𝙼𝙾𝙾𝙽 𝚂𝚃𝚁𝚄𝙲𝙺 (𝙳𝙿𝚂 - 𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚕𝚒𝚎 𝙳𝚊𝚕𝚝𝚘𝚗)

𝚃𝚆𝙴𝙽𝚃𝚈-𝙽𝙸𝙽𝙴

✍︎

The days bled into weeks and soon it was time to be going home for Christmas.

After the day in Keating's class, Mr. Nolan had been furious and gave the whole class detention along with demerits. Letters were also sent home to our family's describing the reckless behaviour that we had showed in the classroom.

The boys had gotten better and Todd was finally sleeping back in his own room. It wasn't back to how it was and it never would be but it was slightly starting to get easier.

Our exams had only finished the day prior to our leave and the relief was unlike any other.

It had been a rough few weeks leading up to them and when we really had to put our heads down to study it just got worse. Knox spent five days vomiting from stress and worry, Todd was in my room every evening before an exam with all the windows open as he tried to calm his breathing. Meeks had shut himself up in his room and anytime he emerged from his cocoon, he had big purple bags beneath his eyes and Pitts hadn't been eating.

And while I shouldn't have cared, I couldn't stop the ache in my chest when we would go into the student room and Cameron would be sitting on his own. He had changed too, I noticed he had became skinnier and was an awful lot paler and it worried me.

On the 24th of December the halls were filled with students and their suitcases waiting for their parents to arrive. It should be a crime for them to keep us in school for this long.

I was stood in my room folding clothes into the brown suitcase that sat open on my bed. The thought made me sick to my stomach, returning home. I know it may sound bad but could I even call it that anymore?

While the thought of returning to the house made my stomach turn and seeing my father made my blood boil, I couldn't help but calm at the fact that my mother would be there too.

My thoughts were interrupted by a knock on my door as it creaked open and Knox stepped in.

"Hey Sophie, I just came to say bye. My dads here" he said as I put down the dress in my hand and turned to hug him. We were the last out of the five of us to leave, the other boys having been collected earlier.

"Are you sure you don't want to stay with us?" Knox asked pulling his head back from the hug to look down at me.

After the office incident when Mr. and Mrs. Overstreet had been sitting outside, they offered to let me stay with them over the Christmas break. I declined gratefully as I thought of my mother waking up on Christmas morning with no one apart from my father surrounding her.

"I'm positive, but thank you" I said as he squeezed me once more before letting me go

"See you after the holidays"

"See ya Knox" I said as he made his way towards the door. "Oh wait Knox"

He turned back towards me as I made my way to the wardrobe, opening it and pulling out a small wrapped brown package with a string bow on it.

I turned back to him and handed him the present with a small smile. "So you have something other than the brown trousers to wear" I said as he took the package into his hands, looking between it and me with surprised before he pulled me into a hug again, this one tighter than the last

"Thank you Sophie" I squeezed him before taking a step back

"You should go, don't wanna keep your father waiting" he nodded before smiling again and stepping back towards the door.