Taken By The Wind

Hey reader!

Just wanted to say a couple of things... 

Firstly, this story is not like my normal writing. I usually write stories with HUMOUR and/or ROMANCE. This story is different and is also short. If you want to read something more... light, try my story 'Chicken For The Heart.' :)

Secondly, the only reason I wrote this story was because I had to write a short story on Social Justice for my English assignment. After much procastination, this story was born.

And lastly, this story is not intended to offend anyone. All characters are fictional and names are merely coincidental.

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“Soph, wake up. It’s time to go to school.” I hear the soft voice of my little sister, Maria. I slowly open my eyes and with a groan, I throw the old tattered blanket off my legs. I look at Maria, who is already dressed in her school clothes and is clutching an old Dora the explorer school bag.

“Give me 10 minutes Maria. I’ll just get changed,” I say with a smile to the eagerly waiting eight-year old.

“Ok,” Maria replies as she steps out of the room.

As Maria closes the door, I head towards the closet. On one side of the closet, Maria’s clothes are hanging or folded and the other side of the closet is occupied with my own stuff. The closet itself is quite small, so Maria and I have to be very neat when putting our clothes away.

It may sound weird that Maria and I share the same closet but it’s necessary. Our family… we’re not the average family; we’re nowhere near that status. As much as I hate to admit it, the truth is that our family is poor. We have limited money and with the little money we have, we can only buy things that are essential and are required.

Our family consists of my mum, my dad, Maria and me. As dad has been sick for the past three years and stays in bed 24/7, mum doesn’t work either so she could look after him. And even with the social security money, as well as my job as an after school waitress, we barely get by especially since the medicines we get for dad are quite costly.

As I strip out of my shabby pyjamas and get into my school clothes, I dread thinking about school. Why? Because I hate school. Despite the teachers constantly reminding students to believe that we are safe, we all know that’s a lie. They say we should report acts of bullying and if we feel scared, we should tell someone, but that’s not possible. Some of the teachers are just like bullies, and the other teachers are complete cowards.

So how do I fit into this? Well the thing is, at our school we have a bunch of teenagers that are rich, arrogant and obnoxious. This group of teenagers have no respect for others and are the type of the people that make others scared and nervous. As cliché as it may sound, this is absolutely true and this group of teenagers is the reason why my life is sometimes like hell.

One of the main girls in this group knows about my family and our living conditions. Her name is Candice and she thinks she owns me. And maybe she does in a way, as her mum is the principal of our school and her dad is the manager at the café I work at. She isthe reason why teachers don’t do anything about bullying as her own mum is the principal and Candice is usually involved in all the problems that happen.

My parents have no clue of what’s happening because they’re caught up with their own problems. I’m glad they haven’t realised any bruises because then they’d get upset and maybe even angry.