Elenore Chang: Chapter 1

Instructions

Elenore stood in front of the mirror as she brushed her hair carefully. Her relatives were coming today and if they found her hair in a tangled mess, she would be doomed to eternity. Not like that didn’t happen last time they came to visit. Last time they came, Elenore played //The Four Seasons// in B major on the violin. She thought it was going well until her //Nai Nai// asked her why she didn’t do it in A major. When Elenore said it sounded more professional in her chord, her Nai Nai just ticked her tongue and muttered something about her failing Hogwarts. Elenore still didn’t understand what she meant. Her violin instructor had told her that B major was significantly harder than A major. So why was she disappointed that she didn’t play on the easier scale? And //how// would playing in B major contribute to her failing Hogwarts once she would start attending it in the fall? The memory wove into her mind like thread; something so confusing that she would never forget it. The brush dangled in her fingers, forgotten, as she studied the girl in the mirror—a face at once familiar and foreign, as if she were seeing herself through someone else's gaze. She was already so beautiful, with a thin blanket of black hair covering her head and eyes which kissed corners. According to her ego, she didn’t even //need// to put on makeup. Suddenly the door opened with a loud //bang//, and Cho appeared from the doorway. She looked the same as Eleanore except shorter with wider hips from puberty. Which was ironic, considering that Cho was much older than her. “Have you seen my lip balm?” Cho asked as she walked into the room and threw the pillows off Elenore’s bed and scanned the sheets. “Why would I have your lip balm?” Elenore asked, raising an eyebrow. Her gaze soon came up to Cho’s soft-yellow sweater that covered her body. “You always wear the cutest sweaters” she added. Cho gave a soft smile as she took her eyes off the bed to view Elenore. “Thank you!” “No!” Elenore said suddenly, snatching a pillow that Cho threw on the ground. “//I// ALWAYS WEAR THE CUTEST SWEATERS!” and she hurled the pillow at Cho with full force. “臭货!” Cho cursed as she dodged the pillow and snatched the one lying by her foot. Elenore barely had time to react before Cho launched the pillow straight at her face. It hit her with a soft //thump//, sending her stumbling back a step. She gasped as if she was betrayed by someone she trusted. “How dare you!” she cried as she grabbed another pillow from the floor. Cho smirked, already reaching for another pillow. “You started it, you egotistic brat.” They soon started fighting like their life depended on it. Pillows flew everywhere like imaginary planes soaring and soon crashing into the hard floor. Until, without warning, a voice came in. “Have you seen the letter t Hogwarts sent Elenore?” The sisters looked up as their older brother, Leo, asked from the doorway. “Mama wants it to so she can brag Auntie Suzane that Elenore was accepted into Hogwarts at only ten years old” “Oh,” Elenore sighed as she rolled her drawer open, revealing a letter closed with a red seal on top, “Here you go” she said as she handed the letter to Leo. “Thanks,” Leo thanked before adding, “You two better get ready, they’ll be here soon” and then he left Cho groaned and flopped onto Elenore’s bed, her hair now a tangled mess from the pillow fight. “Ugh, I don’t wanna see Auntie Suzane. She always asks me when I’m getting a boyfriend. I’m only //thirteen//!” she sighed as she tilted her body to lie down Soon, they heard arguing coming from downstairs. “我应该在你还在子宫里时就杀了你!” It was their mother’s voice ringing from the floor below, which only meant one thing. Auntie Suzane and Uncle Steven have arrived.