What would you choose?

Chapter Two

The bell rang and school was finally out for the summer. Practically every kid was running out of the school with joy on their faces. Everyone was happy to be out of what they called hell and to now have all of the time to stay at home and just scroll through their phones for hours on end and rarely go out. For me, there was no joy or happiness shown on my face. I didn't want it to be the holidays. I was leaving school and heading to hell. I would have no time to relax and, even if I did have any friends, I wouldn't be allowed to see them, and I didn't have a phone I could waste hours on. My summer would be full of "Autumn do this and Autumn do that". School was my only escape as well as my dream world. I wish I could just escape to my dream world and live my dream life and never return. I walked down the empty school hall that now had schoolbooks that no one wants anymore all over the floor. Prom was in three days which the majority of girls were looking forward to more than summer. I was about to reach the door when the jocks and cheer leaders came rushing past and knocked me over. "Watch out freak." The head cheerleader, Aiden, shouted. I picked up my papers and was about to pick up the book I'd been reading when someone else picked it up for me. "Here."

"Thanks." I looked up and saw a boy with chestnut brown hair and blueish-grey eyes.

"No problem," he smiled then ran off after his friends. His name is Luka. He's in the same year as me, plays football and is in the musical society where he plays guitar. I don't really speak to him as he's one of the popular kids and I try to avoid them. They like to pick on me a lot. Why did I ever think school was an escape?

I left the school and headed to the car park. I spotted the rusty, old green Jeep and hurled myself in. "You're late."

"Sorry uncle, my teacher wanted to talk to me about the summer reading list."

"I don't care. When I say to be here you be here."

"Sorry it won't happen again."

"It better not. Also, I found more of your hair around the house. It's disgusting. I give you a home and this is what you do." My uncle has been looking after me since I was six. My family died eleven years ago, there was a car crash on the way back from a meal to welcome my uncle home from traveling, my parents and two-year-old brother died. He was all I had left. It hurts knowing I'll never get my family back. I don't remember them much, but I can imagine, and I have a photo of them, that my uncle doesn't know about, so I don't forget what they look like. My uncle wants me to forget them and move. "If I had a hair cut my hair, it wouldn't moult so much."

"Aut we've talked about this." I hate when he calls me Aut. According to my uncle, my parents were "stupid hippies" and gave me a stupid name, which is Autumn, so refuses to call me by my actual name. "Women should have long flowing hair that's always kept up and what else should women have?"

"Normal coloured hair," I huffed. I have light brown hair, but I would love to have short, dark blue hair, it would match my eyes. I always have my hair in plaits to try to prevent it from moulting. "That's right. Now let's get home I'm hungry and the dishes need doing." I put my seat belt on, and we headed off.

We finally got home, well what uncle calls home, I call it prison. We lived in the worst house in the area, ours was old and covered in moss. There was a back garden, but it was covered in trash and fags. However, the front garden was covered in Tulips that were my uncle's pride and joy. Inside didn't look any better. What used to be a white carpet is now grey and the tv is about twenty years old. It stank of smoke and there was mould climbing the walls. Also, there was mice living in the kitchen. I'm forced to clean the house a lot, but it still ends up looking like a dump. Uncle slumped down on the sofa and lit a fag. I started to head up stairs when my uncle screamed at me. "Oi! Where do you think you're going?"

"To get changed, I've been in jeans all day."

"And I'm hungry so go make dinner." I threw my bag up the stairs and went to start dinner. I was the one who did all the chores as my uncle believes it's a women's job. For dinner it was left over pasta. I put the dinner on the table and called uncle to come sit. "How was work?"

"Good. Um... how was school?"

"Good, I got the top grade in maths." My uncle didn't reply and continued eating.

Once dinner was over, my uncle went back to watch tv whilst I went to start the dishes. I found washing up quite relaxing. I turned the tap on, and it came bursting out the pipes, it was boiling hot. It got on my arm and burned badly. "What are you doing you stupid girl?" My uncle screamed as he stormed in.

"The tap burst and burnt my arm."

"You've broken my tap. That's coming out of your pocket money. Tidy then go to bed." As always uncle doesn't give a rat about me. I cleaned up as quickly as possible then ran upstairs.

My room wasn't too small, but it was under average. I had everything a normal room had like a bed, a chest of draws and a desk that had a couple of books and two notebooks that I write stories in on. My room was dull and the only window in my room was a small sky light over my bed. I put my school stuff away, got changed into my pjs and slumped down onto my bed to sleep.