Princess of Suburbia | Teen Ink

Princess of Suburbia

January 7, 2013
By CariePierce BRONZE, Lancaster, Pennsylvania
CariePierce BRONZE, Lancaster, Pennsylvania
3 articles 0 photos 48 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Imagination rules the world." -Napoleon Bonaparte


Building blocks were scattered across the floor in the layout of a post-apocalyptic wasteland. Painstaking hours had gone into that house, making sure every corner was exactly as planned. But really, how long did she intend to keep it, anyway? With that little terror running about the household? She had learned long ago that complaining about a situation was the LAST thing she would want to do, especially one caused by her 5 year old younger brother. The last time he had ruined her house, she ran straight to mother to plea for a bit of comfort from the horrors of wreckage strewn about the floor in the form of wooden blocks. All she received was another scolding about how nothing would ever be his fault because he’s younger, and shouldn’t little girls be playing with dolls, anyway? Whatever. She would do as she was told and pick up the pieces one by one. Pieces that resembled her poor little heart as she finally realized that no compassion would ever come her way from the two dictator rulers of this home.
Many of her days were spent at her bedroom window. Her blank eyes would stare at the same scene every day. Except, that wasn’t what she was seeing. She wasn’t seeing row after row of cloned houses kept prisoner in the land of suburbia. She saw her fantasy. She saw people with wings, flying from their captors. She saw the end of the world. She saw the beginning of the universe. She saw her future and she saw the distant past. She saw deaths and she saw life, she saw lovers and she saw heartbreak. She saw everything, but she wasn’t looking. She was seeing. Her mind worked with the understanding better than most adults. In fact, I don’t believe an adult can possess her knowledge. Her knowledge is the sort that can only come with childhood years spent pondering the whys the whens and the hows, and having the willpower to seek them out.
It was the twenty first of November and pouring rain. She had a plan for this day. She never knew exactly why she chose twenty one as her special number, it just sounded right. This was the day, she decided, that she would make them care. Years had passed as they tended to do, and she was no longer a little girl.
Now there was more than her mind that set her apart from the tyrannical rulers, often called by others her parents. Some considered it a disease. Some considered it a choice. Some considered it a perversion. They were all wrong. For there was nothing wrong with her, only in the minds of the cold-hearted. This was not a choice, for she was born this way. This was not a perversion, for her heart was full of love. Of course the parentals may never know. She had time and time again contemplated this, wondering if and when they would ever discover her.
Her parents had an odd way of dealing with conflict. She would almost prefer to be screamed at, slapped, and then it go away. But of course, their majesties had it set in their cruel hearts to be the intellectuals, the problem solvers of their pretentious estate. Every single time, they would sit her down and talk talk talk without end, making her fingers twirl around each other in uneasy orbits and her stomach churn with anxiety. Of course they would go on and on, but if she tried to get a small fledgling of an opinion to take flight and somehow get them to reason, they shut down. They were emotionless, letting religion “guide” them through life. So instead of acknowledging her thoughts, they would machine gun it down with prophecies and commandments, examples and worries. She in fact did NOT care that they were, as they would often say, “worried about her”.
This was the time though, was unique. She was an eighteen year old wallflower, brimming with possibilities, knowledge, and hope. Their majesties were still the same. Ever since she was thirteen, she had an exact plan of what to do if they ever evicted her from their kingdom. It ran through her mind forwards and backwards as everything unfolded.
Back when she was thirteen, they tore her life apart for a few weeks. Her music was her strength and her inspiration, the one thing she trusted and could rely upon. But of course, king’s orders, she must abhor this worldly, satanic corruption and instead stay away from the edge, shrink back to conformity.
But this was the day she would fly away like the winged people of her childhood fantasies. This was the day when her mind and body would be forever marked as different, accepted by all but the narrow-minded. This was the day when their majesties really lost all hope in her. She had been waiting for this all along. This was the day they found out, and she didn’t have to hide it anymore. This was the day when they finally did take physical action.. By throwing her out, of course. But as she breathed in that crisp November air stinging her skin, she smiled. She waited on the concrete with a bag on her back for the car that led to her new life. That was the car that would take her to not a house, but a home.
Sometimes a goodbye is a dream come true. She was no longer caged. She was the queen of her own life. No longer would she be Princess of Suburbia.


