When a Classy Woman Becomes Poor

Hi, my name is Charlotte. Please like

and subscribe. I was born in Bordeaux, a

beautiful city in France. When I was 8

years old, we moved to the USA because

my dad got a great job there. The city

we moved to was huge, filled with

skyscrapers, shops, and opportunities,

or so I was told. However, it didn't

take long for things to start going

downhill. When I began attending school

there, my parents enrolled me in a

private school for international

students. Hi everyone, my name is

Charlotte. I'm 8 years old and I come

from France. I brought some mattelines

that my mom made for everyone today. Hi,

Charlotte. I'm Laura from Italy. Do you

want to hang out later today? Laura and

I became very close. We would often take

the same bus home, do our homework

together, and even attend drawing

classes together. Even though Laura

didn't speak any French, being with her

reminded me a lot of home. I was shy and

liked to keep things to myself, while

Laura was fun and a bit wild. Someone my

mom wouldn't think was classy. Mom

really didn't like Laura. She kept

trying to make me hang out with kids

from rich families that I didn't like,

but I ended up making friends with two

girls just so mom would stop nagging me.

One evening, I forgot to tell mom I

invited Laura over for dinner. Mom was

really mean to Laura when she came.

Charlotte mentioned your mom is a

saleswoman. Do you guys even eat dinner

every night or is it too expensive?

Elise, why would you say something like

that? It's okay, Uncle. No, we don't

always have big dinners, but what we do

have is each other. What's the point of

a fancy dinner if the family isn't

close? What do you mean by that? Oh,

nothing. Did I upset you? I thought your

family was okay. I think you should go.

Mom, why? She's not going anywhere. She

leaves now or you'll be sorry. An

awkward silence fell, which Laura broke.

Don't worry, I'll go. Seems like I just

got my answer about the kind of family

this is. Mom sharply told her, "Leave

now." And with that, Laura left. I was

really upset with mom, but she didn't

seem to care. Laura told me not to let

it bother me. You already have it tough

with a mom like that. I won't make it

worse by leaving you alone. I love you

for being here. One gloomy day in the

sixth grade. Everything changed when my

parents started to struggle financially

after my dad lost his job and they had

to move me to a public school. We can't

just pull her out of school. She's doing

so well. What would I even say to my

friends if they asked? I want her to

succeed here in the USA to make

something of herself and make me proud.

Dad slammed his hand angrily on the

table and glared at mom. At least think

clearly for once. You're not seeing the

big picture as usual. You don't seem to

get that I've lost my job and we're

drowning in bills. The only sensible

move is to switch her to public school.

Yes, mom was a bit of a difficult

person. She was obsessed with

maintaining a perfect image. Being

perceived as poor was a disaster for

her. Her mom was also a strict lady,

obsessed with etiquette and rules. She

was against my mom's marriage, although

my dad was well off. But mom stood firm

and married dad, so her parents cut her

off. Now, us not having much money would

make my grandma right. And that made my

mom even matter. She made us move to a

different city so she could lie and tell

her friends that dad had received a job

opportunity far away. I screamed and

cried for days. I didn't want to leave

our city or be away from Laura. But as

usual, mom ignored my protests. I was

heartbroken. Dad, I hate her. Dad hugged

me. Hate is a strong word. You know how

your mom is. She wants things her way.

Life hasn't ended, though. You'll make

new friends. And about Laura, you can

still talk to her on the phone, and I'll

help you see her once in a while. Thank

you, Dad. You're too kind to be with

someone like her. But I guess life isn't

fair. Saying goodbye to Laura was

incredibly hard. And to make things

worse, after we moved, I realized I

forgot the notebook with Laura's number

in it. I was utterly heartbroken. Even

though we didn't have a lot of money,

mom kept having big parties at fancy

places for her friends. We were getting

more and more into debt. Even though dad

asked her many times to stop the

parties. One day she even gave her

friend a really expensive ring for her

birthday. Dad got really upset when the

bank called him. Listen, woman, I can't

take this anymore. This is your last

chance. If you don't stop, we might have

to split up. And I'll want to stay with

Dad. Really? Now? With that, mom left.

