I'm not just another pretty face {ELLEN}

Tonight I'm gonna come alive
Words: 000 Tags: ELLEN ELIZABETH ANDREWS Notes: exciting!	It was the night of the crash and it was late. Even though she was on the medical team, she wanted to be sure to learn how to start a fire without matches since everyone agreed to preserve whatever matches they had. Despite her constant trying, Reina couldn't start a fire. She could see the looks some of the other women were giving her, and even some of the men were smirking. They all thought she was just another pretty face. Well, she'd show them. Didn't anyone see she had worked just as hard that day? She rescued people, brought them to the head of the medical team, did what she was told to help give out first aid, went back into the plane to salvage whatever was left. And she'd done none of that in heels; she was smarter than that. She'd taken her heels off and when she found her bag she'd switched to flats. Well, she would show them all that she wasn't just another pretty face. Once again she rubbed the sticks together as she muttered angrily in Spanish. "Fuego estúpido. Comience para todos, pero yo, ¿eh? Vamos a ver eso." She blew a piece of hair out of her face and then tried blowing on the sticks even though there wasn't an ember. Ugh her hair must be a mess right now but she would only complain to herself. At this point it didn't really matter. She'd seen too many casualties today but she told herself it was just a part of life and they were in a better place now; she'd prayed for their souls, too.
make you forget about your 9 to 5

made by Jasmin - Lyrics

PARDON ME BUT YOU SAID THAT YOU'D ALWAYS LOVE ME

Ellen was absolutely, positively, totally not enjoying her situation. Then again, she was certain nobody here was too terribly happy being stranded on a desert island. Ellen had been pretty useless during the past few hours. Granted, the crash had injured her legs, so it hurt to move around too much. But it wasn't just that, she knew practically nothing about nature and survival. She had a PhD is history and a bachelors degree in international relations and political science. Her skillset was just not fit for this circumstance, at all. It wasn't even that she was a girly girl. She wasn't afraid to get her hands dirty, and she knew in time, she'd probably be able to adjust. Ellen was resourceful and adaptable. Two helpful traits for being stranded on a deserted island. It would just take a week or two for her instincts to kick in.

It was just the fact she was supposed to be enjoying the beach with Lawson on their honeymoon. She was supposed to be enjoying married life with him. Now they were stuck with a bunch of strangers they didn't know and only God knew when they would be rescued. Honestly, it wasn't even the brush with death that bothered her. Ellen had brushed with death far too many times before now, she was used to it at this point. Actually, Ellen had come to terms with dying at this point in her life. She knew it was going to happen eventually, so there was no point in worrying about it. The casualties didn't really bother her either. Cold, yes, but also honest. Death was something she was very comfortable with. Of course, she prayed for the souls of those lost. She offered condolences to families who were now fractured, but she did not daunt on it.

The resident doctor had suggested she rest her legs for the night. Ellen was more than willing to do that. While Lawson went off scavenging for things, Ellen decided to sit on the beach. Considering it was late, most people were sleeping. Ellen could not sleep. There was too much going on in her mind right now. Instead, she read a book. It was one of the few things that she could salvage from her belongings. Some pages were missing and the cover was torn off, but it was better than nothing.

She was in the middle of a sentence when she heard Spanish coming from a short distance away. Her eyes perked up and she saw the flight attendant trying to make a fire. She put the book down and hobbled over to the woman. "I don't speak Spanish," Ellen said. "But I assume you're trying to figure out how to light a fire," Ellen said. "I'm afraid I'm not much help in that department myself, but I don't believe we've formally met. My name's Ellen," she said. "Ellen Wat--I mean Andrews," she was still not used to going by her married name. She looked over the woman in front of her. She was very pretty. She couldn't help but feel a bit jealous. She felt so plain in comparison.

