The Ugly Duckling

Chapter 1

       "All aboard!" Yelled the commodore of the train. He had a thick mustache and wire glasses. The sky was a dull grey as per usual in England. It was a tell-tell sign of the rain we were due. I walked as fast as I could towards the trains main entrance. I had three bags with me all of them were black not standing out at all. As I finally made it to the entrance after being pushed and shoved by the bustling people on the boardwalk I was exhausted. The commodore looked at me quickly and smiled warmly. He quickly grabbed my bags and then helped me onto the train. "I'll need your ticket ma' am ." He said his voice gruff and deep.

       I handed him the ticket after struggling to get the ticket out of my coat pocket and blushed deeply. He nodded and I turned to search for a seat. When I found a seat I sat down and looked down at my hands. They were large and puffy like sausages. They looked like I had an allergic reaction to something and refused to go down. My nails were short and stubby almost non existent. I heard muffled laughing and hung my head lower. I didn't have to look up to know that it was most likely a child laughing at me. Then I felt the nudging in my side.

        I raised my head slowly to see a red face with dark brown eyes looking at me. " Ma' am, can you move over you are sitting on my seat." Said an upset Irish woman. I nodded too embarrassed to say a thing. This only confirmed it. I thought as I moved a seat away from her. They were right and I was simply in denial. I thought as tears slid down my face.

                                                                                             Flashback

               I looked into the mirror he had thrust into my face. I saw  the acne and the scar. I saw the way my face had become stretched from the way I had gained weight. I saw the second scar I had on my throat from surgery. I saw the way my short black hair made me look even more unreal. And for the first time in forever I accepted what they said. I understood why they wanted to be dropped off 4 blocks away from the school we all attended. I understood why they never wanted to have friends over and why I didn't have any. Suddenly everything made sense to me, I was the reason my family was falling apart and all I could do was say 'sorry'.

            At one point in my life I was taught that it isn't how a person looks but what is on the inside that counts. In short they were saying don't judge a book by its cover however what I wasn't taught is that everyone judges. No matter how wrong they know it is. So I dropped the mirror I had in my hand and ran to the stairs. I had never moved so fast in my life but, I tell you this I was up those stairs in a flash. In a matter of 2 hours I had scheduled a train ticket to Ireland where I would attend a boarding school for the next 5  years of my life. I walked down the stairs where my brothers were along with my luggage. My dad wasn't at home so all of the courage I had was showing itself. They looked at me and all I could see in their eyes were disgust and hatred. And with that I left.

                                                                                   Flashback  Over

         I stepped off the train into a scene that seemed to be from a magazine or a dream. Ireland. It was more beautiful than I could have ever imagined. A smile was on my face and it was something I hadn't done in a long time. I had a feeling this was going be a whole life changer for me. I could just feel it. I looked around for my chauffer his name was Adam. My eyes finally landed on the lad with a sign with my name written on it. I approached him slowly seeing that he wasn't what I expected. He had a few piercings here  and there and was a red head. "Hi, love you must be Ezra?" He said his American accent thick. "Y-Y-Y-Yeah " I got out without much of my usual struggle.

     "Looks like you and I are gonna be roommates, love." He said a smile on his face. No one could have guessed how much those words would alter my life completely, at least not anymore than I already had.