She was gone for a couple of days.

Although Dad and I were worried, we

didn't try to reach her. It was time for

her to act like the adult she supposedly

was. When she returned, she walked into

the house and started doing laundry as

if nothing had happened. From that day

on, she stopped seeing her friends so

much and didn't waste our money anymore.

I was relieved she finally came to her

senses, but I could see a change in her.

Her eyes had lost their spark. It was as

if she had aged 10 years. Well, things

at the public school weren't perfect

either. At first, it was okay. But

things changed quickly when I started

junior year of high school. I noticed my

body changing rapidly, even spotting

some freckles on my face. It wasn't just

my appearance that was changing. My

social life was too. Suddenly, boys

started looking at me differently. Girls

were going out with boys, and there

seemed to be more parties. Hey,

Charlotte. How about grabbing some ice

cream after school? Just the two of us.

Just us alone. Yeah, just us. Why were

you planning on turning it into a group

event? Well, I thought maybe we could

invite Jessica, too. Look, I wasn't

making a guest list. You know what?

Forget it. I got to go. And hey,

Charlotte, or should I call you the lost

little raccoon? Just because you're from

France doesn't mean you're anything

special here. If anything, it just shows

you can't take a joke and always dampen

the mood. Before I could respond, he

pressed his gum into my hair as he

walked away. It was not just

embarrassing. It felt like a sharp tug

at my dignity. I came back home that day

wanting to tell mom about it. She was

cooking in the kitchen when I walked in.

Hi, Mom. I had a weird day at school

today. I really don't have time for your

stories right now. You know, we've been

living in the USA for quite a while, and

you still call a lot of things weird. I

felt so angry, I started crying. Our

relationship wasn't that great to begin

with, but now it felt ruined. If a girl

doesn't find confidence in her mother,

then the relationship feels distant. And

each day, I was growing further away

from my mom. I headed to my room to put

away my books when I spotted a

sketchbook on my desk. It was from the

drawing classes with Laura, and it had

her number inside. Turns out, I'd saved

it here as well. I was ecstatic. I

quickly and quietly went to the living

room, grabbed my mom's phone, and dialed

Laura's mom's number. Hello, Elise. What

do you want? Uh, hi. It's actually

Charlotte here. Laura's friend from

school. Do you remember me? Can I talk

to Laura? Oh, Charlotte? Yes, I remember

you. One moment. Laura, your friend

Charlotte is on the phone. Charlotte?

Wow. I've been trying to find you, but I

couldn't. How are you? Hey, Laura. I'm

not on social media much. I really miss

talking to you. We should hang out soon.

I'd love to, but my family is going to

Europe this Friday. Europe? That's so

cool. I wish I could go, too. You're so

lucky. Why don't you come with us? My

grandparents house is big, and you can

stay in the guest room. I'd love to, but

my mom would never say yes. We don't

have to tell her everything. Just say

you're going on a school project abroad.

She loves to brag about this stuff. No,

Laura, that's smart. It's going to be so

fun. We can eat lots of good food, see

new places, and maybe even paint. I'd

love to paint in a quiet spot away from

all the noise, especially away from mom.

In fact, I found out that the city Laura

and I were visiting was hosting a big

art competition during our stay, and I

signed up for it. On Friday, my mother

drove me to the airport with a big smile

on her face. I'm so proud of you,

darling, for getting accepted to this

elite school program. I'm sure it'll

help you get accepted to one of the Ivy

League schools. Um, sure. Yes, Mom. I

got out of the car and walked to the

airport gate when I saw Laura. She

looked great. Ran up to me and gave me a

big hug. Charlotte, we're going to

Europe. It's going to be so fun. I'm so

excited. I entered a drawing contest

over there, too. The prize is also about

$500,000. Can you come and cheer for me?

