The Sad Truth.

Victoria's past -- sad, mainly.

1.      

1.       The Sad Truth.

 

We weren't alike at all.

A girl sat at a bench in a school courtyard, her head up and legs crossed. You saw her sky blue, sparkling eyes, which were big with wonder and ambition. She always seemed to swish her hair, and you saw highlights �" probably dyed at a professional salon. Her face was symmetrical but unique. She had a perfect nose with a slope that fit her face. Her skin was clear, with no sign of blemishes, and her eyebrows were perfectly trimmed. She had the most beautiful smile, lips full and teeth white. Her body was something you couldn't stop staring at; she had a voluptuous chest and slim legs, with absolutely no sign of any extra fat. She wore loose flowing tops and the bellbottoms. She didn’t wear a lot of makeup, and yet she was stunning. She stood up and walked toward the school with her group of friends following behind. She walked the way a model would, as if she was strutting down the runway and no one could stop her. She simply glowed, and the others around her fed on it, gladly. You weren’t jealous at all. You were just happy to be near her. She was the picture of perfection: but did you really know everything about her?
Her name was Marie, and she was my sister.
Another girl stood by the fence, staring off into space, with only a few friends around her. If you stood in front of her, you’d see she wouldn’t see you; she gazed off into some kind of memory she couldn’t forget. Her hair was cut in a shag style, and it covered her eyes just a bit. It was a dark brown with natural light brown lowlights. Her eyes were almond shaped, a luminous hazel. Somehow, there was a reddish ring around her black pupil and flecks of different colors surrounding it. She had graceful, long eyelashes. Some would say that she wore too much makeup: mascara that accented her eyelashes, eyeliner that made her eyes look bigger, and eye shadow. It seemed to distract and show off her eyes at the same time. She flaunted her body with tight punk shirts and tight skinny jeans, but she didn't seem to have many guys going gaga around her. She covered her arms, a secret she didn't want to reveal. She was beautiful in every unexpected way, and everyone knew her as the nice loner. No one knew anything about her except her close friends.
Her name was Victoria, and she was me.
We were twins by age, but we definitely weren’t identical, as you could see. We were both 19, freshmen in college, with totally different ambitions. Marie got her looks from our mother, prom queen worthy in every way. My mother, when we lived with her, used to always tell us about the handsome boys who asked her out, and she always used to describe their dates.  My mother's eyes would always glaze over as she told us about the times in college, and finally when she met my father, in her junior year.
My father had just come to Yale, and he wasn't ready for the real world at all. My mother, who was a business major, was ready to take on the world. She led him through the tough days of college, even after she graduated, and sometimes helped him cheat. He asked her to marry him when he graduated, and she fell right under his control. Her business went down the drain, and she became his little housewife.
Not long after they got married, they had twins, and for a little while, 10 years at the most, we were the happiest family. My dad was a good looking guy who worked for some random but big company. He had to go out on calls a lot, but was always home for dinner. My mom was a happy housewife, a degree in business unused and dusty in her dreams. She really didn’t go out, unless it was to buy groceries. Guys would still flirt with her, but she wouldn't respond. She just bought her things and went back into the house, cleaning everything two times over so her husband would come home and she would be praised.
When I was 13, I knew about all the bad things that happened: murder, porn, cheating. But I still didn't understand when I walked into my house after school and saw my dad on top of someone, having sex with someone, some lady other than my sweet and lovely mother.
I tackled him from behind. Caught him by surprise, not caring what would happen. He threw me against the wall, beat me up while the redhead watched in a scarily happy way. He got a knife and cut me up, threatening to slice me permanently. I sobbed, asking him how he could do this right out here in the open, and he wouldn’t answer me.  He punched me, saying not to tell anyone, or I would pay. I swore, because my little 13 year old self was scared out of her f*****g mind. I passed out after all that he’d done to me, and he went back to his lady and took her into the cellar, where you could lock the door and nobody would hear you.
When I woke up to find cuts all over, I went up to my room and put Band-Aids everywhere. There were 33 Band-Aids, some covering more than one cut. I sobbed my eyes out, my sister wondering why and hugging me. My mom not even knowing I was there, thinking I was throwing up and sick. I remember thinking what was wrong with her, why she couldn’t hear me. I thought she didn’t care, and I began to hate her.
