RIGHT ON MADELINE
Author - Leelee
Written on - Friday 1st August 2008 (08:36pm)
"I can do anything, I can do anything" said Emma Poole to herself as she wrapped her freshly washed hair in a thirsty white towel.
"Please shut up , you are giving me a headache'' called Emma's roommate Tess.
"Oh right, sorry love, I forgot I was even saying it"
There was the sound of groaning and moaning and then shuffling footsteps in the hall to the large tiled bathroom in shades of green and brown where Emma stood applying a very sheer foundation to her almost flawless skin.
"Well why are you then?"
"Why am I what then?
Tess rubbed her temples with long perfectly manicured finers and sighed."Why are you saying that over and over then, it must be for a reason.
Emma smiled through the mirror at her red headed friend, the empitome of Trendy. Short up to the minute styled redder than red hair, long mink fake sooty lashes setting off bluer than blue eyes. Perfect nose, blinding white teeth, and a perfect size four body clothed fabulously in Alfred Sung casuals.
"Well I was watching Madeline, the movie you know with that child,oh what's her name. Anyway when she got appendicitus and was being rushed to the hospital for surgery the nun, Miss Clavell told Madeline to keep saying "I can do anything, I can do anything."
"Oh, that's nice, I suppose there can be some truth in that, though I don't have a lot of confidence in myself at any given time " Tess bit her generous red stained lips, the thing she always did when she was worried.
"See you don't have to have confidence in yourself lovey, but I do. I really do.Anyway later on in the movie Madeline and this wierd looking kid , the Spanish Ambassador's only child,they get kidnapped by the moron would be tutor and it looks bad. And Madeline remembers the words agin and believes in th em and then voila they work out a plan for freedom and so on."
Emma filled in her eyebrows with just a touch of dark grey pencil and then smudged a line over and under her eyes. The effect was dramatic, her tawny colored eyes looked exotic and mysterious. She lightly pencilled in her naturally red lips to give them a more polished look and then reached for a small vial of creme to pat on the top of that.
"But what do you mean you really need to believe that ?" Tess felt like she desperately needed to go back to sleep, the night shift seemed to leave her never feeling like she had ever had any good sleep. Her head was beginning to pound again.
Emma pulled the towel from her head and threw it into the hamper to the left of her. She quickly combed out h er long blonde hair, pulled it back into a ballerina's knot and then stared at herself for a few seconds.
"Because u nless I do a few touchups h ere and there I don't look anything special you know, just one of millions. But you look fabulous the minute you wake up, your voice is low and sultry, your I.Q. the same as Einstein's and you're rich. Plus you are an A student without picking up a book. Yet you go around drowning yourself in makeup, and worrying about your tests. It is so messed up.Anyway I have been telling myself I can do anything. Tomorrow is the first of the month and tomorrow I pull up my socks and make something of myself. I want to do something special for this world before I get put in a box. Something memorable."
With that Emma hugged her roomie and best friend since third grade, went to her room to change into a new flawlessly tailored walking suit and headed out the door."She could hear Tess yelling 'alright, right on Madeline!"
For the next two hours Emma Louisa Karen Poole walked the length and breadth of the main and most posh areas of the Town and inside her head she said " I can do anything" until the words seemed to be part of h er being.
The next morning Emma arose at four, two hours early. She had her shower, made h erself up, forced herself to have a nutritious breakfast, 'for my brain' she told herself.
She got into her car and headed for the gym she had signed up for the dav before.
The smell of rubber and disinfectant, the sight of a dozen other women, svelte and seriously working out almost made her excited about excercising early in the morning. But the thought of bed and cool sheets and hopefully a good dream dampened the experience.
Nonetheless she told herself that she indeed could do anything and pressed on.
After another shower to cleanse from an ocean of sweat Emma emerged from the gym tingling and with a glow on her skin she had not had since a young preteen.
"One down and a bunch to go" she said and ticked off 'excercise' in her little day book.
In the classroom at the small city's university/college Emma actually paid attention to every word the professors said in each of her classes. It hurt her head. She was worried her brain might not be able to absorb the shock of it. Or her eyes, she kept wondering if she might not go blind one day from suddenly staring at words so intently in book after book.
She ticked off 'pay attention' in her little cream leather book and smiled. It was beginning to be a rewarding day.
