Sunshine Academy

Chapter 1

The front row seats were reserved for family. The long row of satin covered chairs was occupied by her parents, her grandparents, both maternal and paternal, her great aunt Judy, old Uncle Rob, and who could forget about Cousin Misty, with her beautiful blonde curls and her stereotypical blue eyes?

At the end of the row, to the left, sat an old dark haired-woman, a young man in spectacles and a grey suit, and a fragile looking young girl, they were the groom's family, all of it. Helga, the woman who cooked, cleaned and raised his child. Bernard, the groom's assistant who spent most of his time at the house. And finally, his daughter, Violet, who bit back her tears, swallowed up her fears and locked them away, all to secure her father's happiness.

Jane wore the white dress, like all the women before her who thought they needed to prove their love to the public by signing papers and dressing fancy. And the dress had to be white, and there had to be a party and if love isn't reduced into a business like contract and overpriced rings, then obviously it's not true.

She looked beautiful though. Her brown hair locked in a bun that looked like a balloon on the top of her head, and it stuck not because of anything related to protons or electrons, but by her natural greed, her desire to own everything, and so without her even realizing it, the hairs on her head would not let the balloon go.

The music played softly, the guests had their eyes glued to the couple, they recited their repetitive vows, they said their "I dos" and it was finally time for what everyone really came here for, the cake.

"Oh Violet!" said a happy looking woman that had Jane's face under a blizzard of wrinkles and grey hair. "I've always wanted a grand-daughter! I'm so happy I get one as beautiful as you!"

"Thank you ma'am." Answered Violet. Her heartbeat picked up, a feeling of frustration and confusion overcame her. The situation was normal, the woman's words were sweet but she was scared and nervous.

"Oh don't call me that! Call me granny! Such a polite young lady! Oh I'm sure your mother would've been proud of you!"

"Thank you Granny." She smiled weakly. She didn't know whether or not her mother would be proud of her. In fact, she didn't know anything about her mother, and neither did Granny, but she was just trying to be nice and Violet appreciated that.

The feeling of anxiety followed her throughout the night, everyone wanted to talk to the groom's lovely young daughter. Everyone wanted to check up on the poor orphan girl who will now have to live with a step-mother. Everyone was kind to her and she wondered how someone so awful could've come from a family so sweet, but Jane is part of her life now and there was nothing she could do about it. She swallowed the last bite of cake she had on her plate and went for seconds. Food always makes everything better.