Monday, January 21, 2013

Chapter 01: The Good Life


Natalie turned on the overhead speaker system in Branson Hall’s performing arts center. She had to rehearse for the upcoming Ballet and wanted to perfect her moves before she took center stage. It was her favorite piece by far and she was eager to perform whenever it came up in the rotation. Popping on Tchaikovsky’s opus #20, she placed herself beneath the spotlight and waited for the music to begin.


Blake sat in the quiet solace of his bedroom trying to get his thoughts together. He’d been struggling over the same piece for a while now and the constant buzzing from the outside world kept his mind muddled with insignificant clatter. Turning off the lamp in his semblance of a living quarters, he started towards the small door that opened towards the art department of Overton Academy. Instantly Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux bounced off the empty walls of the dark tunnels and he recognized it as Act I No. 5 of Swan Lake.


A slight smile parted his lips and he stepped into the canal to get a better listen. The sound pulled him forward and very soon he found himself climbing the steps to the empty theater and perching himself on the balcony overlooking the stage. In that moment his eyes fell on a sight he’d never before encountered and he found himself glued to the dancer on the stage and her every graceful movement. And in that moment he cussed himself for leaving his camera at home for she was the perfect subject.


Like a moth to a flame he seemed drawn to her. The expressions on her face as she spun center stage were far beyond beauty, far beyond elegance. She was an Angel personified. He leaned closer over the ledge causing the railing to squeak and quickly pushed away.

Natalie stopped suddenly and looked towards the empty sitting area of the large theater. “Hello?” she turned off the music and grabbed her jacket to cover herself. “Is anyone there?” She glanced up at the balcony and noticed a dark figure move towards the stairs and out the utility door. 


Natalie checked her watch and gathered her belongings. She was meeting Jessica and Roxanne for a bit and didn’t want to be late. Quickly crossing the path through the quad she again glanced towards the utility area and came to a stop. Someone was there, watching; and now she was almost sure of it. Taking small steps she closed the gap between herself and the tall oak near the edge of campus, her eyes affixed on the large shadow just behind the tree. “Nat!”


She turned at the sound of her name and saw Jessica and Roxanne hurrying in her direction. “Hey! Let’s get a move on ok? As tight as your schedule is, it’s hard enough sneaking in some girl time!” She smiled and waved at her friends, giving one last look towards the oak and jumped into the passenger side of Jessica’s Porsche. 



Today I did something stupid; I almost got too close. I allowed my curiosity to get the better of me and sought out the source of the melody; she was playing my music. This girl she appeared weightless, floating across the stage as if pulled on a cloud. I’ve never seen anything like it before. I want to know her name but fear it’s opening a can of worms. I’ll use my better judgment and keep my distance. She must be one of them anyway. No one attends this school unless they are rich and powerful.
-BF


“So are you excited about next semester?” Roxanne asked as the girls took seats on the outside terrace, each of them nursing a sundae of some kind.

“Me? No of course not,” Natalie sighed. “I’m still not permitted to live on campus and I already know all of the courses that I’ll be assigned to take. I’d perhaps feel more excited if I had a say in what went on in my life.” She shrugged and stabbed her spoon into her pistachio sundae.


“You should feel lucky to have parents who are attentive at least. I told my dad I was taking up law next semester and he simply shrugged and said ‘that’s nice dear’. I don’t even think he really heard me.”


They finished their midday snacks and each went their separate ways. Natalie was cutting it close getting home just two minutes before her scheduled music lessons. It was another hobby selected by her parents to groom her into the best possible lifestyle. They had high hopes for their daughter and did not intend on watching her talent go to waste. Estelle met her in the foyer, a disapproving scowl on her lips as Natalie slinked into the door.

“Where have you been young lady? You know you have an appointment with Mrs. Feingold this afternoon! I hate that you’ve kept her waiting.” 


Motioning towards Winston, her personal butler, she had him remove the bags in Natalie’s possession. “Well don’t just stand there with your mouth agape dear! She is in the living room waiting!”

