Kaleidoscope- a Cherry Valance fanfic

Trouble

I woke up this morning feeling empty as ever. 

Sunshine seeped through my curtains, landing directly in my eyes, adding more discomfort to my already awful headache. I sat up and looked around my room, the events of last night slowly coming back to me, causing a small smile to tug at my lips. However, my thoughts were interrupted by the heavy steps of the man I called my father.

Great, nothing like being pushed around and yelled at to start my morning, I thought.

I decided the best thing to do was get ready before leaving my room, in hopes that my father would either leave or pass out drunk again. When I looked in the mirror, I couldn't help but laugh at my reflection. It's not that I'm ugly, but my disheveled appearance sure did make me look funny. My hair pointed in all different directions, my face was puffy, and my clothes hung off my body in all the wrong ways, basically making me look like I had survived a tornado. 

After showering and brushing my teeth, I threw on a skirt that went down to right above my knees paired with a long sleeve shirt. I carefully tiptoed out of my room, scanning our living room. Thankfully, my father had passed out on the couch, an empty bottle of vodka by his side. I ate my breakfast while walking to school.

I arrived to school and headed straight to my locker. As I turned my lock and twisted in the combination, I felt a hand reach up my skirt. I turned around and grabbed the collar of the shirt that belonged to some boy and flipped him so his back was against the locker. I quickly punched him square in the jaw, causing him to slump down onto the ground. This also caused his friends, who I assumed had put him up to this, to start laughing uncontrollably. I used my foot to push him aside, cringing at how absolutely hideous he was. Once I grabbed my materials, I headed to class.

"Y/N Winston?" my teacher called, a hint of disgust present in her voice. My older brother, Dallas, had gone here too. Well, that's a bit of a stretch. He barely ever showed up, but when he did, disaster and trouble followed close behind. This tarnished the Winston name even more. I was the result of an affair. Thats why I didn't look much like my brother. My mother died in labour, leaving me stuck with my abusive, piece of crap father who blamed me for his wife leaving. My step-mom always treated me like her own daughter and accepted me when I told her I was bisexual. One day, however, she left. I could only assume it was because of my fathers drinking and the way he constantly used her as a punching bag. Dallas was a huge trouble-maker before he left to go god knows where. The Winston name was basically a curse in NYC.

Shortly into the class, the intercom beeped and a message was relayed.

"Y/N Winston, please make your way to the office," the secretary spoke.

I picked up my bag and made my way to the front of the classroom, stopping shortly by the door.

"Don't miss me too much, Joanna." I smirked, sending her a wink, before exiting the classroom.

I walked into the office, and was met by Walter Graham, the principal, glaring at me angrily. I sent him a large smile before taking a seat in front of him. 

"Is there a reason I'm here, Walter, or did you just miss seeing my beautiful face?" I questioned, smirking at him. I purposely threw his first name in there to make him mad. I guess Dallas wasn't the only one destroying our name around here. I got into trouble, not nearly as often as Dal, but enough that Mr. Graham was tired of seeing me in his office. Our name was already destroyed, what was the fun in trying to fix it? It was a lost cause.

"I understand you punched a student this morning, Y/N." he began, "We do not tolerate violence and bullying in this school."

"Oh but you tolerate that pig sticking his fingers up my skirt?" I remarked.

"Violence isn't the answer," he responded before continuing, "Well what do you th-"

"Doesn't the little shit have to be here for this as well?" I grumbled cutting him off, growing impatient.

"Well maybe he would be if you hadn't knocked him unconscious," he sassed, "and his name was Richard."

"Yeah, Dick seems like a fitting name," I snorted, slumping into my chair.

"Listen, this was the last straw. I'm afraid we're going to have to expel you." he finished.

"What? Bullshit! You guys wouldn't care if I got assaulted by a student as long as your precious little boys came out unscathed!" I yelled.

I walked to the door before pausing by his bookshelf. I scanned it until my eyes landed on this obnoxiously coloured vase, it was almost as ugly as that boy from earlier. 

"Handmade?" I questioned as I pointed at it.

"Yes, my wife made it," he answered proudly.

With one swift motion, I pushed it off the shelf. I watched it shatter into multiple little pieces.

"You're welcome," I said. I sent him a sarcastic smile before I walked out of the room. I also made sure to slam the door as hard as I could, which caused the furniture and paintings near the wall to shake.

I walked out of the building. Surprisingly, it felt as if a great weight had been lifted off my shoulder. I made my way to a park and sat down while smoking a cigarette. 

What am I gonna do now? I thought. Soon, an idea popped into my head. Sure, it was a little crazy, but so am I. I had absolutely nothing left for me in New York, and it had been like that for a while, but now I had nothing me holding me here. No family I cared about, no friends, and now, no school. 

I headed back to my apartment. I snuck up the fire escape and climbed through my window. After packing a bag with clothes, food, drinks, and necessities, I rummaged through drawers. I looked for some sort of sign as to where my brother was. We were only a year apart and I missed him so much. After turning the place inside out, I had managed to find $50 and a postcard from Tulsa, addressed to me, from Dallas. I could only assume my father had hidden it from me.

I finally arrived at the train station and bought a one-way ticket to Tulsa. 

Now here I stand, at a terminal in Grand Central Station, waiting for my train, ticket in hand, in hopes of finding my brother and starting a new life, away from the torture of New York City.