Belle woke up to the smell of bacon and eggs. A smile crept onto her face as she remembers that today is her sixteenth birthday. She stretched her tall body and got out of bed. Belle looked at herself in the small mirror of their one-bedroom apartment's small bathroom with just a shower, basin, and toilet. The bathroom did not even have a window. Belle slept in the bedroom and her father, Maurice on the couch in the living room. Belle did not like the fact that she must go to school on her birthday but at least this is the final year. Belle knew that she will not be staying behind to attend the local university, she did not even apply. She had one thing on her mind and that was to get out of this town.
Belle is a loner and along with the kids from school, she considered herself ugly. Belle could never understand how she is always the only one with pimples. Her hair always hangs like bangs covering her face, it was the only way to hide her pimples. Belle decided that today she will skip school, she just hopes that she does not get caught.
“Morning dad,” Belle greets her father as she takes a piece of bacon and pops it into her mouth.
“Happy birthday darling daughter,” Maurice says dishing some eggs into her plate. Normally breakfast would be a slice of bread with margarine thinly spread. Maurice felt guilty for not being able to provide better for his daughter, he had only himself to blame.
His wife left the day after Belle was born, she just disappeared, never to be seen again, her sports car abandoned near the woods. Maurice remembers when he was just a lad himself. No one noticed his wife when they were young, but soon, she grew into a beautiful woman, once the teen years were over. Back then their town was but a little French village compared to today; with all its modern buildings. To take care of Belle Maurice had to put aside his love for inventing and sold everything bit by bit as he needed to take care of his daughter. ‘How much has changed in a short 18 years,’ Maurice thinks to himself, looking at his daughter.
Belle always felt guilty for the sacrifices her father had to make for her. The worst was when he had to sell their house for next to nothing to the LeGumes ten years ago. To this day, Belle could not stand them, especially their son, Gaston, the talk of the town, Mr. Popularity, the center of attention always adding to the list of horrible nicknames for Belle.

“What are your plans for the day father?” Belle wants to know so that she can plan her own day of ‘school skipping’, she did not want to accidentally run into her father.
“Some home improvements here and there, nothing big but it will keep me busy all day, we need the money,” Maurice answers, wonders if he will be able to scrape off some small change to buy his daughter a special gift for her sixteen birthday.
“Father, don’t worry about it, I understand.”
Belle looked around the kitchen for something to take for lunch and noticed that there is only the bread she was gifted yesterday on her way home; Belle knows that this breakfast must have used up all the budget for the week. This will not be the first time Belle goes to school without food. Belle decides to leave the bread for her father, he will be working hard today to make up the money spent on the bacon and eggs, ‘he will need the energy.’
Maurice spent his day working here and there, mostly in the poor side of town as the rich did not really like to hire small-time guys like him. Before he left home, he packed the bread away, ‘this could be dinner, but hopefully not. Perhaps this will be a good day and I will be able to give my daughter a better dinner than usual and a little gift.’

Maurice worked as fast as he can as he wanted enough time to make his daughter a little gift if he does not earn enough to buy her a little something and with the day already half over he realized that he will not make enough to buy her something, let alone a special dinner. Maurice was a better artist than he was an inventor. Maurice decided to take a small little break before he goes to the next house.
Maurice looked around for a piece of wood that will be soft enough to carve for Belle. After he found the perfect piece of wood half the size of his palm, he took out the carving knife that he always carried with him for protection from the wolves. The poor side of the town was near the woods and by the woods was the old, abandoned castle that was overruled by a wolf pack.
He carefully started to carve his daughter's face. In his carving, he made it so that her bangs do not hang over her face but, in a bun, like her mother used to wear her hair. The carving took longer than Maurice wanted it to take but he thought that he made a little bit of money today to see them through the next day or two. He will go past the butcher to see if he has any bones, ‘I can make a little soup with it, it will be great for flavor,’ he thought. After he got some bones for free from the butcher, he was lucky that the butcher's wife had some old vegetables that she was about to toss out. Maurice was happy to take it off her hands and thought he will take his chance and go get some mushrooms in the woods, ‘I won’t go too deep.’ He enters with caution.