“Yes Mother.” Natalie fiddled with her hands as she took long strides into the living room to meet with her violin instructor.


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A knock on the door pulled her from her thoughts and she turned to greet her butler. “What’s this?” Natalie asked watching Winston place a bouquet of roses on her desk beside a box of chocolates.

“They are from your gentleman friend, Mr. Dupree. He sends a card with his gifts.” He sat the card on the table and exited her room.


Natalie didn’t budge from her spot beside the window. Instead she turned her gaze once more to the gardens below and watched the moonlight drawing shapes on the rose bushes beneath her window. She noticed motion beside the small fountain and squinted to try and get a better look. The door to her bedroom opened once more and Caesar came strutting inside and hopped into her lap. 


She smiled and stroked his hair back behind his ears before turning to face her mother who was standing in the doorway. “These are beautiful Natalie. Are they from Riley? That boy has exquisite tastes.” Without asking permission, she pulled the small note from its envelope and began reading. “‘My sincerest apologies.’ And what may I ask is he apologizing for? You two aren’t…?”


“Mom! I’m 21 years old.”

“And what exactly does that mean, Dear?”

“It means you weren’t a saint when you were my age, you can’t expect that I am either. You were 25 when I was born!”

“Yes and your father was the only man I’d ever been with.” Natalie rolled her eyes at her mother’s blatant lies and returned her gaze out the window. She wasn’t in the mood to explain her actions to her mother or listen to her scold her about being “loose”. Riley had been her first and it was something she learned to regret a year later when she found him cheating on her with her best friend. He could keep the apologies, she wasn’t accepting anymore of his lies either. “Anyway, I came to say goodnight dear, it’s nearly 10. You should get yourself ready for bed. You have a busy schedule in the morning.”


Estelle waited for Natalie to tuck herself into her bed before shutting off the light and exiting her room. Caesar remained near the window watching the backyard. His ears perked up and he jumped up to all fours and began growling at something outside. Natalie called for him but he refused to join her in bed. 


He barked a loud, shrilly bark and clawed at the glass. “Come on Caesar! If you don’t stop you know Mom’s going to come and lock you in your room.” The dog turned with a whimper and charged for the bed, tucking himself into the other side. Natalie laughed and wrapped an arm over his tiny body. “Yeah I know I feel the same way.”


She’s a Silverman. I haven’t quite decided how to feel about that but I know one thing for certain, she’s not the person they think she is. There’s a melancholy to her looks that is ignored by the people around her. Having been in her presence for only a few minutes it was something I noticed immediately. I can only wonder what tugs at her heartstrings. At least I answered the question I wanted to know most. And now I must keep my distance.

18 comments:

  1. I like it already! Natalie's mom is a right what-not, isn't she? And Riley should be beaten, cheating is a horrible thing to do to someone.

    As for creepy mysterious stranger, I'm not sure how I feel about him just yet but I'm sure he'll grow on me.

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    1. Thank you! Yes, Natalie's mom is a wound really tight. She has the leash wrapped around her daughter just as securely too and poor Natalie is just following her right along :(

      Riley is a real dirt stain. There's a small twist to his cheating that hurt her even more. Perhaps something painful should befall him!

      LOL I hope he does! He plays a very important role for Natalie. :)

      Thank you for reading!

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  2. aww he's Phantom!!!! I love Phantom of the opera and that's him only hopefully not as mean and crazy but still tormented. He's already smitten with Nat, that hopefully will be a good thing. What happened why is he living in a dungeon?

    Um Nat's mom needs to be shot. I think her facelift was pulled too tight because she is seriously an up tight bitch!

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    1. Haha yeah he is a very sad, tormented person that has a penchant for art and music. Finding Natalie is the beginning of the end for him unfortunately. He is about to get a wake up call he could have lived without. He submits himself to the underbelly of the city to keep from harming people as we'll soon learn. He doesn't trust himself around others.

