A Novel Cover and a Princess’ picture

By Ami Meitsu….(with Art by Ami Meitsu)

“Novel” and “Zordar” are probably words that no one would think of putting in the same sentence. But now they have too-after he got out of jail some time ago he’d been wanting to write a novel that told of his life in the Comet Empire and what he’s been through, so that’s what he did.Sure he tortured his editor, turning stuff in late…not writing etc…Anyway the book is called My Daughter and I it basically tells his story and life with Invidia and some of the early years with her mother, stuff like that. Now they only thing that needs to be figured out is the cover and guess who’ job that is…

“You want me to do vhat?” Invidia asked her father, he was sitting on one of the two couches on her apartment. He had come to ask her about the cover of his novel.

“I just told you, I want you to model for the cover picture of the book.” Zordar told her, he had figured that since it was about his life in the empire with her that it would fit.

“No!” Invidia told him, she never modeled and she wasn’t going to even for her father. It wasn’t that she couldn’t she didn’t want to -she knew it would involve some new dress she didn’t want to wear and a picture that didn’t show her in her true nature, an evil woman. (Okay a little less evil but still evil)

“Invidia I need you to do this for me” he told her.

“No!”

“Invidia, I’ve done many things for you, you could do something for me.”

“I will I’ll show you the door!” Invidia pointed to it.

“Please Invidia, at least try it, we might not even use the picture, it depends on how it comes out.”

“You sure it won’t be used?”

“No, I said it might not there is still a small chance we will use it.”

‘Well I guess I could try…’ she thought. “All right, just this once” Invidia told her father.

He nodded then left.

The next day he somehow got Arty and the kids out of the house and showed up with a woman who Invidia guesses was the photographer, but other than that he also held a white box and he took her into her room.

“Okay why are we in here?” Invidia asked.

“Go put this on” he handed her the box.

“What?”

“Go put it on.”

“No!” Invidia said, she knew this would happen, a new dress that she didn’t want to wear but would be forced to.

“You told me you’d do this-now put the dress on” he told her again.

“All right” she said and disappeared into the bathroom. “There is no way I can wear this” she muttered to herself as she held the dress in front of her, but she put the thing on anyway.

“Invidia, get out here” her father called after about 5 minutes.

“Fine” she said and carefully stepped out in a black tank top dress that fell just above her ankles.

“Take off your shoes” he told her and she removed the black house slippers she was wearing.

“Okay” the woman told her “go lay on your bed.”

“Vhat?!”

“Bed” she told Invidia.

Invidia looked like “what the hell?!”

“For the picture.”

“I know that! But why?”

“You’ll see.”

“Fine” Invidia murmured and climbed onto her bed.

“Lay flat on your back” the woman instructed.

Invidia obliged, while her photographer worked on spreading the bottom of her dress out over a part of the bed, after that she started spreading her hair out a bit.

“What are you doing?” Invidia asked.

The woman ignored her and moved her around a little more so that one of her arms of a couple inches away from her face and that the other one was on her dress. “Take your left hand hold on to the other strap.” She ordered while moving the other strap down a little on her shoulder.

“Do what now?” Invidia asked.

The woman looked at her he look said ‘just do it.’

Invidia read this look and obliged to her command.

“Good now…stay like this way for while” she said while setting up her camera to get a shot from above.

‘I’m going to kill my father…’ Invidia thought.

“No, look sweet, not menacing!”

Invidia sighed and changed her expression.

“Perfect” she muttered.

This went on for about 10 minutes then she had Invidia lay sideways-for the back cover picture (Invidia doesn’t know this)

“Okay done” the woman said after about 20 minutes.

‘It’s about time!’ Invidia thought, now she knew another reason that she rarely had professional pictures taken.

“See ya!” she said before she left and Invidia turned to her father.

“You owe me big time” she told him.

“All right…” Zordar murmured.

“They better not show me like that!” Invidia muttered as she changed back into her regular dress.

About two weeks later the books came out and well….

“What is dis?!” Invidia asked Arty the morning they had come out.

“It’s a book” he said.

“Where did you get this?” she was clearly pissed off.

“Your father had some extra copies, so he gave them to us.”

“Where is he?” she asked.

“On the balcony with Akira…but…” Invidia didn’t listen.

“Father!” she said coming on to the big balcony that was in the back of the penthouse.

“Morning Invidia-Mama” Akira told her.

“Akira, go” Invidia said and her adopted daughter obliged, she could tell that her ‘Invidia-Mama’ was pissed, and when she was like this, it was better just to do what she said.

“What’s wrong now?” Zordar asked.

“Dis!” Invidia showed him the book “these pictures! Father how could you do this?”

“Do what?” Zordar didn’t see anything wrong with the pictures.

“I thought you weren’t going to use them!! And now everyone’s gonna see me like this!”

“I think they look fine” her father shrugged.

“You just don’t get it!”

“Get what?” Arty asked as he came onto the balcony he came up behind Invidia and placed his arms around her waist pulling her closer to him.

“Don’t touch me!” she said.

He ignored her.

“Invidia look, they’re just pictures, you’ll get used to it.”

“I’m still mad at you” she said as he went inside.“And shouldn’t you be going?” she asked Arty. Usually she wouldn’t mind being with him, but she was mad and wanted to be left alone for awhile.

“Fine…be that way!” he said and left-though she knew he was just playing.

A little while later, Arty sat with Homer, Derek and Royster in the living room of his apartment, he told them they could have some of the books. Homer turned it every which way just looking at the cover.

“Interesting cover” Derek said-it was interesting to see that Invidia could look sweet sometimes.

“I know she actually looks hot!” Homer said, then he realized what he said.

Arty glared at him.

“I...Uh…” Homer said…then he ran like hell out of the apartment.

“He was smart to run” Arty said and Derek nodded, Royster just looked at him.