Not Poor Enough For Pity

CHAPTER 3:STERILE SILENCE

The air crackled with tension as my mother stood there poised and elegant. Her body was that of a cunning CEO with a sleek black dress that hugged her curves, perfectly matched with a black handbag worth millions. Her hair was tied into a beautiful sleek back bun and her eyes glowed with disappointment and shame.

“Oh dear!” she gasped with a dramatic hand hovering to her mouth. “Your makeup and hair are a complete disaster! Such unfortunate circumstances!”

She walked towards me, her Louboutin heels clicking on the white tiled floor with that of predatory precision. She stood before my bedside and bent over to hover over my body blocking the bright clinic light. She reached into her bag, the room filled with just silence and the sound of her rummaging through her bag before retrieving her makeup kit.

“Now, we have to touch my beautiful porcelina up. We have an event to attend to.”

I stared at her as I felt the brush on my skin. It was a familiar sensation that I’ve grown to hate. I looked behind her, shifting my weight slightly to the side. It made me want to scoff seeing my Father check his watch, impatiently tapping his polished black shoes on the floor and the nurse hovering awkwardly and fidgeting with her fingers as if not knowing how to address my condition.

It felt like hours had passed in the silent sterile clinic with the sounds only the soft hum of the air conditioner and the tapping of my Father’s shoe. The nurse cleared her throat wanting to break the silence and get it over with.

“So, I called you both here because during lunch break, your daughter collapsed in the canteen. She was checked and there are no allergic reactions and no signs of a fever or any other illnesses. Ms. Ashley Vane here is the one who carried her to the clinic.”

I looked at Ashley who smiled shyly. My mother’s head turned to Ashley staring at her with that calculating expression on her face. Ashley's smiles faltered awkwardly as she looked at my mother with nervousness. My Father didn’t even bother to look up, he was messaging the host of the event that they would be late for the evening party due to ‘unexpected circumstances’ with my mother’s doll. He spoke as if I was a broken antique doll being placed back together rather than of his daughter that just collapsed.

“Hm.. Your hair is rather unoiled and unkempt. Your face is blemished with sun-kissed skin and your face is a salad without its dressing. How does one live in such.. Poor standards? ”

My mother said with disdain and false pity wrapped in sugar coat honey. She walked towards Ashley’s side of my bed with that beautiful sway of her hips, cupping Ashley’s jaw with hands as cold as her stare. Ashley stared at my mother with clear unease. The nurse watched the tension grow right before her eyes. Parents who don’t even address the fact their daughter had fainted and instead were focusing on other things such as messaging people about their inconvenience and painting insecurities with a brush of glass.

My Father spoke up his voice laced with venom as he stared at the nurse with annoyance as if getting called to school because of his child’s well being isn’t as important as his corporate and bland meetings.

“Are we done here? Is this all that needs to be done? Picking up my child from a school that’s right on our doorstep?”

“S… Sir, I just said earlier she collapsed and it isn’t good if—”

“My Daughter is perfectly fine. She has no allergies, no imperfections she’s just probably tired from staying up all night. If you’re here to waste MY time then see yourself out.” My Father turned to my mother, watching as she dabs some powder to Ashley’s face without a care in the world when Ashley sneezes while my mother hovered over her like an invasive parasite.

“Evelyn, lets go.”

“Right behind you, dear~. Let’s go, yuu.”

“Yes, Mother.”

I rose up from the practiced and rehearsed like I have done this scene multiple times. My footsteps were light as if I were a ghost levitating and gliding through the air. Ashley watches me stand up from the bed and walked towards where my parents are standing. She spoke up her voice laced with concern.

“Aren’t you going to see a doctor?”

The silence afterwards was deafening as my mother turned to Ashley. Her smile was anything but sweet, a cherry on top of all the tension and she spoke up with a cold sweetness like strawberries in the freezer.

“My beautiful porcelina is as beautiful the way she is you see. A gorgeous creation that will outshine all the stars in the sky. She will be as bright as the sun and as cold as the moonlight sky.”

My mother, caresses my hair as she brought up some strands to her nose. Sniffing that whiff of lavender shampoo she had mercifully bestowed upon this poor unfortunate soul. She then turned around to leave but Ashley wasn’t having it.

“She’s not a porcelain doll. She’s human, a girl with hopes and dreams. You care only about your status, your business. But can’t you see she’s hurting? Can’t you see she’s tired of staying up all night doing whatever you all tell her to? She’s sick and she needs care. A decaying flower is still a decaying flower no matter how many times you paint over it.”

“Ashley, don’t start.”

I whispered nervously. Ashley saw me tremble and vulnerable for the very first time. The snail beneath the hardened shell. I looked at my mother who was surprisingly nonchalant. She turned to Ashley with that predator aura.

“A decaying flower?...” My mother walked towards Ashley who stood her ground. She moved with grace that of a predator as she grabbed Ashley’s chin with force. The nurse tried to intervene but I shook my head. “how poetic.. And how common. Care is for the weak, Ashley Vane. Perfection however, is the most beautiful thing you will ever see. You see a girl who is tired; I see a masterpiece begging to be used and displayed for all the world to see. In a museum of false fine arts, my beautiful porcelina will be there at the podium sitting down with grace. Do NOT mistake your lack of ambition as ‘concern’.”

My mother leaned in closer to her. their noses practically touching. Ashley can smell the mint of my mother’s breath as she practically spat on her face with venom. “If my dear Yuu would’ve been a decaying flower, I would’ve fed her to the hounds by now. But no, my gracious benevolence saved her after all. She doesn’t need to have to be ‘human’, she just has to be eternal. Now stay away out of the business, your common presence is making me retch.”

I decided to break the cold tension with my voice monotone as I addressed my mother. The nurse breathed a small sigh of relief having to watch all the drama play out all at once.

“Mother, Father is waiting in the car we must go before we are going to be late for the event.”

“Yes, yes we are going to be late thank you for reminding me my dear.” My mother pulled back from Ashley as she would hurriedly her heels clacking, hard on the tiled floor. She walked out without ever looking back, I could tell she was filled with pride and triumph after she thought she had placed Ashley in her place.

Ashley walked towards me and grabbed me by the shoulders. Her eyes were concerned and frantic.

“Yuudine, please tell me you’re going to be alright. You’re going to fight for yourself and—”

SLAP!

The slap echoes through the sterile room, louder than the soft hum of the air Conditioner. Ashley’s head snapped to the side with a red hand mark beginning to appear on her cheek. Tears sprung in her eyes as she stared at me. My face was that of cold indifference instead of the sad girl she was expecting. My voice was laced with hostility.

“I don’t need your pity.”