Paper Thin

• 37: New Girl •

Melody

• Age Eleven •

"Ugh!" I heard from down the hallway. I stepped out of my room, my bare feet plopping against the hardwood floor. Dad said to make her feel welcome. She was my sister now – stepsister. This was her home too.

"Are you okay?" I asked, peering through the door of her room. Boxes were in the corner of the room, some still waiting to be unpacked.

A blonde paced back and forth in front full-length mirror. She was wearing a uniform that matched mine; a plaid skirt, a white dress shirt and a blazer on top. My heart pounded in my chest. I could do this. She seemed nice and nervous like I was. I mean, it was her first day at a new school. It couldn't be easy.

"I... I don't know what to do with my hair and it has to be perfect," Mia said. I stepped slowly into the room.

"I could braid some of it back for you... if you want me to," I suggested, not meeting her eyes. She probably didn't even want to be here.

"You'd do that?" She asked, her blue eyes wide. I nodded and sat down on her bed. Mia sat down on the floor and handed me a brush.

Brushing through her golden locks, I said, "It won't be as bad as you think, just get on their good side."

"Are you on their good side?" Mia asked. I pressed my lips together as I braided through her hair.

"Girls in my grade are mean. But they'll probably be nicer in yours."

Once I finished the braid in her hair, I tied a hair elastic around it and let Mia stand up. She walked over to the mirror and smiled. "It's so pretty." Her eyes met mine in the mirror and she looked appreciative.

***

"How was school?" My dad asked at dinner. Margot sat next to him, in the spot my mom used to sit at. I looked down at my plate. How was it possible that he was ready to have a new wife so quickly? One that was barely half as pretty as my mother. While Mia was nice, Margot had something sneaky about her. Something fake.

"It was good. These girls showed my where my classes were – 'cuz middle school is so confusing! This one is so much fancier than my old school too. But they were nice and let me sit with them at lunch," Mia said as I stuffed a spoonful of rice into my mouth. And then another, and then another.

"How about you Melody?" My dad asked.

"Same as usual." I didn't look up; I couldn't look at Margot stealing my dad away. I couldn't see his disappointment towards me, and the blooming love towards her. I could only look at my plate, and hope Leslie would bring desert quickly enough that dinner would be over.

After dinner, Margot came to my room. She glanced around the room at all the magazine cut outs on my walls and frowned. She leaned against the wall and changed her face into a smile.

"How are you Melody?"

"Good, thanks," I answered politely.

"Look, I think your father's worried about you... you've gained some weight in the past year, and I think it's because you eat so quickly. Something to remember would be that a lady takes small bites. Demure women don't wolf down their food," She said.

"Demure?" I wondered.

"It means modest, reserved a proper lady. Both girls living under this roof will be proper ladies. So, you will sit up tall and push out your chest slightly; pretty girls need good posture. You will do as you are told and look your father and myself in the eye when you speak to us."