Marilyn Monroe; The Untold Story

“Norma Jeanne Mortenson – requesting you to kindly report to the front office, please.” came the announcement over the loudspeaker. She looked up, a tangled mess of emotions suddenly playing inside of her. Norma Jeanne Mortenson. That was her name. On the loudspeaker of the orphanage. That either meant she had skipped a chore or two (which couldn’t have been the case as she’d checked and double-checked her list too many times to have accidentally forgotten anything), or it meant that someone had come to adopt her.

“Norma Jeanne Mortenson. Please hurry up – we don’t have all day!” Norma darted back to consciousness as she heard her own name echo over the loudspeaker a second time. She shot up from her seat by the window – unfortunately too fast and hit her head on the crammed ceiling. She was tall, for a skinny sixteen-year-old girl. She peered into the mirror for a minute and smoothed down her caramel curls, flattened her plaid skirt, and brushed imaginary lint off her sweater. Taking a deep breath – she turned towards the door and pushed it open, plastering a huge smile across her pretty face.

“Norma Jeanne Mortenson. Come along with me.” It was Ms. Jamison, an employee at Hollygrove Orphanage.

“Okay, Ms. Jamison.”

Norma followed her – jogging to keep up – and ultimately ended up in front of the main adoption office. This is it, she thought. Don’t mess this up, Norma. This is the moment you’ve been waiting for ever since Wayne and Ida dropped you back here.

Norma had gone through some bad experiences with adoption, which goes pointedly at her previous foster parents – Wayne and Ida Bolender; who despite being paid $25 an hour to take care of her, deposited her at the orphanage once more. They were nice people, sure – but they just weren’t cut out to take care of Norma.

Ms. Jamison knocked gingerly on the door – the sharp sound snapping Norma out of her thoughts.

“Oh, Hortencia, darling – would you get that, please? It must be Norma.” They listened as Ms. Craig, the head honcho at Hollygrove called out the maidservant. Two beats later, the door swung open, and there they were.

“Auntie Grace!” Norma couldn’t believe her eyes.

“Norma! Come here, darling! Let me see you!” Grace Goddard – her mother’s close friend and Norma’s first foster parent – was no doubt, the best of all her previous guardians. She ran into her aunt’s arms, taking in the warmth of her cashmere cardigan and the smell of honey that seemed to emanate from her.

“I missed you so much, Auntie Grace!”

“Aw, I missed you too, dear.”

Norma looked up at Grace hopefully. “Have you come to adopt me?”

Grace smiled at her. “Well-”

“Okay – sorry to break up this nice little – uh, thing. But we’re actually on a time limit here. We’ve got more people waiting.” Ms. Craig looked at Grace and Norma sternly. “Mrs. Goddard – you’ll have to sign Norma’s adoption papers. If you’re sure, of course.”

“I’ve never been surer of anything else.” she smiled at a beaming Norma. “Hand me the papers, please.”

Norma watched on – her heart jumping with joy as Grace filled out the adoption forms. She couldn’t believe it! She would finally have a family again!

“Alright – and, done.” Grace placed the forms carefully on Ms.Craig’s desk and raised her eyebrows jubilantly at her. “So can I take Norma home?”

After flipping through the forms a couple of times, Ms. Craig finally responded – “Of course. Thank you for your time, and hope you have a great time with Norma. She’s an excellent child. Goodbye!”

Norma decided not to think about the fact that she’d never really interacted with Ms. Craig enough for her to judge whether or not she was an ‘excellent child’.

They pulled up to a little two-storied home, and Norma bounded inside excitedly, placing her bags on the floor. “Oh, Auntie Grace? Did you move houses? I don’t remember your last house being this big!”

“Oh no, dear. I simply had some renovations done. Now why don’t I show you your room?”

“I’d like that, Auntie.” Norma smiled.

“Alright then, come along!”

For those few months, everything was simply perfect. Norma lived happily and freely  – she would stay at home and help her aunt around with things here and there, but occasionally she would go out and sit at a nearby coffee shop – simply to observe people. Since she had nothing to do, she would mostly sit at home and watch movies in her free time. All kinds of movies – horror, crime, thriller, action, drama, mystery, and even comedy. She loved the theatre. Oh, how I wish I could be up there on screen too! Imagine that! she would think as she watched her favorite film stars on television. But wonder of wonders – she never would have imagined that one day – that dream would come true…

She sat on the high chair, sipping a warm mug of coffee as the lyrics of Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree blasted on the loudspeakers of her favorite café. It was the most wonderful time of the year – Christmas time. There were people bustling and embracing all around, sharing eggnog and presents; happy as can be. In all honesty, Norma was happy too. She and Grace had planned out a great Christmas Dinner for themselves and the neighbors – but it just seemed like something was missing. Aha! She knew just what that was – a Christmas Miracle!