The author's comments:
Yes, this is about me and what I someday hope to become. Enjoy..

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This article has 9 comments.


on Feb. 5 2013 at 7:37 am
CariePierce BRONZE, Lancaster, Pennsylvania
3 articles 0 photos 48 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Imagination rules the world." -Napoleon Bonaparte

Thank you for the feedback (:

on Feb. 4 2013 at 8:14 am
CariePierce BRONZE, Lancaster, Pennsylvania
3 articles 0 photos 48 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Imagination rules the world." -Napoleon Bonaparte

 I'm a HUGE fan of your writing, and thank you for the comment!

on Feb. 1 2013 at 7:58 pm
Jade.I.Am ELITE, Fishers, Indiana
214 articles 14 photos 1159 comments

Favorite Quote:
“If you're losing your soul and you know it, then you've still got a soul left to lose”
― Charles Bukowski

I'm sorry your parents (might have been, from the author's comment) were so degrading. But not all Christians are like that, just so you know;) (if this even IS about overbearing Christian parents...) — just my opinion, kindly meant :)

on Feb. 1 2013 at 4:03 pm
Apollo77 PLATINUM, Brunswick, Ohio
20 articles 0 photos 103 comments

Favorite Quote:
"All you have to do is write one true sentence. Write the truest sentence that you know.”
"Madame, all stories, if continued far enough, end in death, and he is no true-story teller who would keep that from you."
-Ernest Hemingway

I love it! Oh my gosh it's so awesome! I loved the first sentence and I loved one of the last sentences somewhere in the middle when I read it but I can't remember exactly which one...so yah. The only thing is that I was so confused and sad because for, like, the whole middle section I thought she was going to kill herself, in which case you author's comment had me kind of worried...but I like the actual ending! It was a liberating experience, and though my home life is not so bad, I can so relate-as most teens could. I love the way she refers to her parents. anyway-incredible-please keep writing!

on Jan. 24 2013 at 8:19 am
CariePierce BRONZE, Lancaster, Pennsylvania
3 articles 0 photos 48 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Imagination rules the world." -Napoleon Bonaparte

I'll keep all of that in mind! Thank you very much.

on Jan. 24 2013 at 8:19 am
CariePierce BRONZE, Lancaster, Pennsylvania
3 articles 0 photos 48 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Imagination rules the world." -Napoleon Bonaparte

Thank you so much. This was, unfortunately, written from first hand experience with my parents.

on Jan. 23 2013 at 9:30 pm
LadyJaneGrey PLATINUM, Louisville, Kentucky
30 articles 0 photos 46 comments

Favorite Quote:
"I know it defies the law of gravity, but I never studied law." - Bugs Bunny

Great story! Your description is enviable. The only criticisms I have are that you use the passive voice a little too much, especially at the beginning, and it makes some of the writing a little clunky. There are also a few points where the pacing could be better -- any mention of her brother stopped after the first paragraph, and we don't know about her music until the end. I think those elements of the princess could be woven into the entire story.  HOWEVER, the way you weaved together her character and situation, across a relatively large span of time, so succinctly was amazing. I felt like I was inside her head, but at the same time the tone was detached, like her parents, really giving a sense of this girl's life. In fact, I think the story could be expanded, to show her adult knowledge, her relationship with her brother, etc. Really great concept, and fantastic execution. I really enjoyed reading your story! 

on Jan. 23 2013 at 4:45 pm
Crunchman99 SILVER, Mitchell, South Dakota
9 articles 0 photos 24 comments

Favorite Quote:
Writing can often be complex, and some people don't ever practice. The important thing is, when you get good at it, few things can help you more in life.

I really did like this story. It tells a lot about those parents who just don't care about their children's opinions or wants, and are unreasonably strict. Thankfully I don't have those parents (excuse me; dictators) in my life. Although, this piece makes me wonder how many children or teens do. I've seen parents who will let their kids get away with everything, and others who won't let them do anything. I liked it a lot; keep it up.

on Jan. 23 2013 at 8:33 am
In_Love_with_Writing GOLD, Easton, Pennsylvania
12 articles 0 photos 389 comments

Favorite Quote:
"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Phillipians 4:13

Nice story. I liked it a lot :)