The Red Demon
Whitney Elizabeth Houston, She was one of the first black women to appear on the cover of Seventeen after becoming a teen model in 1981. src,
The Insecure Angel
Frozen in time in front of the door to my classroom, staring hopelessly at the glass panel. Mom says I look like Whitney Houston in a body of a junior high schooler, but with these thick round glasses, who am I kidding.
'I am ugly...'
"Ayesha, let's go inside,"
Turned and saw my teacher smiling at me, still pretty, still pale as a ghost, ushering me inside... everyone is silent, everyone is as pale as a ghost.
My daily pilgrimage of walking towards my seat in the back row, behind a girl who is always staring at her flower garden by the window, is terrifying.
The whispers I hear, the eyes that bear — indifference.
'I want to cry,'
'I want to go home,'
'I —,'
"Class, Hiiro of... ahem, you all know who Hiiro is, he will transfer here for the time being... please welcome him."
'Hiiro!?'
Looking down and biting my fingernails, how pathetic can I get. Hiiro, the school's so-called red demon. I can still remember the rumors, defeating a rival gang and going to school with blood all over him, bullying a lot of our seniors, then sending them home crying to their mamas.
'When he sees me..'
'When he sees me...'
'He is going to... no one will help me.'
'I want to go home!'
'I want to go home!!'
'I want to go home!!!'
"Hey, you alright?"
My eyes met his, it is brown and he is not that scary. Just a normal white boy with disheveled black hair and droopy eyes. He is talking to me like... I am just a normal girl.
"Are you alright? Do you want me to go to the nurse's office?"
"Yes, I am fine... just surprise... hahaha."
I feel like an idiot laughing.
'I want to hide inside my bag,'
"That is good then, I'll be sitting here next to you if you don't mind... as it is the only seat available."
"Sure be my guest,"
He is different from the others... I wonder how he sees me, who am I kidding.
' I am —'
"You sure look pretty,"
I think my heart just stop, he said it with an expressionless face. The dead silence of the whole classroom is deafening... and the red demons' face suddenly — flush!?
The classroom is suddenly in an uproar, and he just stood up and face everyone.
"The hell are you all laughing at! I just said the truth... she's pretty. Hey, you listen to me... I am going to kill you if you don't!"
Everyone is laughing, I am laughing, but I also want to hide inside my bag. Everyone is saying that I am pretty, I am pretty, but I still want to hide inside my bag.
but,
'I want to stay,' :)
FIN
Author's Note
Got no comment for the story, but I am pretty sure she lead a very normal high school girl life after that, and Goodluck to the red demon, I say. 🤣
Whitney Elizabeth Houston, who doesn't know her songs, her achievements... well, if for some really odd reason you don't, here is a link
All links go to Wikipedia.org
The first image was originally posted to Flickr by kejuliso at https://flickr.com/photos/45831755@N06/6860317611. It was reviewed on 19 April 2021 by FlickreviewR 2 and was confirmed to be licensed under the terms of the cc-by-sa-2.0. Image source
Dreemport Logo and Ink Well Logo were borrowed for promoting this event.
Else, pictures and banners in this post were made or taken by myself, ©@khoola. In the cases when they were taken from other sources, I stated it in the sub-caption of the pictures.
Your story starts off by drawing our interest and you're able to maintain that to the very end. Good job.
I wonder why the main character isn't confident in her looks. For two different people to claim she's beautiful it means she is.
I also wanted to commend you on your awesome banner. How do you make them?
hi @bos, I think a lot of people suffer with self-esteem issues. There is a hint that perhaps she feels ugly having to wear glasses. for some children especially, this can be quite traumatic and impact their self-image immensely. Others may just brush it off and enjoy the experience. I think what makes me feel this is this:
Yes it seems so, hopefully the arrival of hiiro will help her raise her self esteem. You know I once experienced something similar to this, but I'm one of those who learnt to shrug it off.
!PIZZA
I am sorry that you have had to experience such issues. It is not easy. I have experienced similar too after being teased. In the end you have to move forward and focus on what is important. Immerse ourselves in real friendships with those who don't make us feel less than...much like the hope is for these 2 kids in this story. Thank you for the follow, I appreciate it.
Yeah, moving forward is the major, if not only way out of it.
I read your intro post and I was moved. I just had to drop a follow. I didn't drop a comment there, but may I suggest you check out @dreemport. It's this site where you drop your posts and others who use the site get to see it. But before you do that you have to read and rank five other people's posts. It doesn't eradicate lack of engagement but i noticed I get a bit more engagements when I put my post there.
Another cool thing is it doesn't necessarily have to be a hive post, people from other sites drop their post there.
They also host contests regularly. As a matter of fact this post is an entry to one of them.
Here's the link to the site. It also has a discord server where we interact and ask questions but I know you're not on discord at the moment.
