Participants:
| Scene Title | A Brand New You |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Elle remakes herself for the days to come. |
| Date | September 3, 2010 |
Change is never easy. Though this was expected, anticipated, it's still difficult as ever. Everything that Elle Bishop has ever known…is gone. The twisted creation of her father and his little group is no more. The Company, her entire life, is gone.
Daddy is gone.
Elle Bishop snaps her laptop closed and turns, lifting the package of hair dye she has on her bed. It's brunette, almost black. Nobody knows that she's working with the Institute yet, except for her father, and the ghost of Bryan. Nobody knows that she is at least in part responsible for the arrest of her father. Nobody knows that she killed Bryan. It's obvious what they are likely to have her do.
If she's going to pretent to be hunted, she might as well go along with the part.
She rises from the bed, moving into the bathroom and setting the dye onto the counter. She wears a black t-shirt, and some comfy black PJ pants, the kind that won't be bothered by a few dye stains. She turns on the bathtub water, kneeling down and holding her head beneath, wetting the blonde hair that will soon change to the opposite end of the spectrum.
If she were actually being hunted by the Institute, by the government, she would dye her hair. Change her appearance as drastically as possible, so the chances of recognition are less. She can't change her face, but she can make herself look different. Finished wetting her hair, she towels it dry, then hangs the towel on the rack.
Opening the box, she pulls on those nitrile gloves, quickly mixing the dye as indicated on the directions. She pulls her hair up with an alligator clip, frowning into the mirror. She can go back to blonde, eventually. It will eventually be revealed that she's a traitor to the Company. Then, she can go back to the color she loves. A large amount of the dye is squeezed into Elle's hand, stinking up the bathroom. Her nose wrinkled, she turns on the sink, and begins to slowly work the gel into her hair, starting at the base of her head.
But this is another symbol of change, isn't it? Another way she's leaving her old self behind. Or is she leaving her old self behind? She is, after all, employed by the Company's replacement. They're just as bad as the Company…but they're the government.
And as long as they're the winning side, she'll stay. As long as they keep giving her answers, she'll be faithful. Harper…well, he's earned her loyalty. For now. She knows, deep down, that he's just using her. That he likely just does what he does to keep her loyalty. Not unlike what she does with Warren. Sure, she feels something for him…but now is not the time to be trusting anyone.
Trust is weakness. Allowing herself to trust in the past has only lead to betrayal. Heartbreak. Suffering. You lose the ability to trust after being let down so many times, after being used.
And not Harper, or Warren, or Odessa can break that barrier. Nobody can. Not after she's discovered that her entire life has been a lie. Trust only makes it harder when they betray you. So she won't ever fully trust anyone, ever again.
She sighs at herself in the mirror as she finishes applying the die, coating each and every strand in the blackish goop. After running over it with a comb, she twists her hair up and places the plastic hair cap around her hair. After rinsing off the gloves, she removes them, and sets her timer.
For a half an hour, Elle sits on the closed toilet with her legs crossed, reading a book as her hair is changed just as her life has changed. Once the timer chimes, she uses the pull-out showerhead and rinses the dye from her hair, marveling quietly at the now dark strands as the water runs through them. When the water finally runs clear and she has conditioned her hair as neccessary, she towels her hair dry.
She frowns at the new image in the mirror, the dark brownish-black hair that cascades over her face. She speaks to herself in soft tones, staring at her reflection. "This is a brand new you, Elle Bishop. This is life without The Company. And you're gonna be great." She tries out a charming smile, lifting a hand to play at a strand of hair.
Then, she looks down at the sink, her face falling into a sad expression as the mask falls. "I'm so sorry, Daddy…"