Beauty and the Beast

Chapter 1

It was 8:00 in the morning, and I awoke to the sound of my alarm clock. Although it sounded like it had woken me up on the first ring, I had a feeling it had been ringing for a while. I felt a strange sensation of heat on my body and face, and when I opened my eyes I was immediately blinded by the overbearingly bright sun shining through my window. I struggled to keep my eyes open, and I struggled even more to actually get out of bed. I lay there for about 5 more minutes, and finally I realize that if I don't move now, I would most likely end up with a horrid sun burn. When I got up , I looked over at my night stand and saw my library book Along the Riverside sitting there. I remembered that I have to return it to the library today. I haven't finished the book quite yet, but it didn't matter, probably because I have already read the book front to back about 5 times. Here in our village, we only have one small book store. There are limited choices of books, mostly because the majority of the town does not share the same interest in reading as I do. I grabbed the book, and walked out to the kitchen to prepare breakfast for papa and I. As I was walking down the hallway of our small home, I was trying to remember if we have eggs. Maybe I would need to buy some before papa woke up. As I approached the end of the hallway, I was surprised to see papa in the kitchen setting eggs and toast on a plate. Had he gotten up early to prepare breakfast for us? What was the occasion? "Papa?" I asked in a quiet voice. "Ah, good morning Belle! Are you hungry?" He said enthusiastically. I walked warily over to my seat and sat down. He was in the chair right next to me, smiling. He seemed in a good mood. "Yes, thanks, But what's the occasion?" To my surprise, his face lit up even more. "Why, today is the day I go out and sell my music boxes." I didn't realize that was today. I thought he would be leaving sometime next week, but he must be eager to get them sold. "That's great papa" I said with a smile. "you've worked really hard on those." He looked proud of himself. "You bet I did. I don't think I've slept in 3 weeks! Ha ha!" I giggled and rolled my eyes at his wacky tone. "Oh, and you know what Belle? If I sell at least three of my music boxes today, you'll be able to buy that book you've been wanting. You know, the one romance story you love?" I smiled a half smile and nodded my head , then I realized what he was saying. "No, papa, you can't spend all the money on me! You've worked way too hard to just spend it all on a silly book that I can borrow anytime I please." I said firmly. "Yes, its true you can borrow it anytime, but if someone doesn't buy a book or two soon, the place will go out of business. In fact, I'm surprised it's still there." I frowned at the thought of losing my favorite place in the village. My library. I shook my head, as if to shake away the thought. It worked. "Belle? Oh,my. I'm sorry , I didn't mean to sadden you. I'm sure the library will be alright. But I still think it'd be a good idea to put some money into it. Belle?" It wasn't until then, that I realized I was staring straight ahead, stuck in my own thoughts. I quickly looked up and smiled on reflex. "No, it's okay. And ya , I think so too." I quickly pushed my plate aside. "Thanks so much for the food papa, but I'm not too hungry today. Love you, I'll see you soon." Before he could say anything, I snatched the book, slipped it into my bag and headed out the door. As soon as I walked out I felt the warm breeze on my skin. It whipped my hair all over my face, so I pulled the sides back and tied it with a blue ribbon. I walked down the steps of my porch, and what then approached by the man who comes this way, everyday. The baker. "Good morning Belle! would you care for a loaf of bread this morning? One loaf is only five dollars!" He said with the same enthusiasm as he does everyday. He never looses it. I smiled a friendly smile. "Thanks, but no thanks. I haven't got time this morning." He never dropped his smile. "Well that's too bad. Where are you off to?" " to return this book to Pere Robert. It's about two lovers from fair Verona." His face turned awkward for a moment, then he regained his cheerful expression. "That's...nice. Well you better get going, I will see you soon!" I smiled "certainly." I turned a corner and saw three blonde women, snickering at me. Although I've pretty much trained myself to ignore them, I can't help but hear some. As I walked quickly by, I heard the tallest one say "look at her hair...does she even try?" The others grimaced, and I ignored the snide comment. I continued on and soon encountered the small school building, the children were lining up to go inside. Not a single little girl was in the line. Here in my village, a girl going to school is very frowned upon. So much that most just don't go. Sad. I walked by them, and saw that they were all glaring at me. How strange, what could these school kids possibly have against me? I managed to pull off an awkward smile, and briskly walked away. When I walked a little further, I saw my happy place. My library. I walked quickly towards it ---almost tripping along the way--- and stopped right in front of the building. I smiled, took a deep breath, and walked inside. "Hello Belle," he said with an endearing smile. "Do you ever miss a due date?" His voice was teasing, but his face was pleased. I smiled shyly and shook my head. "No, I don't think so." I slid the book back on the book shelf, then leaned against the table which the register was on. I got lost in my thoughts for a moment, thinking about just how happy this place makes me. If this library ever got shut down....no. I won't think about that, I can't think about that. I snapped out of my daze, and saw Pere grab Along the Riverside off the shelf, and place it onto the table in front of me. "Um, what is this?" I asked. "Well Belle, you have been borrowing this book a lot lately. In fact , you will most likely come back tomorrow for it. I thought it would be a good idea for you to keep it." He smiled, and when I didn't say anything, he slid it closer to me while raising his eyebrows. It was hard to think of what to say. "Oh, wow , um....I can't. I mean, you can't just-just give it to me." I slid it back to him. He rolled his eyes jokingly. "Belle, you are the only one who borrows books from here so-" I interrupted him. "My dad is selling his music boxes today, he said he is planning on buying this for me, it's okay, really." He raised one eyebrow and slid it back to me. "There's no reason to have to buy it, I'm giving it to you. Please, accept the book." I looked down at my feet, then looked back up to see him smiling and gesturing for me to take it. Why not. "Okay, okay. I'll accept the book." I said mimicking his voice. He laughed, then continued to clean the bookshelves. I turned to leave, but turned around. "No, really Pere. Thankyou, this means a lot to me." He turned around with a smug smile. "I knew it would. Au revoir." "Au revoir." I smiled, hugged my book close to my chest, then walked out of the library.