Life In Colors
This is a story I wrote for a different website, Inkpop, a while ago for a contest. It was my first contest I'd ever entered for the website and I won. I still really haven't had any comments on it and thought it might get some over here. It was based off the novel Pink by Lili Wilkinson. Basically, a girl changes school so she can change her life and be girlier. Google it.
"Can you sing with all the voices of the mountains? Can you paint with all the colors of the wind?"
"I wish I could paint with all the colors of the wind," Lexi muttered as she slipped into her bright red T-shirt and blue jeans. She longed to, just once, be able to express herself in a way that excluded all the bright colors in her wardrobe and just go with simple black, be a normal girl that had all the choices. The problem lay within her group of friends, though. She was in the 'in' crowd, and being in the group basically implied she had to dress in every bright color possible. She couldn't even have her natural dark hair, she had to dye it blond and make sure none of her actual hair showed through.
"Lex! Your friends are here! Hurry up!" her mom hollered up the stairs. She took the stairs two at a time and got into the car with her friends.
"Hey, nice shirt! Where did you get it?" Maureen asked. Maureen was the head honcho of the group, she started everything. She was so appearance based it was sickening, if you didn't have your make-up perfect or you weren't wearing the right thing you weren't even acknowledged until it changed. She got into your head and made you completely paranoid that you were doing something wrong.
"Um, I think it was from Forever Twenty-One," Lexi said.
"I'll have to go check it out. They did have other colors, right?"
"I think so."
"Awesome," Maureen finished and started another conversation with someone else, leaving Lexi completely alone. She was so used to it by now that she hardly noticed, let alone cared. They pulled up at school and Lexi was the first out. She waited a moment and rejoined the huddled group, trying to get into the conversation. That's how it was most of the time, being left out.
The day went by as normal and when she finally got home the first thing she did was change out of her clothes and into her dark sweats before doing her homework and then going to see her mom.
"Mom, can I have some money for shopping?"
"Sure, how much do you think you'll need?"
"A hundred bucks. I also need to borrow the car."
"Alright, but you aren't getting an allowance for the next two months," her mom said, handing her over the bills and the car keys.
"Thanks a bunch!" She called as she ran out the door to the car. She drove to the mall and went in the first shop she could find that she knew would sell what she was looking for and came out with a black hoodie, deep blue T-shirt, dark wash jeans, and black Converse. She threw the bags in the front seat of the car and smiled to herself as she drove home. This was the first step to freeing herself.
* * * * *
Lexi woke up that morning feeling much happier. She went down and ate breakfast before going upstairs and changing into her new outfit and scrubbing the blond out of her hair.
"Lex! Hurry up!" her mom yelled, as the usual routine went. She walked down the stairs, and out the door. As soon as her friends saw her, their jaws dropped.
"What the heck are you wearing?" multiple people in the car asked.
"Do you like it? It's my new look," Lexi smiled. The whole car was silent the entire ride and at school the group avoided her like the plague, even her boyfriend, the funny thing was that it didn't bother her whatsoever, they were already destined for a break up. She got complinments on her new look and had an entirely new group of friends by lunch. Because of this, Lexi knew that she was never going to sacrifice herself for another person and a reputaion she couldn't live up to. She was going to be herself and be happy, no matter what people thought.
"I wish I could paint with all the colors of the wind," Lexi muttered as she slipped into her bright red T-shirt and blue jeans. She longed to, just once, be able to express herself in a way that excluded all the bright colors in her wardrobe and just go with simple black, be a normal girl that had all the choices. The problem lay within her group of friends, though. She was in the 'in' crowd, and being in the group basically implied she had to dress in every bright color possible. She couldn't even have her natural dark hair, she had to dye it blond and make sure none of her actual hair showed through.
"Lex! Your friends are here! Hurry up!" her mom hollered up the stairs. She took the stairs two at a time and got into the car with her friends.
"Hey, nice shirt! Where did you get it?" Maureen asked. Maureen was the head honcho of the group, she started everything. She was so appearance based it was sickening, if you didn't have your make-up perfect or you weren't wearing the right thing you weren't even acknowledged until it changed. She got into your head and made you completely paranoid that you were doing something wrong.
"Um, I think it was from Forever Twenty-One," Lexi said.
"I'll have to go check it out. They did have other colors, right?"
"I think so."
"Awesome," Maureen finished and started another conversation with someone else, leaving Lexi completely alone. She was so used to it by now that she hardly noticed, let alone cared. They pulled up at school and Lexi was the first out. She waited a moment and rejoined the huddled group, trying to get into the conversation. That's how it was most of the time, being left out.
The day went by as normal and when she finally got home the first thing she did was change out of her clothes and into her dark sweats before doing her homework and then going to see her mom.
"Mom, can I have some money for shopping?"
"Sure, how much do you think you'll need?"
"A hundred bucks. I also need to borrow the car."
"Alright, but you aren't getting an allowance for the next two months," her mom said, handing her over the bills and the car keys.
"Thanks a bunch!" She called as she ran out the door to the car. She drove to the mall and went in the first shop she could find that she knew would sell what she was looking for and came out with a black hoodie, deep blue T-shirt, dark wash jeans, and black Converse. She threw the bags in the front seat of the car and smiled to herself as she drove home. This was the first step to freeing herself.
* * * * *
Lexi woke up that morning feeling much happier. She went down and ate breakfast before going upstairs and changing into her new outfit and scrubbing the blond out of her hair.
"Lex! Hurry up!" her mom yelled, as the usual routine went. She walked down the stairs, and out the door. As soon as her friends saw her, their jaws dropped.
"What the heck are you wearing?" multiple people in the car asked.
"Do you like it? It's my new look," Lexi smiled. The whole car was silent the entire ride and at school the group avoided her like the plague, even her boyfriend, the funny thing was that it didn't bother her whatsoever, they were already destined for a break up. She got complinments on her new look and had an entirely new group of friends by lunch. Because of this, Lexi knew that she was never going to sacrifice herself for another person and a reputaion she couldn't live up to. She was going to be herself and be happy, no matter what people thought.
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