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Paper Dolls In Satin Dresses
“Aw what’s the matter with you?”
Little brows twitched in a threatening manner as small hands curled up into fist. Olivia was a fragile, little thing compared to Brandon Hobbes, no one really expected her to do much after he snatched her book and granny smith apple. Needless to say the rest of the children watched from a safe distance on the black top, just to see what Brandon would do next. The boy grinned, towering over her to strike with some kind of fear. After all, the rest of the kids were terrified of the 2nd year 5th grader.
“Got nothin to say? OLIVE DEEEEEENILE!”
Olivia’s hazel orbs locked on hard to Brandon’s bark brown ones, chest rising and falling in a frustrated rhythm as he continued to taunt her. “You’re a BAHEMETH. You know that? An INSECURE BAHEMETH!” Olivia cried, cheeks puffing out as she stomped her Mary Jane’s into the cracked black surface. Brandon’s face faltered slightly in confusion….what the heck was a Behemoth? And what did insecure mean? The boy shook his head, disregarding what sounded like an insult. “Shut up Miss Know-It-All! You’re just a stupid second grader! You don’t know squat!”
“Coming from the boy who failed the 5th grade…TWICE!” Olivia rolled her eyes and put her hands on her hip with a frown. An assortment of giggles erupted from the children keeping away, causing Brandon to turn red in the face. Growling a little, he took a bite out of Olivia’s apple and three it at her face, a yelp escaping the eight year olds mouth as she took her sleeve covered hands and placed them over her nose. He then threw the book to the ground, watching the pages flutter over as he raised his foot and repeatedly stomped on as many pages as he could. The boy glared on hatefully. “OH YEAH?!
Well…well…well you’re just a stupid girl! You’re…you’re ugly…yeah…and you gotta big nose…and…uh… big lips...and big ears….and a BIG OL’ gap between your teeth! Yeah…yeah you sure are ugly! “ Brandon screamed, puffing out his chest and slamming his foot on to the ground. The children pressed their lips together tightly, suppressing their urges to giggle as their eyes strayed from the lion to the little lamb. Olivia’s eyes were wide, mortified by the words he managed to string together. After a minute she let her eyes slowly lower to her feet where the apple laid, cautiously taking her hands from over her nose and setting her sights on them. Her fingers and sleeves were stained with small drops of blood that were now hardening under her nostrils. Olivia lifted her head, setting her eyes back onto the beast. With a chubby index finger pointed at her, Brandon laughed menacingly and soon after the whole playground was in amusement .
The laughter didn’t last long.
“I see. Yes, I understand. Uh huh…yeah. Thank you for calling me, I assure you that this will never happen again” nods were exchanged before the conversation ended with a firm handshake, Mr. Niles open the door, letting himself out of the principal’s off. Once it shut behind him he groaned, reaching up and rubbing the bridge of his nose and shook his head. “ Oh Olivia…” he muttered to himself, running his hand from front to back as he started to make his way around the corner and towards the nurses office. Sometimes he didn’t know what to do with that daughter of his. It wasn’t that Olivia was a trouble maker; she just had a habit of making a situation much worse than it already was. He sighed, a bit aggravated that he had to come all the way from his office to come get his daughter, he was a busy man and he hadn’t the time for this. With only one car though there wasn’t any way around it, oh his wife was not going to be pleased nor will he hear the end of it from his three sons. As he walked closer towards the nurse’s office, he could hear the woman trying to talk to Olivia, but Mr. Niles knew better than that. Olivia was stubborn and you couldn’t tell her anything that she didn’t want to hear, as far as reasoning with the eight year old…it was useless. The man curled up his fist, knocking on the glass with the backside of his hand and crossed his arms over his chest as the nurse spoke a few more words and opened up the door. “Oh! You must be Olivia’s father. Olivia dear you’re father’s here!” the woman called from over her shoulder, glancing at the little girl as she sat on the small cot in the room. Olivia didn’t need to look up to tell that her father was looking right at her and was trying to avoid his eyes as she dangled her feet quietly, pretending to trace the cracks in the floor.
