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Counts on the Inside
Eliza Marie was born with a curse, by day she was un-pretty. Her face was covered in acne so bad they looked like boils. Her teeth were crooked and no matter how many times she brushed her teeth, her breath would always smell like decay. Her hair was greasier then a deep fryer. Her body was mostly flab. When she walked she had a waddle.
Night was a different story, when the sun settled and moon rose, Eliza Marie went from the un-pretty girl to a beautiful woman. Her once greasy brown hair was now as soft as silk and shone. Her skin was clear as the night sky and her teeth were the whitest anyone has ever seen and her breath was amazing. Her body figure was slim with curves in the right places. She had a lovely voice and her walk was as graceful as a ballerina.
Eliza hated this curse, not because people tend to avoid her, tease her and hurt her because she was an easy target. It was because no one really saw what was skin-deep.
Eliza was the sweetest and kindest girl anyone would ever meet, but no one really had a chance to experience this. Once people made their six second impressions of her, the abuse began.
She learned to ignore the teases, the name calling and avoidance. Her best friend was a tiny red clawed crab named Bubbles. She was a Christmas gift from her grandmother.
Her parents accepted her for what she was because they knew that it would go away. They do not know how they knew, but they knew that once a guy accepts her for her personality and not her looks, she will be the normal girl that appears at night.
That was the only way that the curse would be lifted, is if a person of the opposite sex accepts her for what she looked like during the day and not the night. In all of her 18 years of life, she has never been on a date, held hands, kissed or even stood close to a guy. Even when she was her pretty self she always stayed inside working on homework or helping her parent around the house. She never went to dances, parties or any social get-togethers.
The transformation that she went through everyday was just as painful as a menstrual cramp before she was either her daytime self or night-time self.
She woke up in the morning, as soon as the sun was up and got ready for school. She placed on her clothes and brushed her greasy hair placing it in a messy ponytail before brushing teeth. She walked downstairs to where here parents where sitting. Her mother was on one end of the island while her father was sitting at the table with the morning newspaper.
She grabbed a peanut butter and jam sandwich and walked out the door and made her way over to the bus stop where other kids were waiting. They stood a couple feet away from her, or she would wait in the far back and be the last to board the bus.
“Eliza, why do you even bother leaving your house?” Eliza turned to look at Jenny Bloom. She lived two houses down from where she lived. Jenny was a stalky 18 year old with crooked teeth and had one breast bigger then the other. Many parts of her body were fake. From her hair to her nails to her skin. The only thing that seemed real was the misshaped structure or her boobs.
“For an education,” She let the other five kids on before she waddled herself on the bus last and took the seat in the front.
Behind her she could hear the snickers and teasing of the other students. She took out her book and music player before drowning everyone else out. There were a couple perks for looking like she did during the day. She had her own seat while everyone else doubled up...until today.
Eliza Marie was startled when she the other side of her seat dropped. She turned and stared at the newcomer. She thought he looked amazing. His hair was black as the night. His eyes were as blue as the sea. And his skin seemed like it glowed. She couldn’t stop staring until his eyes met her. He scrunched up his face and leaned away. She felt hurt inside before she gave a sigh and turned to her book and continued reading until they got to school.
The guy sitting in her seat jumped up quickly before be even had a chance to pause the song that was playing. She closed her book as well as her eyes before and got up and got off the bus second and headed into the school for another day. The hurt inside made its way to her tear ducks. She had never cried when someone teased her before. So why was it happening now? When the new guy leaned away from her?
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