Short Story #3 August 2022

 

• Your character is the prettiest girl in town, and all the men fight over one another for her. 
• Short story Prompt #3

Meet Alice. She is sixteen years old and lives in Beverly Hills, California. The town that we all imagine is lined with palm trees and all the wealthiest people spend their money on luxury items many of us can only dream about being able to afford. You are correct in assuming that many of these people have more money than they know what to do with.  It is no doubt a luxury to be able to call such a place your home base. Alice has never taken this fact for granted. She has always realized just how fortunate she and her family are. She grew up in a family many people could only dream of having. Both of her parents were highly educated and attended some outstanding colleges. As a result, their wealth was their backbone and having their highly touted degrees and jobs ended up making a difference in their lives and meant that they could live in an elite area without worries surrounding money.

Alice was aware of this. She always wore the latest fashions and had the latest sunglasses. There was never a day when she was underdressed or unaware of the latest trends. She felt sorry for the kids who were bullied in school because their parents couldn’t afford what was popular. So much so that she wanted to gift them with some of her more expensive items. Alice prided herself in being a generous and kind person. She wished she could give everyone the world.

Despite her privileged lifestyle, Alice was what you would consider a normal teenage girl. She liked to hang out with her small group of friends on the weekends. She and her friends were what some other teens would consider goody-goodies. They have yet to try alcohol and cigarettes and figured that they could just have as much fun without the added dangers of such substances. This idea alone made them less popular, but they actually did not mind having their own tight circle.

This made them a little less popular, but to be truthful, they preferred having their small circle rather than attempting to become friends with the entire school with the only intention of becoming popular and liked. Unlike most kids their age, Alice’s group of friends did not care about making themselves seen. They tried with all of their might to stay to themselves, and not give into the many boys who were begging for their attention and the more obvious thing, sex.

Growing up under the roof of their parents high standards, each girl in Alice’s group of friends were told to abstain from such intimacy until they were fully committed or married. They did their very best to adhere to these expectations and didn’t dare tell their parents when they had such fantasies. Even though it is seen as something that is totally normal, they thought of sex talk to be an embarrassing topic to discuss with their parents. They were teens, though, and that was something that naturally crossed their minds from time to time. Their parents would be naive to think that thoughts like this do not happen when teens are in their most crucial development stages. They would also be heavily scrutinized for not allowing their kids to express themselves, especially in a city like Beverly Hills.

So, they weren’t unaware of these things, and they were okay with the thoughts if they didn’t act on them. All the girls knew that if it were broken, as a rule, their parents would always find out someway or somehow. They were a bit like the FBI when it came to their children and men.

Sure, they could be intrusive, but it was always something that was done out of love and pure compassion. They also knew that the last thing their children wanted was to become pregnant at a youthful age and have that hinder their future travel plans. So this tight-knit group of girls had their heads on straight! That was something that both their parents and the girls themselves were proud of.

Herein lies the issue though: Attractiveness. Alice and the girls in her circle did not lack good looks.  Even though all the girls were good-looking, Alice was no doubt the one who received the most attention from the guys. She was catcalled at every corner of the streets. It was sometimes flattering, but she got tired of it quickly. Even on days where she felt rushed, with no makeup and no special attention paid to her looks, she was still whistled at. Men of every age noticed her. It is when someone that could be her dad flirted with her that she resented having good genes, but honestly, there was nothing she could do about it, so it was something that she had to adapt to and get used to.

***THE END****