Background info on Amelia, a character I'm developing

“6 or 7 Things I Know About Her”
Her Mother’s Power Suits and 1st Criticism

The first shopping mall experience she can remember was when she was barely 6 years old and had just learned to read her first book, The Little Prince. The women shopping, all the clothes and obnoxious noises, was nothing like the prince’s world. She already knew what she dreamed of becoming, the Moon Princess. Her mother, with an arm full of power suits, steered her into the dressing room. What a strange smell, she thought of the polyester, deciding that as a princess she’d never wear such a thing. The room attendant, nosy as she was, desired deeply to see what Mom looked like in the suit. “Oh heavens, don’t you look like a woman on a mission. Doesn’t your mother look lovely”, she asked. The young girl shyly smiled. “Don’t you want to be a professional woman with power, like your Mom,” she hotly breathed over the girl’s pigtails. “I wanna be a princess and live on the moon,” she said, twirling like a ballerina. That made the strange woman laugh out loud. The chubby attendant with painted eyebrows finally caught her breath and said, “Oh honey, that’s quite a dream, but I’ve never seen a princess as dark as you. You better have a back-up plan.” The little girl quickly turned to her Mom, who she was sure would tell this woman that she could still be a princess, but Mom was busy staring at her suit in the mirror.

Dad’s Tickling Hands
He always tickled them. He would hover over Amelia and her sister and tickle their abdomens until not even a cry could escape their mouths. He even tickled the neighbor, Amelia’s best friend who looked like Sleeping Beauty. Dad always called her la guera, but never in front of her parents. Amelia always had friends over, for birthday parties, her parent’s bible studies, or just because. She can’t remember why her neighbor spent the night on that day, she can’t really remember anything from that night. But she knows her father must have tickled the girl because after that he went away and Amelia wasn’t allowed to see blondie anymore.

The Classroom
The kinder garden teacher must have been really naïve. The blocks, puzzles, even a few stuffed animals, were all cute and fine for a pre-schooler, but this was the age to start learning famous quotes so Amelia could discover where she fit in on the playground. Some of the children must have had really intelligent parents who weren’t raised in a small village in Mexico. Their kids were cooler than Amelia. Like Cassie and Jeremy. How else would they know to steal away at nap time, hide under the table, and touch one another’s lips together, tasting tongues?

Listening In
Past her bed time in the lightless room, her head is completely submerged beneath the sheets. “Please, Jesus, don’t let them touch me. There’s too many of them.” She squeezes her eyes shut so tightly, wishing they’ll pop.

Self-Criticism
“I never wanted to be a girl, especially not a dark girl. Well besides the time I wanted to be a princess. But after that I always imagined cutting off my boobs, but what about down there?

Fantasies
Amelia always wanted to be the one under the kinder garden table kissing Jeremy, but she was always too afraid of her father’s jealousy.