Next Emma went to the cafeteria after classes had ended for the day. Instead of hanging out with her friends and slopping down colas and chips, her favorite combination of food and drink, she piled her tray with fresh fruit salad, whole grain bread with a pat of dairy butter, a glass of milk and a small dish of chicken and steamed veggies.
It took all her courage to tuck in and inside her brain she could hear the screams' stop it stop it all that fibre will make your stomach explode. You'll die of a h emmorage in hospital.
She DID feel rather queasy and bloated but she had made a deal with herself for a month at least and a month she would do.She owed it to herself. Twenty two and never having bothered ever in the whole of her life to actually take proper care of herself. None of her friends did so why should she?
After her meal Emma snuck away through the side door of the cafeteria because she saw a group of her friends looking about for her in their usual place, a dumpy dark part of the room they lovingly called' the pit.'
Once Emma got home she sighed and thought about how this was only the first day and it seemed to have taken eight years to get to five fifteen.
Suddenly nature called and with a yelp and moan Emma headed for her own bathroom off her bedroom. After she had washed her hands and patted her sweating brow with a damp cool fresh cloth, Emma said aloud to noone' How could it be possible for one person to need the bathroom that much. I wonder if anyone eating a lot of fresh fruits or vegetables ever died from it? I will have to look that up.
She ticked off the 'good meal' and went and changed into her jeans and a comfortable jacket.
With a groan Emma left the car keys on the counter and after locking the door, headed down the street the eight blocks to the supermarket, pushing a wire shopping cart that had been purchased from an ultra chique store. Everyone into health and fitness pushed them about as they walked briskly in their designer clothes and tres expensive trainers.
Emma used to be one of those who would roll down their windows and make desultory remarks about the carts and wearing trainers with a skirt and suit top. Now she blushed in embarrasment when others looked at her. "I can do anything ' she said.
At the market she bypassed all her favorite sections, frozen pizza and fries, ice cream, white floured anything, sweet drinks. With actual tears in her eyes, knowing she was spending her entire food allowance until payday, the tall already slender if somewhat soft looking girl put all the right things inside the too shiny cart. Asparagus, celery, carrots, broccoli(mum would be proud, my friends disgusted, she thought)skim milk, one hundred percent whole wheat bread_she felt hemmeroids coming on, healthy soups, the works.
Emma was surprised her bill was less than usual. " I guess they sort of reward you for your suffering and tears' she told herself.
In bed that night Emma did not even have time to whine about her day, she was fast asleep instantly at nine, her cell phone turned off.The first day was over.
The second and third week were Hell to Emma and she told herself so much that she could do anything that she felt she was flipping out, going mad.
The fourth week every thing settled down and one night she noticed that she actually liked very much the chicken stir fry and the garlic whole wheat toast. 'Wierd' she told herself.
Tess told Emma she was looking fabulous."You've got such a glow in y our eyes and on your skin. And what's this about two A's on tests?
"Yah it's true. I guess all that actual reading and actual listening pays off.
Tess bit into a store bought pizza and then guiltily followed up with a fresh orange.
'But at least on Monday you can go back to your old way of life. You can live again Emma. You proved to yourself that you CAN do anything and that's cool, right?
It was Friday night. Emma sighed with satisfaction. "that's right, only two more days of ticking off things in my book. And then I am going to lay in bed and eat chips and drink pop until I can't stand it anymore.I can't wait.
Monday came and automatically Emma woke up at four. It was not until she was half way through her work out when she realized her month was over. "Oh well that was stupid. Oh well might as well finish the workout."
Again she automatically went through her day doing what she had for the month, and making herself angry. "tomorrow I start back down the lazy happy path' she said on the way home.
Somehow though she just never did and in two more weeks she was offered a position at a prestigious accounting firm by a top level executive who was visiting one of the professors.
"But I am only a first year student ' Emma argued.
"Yes but I am told you are a hard worker, pay attention and get your assignments done on time. And you have the look of someone who can make it to the top in time. We want to recruit such people.
"I can do anything' whispered Emma"
"Pardon"
"Oh I just said I can do anything, a line from Madeline."
"I believe you can" said the young man with a smile.
When Emma started her new job she was shaking all over. The others looked so professional, seemed so intelligent, leagues above her.
She went out on to the balcony off the main office at lunchtime and, staring down at the city and all the bustling people whispered to herself "I can do anything."
She said it quite a few times and when she went back into the office she felt a great deal better.
"I'll just try it for a month, and if I don't like it , I'll quit" she told herself.
Inside the room again Emma stopped shaking and started working.