Fallen Angel

The First Time I Saw Her

The First Time I Saw Her

“ARGH, MUM! WHERE ARE MY CONVERSES!?”

My throat felt sore and my face felt puffy. I was so not ready for today.

“Honey, if you mean the black ones, they’re under the stairs, WHERE YOU LEFT THEM!”

“Okay, okay. THANKS MUM!”

It was way too early in the morning to be doing this much shouting. I had just woken up 15 minutes ago, and after a quick shower, I was supposed to be out of the house and heading towards the local school. It was the beginning of summer, and starting Year 9 halfway through the year was definitely not a good thing.

After a speedy breakfast and hugs and kisses to mum, I set out of the house.

“Time for school,” I muttered under my breath as I walked down the narrow pavement, “More like the hell-hole.”

Slipping my headphones on and letting the music drown out the noise of the traffic, I quickened my pace.

“Far away,

this ship is taking me far away.

Far away from the memories,

of the people who care if I live or die…”

10 minutes later, I had arrived. It looked disgusting. The walls were made of stark brick and looked harsh and empty, the windows were grimy and the playground deserted. It reminded me of a mental institution. The small fading sign read,

“Redburn School

School for Delinquents”

Only, someone had crossed out the word ‘delinquents’ and written ‘GAYLORDS’ in its place. The abandoned benches and tables sat in the quiet sunshine, as if they were contemplating whether or not to just rot away and die instead of staying in this bleak area.

The black gates scorched my skin as I slowly pushed it open. It creaked on its rusty hinges and gradually stopped swinging, gleaming in the afternoon sun, as if welcoming me into a brand new nightmare. They seemed to be whispering to me, “Ahh, fresh meat. Nummy…”

But that was probably just my over-active imagination.

My black converses seemed to be the only thing making noised as I walked through the eerily silent playground. It was as if the world had suddenly stopped spinning, and time had stood still in the short amount of seconds that it took to cross the playground. I approached the main reception door. It was once bright red, but now it had flaking paint, and the wood underneath was splintered and faded. The two windows were dark and what was behind them was unrecognisable. It seemed to be completely black.

“Who are you?”

The sharp voice echoed across the playground and reverberated back to us. I whipped my head back and caught sight of a slim girl, dressed in black.

“I said, who are you?”

“Oh. I’m Emma. Emma Bailey. I’m new here. Is this the main reception?”

“The main reception? No one calls it that anymore. It’s the ‘Welcome the Wonderers’ room now, ‘WW’ for short. I’ll take you there.”

“Umm… thanks.”

She took of in the opposite direction and behind a large section of the school building. I hurried along, trying hard to keep up. She turned another corner, disappearing from sight. Worried that I had lost her, I ran to catch up. As I turned the same corner, I caught sight of a metal set of double doors that has the words ‘WW’ spray painted across it.

“The ‘Welcome the Wanderers’ room I presume?”

“Yeah, just go in.”

“Okay, thanks again. I didn’t catch your name…”

“Err, it’s Arianne.”

“Cool, thanks Arianne.”

I slowly pushed open the door and took a tentative step inside.

-          Muse

Starlight