The Osborn Family (for FREAK)

[Little Sayuri]

„Michelle! We have to go now, are you ready?“, her father called upstairs. This child! He had called her 3 times now and wasn’t sure if she had simply decided that she wouldn’t come down tonight. This evening was important for him, and he had decided that he wanted for her to share it with him.

Tonight was a prom where he would finally sign the contract with another big company that he would own soon. He worked for this contract 2 years now and it was important not to be late of course. „Just you wait“, he mumbled as he walked upstairs to get his daugther. She begged to come with him a few times because she never went to a prom before. And even if he had decided that he wanted to share this moment with her, he was a bit sceptical if it was a good idea to take her with him. He wouldn’t be able to have an eye on her all the time and she just had a talent to get in trouble, which would be really embarrassing tonight.

Well, you have to know that Michelle’s father wasn’t a nobody. He was Harry Osborn and not only famous but he was also reputable. Because he was working most of the time in the company, he had not too many chances to have a lot of time with his daughter. Though he loved her dearly and tried hard to be a good boss and a good father at the same time, which was hard, but he managed it so far. Michelle’s mother was a model and traveled around the world most of the time, so it was just him and his daughter. As she was younger, she had a nanny, but now being 15 years old, Harry saw no reason for something like that anymore. There was Bernard after all, which didn’t seem to age.

As he thought about all that, he got a bit less angry, but that didn’t stop him from knocking on his daughters door. „Michelle Olivia Osborn, get out of this room now or I’ll go without you!“

[FREAK]

Michelle Osborn had a crucial decision to make.
Her eyes flickered back and forth between the two options. She tilted her head to one side then back to the other one. She bit her lip and then automatically checked her front teeth for lip stick stains. She raised her right hand to grab a strand of hair to twist it as she always did when she was nervous or concentrated but then stopped because she remembered how long it had taken her to give her dark chocolate brown hair this seemingly effortless curly look.

Black peep toes with a cute bow detail or sexy nude pumps which would make her legs look longer? The peep toes would match with her thin black headband which was also accessorised with a bow. 'But you can never go wrong with nude. And since the dress ends around my knees I really need the long-legs-effect....'

Michelle groaned in frustration. She had sent pictures to several girlfriends but every single one of them seemed to have a different opinion. She often felt overdressed when wearing high heels at school so for this evening where they actually were appropriate everything had to be perfect. After all it was her first prom.

Michelle heard her father call for her and rolled her eyes. "What do you think I'm doing, nothing??", she said in a low voice. She put on one shoe on each foot and turned sideways in front of her big mirror. She heard Harry's steps on the stair and knew that he was getting irritated. "It's not like I'm trying to annoy you but I have to take this seriously!", Michelle mumbled and turned to the other side.

Peep toes? Nudes? "Geez!!"

Probably the black shoes would look better with black tights. But the dress was too girly and the fabric to soft and flowy for stiff black tights... And with black tights nobody would see her nail polish which matched with her clutch!

Suddenly, Michelle heard Harry knock at her door, he was calling her with her full name and- "You can't go without me!!", Michelle squeaked, quickly kicked the black shoe off her right foot and put on the second nude pump. She grabbed her clutch and left her room.
She gave Harry a resentful look with her round brown eyes. “I had to make an important decision!”

[Little Sayuri]

Harry looked down at her with an annoyed look. "I told you to get ready earlier and you didn't listen! Now hurry up, the car is waiting already", he said and went outside with her.

He should have known by now that Michelle was a girl after all, and girls always had to make important decisions that would keep him waiting. He didn't envy her husband she would sure get someday. After all she was beautiful and a great person, most of the time. He was sure she would grow into a lovely woman, not noticing that she was nearly finished with that. For him, she would always be his little girl.

As they sat down in the backseats, Harry looked at his daughter. "I know I've told you 100 times already that I expect you to behave, but just to make sure, I'll say it again: I expect you to be on your best behaviour, this evening is really important for me and I am not in the mood for anything...unexpected. So please be polite and friendly to the guests and stay calm, no matter what happens. If something goes wrong or you don't know what to do, you can come and get me. Nobody will look at you with a strange look and you will be accepted. Besides, you look beautiful", he said the last sentece more gently and smiled at his daughter. She looked really beautiful and he had no doubt that she would be the eye catcher on this prom, which would sure please her.

"Excited?"

[FREAK]

Michelle noticed Harry's annoyed look and as soon as he had turned around to walk downstairs again she made a face and rolled her eyes like the typical teenager she was.
But actually Michelle was far too excited to be in a bad mood so her face lit up again when she saw the car that would take them to the building in which the party would take place.

As soon as the driver had closed the door behind Michelle and her father Harry turned to his daughter and gave her that particular look. Michelle groaned and leaned against the soft car seat. She knew what he was going to tell her by heart and at some passages even talked along with Harry just to annoy him. "I expect you to be on your best behaviour; this evening is really important for me... please be polite and friendly... stay calm... Oh God, Dad!"

