Caged, Chapter 2: Free

I ground my teeth together as hair stylists and make-up artists buzzed around me incessantly, the stench of hairspray nearly choking me and my face so caked with powder, it felt like I was wearing a latex mask.

"Shiori, don't pout. You'll ruin your make-up," Mother said sharply. "And Margaret, fix her hair! It looks like a rat's nest!" she added, shooting the hair stylist a poisonous glare.

Margaret nodded obediently and grabbed a chunk of my hair, ripping a brush through it before spraying it stiff.

"That hurts," I muttered under my breath.

Mother's head immediately snapped up. "What was that?"

"I said, that hurts!" I nearly screamed back at her.

"Don't you raise your voice at me, young lady," she stalked over to me, eyeing me like a predator eyes its prey. "You know I don't tolerate complaining, so you'd better-"

"I'd better what?" I challenged. My eyes narrowed into slits and my hands balled into fists at my sides; whatever possessed me to take on the dictator of all pageant moms was rapidly overpowering the rational part of me that begged me to think about self-preservation. "What're you going to do?"

"You know what I'll do," she warned, leaning dangerously close to me. "Don't test me, Shiori."

"Do it," I stared into those stormy, blue-gray eyes without fear for the first time. "I dare you."

Despite the fury that boiled in her eyes, she hesitated. Other moms were beginning to turn their attention toward us, eyeing my mother suspiciously. One mom was even whispering to the pageant director and pointing at us in what I assumed was supposed to be a discreet observation of my safety.

I smirked wickedly. "What's the matter, mommy dearest?"

She narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips for a minute before deciding that hitting me in public wasn't the best decision. "We'll talk about this when we get home,"

My smile grew wider as she turned to storm away. "Hey, Mom,"

"What?" she hissed over her shoulder.

"You failed."

…

"How dare you embarrass me like that!" my mother yelled furiously, demonstrating her anger with wild hand gestures. "You didn't even place!"

"Ever think this isn't completely about you?" I countered. I pulled at my hair to yank it free from the countless bobby pins that I was beginning to think were permanently attached to my head and wiped at my face with the back of my hand; I felt utterly disgusting with all this shit on.

"What're you talking about?"

"I don't want to do pageants anymore!" I screamed in her face. Maybe this time, she'd hear me. "I've been trying to tell you for months, but you're so self-absorbed that you don't give a damn!"

"Don't you curse at me!" she fired back as if that's all she heard.

"Ugh! You're such a self-centered bitch!"

Mom's hand swung around so fast, I barely had time to anticipate it. The sharp sound of palm-to-face contact echoed throughout the house and my left cheek burned from the impact. In that moment, something inside me snapped; I'd finally had enough. My eyes glazed over with a red film as my hand swung back at her with such force, I could've sworn I'd heard it whiz through the air. My palm clapped over her cheek with a horrific, yet gratifying, slap.

She gazed at me with wide eyes, carefully lifting her hand to her face. "Shiori…"

"Doesn't feel good, does it?" I spat icily. My hand stung like I'd pressed it to a hot iron, but I didn't care; giving my mom a taste of her own medicine felt amazing.

Before the shock wore off, I stormed to my room and locked the door - it was finally time. I waited until they were asleep - well, until she was asleep and he was preparing for his 12:30 AM visit - to launch my escape plan. I kept a close eye on the clock to make sure everything went accordingly and headed to my bathroom to begin. I knelt on the cold, tile floor and reached to the very back of the cabinet under the sink, pulling out a box of hair dye. I leaned over the sink and doused my honey blonde locks in dye, the thick substance permeating my hair quickly.

I smiled at my reflection; black definitely suited me better than blonde did. I snatched my kohl liner from the medicine cabinet and drew thick, black circles around my eyes, making their sea foam color pop. I fished around inside the cabinet, coming back with a box of small, silver rings. I tore the package open and stuck the rings on my eyebrows, nose, and lip and stepped back to appraise my new look. Still too me, I pursed my lips. Peeking out from the top shelf of the medicine cabinet, was a pair of scissors.

I grabbed the twin blades and hacked at my hip-length hair until it reached my shoulders, pulling a chunk of hair forward and cutting it into jagged bangs to complete the transformation. I ruffled my new hair style and smiled; I looked nothing like myself and everything like the real Shiori. After gathering up the excess hair, I went back to my room and packed everything I'd need - clothes, more dye, eyeliner and my knife.

Almost ready, I opened my closet and ripped all of my overly-expensive pageant gowns from their hangers, piling them high on my bed. I clicked open my lighter and stared at the dancing orange flame; this is it. I giggled excitedly before tossing the lighter onto the heap of pageant staples - silk, satin, and crystals. I slung my bag over my shoulder and crawled out the window, gazing in at the hungry flames that now fed on my old life. I was finally free.