I never trusted my dad with anything, from then on. I figure my mom found out about it, because she found a thong in her pillowcase. She looked confused and hurt, and then she said,
“Hmm, must be one of mine.”
I couldn’t believe her. She pretended not to know, and she still was his slave.
 And he still came almost all the time, ate my mom's dinner, and went out on more "business calls." I glared at him every second I could, and he smiled back, knowing I couldn't tell. But, I wanted to. Really bad.
After the thong ordeal, my mom got a job because my dad seemingly wasn't getting his damn paycheck and supplying us. She told us that he must not be selling much and,
"Don't worry, honey, I'll help Daddy get out his little hole."
I got so mad at her, and she threw herself into work. Things got worse, high school moved on, and finally Marie and I were out of there.
Marie and I both had gotten good grades. Marie was just naturally smart, but I had to get tutored and helped, because good grades and SAT scores were my way out. I’m not really saying that I was stuck in the library the whole time, because I remember all the times I went to parties and got drunk. But I did get good grades, because I tried with all my heart. I applied to so many colleges, not ready to get turned down. Most of the colleges said, We respectfully decline your application to our campus, but the biggest surprise was that Brown University accepted me. When I opened that crisp letter and read the words at the top of the page, I did cartwheels. Literally.
When I found out Marie had gotten accepted at Brown, and was going too, I kind of deflated, but only a little bit.
When we got there, Brown stood there in all its glory. We had to go through this huge gate, which was pretty grand, I think.
There was this big orientation and I loved the welcoming feeling of it. A brand new start sounded good, and I need it.
Just like in high school, we went into totally different groups. Except in college, if you were in that group, you wouldn't really hate the people, because you'd still have to work with them sometimes in class. Marie joined this one sorority who accepted her immediately, called Kappa Delta <3 with a little heart. They were the blonde ones who came from the same group in high school. I joined this one awesome looking sorority named This S**t is Legendary. I heard from them later that the president of the class didn't whether or not the rejects named their house at all, so they named it something cool.
There were 6 chicks, who all pretty much became my best friends after I got to know them. Their names were Dennis, Lena, Cameron, Sydney, Ripple, and Babe. When I saw the banner outside the mansion that said 'This S**t is Legendary,' I took a deep breath and opened the French door, and they were all sitting in this one room, either listening to their iTouchs, or on their laptops. I laughed, and through their rock songs, they turned to me and looked me over; and after a little while, I guess they accepted me.
We all decided, to stick together, so we applied for the same classes. I got really close to Ripple and Lena. They were independent but caring, and hilarious - always pulling pranks, and that was my scene. The first week, we spray painted the blondes' sorority wall, and even though my sister was in there, I didn't care. We made the wall go from prim to obscene, writing 'f**k the b*****s' and I have to admit, some mean things. We would have a ritual where we would write ‘Thank you, but f**k you’ at the bottom, and we would high five each other for our creation, each and every time. It was great, a true adrenaline rush.
When we did the whole bomb the blondes’ sorority, I was having so much fun. But I felt bad, because my mom was sacrificing everything for my horrible dad; meanwhile, my dad having sex with some s**t in the backseat. I wished that someday, my mom’s dreams might come true. Someday, I hoped, my mom would be set free.

Author's Note

I re-edited on someone's observations and critique, so enjoy and TELL ME WHATS WRONG AND WHATS RIGHT -- hope you enjoy.

Reviews

[Alex Thomas]

That's great. Her past is sad especially with her mother and all. I want to know more about the girls in her sorority. You never quite explain how Victoria and Marie relate to being polar opposites. You explain that they are opposites, just not how they feel about the other. I would join This S**t is Legendary. No doubt

[Eloise]

Wow that was really powerful, and beautiful. But it kinda seemed that one girl was perfect and one girl was not. It seemed like you gave the qualities to one person. You never meshed them together. Maybe add some imperfections to Marie and give Victoria some talents. I got the feeling that she was a strong character but the way you descrivbed it kind of made me wonder what was the point? Other than the characters, I loved the story, very good! I can't wait to read more!
-ELoise