Michelle made a face again but Harry’s last sentence pleased her and her facial expression softened a little. "Thanks. But really, do you think I'm retarded? I think I had to listen to your little speech every single day since you decided to take me with you! Now you're doing it again! I can promise you that if I have to listen to one more behavioural rule I'll be so stressed out by the time we get there that I won't even be able to tell people my name! They will say something like 'Good evening, Miss Osborn, my name is Mr. Rich McImportant and I have lots and lots of money to give to your father, and how are you?' And my reply will be 'Be - polite - and - stay - calm' and I will talk just like a robot because you brainwashed me!" Michelle gave her father a reproachful look.

"And I forgot to take a picture of myself to send to the girls", she suddenly exclaimed, "They're going to kill me! They were so looking forward to seeing me!" Of course every single one of Michelle's girlfriends had seen every piece of her clothing and jewellery and they also knew which make up she would put on and how she was going to wear her hair and after all she had already sent a picture without wearing the shoes but still - the complete look was a whole different thing! Michelle sighed. "No, don't say anything, you don't understand that", she said before Harry could open his mouth. She quickly checked her reflection in the little mirror she kept in her clutch again.

Michelle Osborn was a little spoilt. Both her parents, especially her mother, didn't have too much time for her but what they had was money. Consequently, Michelle barely knew the feeling of wishing for something. Most of the time she got what she wanted before she even felt a desire for it.

But what she really had wanted was to go to this ball. 'It's going to be great', she thought even a little bit grimly. She was absolutely determined to make this evening unforgettable.

[Little Sayuri]

Harry just chuckled as Michelle told him that she had to listen to his little speech every single day. She was right, and he knew that, but he was worried because she could be so reckless and he just wanted to protect her from everything bad, like every good father would.

Sure, the shame of what the news would say about him would be unbearable for the first moment, but as long as Michelle was safe he didn't care.
He knew indeed that she was a bit spoiled, and sometimes he wondered what would happen if they would lose everything. Would she become a better person?

"Darling, there will be a lot of photographs, you can send your friends a picture once we arrived. Wouldn't it be even better with the nice location as background?", he asked, ignoring her comment that he wouldn't understand it anyway. He wanted of course for her that she would enjoy herself, and so he tried to cheer her up.

Once they arrived, he went out of the car and greeted a few people that stood outside while the driver helped Michelle out of the car. "Oh, this must be your daughter", one of the business man's exclaimed and Harry nodded. "You look beautiful young lady", the man complimented Michelle as she stood next to her father. Harry smiled. After a bit smalltalk, he looked at Michelle and said: "We will go inside and greet the other guests, it was nice to meet you, I hope we can talk later about a few more things" With that, he took Michelle by the hand and leaded her inside, where he let go of her hand.

The hall where the prom would take place was indeed impressing. The walls were decorated with bows and nested silk scarfs in dark blue and silver. There was a giant chandelier and a few people stood around and talked, sitting at one of the tables at the sight or in the middle of the room or the bar. "Do you want to drink something?", Harry asked his daughter.

[FREAK]

Michelle was actually a bit surprised when her father had the idea with a nice location as a background. Of course, her room looked very nice, but a picture of a ball outfit looked still better with an actual ball scene as a background. "I think you're right", she said, nodded and then started to imagine every detail of the scenery.

She would ask her Dad whether he could give her his glass of champagne - just to pose with it. Of course she would love to try it but she was pretty sure Harry wouldn't allow that. 'Maybe I'll position myself in front of a window. It depends on the colours of the curtain though. I'm sure the walls will be of a subtle colour but I don't want to look pale in front of it... Will I go for the sexy look or just smile? Trying to look sexy ends up looking fake most of the time...'

Before Michelle had finished with planning every detail of her picture they arrived and the driver helped the girl out of the car.

She blushed a bit when one of the business men complimented her. "Thank you, Sir", she answered politely but in a low voice. Of course she felt flattered but she was also a bit intimidated by the impressive scenery. Even from outside the building looked gorgeous. It was getting dark outside but torches lit up the dark blue carpet which led the way into the building.

While the adults were making small talk Michelle absorbed every detail of the amazing view. Then she focused again when she noticed that Harry ended his conversation with the man. She frowned a bit when he took her hand, she would have preferred his arm because it looked more elegant and mature but since he let go after they had entered it was okay.

Actually, even if Harry would still be holding his daughter's hand she probably would not notice it anyway. Of course Michelle was used to beautiful places and pompous festivities but this giant room's ambiance was still special.

Michelle could barely hear her father when he asked her whether she would like a drink. "Uhm, yes, thanks", she answered and simply hoped that Harry would get something nice for her. Orange juice looked so childish and she definitely didn't want to stand around with a glass of water while all the other guests looked fabulous with their champagne flûtes.

[Little Sayuri]

Harry went to the bar and ordered some non-alcoholic champaigne for his daughter, taking a champagne flûte himself from one of the trays that young men and woman carried through the room.
He watched his daughter for a moment, smiling. She seemed so overwhelmed by all this and he knew that she loved being here already, which made him happy as well.