If you have any questions feel free to ask me or @dreemsteem (p.s: she's the founder)
Thank you man. Is this like another Hive community then? It's like information overload in here 😆 Appreciate you looking out for me. Maybe I can find out a bit more about it.
No it's not a community. More like a tool to give your posts more visibility. And in the process you also meet new people. @dreemsteem (hope I haven't tagged you too much) is in the best position to explain this.
I totally get what you mean. In my first months (wasn't really active) here It felt like there was just too much to learn, but with time it gets easier.
There's still more for me to learn, but that's the fun thing about hive, there's endless possibilities. Looking forward to seeing more of you on the blockchain.
thanks man. If feels like a slow process to start. But I'll get there. I am going to try to do this Inkwell prompt this week, and explore a bit more. I'm enjoying the conversations though, and learning a lot! You are very kind and supportive. I appreciate that in a person.
Thank you . I'm looking forward to seeing more from you.
thanks buddy, I just dropped my post for this inkwell prompt. I hope you like it.
@b0s, you may have missed it, but DreemPort is doing a spotlight on The Ink Well community and we are collaborating for the month of January.
You can see the announcement post here, and our prompt launching the challenge here.
Oh yes, I didn't miss it. I'm actually working on something. Looking to post it and submit it before today ends.
Thank you very much, I hope the story wasn't confusing or so... I am practicing my eh... "female" voice 🤣, and telling the story in that perspective.
For the banner, I use PhotoScape X on PC.... the size is 1000(px) in length and the height is around 200-350(px) depending on how much you put in.
In PhotoScape X there are options for cutting out pictures and shapes (hence the logo)... I make 3 backgrounds (dreemport, inkwell, and my name). PhotoScape has a tab for making GIFs just put them in the order you want to show... there is also a timer for how long it shows, what type of animation.. mostly I used the "dissolve" animation.
then put it in infinite looping.
here is the markdown command for putting a link on an image:
hope this helps... if anythings else... Just Holler!
Thank You Very Much!
Too bad I don't have a pc at the moment,but I've bookmarked for when I need to.
aah, so the rumoured bully is actually one of the good guys, only getting into trouble because he stands up for what is right. I like it very much. And for a young girl who already feels alienated, an outsider in a world within which she doesn't believe she fits, his presence would have created a lot of fear of further ridicule and shame. Instead he reveals his heart to her and a beautiful friendship may just have begun. Long may it last with her unlikely hero. Very nicely written indeed.
Thank You Very Much friend your kind words inspire me... truth be told, this is the first I am writing from a female's perspective, I hope it wasn't confusing or so.
Thank You very much! It really lightens my heart... Happy New year, may it be prosperous and full of joy!
Well I think you did a very good job of switching between voices. Not confusing in the least. Hey thank you for the follow, I appreciate it friend. Happy New Year to you too. Joy... I like that 😊I wish the same for you.
That—, very-very a good job. Was what Ayesha met was the mentioned Hiiiro?
Fortunately, yes... I believe so,
Thank you very much for stopping by and reading my story, I really appreciate it.
Happy New Year, and may God Bless you and your family!
your story writing is so beautiful it seems that you are a established writer.
Ghad no, I am not 🤣... I am far from established, I am still learning a lot... and there are still too much to understand.
Especially how to deliver this story in a better way... I am pretty sure there is. I just don't know it yet.
Thank you very much for stopping by, I really appreciate it a lot...
Friend, Happy New Year... may it be proseperous and full of joy!
Hi Khoola. I love your story because I can relate. Ayesha, I believe is her name, hides more inside herself, believes the voice in her head that says she's ugly until Hiiro changes her thought about her looks and inevitably her self esteem.
Well done with this story. Best of luck in the challenge.
Thank you very much for stopping by, I really appreciate your comment and it gives me insight to my story.
again Thank You Very Much...
I don't know if I already said this but, Happy New Year... may God Bless you and your family!
I think this is what most people go through - lack of self esteem. I enjoyed your story. Hiiro saved Ayesha from herself and defended her before the whole class too. You write beautifully. I like Whitney Houston and her songs too.
Ghad, I really appreciate your kind words...
Thank You for spending a bit of your time to read my story... it really warms my heart!
Happy New Year,may god bless you and your family!
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What a pleasure to read your sensitive story in which you take the voice of a girl who thinks she is ugly, when in fact she looks like Whitney Houston.
It is also a pleasure to read the amount of comments you have achieved with your publication.
I like the freedom and spontaneity of your characters and the treatment of dialogue in your story. I am struck by the existence of two different titles in the post.
I look forward to continuing to read you, @khoola.
Thank you very, I am glad you liked my story... and I really appreciate your kind words, and it gives me insight to my work.
again thank you very much.
Thank you for posting this sensitive story in response to @theinkwell's weekly call for entries, @khoola.
Thanks for supporting the community with your meaningful comments to the other writers.
Thank you... it was my pleasure.
