"Okay... You can do this.." Paulena says to herself in the mirror as she begins to feel anxious.
Today was the first day of running her very own vendor for her newly developed dessert foods, Paulena's Pastry Parlor. The young woman was dressed well for this occasion, wearing a white shirt, a khaki skirt that stopped right above her knees, and her priced black stilettos that were gifted to her as a present from her late father for when she became 18. However, as her anxiety climbed from the grand opening of her side hussle, Paulena found herself began to smile a toothy grin, which in turn caused her to cover her mouth in disgust.
The young woman suffered from Angelman Syndrome. This condition, at least for her, replaced any visual indication of sadness or distress with that of smiling or laughter. Though it was not her fault, this syndrome has caused her plenty of trouble in the past. In one major instance, she was swiftly thrown out of the funeral of her late friend because to the mourning family, Paulena's sobs were akin to that of laughter, even though tears of immeasurable grief fell from her glowing pink eyes on that day. Ever since that incident, She has had a reflexive habit of placing one or both of her hands over her mouth anytime she felt a negative emotion beginning to overtake her. Paulena feared what people thought of her.
This unfortunate disorder was very sadly accompanied with a genetic anomaly in her DNA program that made her natural brown hair turn a bright shade of silver, which was permanent as long as the hair was physically attached to her head, Paulena Pollux knew she was considered a freak amongst Cinthyan society: Men and/or women with non heterosexual preferences, hairstyles and/or colors, no occupation, or were sex workers, and low relevancy score were the most undesirable people to be around in this society even in the lower class area she grew up in. In her mind, if a good chunk of people thought she was a freak in her own neighborhood, what would the upper and elite class locals think of her?
"No!" Paulena shouted while lowering both her hands from mouth and staring into her own eyes in the mirror.
"Don't let what she said get into your mind palace, Paule..."
After doing a quick once over to make sure she looked nice and presentable, the young lady looked at herself in the mirror one last time and flashed a peace sign to herself as well as a genuine smile of acceptance. Paulena then proceeded to grab what appeared to be a aluminum gold smartwatch with a pink wristband off from her bathroom counter, attached it to her left wrist, and activated the device by pressing the buttons on the top of it using her right index and thumb fingers. The young woman then waited approximately 6 seconds before being enveloped in a pink beam of light...
Meanwhile, a pair of Cinthyans, one man and the other a woman, stand in front of a black cube like table with a pink table cloth on top. Atop the table was a portable radio as well as a black and pink cube like device. The older couple had been waiting at the vendor for nearly 2 minutes and were starting to grow impatient.
"What's taking that unsightly gal so damn long?" The woman asked the older man as she stared at the table, visibly irritated by the fact that nobody was at the vendor.
"Dear, be respectful. Calling the young lady unsightly may hurt her feelings if she had heard you..." he replied to his wife with sincerity, seeing her roll her glowing eyes in annoyance.
Before the woman could respond, a pink beam of light appeared mere inches from in front of her and the man, and shortly after, Paulena materialized in between them as well as the vendor she had set up in a flurry of pink energy particles. The pair's face soon lit up with excitement.
"Sorry I took so long!" The young lady spoke in an excitable tone, the pair of older Cinthyans more happy that they were about to eat than seeing her.
"I normally don't get customers this early in the day, hehe! I'm humbled!"
It was then that the man and woman first looked at one another and then to Paulena, who held a bright smile the entire time even though feelings of concern were welling up inside her.
"Um, We weren't decided on whether or not my wife and I were going to grant relevance to you for your dessert food, Ms. Umm..."
"Paulena." the silver haired woman chimed in, starting to feel very anxious all of a sudden.
"Our primary reason for our presence at your vendor was the free samples, young lady." said the wife with vitriol in her tone of voice, Paulena's anxiety levels shooting through the roof.
"I heard today was 'Snickerdoodle Cookie Orbs'! Something I could actually enjoy other than the fruity crap you've been selling lately..."
"You've heard correctly..." The young woman responded with apparent glee due to her neurological condition, actually feeling extreme sadness due to the insult to her fruit pastries.
She was crushed emotionally on the inside. This would be the first day of 60 in a row that potential patrons of her pastry parlor went straight for her free samples. Every time this happened, Paulena would know that the partakers would simply consume her product, go about their day, and most likely never return. The young lady would assume that she was to blame, chalking herself up as an undesirable sight, but in reality, she was the 'Cooking Queen' by her neighborhood. Paulena's ability to create breakfast, lunch, and dinner courses was unparalleled amongst any Cinthyan on the artificial planet. Once she shifted to pursue her passion in dessert making, however, barely anyone wanted to try them. The worst part is that her desserts aren't bad whatsoever, just new. And most Cinthyans hate trying new things. It was also due to the fact that they didn't want to see a woman with a weird condition and odd colored hair succeed as well...
After begrudgingly handing the black and pink cube device she had on the table to the older man with her right hand, Paulena watched on disguised sadness as the married couple began to walk away and off to the vendor across the street. Tears began to fall down her face while smiling brightly as she soon saw the married pair reach into their respective pockets and pull out a black card with a uniquely designed 'R' on it.
"Just give up, Paule." her inner voice spoke inside of her mind, wanting desperately to cry but can't.
"Pastry making is just not a thing you can do given how society she people like you..."
Even though she wanted to quit badly, Paulena refused to let her innermost thoughts win. She simply did an about-face and turned on her portable radio that was shaped like a rainbow lollipop. Upon doing so, a calming EDM song began to play, soothing the young woman's mood as she gently bobbed her head to the music.
"It's always nice to have music at your beckon call." She said to herself as her body began to move in rhythm to the EDM song, ignoring the weird looks she got from passersbys.
Now feeling inspired, Paulena then reached back with her right hand and took out a blue handsized notebook out from the pocket of her khaki skirt. After shifting it to her left hand, she then takes a black pen into her right hand and writes 'Ideas for new dessert recipes' down on the blank page. There were great things that were about to happen.
Kiontre Miles
Leanore King