“Olivia” Her father spoke, tapping his foot as he continued to burn holes in the side of her head, arching a brow and awaited for her to respond. When she kept quiet Mr. Niles cleared his throat loudly and moved to loosen his tie a little bit as he closed his eyes. He was in no mood to deal with these games of hers. “Olivia” he spoke, his voice firm and full of obvious irritation. Olivia winced, slowly turning her head to look at her father before slipping off the cot and patting off her blood stained dress before slowly grabbing her little bag and trudged towards the door. She kept her head down, not wanting to look at the nurse, too embarrassed to look her in the eye…not when she was in serious trouble. “ What do you say?” her father asked looking down at Olivia as she stared at the ground, trying to swallow the lump in her throat before lifting her eyes to the woman. “Thank you” she squeaked before her father turned on his feet and started to walk off ahead of her. Olivia watched her father for a little bit trying to savor the last few seconds she had before he dealt with her, picking up her feet and following after him in the deserted hallways towards the outside.
The ride home was torture. As soon as he had gotten into the car himself, he let out a sigh that oozed so much frustration that Olivia didn’t even open her mouth to try to justify what she had done. The girl reached up and rubbed at her earlobe when he started to speak, then eventually started to raise his voice at her before grunting and going back to being quiet. “Sometimes I don’t know what to do with you Olivia. You’re not a bad girl…I know you’re not…but this…this was. Olivia I just don’t know…” it was evident in his voice, he was disappointed in her and it made Olivia rub at her earlobe a little more for some kind of self comfort. Once her father parked the car, he glanced up at the rearview mirror to look at her, watching her doing her best not to cry.
“I want you to go straight to your room young lady, do you understand?”
Olivia’s head slowly bobbed up and down as her father got out of the car and opened her door. He took her by the hand like he always did and led her towards the door, the door opening before they even made it to the first step. His wife smiled warmly at the two, wiping her hands on her apron. “There are my two darlings! Welcome home dear” she greeted her husband with a kiss before turning to look to her little girl, “Hello there my baby girl! How was school?” she asked, leaning down to kiss her daughter on the cheek before noticing the bandaged that was clear across her nose. “Oh my word! Olivia what happened?” Olivia, without hesitation wormed her way around her mother and ran right upstairs to her room, slamming the door shut behind her. Her mother stood, looking up towards the stairs before looking back to her husband with a questionable stare as he sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose and shaking his head. “Come on Honey…we’ve got A LOT to discuss…”
Olivia sat on her bed quietly, turning yet another page in her book reading to herself. However she was having a bit of a hard time concentrating, though she had read that same book more than once and knew the story like the back of her hand, she couldn’t help but think about what her punishment was going to be once her father finished talking with her mother. Olivia’s stomach twisted slightly and she almost felt like she wanted to throw up, closing her book quickly and setting it to the side she curled up on her side and held her stomach before closing her eyes. She really didn’t want her mother to be upset with her as well…and she was silently praying she wouldn’t come and want to talk to her….
“Olivia dear…” Fantastic.
“Yes ma’am….” Olivia groaned softly the knob twisted and her mother entered. Mrs. Niles looked around at Olivia’s room, looking at all the books and records that were scattered everywhere around the room, but that was Olivia for you. Her eyes fell upon her daughter who was curled up on her side, obviously trying her best not to make eye contact with her as she closed the door behind her walking a little closer to the side of the bed. “May I sit?” She asked, Olivia sniffling a little before nodding her head and giving her mother permission to do as such. When she had sat down next to Olivia, she smoothed out her apron, looking around once again before going back to her apron quietly. “You’re father told me you got into trouble at school today” she looked back over to Olivia to answer, but the girl kept her mouth shut. Her mother sighed softly and looked back to her apron. “You’re father is a little upset Olivia. You don’t get into much trouble…not like your brothers do. It’s very strange for your father to have to go talk to the principal’s office for you…so Olivia, tell Mama what happened…” Olivia shook her head, looking at her wall and keeping quiet. Her mother arched her brow a little before she closed her eyes and sighed once again. “Alright, when you are ready to talk…you can come talk to me…okay sweetheart” her mother said softly, rising up from the bed and slowly turning to leave. She didn’t move fast however, but did make her way to the door opening it slightly to make her leave.