Slowly, he walked back to her, handing her the flûte with the non alcoholic champagne. "Here you go, it's none alcoholic but it looks like the original", he said gently. "Do you want to make some pictured for your friends first?", he offered, knowing that he would have to talk to many people soon and that she maybe would want a picture where her hair still looked perfect, as well as her makeup.

He was happy to be here, with her, even if it was just business for him. He sighed uneasily. He wouldn't admit it, but he was a bit nervous because of the contract. They would sign it after the welcome speech as far as they talked about it, and until then he would stay a bit nervous, even if maybe nobody would notice it, except his daughter.

A young woman came over to them, smiling at Harry. Her name was Scarlett Black, and she was a busniess partner of him. Her blonde hair was curly and her blue eyes friendly. "Good evening Harry", she said and looked at Michelle. "This is your daughter you told me about?" Harry smiled and nodded, kissing her hand. "You look very beautiful Scarlett" The woman smiled at Michelle. "Nice to meet you, I am a colleague of your father"

[FREAK]

Michelle was already busy checking out other female’s dresses, hair and shoes. She was also on the lookout for some make up styles she could probably copy. ‘Too bad I cannot just make pictures of the people here’, she thought and decided to keep every single detail in mind until she got home and then write down a whole list with new ideas concerning fashion and make up.

When Harry came back, he handed his daughter non-alcoholic champagne and Michelle, who had not even thought about this alternative, smiled brightly. She tried it and it even tasted good. When he mentioned the pictures she nodded. “Good idea, Dad”, she answered and pointed at one corner of the giant room. “This spot over there would be perfect.” The background was neutral but not too light and she could stand next to one of these nice bar table which were evenly distributed all over the room. They were decorated with beautiful flower arrangement and delicate silvery table-cloths.

Michelle positioned herself next to said table and it took her some seconds to drape the fabric of her dress nicely around her legs. The she lifted the hand holing the champagne flute slightly and smiled into the camera.

Michelle was too excited to immediately send one of the pictures to all of her girlfriends to notice Harry’s worried sigh. But even without noticing it she knew that he was always a bit uneasy until business was over so she did her best to cheer him up with simply smiling a lot. She knew that it was important for him that she had fun and she wanted to show him that this was definitely the case.

They had just finished taking pictures when a young blonde suddenly joined them and greeted Harry. Michelle’s father kissed her hand and complimented her beauty and from this very second the girl decided that this Scarlett had to be a terrible person. ‘She is most likely a very shallow and superficial person’, Michelle thought while she eyed the blonde from bottom to top. “Nice to meet you, too”, she answered politely but not too friendly when Scarlett turned to her and introduced herself.

[Little Sayuri]

Harry walked over and waved a photograph to him. The man took several pictures of Michelle and then one where Harry stood next to her. "Please send them to me", Harry said and gave him his card. The man nodded and wrote down the number of the photos on the card, so that he would know which ones to send to the man later. Then, Harry took a picture with his daughters smartphone so that she could send it to her friends if she wanted.

Scarlett smiled at Michelle, not noticing -or maybe ignoring- that the girl wasn't too friendly to her. "Harry? How is your project going?", she asked him friendly. "Very good. I asked Dr. Maynert to take care of it, he will sure find a way to speed up the things", Harry answered. He talked to Scarlett a bit more before she excused herself. Harry turned to his daughter. "Michelle, why weren't you friendly to Scarlett?", he asked calmly. He knew this kind of behaviour already, his daughter seemed to hate women that he was friends or colleagues with. Harry had just no clue why. But Scarlett was an important person in the company and also for the contract, so it was important as well that she wouldn't feel like somebody like Harry or his daughter where impolite to her.

[FREAK]

Michelle stood next to Harry when he and Scarlett started talking about his project. She didn’t take part in the conversation because she did not know much about Harry’s projects but she listened closely to what the woman said to spot any sentence that could possibly have a flirty connotation. But she recognised none which satisfied her.

Of course Michelle was sometimes anxious about the relationship her parents had. Her mother was barely at home, her father was always working and surrounded by beautiful young women practically all the time. She didn’t even want to know which kind of people her mother met. But since it was imply impossible to keep an eye on her Michelle did her best to watch out for her father a bit.

She didn’t really think of him as a man who would betray his wife but she guessed that he had to be lonely sometimes… And in her mind it was obvious that most of the time the men cheated on their women and not the other way round.

It surprised her though when Harry asked her why she had not been friendly to Scarlett. “I don’t even know her!”, she answered even a bit indignantly, “And at first she completely ignored me and only talked to you! I was polite and this is what you asked me to be before we came here. You said nothing about being friendly to strangers. On the contrary! You always tell me not to talk to strangers!” Okay, it was stupid to compare one of her father’s colleagues they met on a prom to a stranger from the street, but still!

“But if you want to I can be friendlier from now on”, Michelle added conciliatorily.