      LOL WOW that's a bit extreme, no? HAHAHAHAHAHA tell us how you really feel Meeks :P Yeah she is a little...hard to deal with. Welcome to Natalie's world!

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  3. Nat is beautiful and very talented it seems. Her mom tells her when to go to bed...really? I'm guessing she is one of those parents who pull strings?
    Blake is a very interesting character, and a bit of an odd ball. Wondering what he meant by she is one of them? One of the rich people?

    I'm likin' it!...edenz~

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    1. That's exactly Estelle. She's her only child and her mother is VERY controlling. She is in every aspect of Natalie's life and the poor girl is stifled!

      He is a deep, thought provoking kind of person with a big heart. Yes that's it, one of those uppity posh people that look down on him because of his appearance.

      Thank you for reading :)

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  4. Girl you are such a great writer! I'm interested already. So was Blake the mysterious shadow? His diary entries don't seem to indicate that for certain. Oh--and I loved her diary page! You also have excellently put together the scenery and surroundings. Very nice. Will catch the next chapter tomorrow :)

    ~Misty

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    1. Thank you :) Yes, that was him. He heard the music from the tunnels and followed it topside and saw her with her friends. After that he wanted to know who she was and so he tracked her home. Something he'll soon come to realize he should have never done. Thank you for that Misty :) I'm very happy to know you're enjoying it! Thank you for reading!

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  5. reading...
    BF is kind of creepy, but not in a totally horrid way.

    The phantom mask has me intrigued to see if you threw in some similarities.

    So many girls are in Natalie's shoes. If her parents don't watch it, she'll explode one day and make them see the consequences of their overbearing actions as she totally defies them. That, or I'm starting to ramble.

    Oh, don't even get me started on the whole cheating with the best friend thing. That's way too common for my liking as well unfortunately. Makes me want to claw their eyes out.

    Now, on to more! *growls ravenously*

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    1. Lol he is and the sad thing about that is he's creeping himself out by "not stalking" this poor girl.

      I think there are so very few similarities besides the slinking around underground, hiding from the world, loner/romantic, artistic thing. :D

      Very true! They believe they know what's best for her and don't seem to ever want to hear her opinion about her own life and that will very soon turn against them. The more she's around free spirits and sees how to be herself the more she learns of her own independence!

      Yes! It's a sad reality unfortunately and one that always has devastating outcomes for many involved. I mean, your best friend? Why would they ever want to hurt you in that way?

      Thank you for reading :D

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  6. This is great so far! Going to keep reading. I love your poses :) They make the story so much more realistic :)

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    1. Thank you! So glad you're enjoying the story so far. And I credit the wonderfully talented pose makers out there for helping create the imagery my mind dreams up :) Such amazing work in the community!

      Thank you for reading!

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  7. Just began reading, Natalie is so pretty! Blake seems to have a high level of empathy, I suppose because he knows what it feels like to feel alone and have no one there to listen to your feelings.
    It's funny, from this chapter, her life sort of reminds me of Allie's life from The Notebook with the tight schedule and over controlling parents. Not sure why I thought of her specifically. :)

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    1. Blake is a gentle spirit and knows a lot about a lot. Living under the college he's had a lot of time to listen in on classes. He does have great insight on the world around him that's for sure. The solitude does help with connecting emotionally to the things that happen around him. Interesting! I've actually never seen that movie though but that is very much how Natalie's life is. It's not hers to live at the moment but she is definitely looking to change all that!

      Thank you for reading :)

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  8. I just started reading this Dj...and I am gonna keep on reading...I sense this is similar to Phantom of the Opera....I wonder how this ends up....

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    1. Yay! And yes, I was trying for a twist of both Phantom and Beauty because they are similar in ways and I like elements of both that I thought would work well together. I am very happy to know you are enjoying it as well!

      Thank you for reading :)

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  9. I will enjoy this I am sure. The pictures are beautiful as are the characters.

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    1. It should be fun. My first "real" attempt at romance lol although my other stories have the element. I hope you do enjoy it!

      Thank you for reading :)

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