Total pages in book: 124
Estimated words: 116570 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 583(@200wpm)___ 466(@250wpm)___ 389(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 116570 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 583(@200wpm)___ 466(@250wpm)___ 389(@300wpm)
Her face puffed up, and she crossed her arms.
“Because you have big hair,” Leo said.
“What?” I laughed.
“It’s like a lion.” Orien giggled. “Roar.”
Was I being made fun of?
“Vicky’s hair is big, too, but our teacher said she had to cut it or wear it less dis-dis-sacting?” Leo looked at his brother.
“Do you mean distracting?” I asked and looked at Vicky, who held her baseball cap tight.
“Yep, whatever that means.” Leo popped another chip into his mouth.
I looked back at Vicky, who was holding on to her cap for dear life. “Can I see your hair?”
“It’s ugly.”
“No hair is ever ugly,” I said back to her.
But she shook her head.
“She tried to make it straight like yours before, but it didn’t work,” Orien whispered into my ear. “She had to cut it.”
I didn’t know what he meant until Leo grabbed her cap. “See, she said no hair is ugly, and it’s not that bad!”
Her hair was short now, a small little curly top.
“Give it back, Leo!” she screamed, grabbing her hat and putting it back onto her head.
“I think it looks nice.” I smiled, cupping her face. “And if you want it long, it will grow back. Big hair is also a lot of work. My mom has to help me with mine.”
“My mommy isn’t here anymore,” she muttered, and I was just failing up and down apparently. “Daddy tries, but he needs more practice.”
“You both do, apparently.” I pinched her cheeks. “Don’t give up just because someone said something. Don’t go trying to copy people. It never works. You have to be you.”
Oh, dear God. I sounded like one of those holiday specials we’d all heard a thousand times, preaching clichés to the youth.
“See, not a big deal. Now can you help me become a knight?” Leo asked for the dozenth time, clearly frustrated.
I listened to them talk and laugh and tease each other for almost an hour before their parents came rushing. All of them were very apologetic and panicked that their children had “disturbed” me, but in all honesty, it was entertaining. I hadn’t spent much time with kids. So, seeing them talk fast, eat, and play was like an adventure of my own.
Victoria held on to her father, a thin, geeky-looking kind of guy with bright hazel eyes that hid behind thick-framed glasses.
“I hope she wasn’t overwhelming, ma’am,” he said to me in English with a heavy accent. “If so, I apologize. She’s been wanting to say her hair is like the queen’s to kids at her school.”
I froze.
Talk about a heavy burden to carry.
I glanced at Victoria, who looked back at me, her face bunched as she tried to figure out what we were saying. But from the look on her face, she seemed to know her dad was ratting her out.
“No, she was great. They all were. And thank you for letting us all spend time here. It is very nice. I’m sure the kids like having a playroom; it makes you forget you are in hospital.”
“If you’ll give us a moment, we can show you around if you’d like,” Leo and Orien’s father offered. He was the complete opposite of Victoria’s father. Very very tall and muscular. Almost like a bodybuilder, which made lifting both of his boys into his arms easy.
I glanced at Thelma, hoping she’d tell me what to do, but she just stood and looked back at me. That wasn’t her job. No one else was here but me, and it would be a bit wrong not to see the hospital where I was treated.
“Okay,” I agreed, allowing them to show me the rest of the children’s wing.
And it spread like wildfire that I was there. The hospital seemed to wake up. I said hello to the night shift nurses and doctors and a few children sitting by their parents’ side. They all lit up when I came to see them as if I were someone super important. As if I had any real power over them. I was just me, just a rich girl from Seattle. I didn’t know anything. I couldn’t change the world. I couldn’t make their day easier. Nothing in their lives would change from meeting me or not meeting me. I did not want to be queen in the beginning. I accepted it eventually because I wanted to be with Gale. But deep down, I still didn’t want to be anything but my complicated self.
“I’m not a hero,” I whispered to Thelma when I finally reached the door of my room. “I’m not even a princess. I’m a girl who fell in love with a guy who happened to be a prince. So why did those kids—that little girl—want me to be their savior?” I glanced back at her, and she stared blankly at me. “I can’t even save myself. That’s why I’m leaving.”