The Unknown

“You know I hate the way you look at me like that.”

“You shouldn’t Mom. You deserve every bit of it.”

“God, Lisa. It’s not that bad. It will be over before you know it. Now I’m your mother and you will not look at me like that!”

Lisa turned her head from her mother, and then fiddled in her bright pink pageant gown. She looked down and lifted up the end of the dress at her mud filled hiking boots. Her mother would have made her wear high heels if they had the money to pay for it. She let out a low sigh. She had loved those boots, and today would be the day that she and the boys across the street wear going to explore the unknown swamp regions behind their house.

A voice came over a loud speaker, “May all pageant members please report to the stage.”

“That’s you, Lisa!”

“Sadly,” Lisa muttered under her breath.

“Oh, hush up! You look gorgeous in my old pageant dress!”

Lisa laughed a little. “Yeah, right! It’s from like the ‘70s! I look disgusting compared to all the rest of them. I mean�"“

The loud speaker came on again and cut her off. “Last call. All pageant participants please report to the stage.”

“Well go on! Chop, chop!”

As Lisa continued on, her mother wiped a stray tear from her eye out of happiness.

 

Lisa’s mother was a stay-at-home mom and baker’s wife from Indianapolis. Lisa was her only child and the light that guided her through everything. When her husband died, she moved to San Diego hoping a job would appear, but none did. For the past two years she’s been forcing Lisa into various pageants with her muddy old hiking boots, hoping that she might win and some money would come out of it. Her name was Katherine Danielle. But she went my Kitty. Kitty the baker’s wife.

 

“What are those?”

‘What are what?” Lisa asked.

The pageant moderator lifted up Lisa’s large ugly dress from the ‘70s with disgust. “Those.”

“What? My boots? They were all we could afford.”

“Well, you can’t compete with those boots on. Come!”

“Come where?”

“Come! We might have some spare high heels in the back.”

 

Lisa’s shoes were black. On each shoe there was a bright green flower that reached from the toe of her foot to her ankle, and every time she walked it would scratch at her and she’d have to bend down and itch it. Her foot barely fit in it. It squeezed her toes together and made her extremely dizzy when she walked so she stumbled in every which way. She longed for her big brown hiking boots that at least fit her.

The lights dimmed at the pageant manager went on the loud speaker again. “May all pageant members please find their places on the stage; the pageant will begin momentarily.”

Lisa wobbled over to the third spot to the left were she was surrounded by a large girl on the left with a dark purple dress that stopped at her knees and black flats that Lisa would have rather had then the spare high heels they kept in the back. On her right was the queen of all pageants. Her hair was curled and she wore makeup even a 40-year-old woman would consider a lot. Her dress was strapless and slowed long past her toes on the floor. And she was only nine years old.

Lisa took in a big gulp as the music started. Kitty stared at her child. She admired everything about her. She admired the china-doll face that everyone had to admit was the most beautiful of all. She admired the dress she had once worn more than 30 years ago. She admired the makeup she wore. She admired the way she sang the opening song for the show. She even admired the black and green high heels that someone who must have been an angel loaned her. She wiped another stray tear from her face.

The pageant continued on and Kitty’s smile faded. Lisa tripped her way past the runway. She had the snottiest answers in the interview and she even dissed the other girls. Kitty let out a low sigh. Not again she thought. She grabbed her bags and went outside to light a cigarette.

Another hour had passed before Lisa came outside, ready to go home. She had her hiking boots back on and the spare high heels hugging in her hands.

“Where did you get the shoes?”

“They were spare for them. But everyone hates them, so they told me to keep ‘em.”

“So I assume you lost.”

Lisa had the biggest smile on her face. “Yep!”

“Well then let’s go home.”

“When we do can I play with the guys and finally explore the back yard?”

Kitty laughed a bit. She had no idea why any child would want to spend their Saturday searching through a swamp and getting all muddy. “Yeah, sure.”

“Yes!” She threw the disgusting high heels behind her and ran towards the car.

“Hey, I’ll be right there. ‘Kay?”

“’Kay!”

Kitty looked down at the high heels now covered in mud. Flashbacks started coming to her about her as a child, just like Lisa. And her parents making her do just this. She smiled and laughed.

“Hey, when you go explore the unknown swamp...”

“Yeah?” Lisa asked.

“Can I come with you?”

“Well of course Mom!”

“Perfect.” 

Reviews

[Cam]

I thought that was great )
I enjoyed it, and how it would seem she tried to lose on purpose lol
Then mom flashback ! simple great i say.