TAG: REINA ADELITA RAMIREZ

MADE BY MINNIE OF FTS & GS

Tonight I'm gonna come alive
Words: 000 Tags: ELLEN ELIZABETH ANDREWS Notes: exciting!	A voice piercing the dark silence was something Reina definitely hadn't expected. "Ah, Madre!" She exclaimed as she jolted and looked around. When she saw the woman next to her she put a hand to her heart and sighed in relief. "Sorry, ju scared me. Sî, I can't get this stupid fire going." When the woman admitted she wasn't much help with lighting a fire, either, Reina felt a little better knowing she wasn't the only woman. Although she did briefly give the lady a suspicious look. If she wasn't going to help with the fire, why was she here? To get dirt on Reina? No, she looked too mature for that. Reina relaxed and held out her hand. "Nice to meet you, Ellen. I'm Reina Ramirez." Her eyebrow lifted slightly at Ellen's pause before saying her last name but she soon forgot about it. Because now Ellen was looking her over. Maybe she couldn't see it, but she could sense it. Not only that, but Reina had years to learn that people would look at her and gauge her, try to judge her. Reina became a bit defensive and tried rubbing the sticks together again but now her hands were trembling slightly. Ay no… Not now. She only had one more full pack of cigarettes in her suitcase (they were too expensive in the Bahamas) and she didn't know how long she was going to be stuck on this island. Then again, she could think positively and smoke like she usually did, but she was worried about making them last. Smoking was a horrible habit and she knew that, but it was hard for her to quit. Actually she was trying and she'd managed to be able to smoke considerably less than she used to, but she wasn't quite at the finish line yet. She looked back over at Ellen and noticed how the woman's hair caught some of the moon's shine in it. "Wow your hair is gorgeous," she said thoughtfully. "I would love to style it but I don't have any of my tools with me. Is that your natural color?"
make you forget about your 9 to 5

made by Jasmin - Lyrics

PARDON ME BUT YOU SAID THAT YOU'D ALWAYS LOVE ME

Ellen figured she should have made her presence more obvious. If someone had snuck up on her the way she had this woman, she would have probably freaked out. Especially now since she was very much on edge. "I apologize," she said. "I probably shouldn't have done that." She let out a nervous laugh when the woman said she couldn't get the fire going. "Not a nature person I take it?" she asked, although the comment was thoroughly sarcastic. Ellen herself was not a nature person, so she certainly wouldn't judge this woman. Sure she had survived the plane crash, but she didn't know how long she'd last on the island. Hopefully everyone would be able to pull together their strengths and weaknesses and manage to work together to stay alive until help came.

She smiled and gave the woman a firm handshake. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Reina. What a beautiful name," Ellen said. Although she did not know Spanish, she still appreciated the beauty of the language. Her background in Latin allowed her to pick up some words here and there, but that was pretty much it. In college, she had taken French instead. Now, she sort of regretted it because it was basically a useless language. So many people were Spanish speakers these days.

Ellen switched the pressure on her legs. It was difficult for her to stand right now. Hopefully, she could sit while Reina tried to get a fire going. The woman's next comment caught her by surprise. Without even thinking, her hand went to touch her hair. "My hair? Well, thank you," Ellen said. That was a first. Nobody had ever commented on her hair before. Her eyes, yes, her hair, never. But there was a first for everything she supposed. "Yeah, this is my natural color. When I was younger it was much redder than this," she said, bringing her hand back down to her side. "Your coloring is quite nice though," Ellen said. Truthfully, she found the woman to be drop dead gorgeous. She was afraid making such a comment would sound like flirting, and she definitely didn't want to give that impression.

TAG: REINA ADELITA RAMIREZ

MADE BY MINNIE OF FTS & GS

Tonight I'm gonna come alive
Words: N/A Tags: ELLEN ELIZABETH ANDREWS Notes: exciting!	"It's alright. I would have been scared even if you hadn't snuck up on me because I was too involved in my task." At Ellen's question she felt herself becoming more defensive and was about to ask if she looked like she wasn't a nature person but then she noticed that Ellen had been sarcastic. She laughed softly and shook her head, looking at the sticks again. "No, I'm afraid not. I'm guessing you aren't, either. But I want to show them I can be. I see the way a lot of the other women look at me; like I might steal their husbands." Her frustration grew as she spoke and she sighed, taking a pause. "Maybe I'm jumping to conclusions but I get a lot of looks like that and have even been accused to my face of being a man-stealer." She had no idea why she was telling Ellen any of this. They were complete strangers and Reina had been looking at this island like a fresh start, so why was she talking about the negative parts of her past? "Sorry, didn't mean to vent your ear off." She smiled at the compliment. "Oh, thank you." Now would not be the time to say her name means queen in Spanish; not that she wanted to say it, anyway. The thought had just jumped into her mind. Probably because she was thinking of her mother now and missing her despite the fact that it was only the night of the crash. But the future was so uncertain right now. Reina noticed that Ellen looked uncomfortable and she gestured at the spot next to her. "Please, please sit down." Ellen could have sat down when she first arrived but Reina wasn't going to tell her that. She didn't want someone who was a potential friend to think she was telling her what to do. Reina grinned at Ellen's reaction to her hair compliment and wondered if anyone had ever said anything about it before. Ellen was a pretty woman and Reina hoped she knew that. Of course she hardly knew Ellen but Reina wanted every woman to know she was beautiful in her own way. "I would have loved to see it redder than that, but I still like it the way it is now. It's shining from the moon." She hoped she'd said that correctly. During stressful times she found it difficult to remember correct English. "My hair coloring or my skin coloring?" Reina asked with a smile before laughing softly again. "But thank you. If only you saw other hairstyles in my country. The rich parts of it, I mean. They would put my hair to shame." Reina knew she wasn't the most beautiful Colombian ever, but it was nice when some people in other countries thought that.
make you forget about your 9 to 5