It feels like a dream. Sure, but you

have to draw me and make my eyebrows

look good. I enjoyed spending time with

Laura, but sometimes things felt off. It

seemed like she would suddenly stop

talking to her mom when I showed up. as

if they were hiding something from me.

One night after we had dinner, she said

something strange. You know, I was

actually happy when your family started

having money problems. What? Why would

you say that? Well, your mom was a

witch, and seeing her getting humiliated

was so satisfying. First of all,

becoming poor has nothing to do with

humiliation. Second, mom becoming poor

also means me becoming poor. I thought

your love for me was bigger than your

hate for her. Oh, come on now. She's

awful. Okay. Okay, let's change the

subject. Want to eat some ice cream? I

suddenly don't feel like it. I think I'm

calling it a night. And with that, I

stormed off. The competition day was

getting close. It was going to last 2

days. The first for live painting in

front of an audience, and the second for

a closing ceremony where judges would

announce the winners. Do you think the

judges will be fair? I'm sure they will

be. Are you excited to cheer me on? Of

course. Will you cheer for me, too? What

do you mean? I'm entering the

competition, too. You knew that, right?

What? No. You think I've lost my touch?

I've been taking drawing classes for the

past year. I see this as a great chance.

But Laura, you never mentioned this. I

didn't think I needed to report my plans

to you. Anyway, I think it's better we

focus on our own preparations for the

next few days, so we probably shouldn't

hang out too much. I was stunned. What

happened to my best friend? I almost

regretted coming on this trip. The only

thing keeping me here was the upcoming

competition. I was determined to win and

get the prize. The first day of the

competition arrived. We were led onto

the stage. Each competitor equipped with

a set of pencils, colors, and a blank

canvas. Laura leaned over with a

mischievous grin and whispered, "May the

best girl win." I was too stressed to

respond and just focused on getting onto

the stage. That's when I saw it. The

event was being broadcast live on TV. My

heart sank. I thought, "Oh no, my mom

will see this. She'll ground me for

life. Not only did I lie to her, but I'm

also here with Laura, someone she can't

stand. And now Laura, she turned out to

be so different from what I thought.

This is a nightmare. I wish I could just

vanish. But I took a deep breath, pushed

down my fear, and began to paint with

all my heart, pouring every emotion onto

the canvas. While sitting comfortably at

home, my mom saw my face on the TV

screen and yelled, "Pierre, our daughter

isn't on a school project. She's on TV

with Laura. This is nonsense. She won't

get away with this. We're flying to

Europe." My parents caught the next

flight and arrived on the second day of

the competition. Mom tried calling me

the whole time, but I was too caught up

with the competition and the drama with

Laura to answer. On the final day, as I

stood on stage with Laura and the other

competitors, they started announcing the

winners. Laura got second place and I

was on the verge of tears until they

announced Charlotte is the winner.

Overjoyed, I walked towards the

microphone to give a speech only to see

my mom storm into the hall. I was

shocked and embarrassed. Yelling in

front of everyone, she demanded, "How

could you lie to me, Charlotte? You know

there will be consequences. And with

Laura of all people. Oh, me of all

people. Remember when you burned the

book that Charlotte wrote my number in?

You called and insulted me and my mom.

You even threatened me, a child, to stay

away from Charlotte. Do you want me to

say what you did, too? Shut it. Don't

you dare speak to my daughter like that.

Laura, what exactly did my mom do to

you? Let it go. Didn't you just win?

Take your prize and leave with your

parents. Your mom threatened Laura's mom

with her connections in immigration,

saying she'd get her deported. What kind

of sick person hates a kid like this?

What has she ever done to you? You need

help. I'm taking the prize money and I'm

leaving with dad. You should consider

getting help. I'll even pay for your

therapy. I traveled all this way for you

to side with her. What lies has she told

you? Enough. Let's go, Charlotte. Laura,

what my mom did was wrong, but targeting

me wasn't fair. Still, I'm here if you

want to start over. Then I went to

receive my medal in prize, hugged my

dad, and we left.