𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐄, ackley bridge

01. "DEADLY, PUTTING THAT UNIFORM ON."

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IT WERE 8:00 AM SHARP ON A COLD, MONDAY MORNING. The alarm of her cracked iPhone blared in her ear until Marnie Cooper forced herself out of bed to trail her body over to the left side of her room to turn the sound off. She yawned and stretched and pulled her curtains back, welcoming the peeking sun through her window that lit the room up the smallest amount.

As people from the UK know, September wasn't the best month for weather, nor, anything really. It was the month when summer officially came to end, the ground was always soaked with rain, and the sun didn't make a proper appearance until at least 9 o'clock. Oh — and schools started back. Marnie could already feel a draft from pulling her curtains back and dreaded the idea of having to go out there and walk to school.

She twirled on her feet, heading to the bathroom to get ready quickly in the new uniform she'd got fitted for in August - another thing for parents to complain about: the price of paying for another new school uniform. She had them on her radiator so it was at least warm when she put it on, but still wasn't so pleased when her legs felt exposed with her new skirt in the September temperatures. She was really going to miss summer.

She chose to wear her hair down for extra heat and immediately grabbed the thick school scarf and flung that around her neck, grabbing her bag she followed the dog downstairs. She let him outside and made herself a small bowl of cereal, too tired to even look at her phone or switch on the TV in the living room to activate her brain. She couldn't believe she was back to school already.

She couldn't believe she was in 6th form. It felt like just yesterday she was getting lost in First Year.

By the time she finished and brushed her teeth, she began to rush as she noticed the time. She locked Sprite in his dog crate so he didn't piss anywhere or take his teeth to a pair of her shoes until her mum came back to let him out: he behaved when people were around but leaving him alone was like giving a child a marker and setting them in a white-wall room — what did you expect? She opened her front door with her thick, black Parka coat on and jumped - not at all expecting the presence of her mother to be standing at the door first thing this morning with her work uniform still on.

Suppose Sprite weren't gonna be in his cage for long!

She passed her on the door, Katherine making a quick comment about loving the new uniform until the teenager pushed past her with a snigger for her mocking it. Yeah, even Kathy knew dark purple weren't the most appealing colour to wear, and she were born in the 80s. Nonetheless, she kissed her mother's cheek like the French and went on to make her way to school, hoping her mum got the sleep she looked like she clearly needed.

She'd gotten a text from Missy to see if she'd left yet, to which she sent her a photo of her walking under the grey, foggy sky, her scarf pulled up to her mouth for warmth. Missy and Nas would, of course, be walking to school together, now that they attended the same one. Marnie didn't mind she would now be the lone wolf - Missy had her waking up earlier than she needed to be so she was on time to be at her house so they could walk to school together — trust me, Marnie weren't mad at all. Missy could be a lot in the mornings.

By the time she'd reached school land, she was weirded out by the number of people walking towards the building. It was definitely more than what she expected. She spotted Nas and Missy making their way through the gates together and quickly sped up to reach them. "Hey, guys," she'd greeted devilishly, creeping up behind them.