*
...a young girl's laughter... "and I heard that Bobby likes Tina, but she won't even look at him because he's in 7th grade like her and she's going out with a freshman"... costume jewelry and hidden stashes of make-up, dream slumber parties and long notes...
...a small apartment in a bustling city... Deling City... Traffic sounds invade the small bedroom as a young girl with curls of brunette hair and surprising streaks of silver laughs and talks on the phone; speaking of life and school and future dreams. Her eyes are bright with laughter; her face is beautiful with the grace of youth muted by a bruise on the left cheek and a scar on her forehead near her left temple. One of her fingers is wrapped in a splint made of popsicle sticks.
There is a slam from the living room. The young girl sits up, her eyes darkening with a look of fear. "I-I've got to go, Seifer. Dad's home. ... No. I'll be fine. ... I know. ... Seifer, I've got to go--"
The bedroom door slams open, revealing a large man with a wrinkled uniform and a haggard expression of exhaustion and anger. The young girl's eyes open wide and she drops the phone; her thin form begins to tremble. The man strides forward and grabs the phone from her hand, ripping the line from the wall and throwing the phone across the room. He slaps her hard across the face.
The blow sends her over the side of the bed and onto the floor.
"Damn useless bitch. Get out there and make dinner! Don't ever let me catch you slackin' off again." He tromps around the bed and grabs her by the arm, throwing her ahead of him to the door as she whimpers and cries. "Shut up! Or I'll give you something to cry about!"...