Distance

May 17.

Dear whoever is reading this (why are you reading this?)

I am Elliot Robert Woods, I'm 14 and this is my journal. So go away.

Today hit me like a brick to the face, I wasn't prepared for the emotional roller coaster of a day. I got ready for school as per usual and only found out I hadn't packed my PE kit when I arrived at school. Great.

1st Period:

I had to help my teacher set up the cones etc etc, y'know all that boring stuff. James and Stephen had to work without me in PE as well as I was being "over dramatic" for literally just trying to calm myself down ( I was "elected" as the goalie for football and we were against a really good team and I have really bad anxiety in situations like these)

(James and Stephen are my best pals, James is slightly more introverted than Stephen though.Stephen is not afraid to throw the first punch in a fight, whereas me and James are petrified to even make eye contact.)

2nd Period:

After PE, I had a cover lesson for Science, which was alright until the popular girls started to spray their perfume EVERYWHERE and ended up making the room smell as though we were in the middle of the air fresheners aisle. The poor teacher had to open all of the windows which they then started complaining about because it "Smelt like we were in a butcher's kitchen"

Like what???? That is over dramatic if you ask me, I was sitting by the actual window and the only thing I could smell was oxygen coming into my young lungs.

3rd Period:

I like English. (Hence as to why I am writing in a journal) It takes my mind off of stuff, my teacher is the loveliest teacher I could ever ask for, she is kind, caring, has a great sense of humour and tries her best to accommodate people. I personally like teachers like this!

I work my hardest in her class, and with that I get rewarded :)

Although today Stephen did call out how I was far more ahead than the rest of the class, I really couldn't care, I was calm in a setting that was stressful for the last two periods and that was all that mattered to me. 

Break:

A sausage roll got flung across the room and hit my head of year, lets just say the S1 who stupidly tried to run after, but failed, got in serious trouble. Won't be seeing her for the next 2 weeks.

(Good aim though)

4th Period:

Maths. Cannot get my head around this completely different language that has different pronunciations and whatnot. Yes I may try my hardest in class, but the light bulb inside my head is not working. I was working on my angles which isn't that bad, but what I find the hardest is the amount of different ways you need to learn to figure something out, it's surprising but it's also difficult.

5th Period:

My head was throbbing after Maths, but now I was in Music. Unlike most of the girls in my class, I take a genuine interest when it comes to instruments and how they work, maybe that is why I like learning everything in science. I'm generally just the type of person who wants to know what is going on and I panic when I can't access that information.

My music teacher told me to work on practising my chords on the guitar, so I did ( my parents did not like my singing whilst doing it :D) So now I can play Dm, A and C. My teacher gets me to play in front of the class by myself and whilst it is embarrassing, I do like to show off.

Lunch:

I was eating my lovely homemade soup when I got the message.

My parents, without consulting me, are putting our house up for sale. The house that I grew up in, the house that holds all of my childhood memories, is gone. 

And that's not even the worst part, my dad (who works down in France) said we are moving to France to spend more family time. My mum agrees that we've all been distant from each other.

I'm a bit on the introverted side, so I don't really go out, but I prefer to spend time with my mum over being in the rain. We bake, watch shows and even just chilling is alright.

So who is "We"?

Not me, that's for sure. I don't even speak a speckle of French.

James caught on that I stopped info-dumping about all my latest bakes and how to make them, he asked if I was alright, but with tears in my eyes and my throat closing up, I couldn't say anything so I ran away.

That was maybe not the best idea, my pals started phoning me constantly, my phone chiming the same tune over and over again. Stephen was chasing me down whilst the music kept playing, but he was too slow for me, I managed to wriggle myself out of the front entrance which was crowded with people.

6th and 7th Period:

I would usually have French. haha.

I ran away from school and managed to catch a bus to go to the beach.

The beach not only soothes me, but my older sister, Jody, lives nearby, so I visited her. She sat me down with my favourite juice (orange juice) that she keeps specially for me :)

Anyways, to sum it all up she said some very colourful language and was looking like an extremely hot kettle with steam coming out of it. She was mad because not only was she not going to see me anymore, it was mainly because she booked a trip for our family to go over there in the summer, and the tickets were non-refundable. 

To tell you something about Jody, she is not usually a person who shows her temper. Jody is the type of person that will bottle everything up until she physically can't anymore. Sometimes it makes me think that that was the reason why she moved. Anyways, she is a really independent woman who knows her worth.

After that outburst, she phoned our parents, Jody can put someone in their place without knowing it.

She was on the phone for 2 whole hours.

And after those two hours, guess who showed up. Mum and Dad.

I headed up to the guest room as I thought I was going delusional to the point where I thought my family were tomatoes.

After a while, the storm seemed to calm down, and I got taken home.

Do you know the phrase "The calm before the storm"?

Well that was my situation up until dinner.

My favourite dinner, macaroni and cheese with garlic bread was on the menu tonight, but there was a secret dish being prepared under the surface.

All it took for me to have this secret dish served was the phrase "What about my friends?"

Ingredients, sauces and spices were being thrown everywhere around me, but I got sick of it, and headed upstairs to what was my room. My room now only had my mattress, some clothes, and my laptop which was still connected to my headphones.

I need to tell my friends. But it will pain me. 

That's all for tonight.

Elliot