A Change in Appearance [Open]

Ella walked down the hallway, a small purse in hand, to the girls lavatory. She didn't want to be ugly Ella anymore. She never seemed to be noticed anymore, she wanted to be beautiful. Her aqua eyes, searched for the door in the dark hallway and watched as her hands pushed it open.

Ella walked over to the sin and looked herself in the mirror. ""You're a monster, hideous, stupid, pathetic and worthless!" she screamed at her reflection. Pouring out the contents of the purse, she grabbed the scissors. Without a word, she snipped at her hair until it was all the way up to her shoulders. Goodbye waist long hair. Scattering the items around, she searched for the faint green hair dye before added streaks to her now short hair.

Once she was satisfied with her hairs length, colour and the way it still hung in curl, she grabbed the needle and ring. Holding her breath, she grabbed the needle and shoved it through her eyebrow without a single whimper of pain. Replacing the needle with the ring, she sunk down to the floor in the midst of all her hair and cried, jumping when she heard the footsteps. She hated herself now more than ever but at least she was pretty.

Aylee was walking by the girl's lavatories when she heard a scream coming from inside. She froze at the sound as she remembered how she used to say that to herself when she was back in primary school. Slowly, she opened the door and looked inside. In there she saw the figure of someone crying.
Is that... Ella? she thought.
Aylee walked over to Ella saw what she had done. She saw the hair on the floor and figured that Ella must have cut it and noticed the green streaks in her hair. Then she saw the ring in her eyebrow. Aylee couldn't think of a reason for Ella to do that. A small frown formed on her face.
"W...why?" Aylee finally asked.

"Why not?" Ella replied soddenly. "Maybe people will like me for once if I changed." she explained, leaning against the wall. Thoughts raced through her head as the tears streamed down her face. She was tired of everything. She felt tossed onto the back burner. She felt lonely and most of all she was confused.

Aylee watched sadly as more tears appeared on Ella's face.
"You're trying too hard to be someone you don't want to be," she said softly.
She didn't feel nervous around Ella anymore. Somehow, she knew what she was going through. Nobody noticed her... that happened to her too. She remembered how she used to cry everyday before she went to sleep and called herself worthless and useless.

"I just want to be liked," Ella whispered. She felt on the verge of a breakdown. She felt she was falling deep into a black abyss and there was no reason to try to get out. She felt herself down-spiraling, going out of control.

Aylee knew that Ella didn't know what she was doing.
"Everyone will like you..." she pointed out. "But you won't. Everyone likes you because you are yourself... nothing else."
She wanted Ella to understand her.
"Look at me," Aylee said. "What do you see? A stuttering dork... Do I change it? No... I am being myself. That's what you should do. You shouldn't try to be something you don't want to be."

Ella looked up at the girl and for the first time she noticed how young she was. "You're not a dork." she replied. "It's a little too lat now, isn't it?" Ella finished sighing. She knew deep down inside, everyone would be mad now and most likely call her names.

"Believe me, I am," Aylee grinned, trying to brighten up the mood. When she realized she had failed, she tried to think of something to make Ella feel better. Then she figured out that she might as well know what happened.
"Why did you do it anyway?" she asked. "You are liked... you have lots of friends. What... changed?"

"I don't have a lot of friends." Ella said dryly. "They're all being taken by Shah and my sister and I just don't know what to do anymore." Ella picked at the hem of her robe, feeling like a disappointment to her family and Slytherin.

Aylee tried to hold back her tears. She understood how Ella felt. She brushed away a few hairs that were in front of her eyes and tried to think.
"I'm your friend, aren't I?" she finally said, hoping to make Ella feel better.

"I 'spose, but I don't even know your name." Ella replied, almost accidentally speaking in French. All of a sudden, he felt bad for being mean to Shah and Elita and everyone else she'd ever been mean to. Years of bad memories came flooding back to her.

"I'm Aylee," she said. "I'm one of the journalists for the school newspaper?"
Then she looked at all the hair on the floor. Slowly, she stood up and started to pick it up. Aylee crossed towards a cubicle, threw it into the toilet and flushed. Sighing, she walked back over to Ella.

Ella instantly recognized her as the newest journalist. She watched as Aylee picked up all the hair and discarded it. "You didn't have to do that." Ella said as she stood up and looked in the mirror.

"Well, you won't need it now," Aylee replied.
She watched as Ella looked at herself in the mirror. She had literally no idea what to do. What should she do?

"I know I won't need it." Ella said as she packed everything back up in her purse before throwing it to the floor and sitting on the sink. The young girl looked to be in Ravenclaw, and no doubt was a first year.

Aylee rested her back on the wall, opposite of Ella. She had no idea what to say as they stood there in silence.
"Your sister is Ellie, right?" she asked suddenly.

"Yep, Ellie, the one who claims to be a seer though I'm not believing it." Ella said as she thought about her own special gift.

Aylee was unsure if she should ask what she wanted dearly to know. Should she? No. But I want to know...
"Why did you hurt her?" she blurted out before she could stop it.

Ella thought for a bit. "Because, our mother and father would most likely be alive still if she wouldn't have been born." she replied slowly, waiting for any more questions.

"Why would she be the reason that your parents are dead?" Aylee bit her lip, trying not to reveal that she knew their secret.

"Because, our grandparents were death eaters and killed them for having children that weren't going to turned to the dark side. They also hated the fact that our parents never turned. They were fine with just me but once Elita was born, it sent them on a rampage.Our grandmother is a seer and can foresee both of our futures." Ella explained.

"So what are you and Ellie going to do?" asked Aylee, unable to hold it in. "If you are orphans, where will you two go after the end of the term?"

"Well, Elita's most likely being adopted by Professor Vega, she never knew our mother so Professor Vega is the closest thing she has, but me, I'm not sure. I may find my grandparents and live with them." Ella shrugged.

Aylee felt calmer about the fact that Ellie was going to be adopted but not that Ella was going to live with her grandparents.
"But then they'll turn you over to the Dark Side!" she exclaimed.

Ella shrugged. She didn't really care at this point. "There's also the chance that they're not even alive anymore." she gulped back the thought that they really were orphans.