New Leah
1028 Words
A dress fell from its hanger into Leah‟s hands. She looked at it, looked at the tearstains on it, and choked on a sob.
She knew the tears, the real tears, for these were just
a product of shock would come later. For now, she just
stared at the cream dress she now held in her hands and
rocked on her bare feet. It was prissy. All lace and frills and tiny flowers sewed into the hem. It was something that should have been worn with lace gloves and a straw Easter bonnet. She looked up, exhausted, at the rest of her closet. It all was.
No wonder Brendan didn‟t really like her. Dropping the dress from her fingers, she rose to her feet.
One by one, she tore the garments from their hangers.
When the closet was almost empty, she stopped at the black dress she had refused to wear last night—the one her
stepmother had liked.
It was simple, sleeveless, black. No frills. It
exuded sexiness and it accentuated her figure.
She pulled it over her head and squirmed into the fabric. Once she had it on, she spun around in front of the mirror. It needed something more. She dug around in her vanity bag, tears still escaping from her eyes, and retrieved a handful of make-up.Applying the foundation, powder that was next to white, dark mauve lipstick, and black eye make-up, Leah squinted at herself.
She was not allowed to wear make-up yet and had bought the cosmetics with Mona one day after school in secret. She had been hiding them in her room for about a year now,
but hadn‟t really ever worn them.
Though smiling weakly, she was pleased with what she saw. She then searched her closet for the perfect pair of shoes, and found them: skin-tight, tall, black leather boots.
What people would say, she didn‟t care. What people would think, she could only imagine. She knew she looked different now, but that was what she wanted. This was what she wanted.
She arrived downstairs to find her father reading the newspaper and her stepmother stirring a skillet of
scrambled eggs.
Without being noticed, she walked across the kitchen
and straight out the door.
Walking to school, the sky was completely overcast, and the temperature was cool. She walked purposefully, hitching up her stockings every few steps. Not used to wearing make-up on her face, though, she felt like she was
wearing a mask.
She saw other children on the other side of the road who were also on their way to school. She knew who they
were; they were some sixth-grade boys who sometimes hung out with Brendan. As she walked swiftly by, holding her
head up, they pointed at her. She ignored them and raced forward.Her lungs were sore by the time she got to school.
When she entered the front doors, suddenly everyone turned and stared at her.
She knew her dress was short; she knew her make-up was heavy; she knew her boots made her look slutty. She didn‟t care. She plowed through the crowd, ignoring each and
every one of their agape faces.
She felt someone run a hand along her hair. “Leah,
it‟s me.”
“Mona?” Her voice was low and breathy.
“Leah, you look different. That‟s why everyone‟s staring at you. Why did you run out on the party? You never told me why you couldn‟t stay over at my house on Friday night. You just said you had to get back and that
was it. You just disappeared without a trace.”
Leah lowered her lashes, which were now thickly covered with black mascara. “Something happened, Mona
something I don‟t want to talk about…”
She placed the tuft of black hair she had been playing
with gently on her shoulder. “You don‟t look well—“ she
caught her tongue, “—I mean, beautiful, of course, but—“
“But what?”
She shook her head slowly. “I‟ve never seen you with
make-up on before.”
“I have to go, Mona,” she said.
As she turned, she saw him. He loomed above the other middle-schoolers both in height and looks. He exuded a presence that was unmatched by anyone else. It was like he
knew a secret that no one else on earth knew—and he would
be willing to share it—but only for a price.
Leah could have cowered. She could have turned on her
heels and walked in a different direction, but she chose not to; she chose to gather all the courage she had left in her little body and face him. She set her feet in place and intended to walk straight for him.
“There he is,” Christie said, who had now joined them.
Leah did not feel anger at this point; not even the dull ache of pain. Instead, she watched him with a strange sense of fascination.
“Aren‟t you going to say hi?” Christie asked. “I mean, after what happened at the party, maybe things will be better between you two now.”
His eyes lifted and met hers. For a fleeting moment she thought he was going to disregard her completely; but
then just as quickly as he had looked away, he looked back. Leah couldn‟t pull her eyes from him. She realized that neither of them were moving, and so
she started walking towards him. But just as she did so, the group of boys he was with starting breaking out in
laughter.
“My God! What the Hell happened to the vampire girl?
Did she go to a vampire beauty salon?”
Leah stared at Brendan.
“Maybe she went to clown college. She looks more like a joke now than a vampire.”
“Or a whore.”
A friend shoved Brendan in the shoulder. “Would you do her?”
- Writer
