When We Were Young - George Daniel

CHAPTER NINE (the school)

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Hey loves. Here's the new chapter. Show me some love and let me know what you think.

xx

May, 2004

It was a Sunday when I moved away.

A week after I turned thirteen. A week after my mother found me in a cupboard smoking marijuana and crying. A week after George told me I broke his heart.

After mum found me in the cupboard she dragged me out of Matty's house in front of all of my friends. I remember catching a glimpse of the boys' horrified faces; George looked like he'd seen a ghost. I recall vaguely Denise yelling for Matty and I think I saw Adam and Ross running down to the basement-probably to hide the rest of our stuff.

I was pulled out of school immediately and had my computer taken out of my bedroom. Mum cried for days and dad didn't even talk to me. Lauren had tried to ask what I'd been thinking but I refused to tell her anything. I didn't trust her as far as I could throw her. I wasn't allowed to see Matty or George or Ross or Adam but I listened in on a few conversations mum had with Denise on the phone and a few with Amanda. She just kept telling them how she didn't know who I was anymore, that I wasn't her daughter. 

I cried myself to sleep every damn night. 

I was dropped off at Bedford School, in Bedford, about three or so hours from home that Sunday. It was a boarding school for girls and I was here until I graduated. That meant I was here until I was eighteen.

Mum didn't want to come, sending dad instead. She hugged me tight before I left, told me that she loved me but that she was deeply disappointed in what I had done. I had cried for a while holding Matilda in her nursery. She was only a month old and I was going to miss seeing her grow up. That absolutely killed me.

Lauren cried when she hugged me goodbye and as much as she had been a bitch to me in the recent months, I cried too because I was going to miss my big sister like crazy.

I wasn't allowed to return back to Macclesfield in the holidays, instead my family would come and visit me on campus. I was slowly having to come to terms with the fact I had no idea when I would see my best friends again. 

So here I was. I'd settled in quite nicely and all of my teachers were really lovely. I shared a room with a girl named Gemma, she was pretty cool. She had a nice accent, she was from London. She had curly blonde hair, something I was very jealous of but she always let me braid it, so I was getting way better at that.

We would lie in bed for hours at night talking and laughing. I told her all about what happened. About Matty. About George. About my baby sister. About why I was here.

Gemma was here because her mum went here and wanted her daughter to get the best education possible. Gemma had always known she was coming here for high school, unlike me. We had most classes together, which I was super thankful for.

I'd been thinking about Matty and George a lot more again lately. They were both a year older, having their birthdays in March and April. It tore me apart I wasn't there to celebrate that with them. I wondered what they had done to celebrate, what they got as gifts. I wondered if they still smoked as much as they did after everything happened. I wondered if George still hated me, I bet that he did. 

I'd only been gone for three months but it already felt like a lifetime.

Mum had been sending me photos of Matilda every week and she was growing more and more with every photo I saw. She had started to get a little bit of hair which appeared to be blonde like mine. That made my heart sing as I was the only blonde in the family, mum and Lauren had chestnut brown hair and dad's was black.

Today was Friday, thank God, and Gemma and I had just left our final class of the day English. 

"Seriously though Evie, how are we meant to write two thousand words by Monday? I honestly don't think I can do it," Gemma complained. 

"I vote that we spend all day Sunday doing it, smash it out and we spend Saturday out in town looking at those shops we wanted to see."

"Genevieve Matthews?" One of the teachers who I had seen around campus but didn't really know came up to Gem and I. 

"Um, yes?"

"Here, I have a letter for you it got given to one of my students by mistake." The woman in her sixties handed me a letter. I recognised the writing immediately.

"Oh my God." I whispered excitedly.

"What, what is it?" Gemma leaned into me. 

"It's a letter from Matty!"

Gem and I ran back to our room and I jumped on my bed immediately, sitting against the wall and tearing open the letter.

Dear Evie,

I don't even know how to begin this. I just miss you so much. I hate not having my best friend around, I hate that I can't even talk to you online, that I have to physically write a letter just to talk to you. And even after that who knows how long it'll be until I receive one back from you. 

I suppose you're dying for an update because I can only imagine how excluded you feel from things right now. Not a lot has changed but in the same breath, so much has.

Lauren has started hanging out with us again. I know right? Can you believe it. Your mum doesn't know though, I think she would lose her shit if she found out. Lauren and Ross have something going on again I think but neither of them will say anything and I honestly really cant be fucked wasting the paper talking about them lol soz if you wanted to know.

Adam is Adam and he misses you. I told him I was going to write you a letter so he says 'hey'.

Louis said his first word the other day. Mum. Dad was spewing it wasn't dad coz he'd been trying so hard to get him to say it but I spose Louis just likes mum better haha. It was really cute. Mum got it on film so I'll show you when you come home.

I wish I could tell you that I'd seen Matilda but I haven't. Your mum doesn't come around much anymore, I think she hates me. I'm sad about it because now I feel like I don't have anything of you anymore. How old is she now? She'd be about four months or something right? I bet she's cute, just like you.

I've been smoking a lot more since you left. I stopped for a few weeks but I couldn't handle it. I couldn't handle everything that I was feeling from the hole that you left in my heart, my soul. I really feel like my right arm is missing with you away I hate it :( 

George is still sad. I can't believe you're in Bedford! Did you know that that is George's middle name? Absolutely mental I reckon! He's playing the drums even better now. I think he channels his sadness and anger into it and it's really working for us. Oh yeah, he finally hit puberty! His voice has dropped a little it's hilarious. I always hang shit on him when his voice cracks but I spose I can't really talk coz remember when that was happening to me?

I need to ask as well, what happened in that closet? George won't talk about it, he won't even talk about you. I'm going out of my mind for answers tell meee!

I hope your new school is good and you've made some nice friends. Tell any of the fit ones that I say hi ;)

Anyway, my hand is killing me but I just wanted to let you know that you were the last good thing about this part of town.

xoxoxoxox Matty.