A stranger to the real world

Chapter 1: A Stranger To The Real World

I woke up, I was on the floor with what I took as my other family, animals and all the other people. I recognised it immediately; the slums twenty people in one room, no door, no windows and not much heat. Getting up at six was hard, I was only twelve, I had to get to my job, the dreaded factory.

My family and I had just moved to London, we used to live in the countryside I was educated there I had friends and I didn't have to get up until at least nine. How times change, a sudden debt made us nearly bankrupt so we had to move, to London of all places. I hate London, I hate the pride the people and I really hate the poverty. I wish we were still rich with a good education and food in our tummy, but
that's a far distant memory for me now and it looks impossible to find again. My grandma and grandpa had gone to live with some distant relatives that I had never met. We had to sell anything and everything just to afford to get to London. We found jobs to try and live and to provide for us. I think back now to the old house and what it was, how it was.

I loved our old house I really miss it. Most people I talked to said it was more like a mansion, it had 6 bedrooms 3 had bathroom connected and 3 didn't. There was a raging log fire in every room which gave out enough heat to make the room cosy and snug. We lived in the countryside, and I was very well-educated, I was homeschooled and was taught: maths, science, cooking, cleaning, sewing and how to speak like a lady.

My friends and I would learn together (at my house mainly because we had a study)and when we were not learning we loved to talk, sleepover and learn. My friends and I were inseparable. My real name is Catherine however, they used to call me Kitty, so I ended up being known as Kitty. I was the oldest of my friends only by a couple of months, but I was still older.

The day that we found our lives were going to drastically change came as a huge surprise. We didn't think much about it at first though because it just seemed so small.

We all had to move because Dads work suddenly said he owed them money £50 (that seems not much now but it was plenty then) we thought we could gather it, despite the fact we knew we didn't owe them anything, but we were wrong. Dads work owned the house so because we couldn't pay they took it back, we were homeless. Me, mum, dad, grandpa, grandma and my sister. My sister decided to stay with her friends who lived nearby, I had a choice to go but I chose not to because I wanted to stay with my family.

One small error, made our whole lives change and it was the scariest part of our lives. I knew all about the world and what was going on, I knew all about London and it's poverty. I was really scared to start a new life that I had never even thought of but I stayed strong because that is what I was taught to do. But let's not dwell about the past, just look to the future.

It was dark in London there was a bitter wind and rain that wasn't heavy but soaked you through. It was 7:30 am, and I was off to the factory for the first time. I'd spoken to some people they said the hours were long and the wage rubbish however, I had no choice. I was wearing rags and my brown (normally silky hair) was matted and greasy. At this point I was starving and not looking forward to work. It was only a short walk 5-10 minutes or so but when I arrived I was shivering and soaked to the skin. As I said I hate London! We arrived on time and my dad ran to get to his new job. He was starting off as a tanner, he was not happy. My mum was going to be a maid, so she had left earlier than us for her first day.

When I arrived The cry's were echoing and would be able to scar anyone for life,the moans of young children wanting an education, a better life and a better home were deafening. It was horrible walking in there any valuables I had were removed and I was placed at a desk. I was working with a lever my bosses said I had to keep on pulling it and if I stopped I would lose a weeks wages. People were being pricked and robbing the bosses for their posh items.

I had been there only 20 minutes when the machines stopped and a loud high-pitched scream sounded. Someone was trapped they had to stop all the machines to get him out. They told him off, yelled at him, he looked no older than five, but they still fired him and gave him no wages. They easily brought someone new in because they had a line waiting to get a job. The machines started up again, and we had to work at double the speed just to catch up on lost time. We couldn't speak, whistle or sing it was silent(apart from the machines) I looked at a very old clock on the wall. Still, hours to go.

When I wasn't busy working, I looked around. This factory was very large with plenty of machines and people. The children that worked here were most likely from the ages of 5 to 14. The floor was dirty and grimy(but as was everywhere) and it was very hot in one room because of all the machines. Are bosses were posh, and they wore posh chains and had handkerchiefs, they mainly stayed in their office but came out eventually. At around 1 o'clock a new person appeared next to me, a girl of a similar age. We looked almost identical we both had long brown hair and blue eyes, we looked the same height(I would tell you what height I was if I knew) and we wore the same clothes.

I found out later that she was called Maria. She was 13 and in a similar position to me and my family. She was actually living in our slums. I only found this out when I got back to our new home, she was there and it was all very strange. Maria and I became quite good friends and it was definitely worth the company.