A Farewell Letter to Myself

Chapter 1

                                                             Chapter 1

Amory Winters was a normal child, stuck between the ages of thirteen and fourteen. He had good grades, could play the viola at grade eight and had been awarded ‘Pupil of the Year’ several times. Amory was also a handsome child: tall and slender, a long nose, with a fantastic crop of dark red hair, inherited from his mother, and dull green eyes, from his father. His parents were also very handsome. His mother, Theresa, had been a model and his father, Lawrence, had been a photographer. This was how they had met, on an assignment many years ago, for a top fashion magazine. Even with all this achievement, Amory was a very lonely child. He lived on an estate, mostly inhabited by people in their elder years and he and his parents were easily the youngest family living there. School was not fun for the child: with no friends, his closest acquaintance was his Biology teacher, however it was the only thing in his life he enjoyed; Good grades and academic accolades were the only things Amory truly found joy in.

It had been a normal Monday morning as Amory trudged along his neat, picket-fenced estate, waving at any old dears that called a greeting to him. He nodded at anyone that passed him, out of pure politeness, with the idea of a biology test that afternoon the only thing propelling his step. He continued to walk down the pavement, his bag bouncing on his back, when he stopped suddenly, jumping back. A small cat was sat on the path in front of him. It mewed at him loudly.

“Stupid animal!” he shouted in fright and then composed himself. “Get out of the way, you’re blocking the path!” The cat blinked at him innocently. “Move! Go on, move!” Amory shooed it away with his hands. The cat got up leisurely and stalked off, tail up high and into a bush. Amory sighed, shaking his head. “Mangy stray, should be put down,” he mumbled. Soon enough, Harold’s Private was seen on the horizon. Many boys and girls, dressed in the same white and red uniform, flocked into the gates. Amory sighed as he was pushed and shoved along in the crowd, as we was nearly every day. He entered the school, heart heavy and went to his locker. He got out the needed books for that day and was abut to shut the door, before he noticed something at the very far back. He opened the door again and reached inside. His fingers came in contact with a soft fabric and his hand clenched around it, bringing it out in the light. It was doll, except it was an exact replica of him. It was dressed in his present white and red school uniform, with a red tie. It had two green buttons sewed in place as eyes, and hair made from thick dark orange wool. He held it out infront of him, biting his lip. Why was it there? He bent down and looked into locker again, and saw a single white envelope propped up against his history text book. He pulled it out, and slid his thumb under the seal, opening the note. Amory read the letter:

Hey, this is a love letter. Do you like the doll? I give all my crushes a doll, I think it shows how much I care for them… anyway, well done on being chosen, I think we could have some fun together, I’ll text you tonight!

This annoyingly girlish message, written in pink sparkly gel pen, ended with an unreadable signature and many kisses. He screwed it up in his hand. Who would like him? And how had she got his phone number? Amory scanned the corridor for any giggling, blushing girls lurking around but there were none. He shrugged and glanced at the doll in his hand again. It was clear a lot of work had gone into it. He had a biology test that afternoon, perhaps it could be his lucky mascot. As he went to lock the locker, the three biggest boys from the junior rugby team slammed into him.

“Aw, has little Winters got a dolly-wolly?” sneered one. He pushed Amory against the lockers, sending surrounding children to scatter to safety.

“Did Mumsie make it for him, so he’s not lonely?” jeered another.

“No, for your info-”

“Shut it, wimp.” For good measure, the largest slammed him into the lockers again, leaving him to slide down them, dazed. The rugby players all high-fived each other, for ‘annihilating another shrimp’ as they put it. The surrounding students tutted sympathetically at him, but didn’t bother to help. One girl, at the locker next to him, sort of cocked her eyebrows and rolled her eyes but swiftly left like the others. His hand clenched around the doll’s body again and he dragged himself up off the dirty linoleum floor.

The biology test was straight after lunch. Amory had spent most of the day staring idly at a textbook, but of course he knew it all back to front. When they filed into the class room for the test, he took his seat and got out his needed apparatus. After a moment or two of thought, he decided to leave the doll in his bag, not needing any more hassle. Mr. Grange came in, his tie flapping and a steaming cup of tea in his hand.

“All right, guys settle down!” he called. The girls and boys sat down obediently. The teacher called the register and handed out papers. “Okay, you know the rules; one hour, no cheating, no talking, understood?”

“Yes Mr. Grange!”

“Good. You have from now, go.” Amory flipped his paper over, and started scribbling – it seemed like a breeze. Once he’d got to the last questions, something kept biting at him from the back of his mind. The doll, he could see it in his back, the head poking out from the top, the button-eyes glinting with menace. A shiver ran up his spine. It’s just a doll, he told himself, stop being such a coward! He could feel the cold green eyes watching him, until he couldn’t concentrate. In a quick movement, he reached into his bag and squashed the doll into the bottom, so it he could see it no longer.

“Amory Winters?” called Mr. Grange. “I do hope you’re not cheating, my boy.” Amory sat up straight, flushing as everyone turned to look at him.

“N-No, Mr Grange, I’d forgotten to get out my pencil, sorry.” He stammered. Mr Grange nodded.

“Alright, but next time remember to get everything out before the test starts.” Amory nodded. He finished the test and sat in silence, twiddling his thumbs. Even though the doll was no longer in his sight, it certainly wasn’t out of his mind. Who was this girl? And why did she make him a doll? These questions buzzed around his head, making him restless. Mr Grange took in the papers a few seconds after the bell and when he saw Amory’s paper, sighed and shook his head. Amory looked at him, with an expression something like ‘Why? What have I done?’ but the man just ignored him. He collected his stationery and walked home. The cat was sat in the place beside bush and he stared back at it as it watched him walked past with large, yellow eyes. When he arrived home, Amory greeted his parents, as usual, and did his homework, ate his tea and then bathed and went to bed. His evening routine was as normal as ever, but as he switched off the light after reading another chapter of his book, his phone vibrated next to him. The words from the letter echoed around his brain: the text said one thing: ‘Better luck next time, sport.’