Darkness

Fairhield

Jayda came bounding down the stairs in her school uniform, her shirt untucked, her tie hanging undone around her neck, and with only one shoe on, the other in her hand. She slipped on her shoe half way down the stairs, rubbing the sleep from her still half closed eyes simultaneously. Her usually sleek hair was frizzy, and in need of brushing. She smiled when she saw me and hugged my legs, "Morning Emmy," she yawned.

"What you want for breakfast, Jay-Jay?" I asked, casually leaning across the island counter top and resting my head on my hands.

"Can I have icecream, like in Portugal?" She begged, pouting adorably at me.

"Uh uh Jayda," I said sternly, but smiled inwardly at the fact my happy place was now our happy place, "you gotta have something proper for breakfast. Toast sound good?"

"No."

"Cereal?"

"Nope."

"Fruit?"

"Eww, no way!"

"Oh come on Jayda, you know how mum is with having a proper breakfast before school," I groaned, exasperated at her stubbornness, something we definetly had in common.

"Hmm.." she thought for a moment, "Well, if I can't have icecream, can I at least have a biscuit after my toast?" she asked hopefully, obviously thinking that she had figured out a solution we both could agree to.

"Okay," I gave in,"but don't tell mummy okay? It's our secret, alright?"

"Okay!" she stage-whispered, then tried to wink, but ended up just blinking forcefully, as though she had something in her eye. I couldn't stop the grin growing on my face.

I set about making Jayda "chocolate toast" which really just consisted of toast with nutella on it, before munching my way through a bowl of Cheerios, and running out the front door to catch the bus. I was half way there when I remembered I'd forgotten something. I bounded through the door, to see Jayda standing with her "Tweenies" school bag over her shoulder and uniform all fixed up, a knowing smile plastered on her face. "You forgot me," she said, slipping her hand into mine, "Again!"

"I know, I know, I completely forgot dad was working early this morning, but we've missed the bus now, we'll have to walk to school." Jogging would have been a more appropriate word, we were already late, and I kept checking my watch - five..ten..fifteen.. minutes late, Ms Connelly, Jayda's nursery teacher wouldn't mind our lack of punctuality, but I was in for a detention, guaranteed.

"Come on, Jayda, let's play a game. Who ever gets to First Steps first wins the race!"

Jayda laughed as she raced on ahead of me, as I tried to quicken my pace without running, as I had a school bag over my shoulder that weighed a ton. I eventually caught up with Jayda just outside First Steps Nursery, she was laughing and chanting, "I won, I won!" when Ms Connolly strolled out of the small, one-story,  white building, smiling warmly at Jayda, "Hello Emily, and Jayda, how is your elbow today?" She asked, kneeling down to Jayda's level as jayda rolled up her sleeves, exposing a graze the size of a ten pence coin.

"A little better, I guess.." she said, eyeing up the graze to see how much further she could milk the situation.

"Well how about you go on in and see Ben, he's been waiting for you to arrive for half an hour." Jayda skipped merrily inside the brightly lit reception area, her schoolbag bouncing on her back, and went through the red door, with blue and yellow butterfly patterns painted on it, which was to the left of the reception desk. The door swung shut behind her, and Ms Connolly, who even after standing up to her full height, still had to look up to talk to me, nodded at me casually, and I turned around and rushed off to Fairhield.

~

"Im sorry, I know, sorry, yes I know, I know, okay, sorry.." I went on apologising at intervals during the whole fifteen minute lecture Mr. Cassidy threw at me, God, I knew this was coming, I was over forty-five minutes late. I sort of tuned out halfway through when he started to compare my lateness to Fairhield as being like a wild goose being left behind by its flock, and struggling to catch up, but something he said caught my attention, "Sorry, what was that sir?"

"First you're late and now you're barely listening to a word I say," he complained in his monotonous, bored voice, "I said, that if you keep up this habit, you might end up with restricted access to the Geography department."

"Sorry sir, I meant before that."

"Oh. I was saying that students who recieve more than one detention in a month this October, will not be permitted to enter the 5th years' prize draw. This is only your first offense, so you are getting off easy, but next time, you will not be allowed to enter the competition, no exceptions."

"Okay, sir, sorry, sir," I rushed.

"Dismissed."

I all but ran out of the room, detention slip clutched in my right hand. I headed straight for the senior bathrooms on the second floor of the three story grey building, that was Fairhield Secondary, which very much resembled a deserted detention centre, and usually smelled like a wet dog. I threw my bag down in a corner of the dingy bathroom and fished around in my blazer for my make-up. I applied a thin coat of foundation and mascara, after having been in too much of a rush this morning to get the chance to do my make up, and pinned back my blonde curls, before checking my uniform in the cracked, marked mirror, and making my way to Biology.

All the while, I had been dreamily thinking of the competition, and didn't notice Fairhield's only source of entertainment, school bad boy; Jeremy Walker. His black hair hung loosely over his left eye, and was toussled towards the back, his green eyes took in more than was presented to him, and he walked silently, but purposefully, his tanned hands in his trouser pockets. I, oblivious to the world, still lost in the thought of winning the draw, knocked into him and went flying to the ground, my books scattered over the tiled floor. 

"Oh, sorry," I gushed, feeling the colour rise to my face, still on the floor, gathering my files together. He walked on by without a backwards glance. I mentally cursed myself, ugh! Why him? Why'd I have to nearly knock over him. I scrambled to my feet and composed myself before continuing on down the grey corridor to S7, Biology.

I walked into the deep blue room, greeted by a stony glare from Miss Murlin, before awkwardly weaving my way through the tables to my seat at the back on the far side of the damp smelling room. As i went, I passed Emma, who rolled her eyes at me and flicked her hair over her shoulder, Jamie, who winked and grinned at me, Rose who smiled warmly at me and Eric, who put out his hand discretely and knuckle-bumped me as I passed.  I sat down in the empty seat in the corner of the room, beside Darren Richter, the quiet boy in the class who always seemed to be alone. I had never talked to him, but felt sorry for him, he didn't have many friends and his mum had died just last month from an unexplained brain hemorrhage, this was his first day back at school since. He stared silently at his textbook and automatically pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose from where they had slipped, and shifted slightly as I got out my Biology books and turned to page three-hundred and ninety-four; Cell Structures.

~

I snapped out of my day dream when I realised I couldn't actually remember how long ago that day had been. A few days ago? Last week? Last month? I put my hands to my face and rubbed my eyes, how long have I been here? It felt like decades, centuries even. And I was hungry, really hungry. My stomach rumbled as I clutched my hands around it. Surely I wouldn't be here for much longer, mum and dad were bound to be searching for me?

And then I heard it.