All in My Head

Hailey

"On your marks, get set, GO!"

The girls sprinted down the race track. The race was intense, and it was a very close call. But at the end of everything, there could only be one winner - Hailey Richards. As she crossed the finish line, the crowd went wild. Everyone was cheering for her. Her friends circled her, and her boyfriend hoisted her up on his shoulders, all the while chanting her name, "Hailey, Hailey -"

"Hailey Richards!" Ms Turnbull scolded, snapping Hailey out of her trance. "If you want to get a good grade in this class, I suggest you pay a bit more attention in class."

"Sorry, miss," Hailey mumbled, slumping lower into her seat. She hated it when teachers called her out, especially when in class. Come to think of it, Hailey disliked any attention, mainly because most of the attention she got was negative. Ever since her mom's addiction had gotten out of hand and she'd moved out to live with her sister (Hailey's aunt), her dad had become extremely bitter, and he hardly ever had a kind word for her. School was no better. Throughout elementary school, she had been bullied, and by the time she'd gotten to middle school, her self-esteem was so low that she purposely isolated herself from everyone. She had no-one there for her. After a while, in 8th Grade, she decided to stop living in the real world. She created an imaginary world where everything was perfect for her, and threw herself into it. She figured that she might as well live in a world that was worth it - even if nothing in that world was real.

Over the years, her dream world began to take on the shape of the reality. Regarding school, she had the same classes. At home, nothing was much different; her dad hardly paid attention to her. After all, she could take care of herself. The main thing that Mark (her father) really cared about concerning Hailey was her report card - and one was coming home soon. Unfortunately for Hailey, that was one thing that she didn't have in the bag. Her grades had started out average, but due to the constant daydreaming, they had steadily gotten worse. What she didn't know was how bad they had gotten.

After school the next day, the report cards came home. Hailey sat at the dining table and opened hers up. Her jaw dropped as she scanned the page. She'd gotten three D-'s and an F. Her dad was going to hit the roof.

"Hailey, is that your report card?" a voice asked behind her, startling her.

"Y-yes it is," she said in a small voice, not daring to turn around.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Bring it, let me take a look," Mark demanded, stretching forth his hand. Hailey placed it in his hand gingerly, still with her head down. A few moments of silence passed.

"Hailey Carmen Richards, just what do you think you're doing with yourself? Is your education such a joke to you?" he yelled angrily. "Look at me when I'm talking to you!"

Hailey forced her head up, but she couldn't bring herself to look in his eyes; she stared at his forehead instead. Mark hadn't finished, though.

"I don't know why you're terrible at everything, Hailey. It's as if you don't have any zeal to succeed. You're just as terrible as your mother!"

"But Dad, that's -" she stopped mid-sentence as a slap landed on her.

"Don't you EVER talk back to me. Get out of my house!"

Hailey didn't need to be told twice. She bolted out of the chair and out the door. At times like this, her dream world failed to comfort her, so she grabbed her bike and headed to her favourite place - the beach. There was something about the way the sea moved that always seemed to calm her crazy thoughts. On the way, however, all she could do was remember how happy she had been with her parents before her mom started drinking. The memories kept on coming, taking her deeper and deeper in thought. She almost didn't feel it when a car smacked into her, knocking her off her bike. All she could think of was how everything had fallen apart.