Her round stomach stretched the front of her lilac kimono. She was holding a small clipboard and a slight scowl, most likely because she was seeing "May Haruka" printed there. The woman had never liked her much, and the only thing May liked about Ms. Hitoshi was that there was a limit to tries to get a match. Fifty, to tell the truth.
"May Haruka!" She called, her voice dripping with fake excitement.
May lifted her head and called "I'm here!" The people who had been nodding were now shaking their heads. Great, May thought as she walked inside, I haven't even gotten in her house and I've lost two of my ten points. One for lifting her head, and one for calling out.
May, who (as I've said) had been to the matchmaker several times before, saw a tea set on the table, and supposed that Ms. Hitoshi had given her this simple test to try and get rid of her for good. If not, well, at least May had a few more tries…
May bustled around, now and then spilling some water, or nearly dropping the teapot, answering Ms. Hitoshi's questions about the rules, her family, and politics.
"Oh, my father's fine, just fine, still having a tad bit of trouble walking from his fever, but he's doing quite well." May answered when asked of Norman's health.
"That's wonderful news," Ms. Hitoshi said, this time her voice dripping with sarcasm. Anger licked the inside of May's stomach.
"Yes, we got a little worried when he began forgetting his name, but he's better now. Thank you for caring" May said sweetly, but her hands were shaking with anger.
"Yeah, great. Now, may I have some tea?" Ms. Hitoshi slightly menacingly.
"Do you want sugar with it, too?" May replied a bit more forceful than she had intended.
Ms. Hitoshi's eyes narrowed. "I don't like your attitude much, girl. I've reached the end of my rope with you."
May clenched her fists. "You know something? I've reached the end of my line, too."
Ms. Hitoshi stood up, her pupils little black pellets. "I'm sick of seeing your name on my list. You don't get it, do you? The only reason I'm still seeing you is because your parents still have hope in you. But I don't. I highly doubted I would ever find you a match from the moment you walked in here."
May's eyes went wide and started to sting. But there was no way she was letting that woman –that witch- see her cry. Ms. Hitoshi began walking around May, examining her.
"You're clumsy. You're slow. You don't learn anything. You're just a pretty face with a head full of air. And you know what? I'm not seeing you to waste my time with you anymore. You're hopeless. You can spend the rest of your life all alone for all I care, but I'm not dealing with you or you're stupid family anymore. I've had it!"
May saw red. She really did. She leapt up and yelled, "YOU LIAR! I AM NOT CLUMSY OR SLOW OR JUST A PRETTY FACE! And you know what? I've had it, too! I'd rather spend the rest of my life alone than get a husband from you! Wait, no. I'll prove you wrong! I'll find a man better than one you could ever give me!"
"YOU'LL NEVER FIND LOVE!" Ms Hitoshi shrieked. "NOW GET OUT! OUT! I never want to see you again!"
"That's on thing we can agree on!" May started to leave out the front door, but Ms. Hitoshi snarled, "Back" venomously. As she was leaving, May heard Ms. Hitoshi yell to the crowd, "She's hopeless! NEXT!"
…L…
A little while later, May was sitting on a bench by a little pond in her backyard. She was trying to tell herself that she would find love, that someone out there was waiting for her to come into his life, that these things take time. But May knew Ms. Hitoshi was right. She was hopeless. She saw Caroline walking to Norman shaking her head.
May sighed sadly and went to a small temple dedicated to her ancestors. The temple was filled with rocks, big and small, so brightly polished that the reflected her, making it look like there were several Mays in the room. She knelt down at the front of the largest and began to sing softly,
"Look at me. I will never pass as a perfect bride." The memory of Caroline and Norman came back. "Or a perfect daughter." She added. She went on: "Can it be…I'm not meant to play this part? Now I see that if I were truly to be myself, I would break my family's heart. Who is that girl I see, staring straight back at me? Why does my reflection show someone I don't know? Somehow, I cannot hide who I am, though I've tried. When will my reflection show who I am inside?" She raised her sleeve and wiped off half of her makeup; now one half of her face was that of a beautiful, perfect girl. The other was regular, clumsy May. Who was she really? Where did she belong? She wiped the rest of the makeup off.
"When will my reflection show who I am inside?" May asked again softly. Pearly tears slowly began falling down her face. She wiped them away, and stood up to go to dinner.
There's chapter 1! Am I the only person who want to pop that Hitoshi lady a couple in the face right now? Tell me how you feel about it. I'm sorry I haven't been writing anything for The Poke Wars. I've been having major writers block. I'll get chapter 8 up eventually! Maybe tomorrow.