made by Jasmin - Lyrics

PARDON ME BUT YOU SAID THAT YOU'D ALWAYS LOVE ME

Ellen totally understood where Reina was coming from. Whenever she got involved in a task, she focused her entire being on it. She couldn't be bothered. If someone did happen to bother her, she'd snap. "Oh lord no! My skillset is definitely not survival or nature," she said. Ellen hated how so many people assumed that because she hated camping and hiking, she was a girly girl. Ellen was, in no shape or form, a girly girl. She just hated being without air conditioning and plumbing and running water. Some people claimed camping was relaxing. So many people went out in the middle of no where to mediate. Ellen simply couldn't do that.

She stood and listened as Reina spoke. The woman's openness thoroughly surprised Ellen. "It's true you're very pretty. Many women are intimidated by other women who are attractive." Ellen would be a complete and total liar if she said Reina's good looks didn't intimidate her. They did, but she knew Lawson wouldn't cheat on her. At least not with someone who was a total stranger. No, if Lawson was going to cheat on her, it would have to have been with someone he was close to. Ellen pursed her lips together when Reina said many women called her a man stealer right to her face. "That's an awful thing to say to someone," she said. But Ellen knew it was slightly hypocritical of her. She, too, had called a woman a man stealer to her face before. The woman had, however, actually stolen her husband from her, so she supposed it wasn't exactly the same.

When Reina told her to take a seat, Ellen immediately did so. She breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you, my legs were hurt in the crash. I'm not young anymore, so it's not as easy to recover from these things as it used to," If she were ten years younger, she'd be running around, full of energy. She could no longer do that. And the car accident that happened a year ago left her legs in poor condition still.

A light blush mottled her cheeks. "Well, thanks. I'm not used to such compliments," she said. "I mean, my husband calls me beautiful, but I don't think that counts." Well, it did, but it didn't at the same time. "Both actually," Ellen said. Ellen laughed and shook her head. "I'm sure you're exaggerating," she said.

TAG: REINA ADELITA RAMIREZ

MADE BY MINNIE OF FTS & GS

Reina breathed a sigh of relief when Ellen admitted she wasn't very skillful, either. Thank goodness she wasn't the only attractive woman here who wasn't nature-savvy. "You might hate me for saying this, but that makes me feel a little bit better," Reina said with a slight shrug and playful smile.
"Thank you. It's such a shame. They need to see their attractive qualities but they're too focused on others. Isn't it? I'd never call a woman that unless it was true." She shook her head and tried again with the fire. No luck.
"Oh no! I'm sorry I didn't tell you to sit down earlier. But stop it, you can't be old. And don't many of us have a hard time bouncing back once we're older?" She chuckled.

At Ellen's blush, Reina's grin widened. "You're not!? That's crazy! Oh please, it does count when a husband tell his wife she is beautiful." Her Colombian accent caused "beautiful" to be accentuated. She laughed when Ellen said she'd meant both her skin and her hair. "Well thank you. But I'm afraid I'm not. Don't get me wrong, I love it when I'm thought of as gorgeous, but I hardly think that's the case." And she wouldn't say this out loud because she knew how it would sound, but it was tough to be beautiful at times. She was treated so differently at places, and when she was looking for jobs before flight school? She didn't even have to try. But Reina hated taking the easy way out of anything. A few times she'd tried to get fired but her bosses would just shrug it off and give her a warning. The memory almost made Reina roll her eyes again but she returned to the present.

One more try with the sticks left Reina tossing them in the sand. "I give up," she said exasperatedly. The wind tossed her hair in her face and she blew it out of the way before putting it back in a ponytail. "I'm sure my makeup must be off now." She ran a finger under her eye and examined it. Nope. "Well it's smudged. But I think that's the least of my worries now."