To Be Beautiful

"Back so early, Ellie?"
The question was harmless enough, but I was in no mood for it.

"This town is freakin' insufferable, mom!" I screeched, the front door swinging open with a bang.

"Dear, please don't break the door - we need it, after all!" Mom suggested, a smile still consuming her face.
Not paying her the slightest bit of attention, I stalked off in the direction of my room.

"Well, er, did you see any familiar faces?" Mom questioned, her voice carrying through the house.
Plopping down on the discarded mattress in the middle of the gray carpeted floor, I scoffed.

"Not anybody worth mentioning, no." I dismissed curtly.
I barely managed to exert enough effort to kick off my flip-flops before falling into a deep, miserable sleep.

It only took two days ofsulking around the house, that is to say, unpacking everything from our useless crap to our important belongings for something equally as stressful to happen to me.

"Eleanor, sweetie. Could you come in here for a second?" My mom called out of the blue.
Previously, I was perfectly content in playing Hello Kitty: Big City Dreams on my Metallic Rose colored DS, but at the suspiciously gentle tone my mom exhibited, I was curious.

And little did I know, it was the first clue to my impending doom.

"What do you want. . .?" I questioned, quirking a brow as I quickly saved my game before turning off the DS and discarding it upon my unkempt bed.

When I received not a single reply, I got to my feet in quite the lazy manner.
Afterwords, I found myself headed sluggishly towards the kitchen.
It was indisputable that my mother would be in there, after all it's where she always was rain or shine.

"Well. . ." My mom began carefully, fumbling over her words once I entered the aforementioned room.
For clearly needed assistance, she looked to my father.

My second clue that something wrong was afoot, was the fact that he was in the kitchen at all.

"We're going to eat dinner at Lauren and Anthony's place tonight." My father stated blandly.
His forehead wrinkled in anticipation, no doubt wondering whether or not I would put up a fight.
My dad, being the "king of his castle", proclaimed his authority enough that I was definitely not going to argue with him.

However, I couldn't help but complain. . .

"But dad. . .!" I whined my bottom lip quivering like a five year old.

"But nothing! They're your family and you don't have to like them. . ." Dad began, his eyes narrowing.

The rest of his statement silently lingered in the air, But you do have to eat dinner with them.

"-But you do have to love them. ~"

Somehow the alternative conclusion he gave was not as favorable as the one I assumed he would say.

Because after all, who could ever bring themselves to tolerate Tatum? Let alone love her.

". . .fine."Goddamn it.