“I punched Brandon Hobes in the chest at recess…”
Her mother turned her head quickly; of course her husband didn’t tell her THAT part! She brought a hand to her chest and gasped softly, looking to Olivia as she sniffed a little bit and sat up on her bed, trying her hardest not to cry. “He…He took my apple and started to eat it…and…and he took my book and threw it on the ground and spit on it. T-Then…he threw the apple at my nose….and made it bleed…” she pointed to the bandage on her nose as her eyes began to tear up even more. “…Then...then he said…he said…I had big ears…and big lips…and a big nose and a big ol’ gap in my teeth….” Olivia reached up and started to rub at her earlobe a little bit, looking away from her mother as she came back to sit beside her on the bed, a few tears falling over as she frowned a little bit. “He said I was stupid….and ugly….” Olivia’s lower lip quivered before more tears began to slip over the edge and her nose started to run as well. “So…So I punched him in the chest…and he fell over…and then Mr. Kole came out and took us to his office….then I went to the nurse…” Olivia’s mother nodded somewhat, biting the inside of her cheek. So that’s what happened…. “Mama…” Olivia squeaked, her mother looking back over to her as she watched the tears roll down her slightly red cheeks.
“Am…Am I really….ugly?”
Olivia’s mother frowned a little, shaking her head as she moved closer to her daughter who was in need of her comfort. Olivia didn’t hesitate to take comfort in her lap, resting her head on her apron as she started to cry. Her mother closed her eyes, reaching over and stroked the side of Olivia’s head, letting out another sigh as she shook her head, feeling her daughter clutch onto the apron tightly. “Come with me sugar…” her mother uttered softly, picking up Olivia and holding her in her arms before she exited from her room to her own. Her mother shut the door behind her, setting Olivia at the vanity dresser before she grabbed her jewelry box and began to go through it. Olivia looked to her mother, rubbing at her eyes since they were starting to sting from the tears, watching her mother curiously. Why hadn’t she answered her? Did her mother think she was ugly too?
“Don’t pay Brandon Hobbes any mind. The boy ain’t all right in the head to begin with” her mother chuckled, still going through her jewelry box before glancing up at Olivia. “Olivia, you are a unique little girl. You are how the Lord wanted you to be. Big lips, big ears, big nose, gap and all” she smiled, looking back down into her box before she chuckled. “…and you certainly aren’t stupid…in fact you could already be in the fifth grade with all that you know already” She looked up to see Olivia make a face and then turn away. “Then I would be in the same class as Brandon! “she cried, obviously not too pleased with that thought. Her mother laughed, closing the box having found what she was looking for and stood behind Olivia, looking to her in the mirror. “Let me ask you this sugar: Do YOU think you’re ugly?” she asked, Olivia looking back into the mirror and shrugging her shoulders a little bit. “Well…you came from me…so do you think I’M ugly?” “Of course not Mama!” Olivia cried, almost shocked that her mother would ever think she would think something so untrue! “You are the most beautiful Mama on this whole street!”
Her mother laughed, leaning over and kissing Olivia’s cheek before looking back into the mirror. “Well…I think…that you are beautiful Olivia….and I’m not saying this because you are my baby girl…I mean it” she smiled warmly, watching Olivia look down at her lap, somehow she wasn’t convinced just yet. “You are the way you are Olivia…just because you have…big ears…and big lips….and a big nose and even a gap between your teeth doesn’t make you ugly. Besides…that’s only what’s on the outside…don’t you know true beauty is on the inside my dear?” her mother smiled and looked back into the mirror. “You’re granddaddy went to the ocean one day…he find the two ugliest oysters. They were all…slimy and had little green stuff growing on them…oh they were so gross! Your granddaddy thought the oyster was beautiful though…I would have never understood why he would think such a thing…” she laughed before sighing once again, “ ….but when he brought them home…and opened them up…oh there were two of the most beautiful pearls I have ever seen! They were so pretty…he made them into earrings….” Her mother said softly, reaching up and gently putting one of the pearl earrings in Olivia’s ear, smiling warmly. “Your granddaddy always told me, you may have bigger ears and lips than everyone else…but that’s okay…because if you looked like everyone else…no one would know what beauty is…and no one would know you” Her mother put the other earring in her ear, watching as her cheeks lit up as she looked at herself in the mirror. “….it’s the beauty on the inside…that makes you beautiful on the outside…” Her mother smiled once again, leaning and kissing the top of Olivia’s head. “Come downstairs and help me in the kitchen. We’ll back some cookies and watch T.V with your father and brothers” her mother said softly, turning and leaving from her room. Olivia sat there, looking at herself in the mirror before looking at the earrings her mother had given her. They were beautiful, beautiful like her mother. Beautiful like…her. Olivia giggled a little bit; she was just a pretty little oyster with a beautiful pearl on the inside. “Olivia! Are you coming?” her mother called from the stairs, Olivia sliding out of the chair and looking at herself once more. Her big lips curled up and she smiled, gap and all.
“ Coming Mama!”
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