Is this a contest or free write. Is this related to Inkwell. !PIZZA
@beyondhorizonmm, this story was published in The Ink Well community and is based on our latest writing prompt, "Unlikely Hero," which you can find here.
It's short fiction, short story writing (not freewrite)... for the Inkwell community of short fiction writers (every week members write a story according to a prompt).
Dreemport is currently holding an event for the month of January in the Inkwell Community, it's a small collaboration, with prizes and all.
!PIZZA
Very interesting and heartfelt story, @khoola. Insecurity is very painful for those who experience it. Who knew a well-known bully could be an unexpected hero? Nicely done.
Thank You Very Much, I really appreciate it :)
Hey this was a great post I really love your writing style I love how you turned the red demon into a white angel but still has that vitriol to stand up for others great post man.
!PIZZA
Thank You Very Much! I really Appreciate you coming by... have a great day!
Mat! This is fabulous. I love how you explored her vulnerability and low self-esteem issues using a female voice. And then you provided a connection with an unlikely new classmate who may himself just be a misunderstood young outcast. It seems that they may be about to save each other from themselves. You should have used this creative commons wiki link for the pic to make it perfectly clear that you had the rights to use the image although most WIKI images are free to use outside of WIKI. If you simply click on the photo in wiki it takes you to the source page of the photo in wiki and shows the photographers name and creative commons licence. !PIZZA !ALIVE !LUV
@khoola! You Are Alive so I just staked 0.1 $ALIVE to your account on behalf of @samsmith1971. (6/10)
The tip has been paid for by the We Are Alive Tribe through the earnings on @alive.chat, feel free to swing by our daily chat any time you want.
Thank you as always, for the lovely comment... yes, it may be a start of a really strong bond between the two of them, I probably should consider making another portion of the story in the future.
Thank you, very for taking this to my attention, I will rectify it as soon as possible.
Never judge a book by it's cover, or a person by rumors. This story beautifully shows that.
Everyone can use a Hiiro(foreshadowing?) every once in a while in their lives.
#Dreemport #pypt
Hiiro has a lot of meaning... one is "brilliant red scarlet" hence red demon
but for this story, it is a kind of "pun" because the prompt is: Unlikely Hero
Thank you for spending the time to read my story, I really appreciate it...
I sees.
@khoola I enjoyed your story. Well told and good use of the internal dialog by the girl "who didn't realize that she was beautiful".
And all bullies are not the same, as you showed us. This is what happens when stereotypes take over and no effort is made to discover the real person behind them.
Also, while this has nothing to do with the story, I am impressed with the thorough way that you sourced your images and links!
I am really glad that you like my story... and your kind words, I really appreciate them truely!
Yes, it really common to judge people on face value alone.. and not try to make an effort to really know the person.
Sourcing of the images, resources and researches... I make it as thorough as possible, it is a good habit being a writer, a blogger... and a really good friend, reminds me to make its so, as she curates it and submits it to The Guild for evaluation. 🤣
Thank you very much, I really apprecite it!
Lol...I can relate...
hehehehe i loved this one too!!!!!!!!!!!!
Your mind spins such intriguing tales!!! I didn't know what to expect reading this one - about a red demon! hehehe
but it really resonated with me so much. This is what it was like when I was in school. hehehe I was the only one with a different color skin - in a sea of white everywhere LOL
I didn't feel so bad that I wanted to go home - but I never really felt like I belonged exactly. But I remember when someone told me I was pretty! hehehe You really captured that feeling well here 😍
Your comment really made me happy! I was wondering if I mismanage my words... and couldn't show how of different color she is from the class.
This story is derived from memory as most of my stories are.
In truth, I personally didn't know exactly how she felt... but I did know she is insecure with her looks especially her color.
and,
I did actually — accidentally blurted out (loudly) that she is pretty just because I was pissed at how pretty she thinks everyone is, which made a huge commotion.
she smile a lot more after that... we didn't talk or I just avoided.
My reputation isn't that bad at school either just so happen fight comes my way... "just because"... some say my eyes are brown, looks black to me.
Thank you very much for dropping by... I really appreciate it!
Hehehee look at mine
Mine are black also 🤣
Some say...no brown eyes..
But nope..you can see the pupil if you have brown eyes.
You cannot see the pupil in black eyes 😂
And I didn't know it was you that was the Red Demon hahahaha
Now I know!!!
👹 hahahahhahaha
"You sure look pretty" 😊
hehehehee I hope the class doesn't laugh at us now! LOL
Ghad, hope they don't... I don't want to act tough just to cover up my bashful nature.
hehehe don't worry - if they laugh - we will just smile and let their laughter roll off us.
We have the strongest eyes in the world. There are none more protective than black eyes. hehehe So - we are safe :)
I'll hide inside your bag... just to be sure it is safe 🤣
Check the latest @DreemPort post for the winner's announcement! Thank you SO much for entering the challenge!