Pinky promise
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Chapter 19 : plastic barbie doll
I can read, I can really read. I can understand and say aloud thousands of combinations of the same 26 characters. I can say the 26 letters by heart and therefore can write. Leonardo taught me everything, of course it's not perfect yet, but Leonardo said if I keep practicing every day it will get better. Leonardo arranged for me to stay home for an extra week indeed, and we practiced every day when all the rest were at work. Leonardo also said that their work is very busy and they have little time off, but that he is therefore the only one who does not work and is therefore always at home to be there for me and help me. I like that, Leonardo and I have become very close over time.
Today is my last day at home, and tomorrow I have to go to school. Tomorrow I really have to go to school, as in to an unfamiliar building with unfamiliar people and learn unfamiliar things. I'm pretty scared, but somewhere also excited. What if I make friends? Really make friends with kids my age and then go to class together and secretly write notes to each other and keep dragging on each other. But how do you make friends? What if they don't like me? What if they think I'm weird? What if they're mean at school?
"Eleanor," Leonardo's voice pulls me out of my thoughts.
"Sorry," I mutter sheepishly.
"Doesn't matter, read that sentence again," I look at the book in my hands. It's Alice in wonderland, it's from Leonardo's bookshelf and I have no idea what he's talking about. It's a nice book. I look at the black letters printed on paper, letters that form one whole story, and that story is the masterpiece of the author who probably took a very long time to create it.
"It takes all the...r- running you can do, to keep in the same place. If you want to get s, o , m, e, somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that,"I look up smiling at Leonardo, who also has a smile on his face.
"That was very good Eleanor! You read even faster than Riccardo who learned to read," Leonardo compliments me. I giggle softly at the compliment. Leonardo gently grabs the book from my hands, grabs the bookmark he made for me (it's rose with my name in gold on it with a cute little bunny next to it) and places the bookmark on the right page before closing the book.
"Come it's dinner time," he puts the book down on the seat and then stands up.
"It was just so much fun," I sigh. Leonardo looks at me smiling.
"Another time Sorellina, maybe we can continue reading tomorrow after school if you are not too tired," Leonardo smiles. I get a smile on my face and nod my head.
"Deal, continue tomorrow,"
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As soon as I walked into the kitchen I had it figured out before I saw her. I smelled a feminine perfume, a very punishing perfume that I think poisoned the air. Then I heard the high pitched irritating giggles of a much too high pitched female voice, and as I got closer I noticed her blonde hair-which was clearly dyed-and her pink clothes. Well clothes, it looked even more like a bikini than clothes.
Anastasia, that's how she introduced herself when I took a seat over her at the table. She had a round baby face with lots of makeup on, and fake eyelashes. I mean make-up can look really good on people, and if it makes them feel good and comfortabble then that's all okay. But just get products that dit you, i mean i don't know a lot about make-up. Well i don't even know a thing about it, but i do know that you are not supossed to look orange. Still I'm jealous of people who can do make-up maybe i'll ask emilio if he knows how to do it. But she looked at me with a look that I didn't like, as if she preferred that I wasn't there. As if I were turning into dust. Anastasia got all the attention at the dinner table, everyone was glued to her lips to hear her stories. Stories that weren't even interesting and were patently fabricated. They were so enthralled in Anastasia that they didn't even scoop food onto my plate. I felt a stab of jealousy inside me, Anastasia getting more attention than I ever got from my brothers. And she looks as fake as a $1 plastic barbie doll.
At least I thought everyone was interested by Anastasia. Riccardo -who was forced to sit next to me by Anastasia- scooped food onto my plate. He didn't even look at her, he just looked at his plate of food and sometimes at mine. He didn't even laugh when the rest of his brothers -even Lorenzo- were laughing at what Anastasia said. He didn't answer when Anastasia wanted his attention and asked a question of him. All he seemed to care about was getting out of here as soon as possible, which is what I want too. Yet when his plate was empty and he looked at my still full plate, he poured more water into his glass and remained seated at the table. As if he didn't want to leave me alone?
It was all about Anastasia, as if they instantly forgot about me as soon as they smelled her perfume. Her poisonous perfume that probably poisoned the world and polluted all the air. I don't even know what it smells like only that I never want to smell the fragrance again. Everything was about Anastasia.
"Anastasia do you need a drink?"
"Anastasia tell another story,"
"Anastasia would you like some more salt?"
"Anastasia what do you do for work?"
"Anastasia you are very funny."
Everything revolved around Anastasia. And i hated it. I know i can't judge, i dont know her, but something - everything - about her gave me red flags.
Tomorrow I start school, and somewhere I expected my brothers to ask irritating questions about tomorrow. Whether I was nervous, whether I had already made my book bag , whether I was looking forward to it, whether I had questions, whether my uniform was already ready. But no, all they cared about was Anastasia and her fantastic stories. They didn't even wish me luck.
I take the last bite from my plate and before I even swallow it Riccardo gets up, grabs his plate and then mine and puts it in the dishwasher. That's sweet.
"Are you leaving?" Anastasia asks, blinking her eyes a little too often.
"Yes, I have to get up early tomorrow to take Eleanor to school," with that he walks toward the kitchen door before turning and looking at me. "That means you have to go to bed early too missy," I quickly get up from my chair and we leave the kitchen. Once the kitchen door is closed and we are out of earshot I breathe a sigh of relief.
"Thank you," I smile small at Riccardo, but he doesn't look at me and just walks on.
"Go to sleep Eleanor, " he says before disappearing from sight. Did he just save me from the plastic barbie doll?
A/N: i don't like the plastic barbie doll
What do you guys think of Anastasia?
Reminder: you are enough! :))