I still have scars from eleven years ago, the trauma that still brings me goosebumps whenever the memories come back. How can I ignore the past and focus on the future after spending a year in hell?
My name is Priscilla, and this is my story.
I was a nine-year-old young girl who moved from Japan to the U.S. Like most little girls, I had a broad mindset and ambitious dream, but I also had a lethal flaw - naiveness. The private school my diplomatic father was able to afford for me to attend mostly contained white people. Their parents were conspicuously from the upper class and sneered at us when we walked past their children. Despite being one of the only Asians, I was mesmerizingly attractive to the whites. I knew the other Asian kids were envious of me, but they would be pugnacious whenever I walked past them.
I quickly became friends with two stunning yet introverted girls (Maya and Bexley). They both had creamy-blonde hair, and pale-blue eyes that were as large as the porcelain dolls I had, and their skin was pale. They approached me on my second day and coerced me to sit with them. Since then, I got to receive most of the attention from the school. I could see the other Asian kids sitting in the corners of every classroom, and they would glare at me with envy. I felt pitiful for them but took their pain for complacency, like always. The twin girls taught me how to do makeup as well as let me play with some of their finest toys.
I got to know they were from France, but their father had abandoned them when they were quite young. Their mother, another socialite, instantly married off to an upper-class man, so they migrated to the U.S. They sounded quite grim when they told me after seeing me with my tight-knit family. I could tell Maya, one of the twins, was a bit envious and upset when she saw my mother kiss me the night we were having a sleepover. After that day, Bexley became less benevolent towards me, but her callousness was subtle enough for me to be oblivious.
"Gee, you're the beauty of your race," one of the older girls, around 12 years old, would say whenever I passed by her locker. "I bet you were mistaken for the whites!"
"Uh, thank you," I'd reply in an awkward yet vain demeanor. "Daddy used to say I'm a princess but only in our home!"
"Priscilla, don't forget the crowning princess night is coming up. Make sure your daddy buys you something glamorous to wear," Bexley said that afternoon while walking off with her sister.
"Of course. I bet you two would look like queens!" I laughed while walking off.
My hair was properly done by one of the local Japanese hairdressers, and I wore a white dress with long, shin-length stockings. My long, dark hair was worn down with a large, white lacy bow. I wore some light makeup that highlighted my facial features. The night came as fast as I expected, and I could tell some boys were staring at me. Ironically, the twins came with the exact same outfit and hairstyle as me, but their dress and bow were black. Their hair were strengthened instead of curled. Contrary to my presumption, the kids payed less attention to them. I could tell Maya was getting upset, but she became cold when I tried to embrace her.
The evening came, and we all danced around in the stadium. Some young men offered to hold my hand to the centre, but I refused. I shoved sweets down my throat voraciously and noticed the twins were not in the dance room. I searched the crowd of kids, but some of them agreed they hadn't seen them since the start of the night. Their unusual attitude befuddled me back then. Looking back, I known their schemes better. I went out of the stadium to look for them, but there were no print they ever entered the school.
Towards the end of the night, the annual announcement of the crown princess came. The crowd were rioting for me to become the princess despite being Asian. The speaker, our principal, was baffled to see such belligerence from the children. In the end, he declared me to be the crown princess alongside the blaring cheers from the crowd. Among the crowd of children, I could see the twins standing with no sign of movement. Both of them had stoic faces, and they were staring at me with cold, threatening looks. Neither of them smiled nor clapped, but they just stood within the crowd and stared at me.
"Priscilla, you really are the astounding Xi Shi!" I could hear my mother shouting from the background, embarrassing me.
My perturbance was quickly distracted by some other kids, the white ones, whom were clambering to the stage to embrace me. At the end of the night, I quickly noticed the twins had vanished once more. I wanted to use the toilet so I made an excuse to my parents. I can't recall what happened but I remember collapsing to the ground in the toilet. All the sounds from the children at the end of the night became blurry, and I lost consciousness.
When I woke up, I was tied to the ground with my limbs shackled. I could feel intense pain coming from my thighs as well as stomach. My head was throbbing in sharp pain, and my eyes stung as they opened. My vision were still blurry, but I could smell blood. My bemusement exchanged for turmoil as I saw the twins standing a meter away from me. They both had a dagger in one hand while another with a smile. I knew they had cut me while I was unconscious, yet I refused to believe such girls would betray me like that. My parents' car couldn't be heard in the distance anymore, and I knew I was in another place.
"You think you, the filthy little yellow rodent, can outdo us?" Bexley said with a grin. "You're pathetic, always will be!!"
"I... I don't understand," I tried to refrain myself from sobbing.
"We've been on the magazine since we were young, Priscilla. How dare you take us away!!" Maya shouted with tears streaming down an eye. It puzzled me as to how she could try with only one eye.
Those girls were insane and malignant, but my mind became too fogged with fear and pain to think straight. I closed my eyes and knew my fate would approach. Maya dropped the dagger and held out a candelabra while Bexley approached me, still holding her dagger. I could tell that one of the twins was more reluctant to hurt me. However, I knew they came in pairs.
"You'll end here tonight, little rodent!!" Bexley said as she was approaching me, "your beloved mommy can't save you now. I'LL END YOU!!" Bexley laughed while approaching me.