The One With The Pretty Green Eyes - kickthepj/pj liguori

300 Days Before

She was running through outstretched branches and spiralling vines. She didn't know where she was or why she was running. All she could do was run and keep running till her head cleared up. It was raining heavily above the trees, drops of water bounced from leaf to leaf; soaking her clothes. Her legs were starting to burn. Her clothes were sticking to her skin dragging her down by her sleeves. She pushed through several trees and collapsed onto open grass regaining her strength to continue running. Her feet pushed herself into a momentum causing her to bolt into a sprint. Her chest was heaving, her legs almost giving out but she had to keep running.  She didn't know why but her life depended on it and she carried on running. She let out heavy breaths after every step. The pain was so overwhelming but she continued darting round corners not taking a glance back. Her feet no longer pushed against solid ground and instead waved in midair as she felt weightless falling into the tumbling waves bellow. Her arms spiralling with her legs in circles. Flicks of sea water whipped against her cheek and creped its way into the corner of her closed eyes. It felt like she was falling for hours. The butterfly sensation in her stomach grew to the back of her hands, her cheeks,her feet. Opening her eyes, she screamed at the sight of the sharp rocks pointing vertically up towards her less than a feet bellow her. The sound of crashing waves against rock ringed through her ears along with her screams.

Lottie woke spiralling further from her dream and into reality with a thud. Literally, she fell face first on the floor. She sat up after being woken by the fall and knelt against the wall barely being able to recognise her surroundings. Her eyes had hardly adjusted in the dusk lighting pressing its way thought her blinds. She scanned the room with a brief flick of her eyes. Piles of boxes still sat in the corner of her room next to her open wardrobe. Neatly ironed uniform hung alone in the open wardrobe sending a shock of nerves to her stomach. Today was her first day. Her dad shortly entered the room with a warm smile, a smile that Lottie knew was not genuine as his eyes would crinkle the wrong way and his bottom lip would press too hard against his upper lip. He stood at the foot of her bed with a tray of food shehoped he didn't cook himself.

She raised herself from the floor and fixed the pyjama's hanging against her curvy frame. They stood in silence for a brief moment. "Are you nervous?" Her dad broke the silence. She stared blankly towards him without an answer. She did feel uneasy. She hardly got nervous - never actually. She was the bravest one in her family, the last time she ever got nervous was when she was 9 and had to perform at a dance competition, after coming last she swore to herself to never put effort into things as she knew she'd feel nervous for something that will just end up disappointing her.

Before she knew it she was sitting in the passenger seat in her dad's car on the way to her new school. She sat uncomfortably with her uniform that held her curvy body tightly.

"Im sorry, I must have miss-read the measurements" Charlotte's dad sad. He watched her pull her skirt further down and stretch her top outwards by the hem only to have the material spring back into place. Her dad's eyes brightened against the sun emphasising the brown in his iris, as he drove further down the road. She spent the majority of the journey thinking through conversation starters, typical hand gestures as well as memorising the routes around the school.

A bolt of regret pumped its way down her stomach making her head feel light. Ahead stood the biggest and most ordinary school Lottie had ever seen. It was definitely not how her dad had described it. It's  brick walls were smothered with patches of lime moss, gushes of students stood in packs wearing their uniform casually along with their own additions, a boy to the left of the car wore a bow tie instead of the required skinny tie, the group of girls to the right were wearing different types of skirts with their uniform. One with a neat pencil skirt reaching her knees, several with pleated skirts just about grazing their thighs. Lottie wondered if they knew how naked they looked. The rest of the girls faces were covered with grease, grease Lottie assumed was their idea of subtle make up. She swore under her breath, she needed more time to fully study the schools map.