Laughter in the Darkness

The new girl...

Bradley was thirteen years old. He had brown hair that fell to the left side of his face and green eyes. He lived a normal life, with normal parents and normal friends. Well, he thought they were a bit weird, but to him that's what friends are supposed to be. He also had a younger sister, Ofelia. She was four years old and she had blond hair with blue eyes. She wasn't really the annoying one, she never bothered Bradley. She was always in her bedroom. They didn't have any pets, but Bradley had been wanting a rabbit for a long time, but his parents always said no. His friends were Kieran, George, Toby, Frankie and Harvey. One day, Bradley was walking to school and when he got past the school gate, Harvey and Kieran were already waiting for him. "Hey Bradley! Over here," shouted Kieran. Bradley waved at them and ran towards them. "Oh dude, there's a new girl starting today. I saw her with her parents going into reception. She looked pretty cute. She had brown hair like you, you should've seen how long it was," Harvey told him. The two friends had always been trying to set up Bradley with a girl. "Ok guys, out of all the girls you've tried, I doubt she's gonna be better than any of them." Harvey and Kieran both doubted him. "Ok then, just wait 'till you see her. Don't say we didn't tell you." Kieran said to Bradley. The boy rolled his eyes and asked, "Where are the others? Frankie, Toby and George?" The two boys shrugged their shoulders. Kieran said that he didn't think they're going to be in today. Then the bell rang. The three of them had English. They all walked together through the crowd of other students. The boys had English for two hours. Bradley wished it was Tuesday because he had two hours of PE. He and his mates loved PE, but instead it had to be a Monday morning. When they got into the classroom, Bradley sighed as soon as he sat down. He had to put up with his English teacher for two whole hours.

Ten minutes into the lesson and the classroom door opened. A teacher with a girl walked in. She looked pretty shy. She had long, brown hair and green eyes. Bradley was too busy writing but Harvey whispered from behind. "Psst, Bradley. That's the girl." The boy then looked up and saw her. Then the teacher spoke. "Ok class. This is Pippa and she's just started with us today. So I'd like you all to make her feel very welcome and help her have a great first day at school." Bradley stared at Pippa, luckily she never realised. The other boys were right. She was cute. Maybe she was the one. But she had just started, he thought that it was best not to rush things. First he should get to know her before all that. "Ok Pippa, you can go sit next to Bradley," said the teacher. Pippa saw the boy the teacher was pointing at. The girl nervously sat down next to the boy. "Psst, Bradley," whispered Kieran, also from behind. Bradley looked behind and Kieran and Harvey winked at him. Somehow they knew that he liked Pippa. Then the teacher gave the pupils a task where they had to talk to each other. Bradley thought this was the best time to get to know the new girl.

When the teacher stopped talking, Bradley said, "Hello Pippa." The girl looked at him and said hello back. "You're Bradley, right," Pippa said. Bradley nodded his head and the girl smiled. "How old are you," asked Bradley. "Thirteen," Pippa replied. Bradley said that he was the same age. He asked if she had any pets and she replied, "I have a pet rabbit. He's called Floppsy." Bradley smiled. "Aww, that's a really cute name. I've always been wanting a rabbit but my parents keep saying no." He then asked if she had any siblings, he was trying to see if they had anything else in common. "I have a little sister. She's four." Bradley was shocked. "No way, so do I. She's the exact same age as yours." Pippa then asked what he had after break. He said that he and his friends had music. "So do I," Pippa replied as she showed him her timetable. "Oh we're in the same class. Don't worry I'll help you get there. There's no way to get lost in this school. All the rooms have the first two letters of the subject. For example, if you're in maths you could be in Ma1 or Ma5. Pippa understood and said that she loves music and that she has a Yamaha keyboard at home. "No way. That's cool, you must love music. I know I do." Pippa replied, "I love music. I play creepy tunes cause I like creepy things. Horror movies, scary games and creepy tunes. I love them all." Bradley loved the same things. This made him know that Pippa was the right girl for him.

The time went really quick and it was already five minutes 'till the end of the lesson. Maybe it was due to the fact Bradley was getting to know Pippa. The teacher told everyone to pack up early so they can be out on time. Bradley put his pen in his pocket and took his and Pippa's books to the front. Then the teacher said they could talk with their friends whilst waiting for the bell to go for break. "Tell us all about her Bradley. What's she like," asked Kieran. Bradley said, "You won't believe it. We have so much in common. Just like me, she has a four year old sister. We both love music and rabbits. She has a pet rabbit called Floppsy, how cute is that?" Harvey replied, "Aw, that is cute." Bradley continued, "She's got music next and she's in our class. Oh I forgot to tell you guys, she's got her own keyboard. How cool is that?" The other boys looked at each other then back at Bradley. "We told you she was the right one," Kieran told him. Bradley rolled his eyes and then the bell went. The three boys walked out of English and into the dining hall to sit down. "So did you ask her out yet," asked Kieran. Bradley quickly looked at him. "Dude, of course not. We've just met. I think Pippa would think I'm desperate if I asked her today." Kieran replied, "Oh yeah. Sorry Bradley." The boy turned away and saw Pippa sitting with her friends. She didn't notice him looking at her. She was laughing and he liked her smile. So caring and friendly. Harvey noticed that he was looking at her. "Look at you. You're falling for a girl because of me and Kieran. Looks like our mission is completed." Bradley sighed at Harvey and he pulled a face. "I can't wait for tomorrow. It's PE for two hours tomorrow and we're doing dodgeball," Kieran said with a smile on his face.

Finally when the day was over, Kieran, Harvey and Bradley all walked out of the school and stopped when they got to a street. "You better be in tomorrow Bradley," Harvey told him. "Don't worry I will be. It's just you two who I think won't be in," Bradley replied. The other boys smiled and waved goodbye to Bradley as they crossed the road. He waved back and continued walking home. When Bradley got home, he shouted, "I'm home!" His mother replied, "Hi honey we're in the kitchen. Did you have a good day at school?" The young boy walked into the kitchen and said to his parents, "It was alright. I mean I had double English. Oh, a new girl started today," he added. His father asked, "Oh what's she called?" Bradley told his parents her name. "I like the sound of that name. Pippa. What does she look like," asked his mother. "She's got long, brown hair and green eyes. Oh and she's really friendly." Then he asked, "Where's Ofelia? Is she in her room?" "She's at school. Remember you finish at 2:30 and she finishes at 3:00," his father reminded him. The boy then remembered and then hung his bag, went upstairs and into his room. He closed the door and layed down on his bed smiling. He kept thinking of Pippa. The boy couldn't wait 'till tomorrow when he sees her again.