“Ahem.” She looked up suddenly, as the sound of someone clearing their throat knocked her out of her Christmas-y thoughts. “Dear girl, do you have a minute?”

“Oh.” Norma stared at the speaker. It was a man of about twenty-four, carefully polished and neatly trimmed. He had slicked-back black hair that had been parted from the middle, and although he had a poised composure – his black eyes were soft and kind. “Wait a second… I know you.” That oh-so-familiar moustache seemed to flash in Norma’s memory, as she racked her brain. “Oh my god! You’re Ben Lyon! I’ve seen you on television and I’m a huge fan of your work!”

Ben chuckled. “Why thank you, young lady. Indeed, yes – you are right. I speak on behalf of 20th Century Fox Studios when I say – you’ve got the perfect attire to be an acting sensation.”

“Wait, really?” Norma was incredulous. “You really think so?”

“Of course I do! Why I’ve been noticing you for the past couple of weeks, and today I was finally able to make up my mind; if I don’t do something now, some other company will strike before me!”

Norma stared at him, confused. “What exactly do you mean, ‘strike’’?”

“Yes! It’s pretty obvious by looking at you that you’re high on demand from other companies too – I just wanted to throw in my pitch there too, if you don’t mind.”

He thinks I’m an actress, Norma thought. How amazing was that? Well, she wasn’t about to disappoint him by telling him that she wasn’t!

“Oh, indeed! How very kind of you to offer a tie-up with 20th Century Fox. I definitely will take you up on that!”

Ben clapped his hands together in joy and exclaimed, “Well that’s simply brilliant news, Miss…?”

“Mortenson. Norma Jeanne Mortenson.”

“Ooh, no. No, that won’t do at all.” he almost grimaced visibly as he registered her name. “Doesn’t sound very film-star-like to you, does it?”

“Um, no?”

“No indeed. We must work upon it.”

“You want me to change my name?” Norma asked, slightly mortified.

In response, Ben looked at her as though she had gone off the deep end. “Are you really asking me that?”

“Oh, um- no of course not! It was just a little attempt at humor!” She couldn’t show any sort of weakness in knowledge about the film industry. What if he withdrew his offer? Luckily though, she’d watched enough movies for even the most basic idea about the film industry. “Film stars change their names all the time!” Norma gave a nervous laugh. – she was really getting into it now. 

“Ah, I see.” Ben chuckled awkwardly but shook off the tension almost instantly. “Tell me, Norma – what was your grandmother’s maiden name? Mother’s side, I mean.”

Norma seemed taken aback. “Oh, uh. I don’t really know my mother’s side that well.”

“Okay, no problem. What about father’s?”

“My grandma’s maiden name was Monroe.”

Ben clapped his hands triumphantly again. “Aha! There we have it! Your last name will be Monroe.”

“Oh, uh great! So Norma Monroe?”

“Um, no. Norma isn’t exactly the best star-name you can get. No offense.” Ben Lyon smiled at her sheepishly.

“None taken. But what would be my name, then?”

Ben smirked at her. “You don’t have to worry about that. You just focus on getting the acting part done, and I’ll manage the rest, okay?”

Norma couldn’t have been happier to hear that. “Sounds better than okay, Mr Lyon. Thank you so much!”

Although it had been a couple of months since Ben Lyon’s offer, Norma had successfully completed her debut film. To be honest, it all felt like a dream to Norma. Foggy and surreal – yet exquisite. Simply fantastic. She sat – beside all her co-actors, occupying the front row. She wore a gorgeous black and white, Chanel-style dress with pearls embellishing the side, the skirt flaring fiercely. The scatter of murmurs around the hall quietened down as the faint music ceased, and the curtains parted – revealing Ben Lyon in a tuxedo on stage.

“Ladies and Gentleman. This is the moment you’ve all been waiting for. Waiting to see who it really is. Who the flawless lady is – who has made our newest film such a huge success? But it is truly a miracle, people! Our brand new star – isn’t even a full year old in the film industry, and she’s already begun to go places!”

Norma felt her face glow with the compliments.

“Now, now people. I won’t keep you in suspense any longer. Without further ado, let me welcome on stage – the marvelously talented and gorgeous star of our film – Miss Marilyn Monroe!”

–Srinika Mukherjee, an eighth-grade student, is a budding author with two published books and a fervent passion for music.