Cracks Within

Chapter 5

Saturday 8th March 2008.

I straighten the last of my hair before deciding to give up and whack it into a ponytail. I look in my full-length mirror at the final product. Black jeans, a green t-shirt, Doc Martins and a lot of black eyeliner surrounding my eyes. I grab my bag and run out of the house. Shit, I'm late! Amy is going to kill me, I think to myself as I run to the bus stop. 12.32pm. Thank God. I have thirty minutes to get to town, grab Sam a birthday present and meet Amy before we meet him, his girlfriend Nina, and some friends. The bus arrives, and as I board, I notice my cousin sitting at the back.

"You alright, George?" I ask as I sit down four rows in front of him.

"I'm sound, man." George says, vaguely. I check my phone. Twenty-three minutes. I sigh with relief. I exit the bus and run into town, running past some school friends as I go. What do I get Sam, I think exasperatedly.

Suddenly, I get an idea. I run to the nearest band merch shop, desperately looking for anything to buy that doesn't cost a lot.

"Come on, come on..." I mumble to myself. At last, I find what I'm looking for. A CD of a random band that he's into. Perfect, I think to myself. Once I pay, I leave the shop and make my way to meet Amy.

I wait outside a random shop for nearly ten minutes when Amy shows up.

"Oh, you remembered to get him something! Come on, we're meeting them at the field by the wood." We walk slowly, chatting about our day, making comments on who looked great and who didn't as they walk past, and finally get to the slide where Sam and Nina were waiting.

"Hi man! Happy birthday!" I say to Sam as I hug him. "Hope you like!"

Sam takes the CD from my hand. "Thank you so much! I love Creed. Happy that you could come today!" He gives me another bear hug. Nina looks at us. I swear she looked at me again, but this time with a look of dislike. I don't think she realises that I have never wanted Sam; I'm with Jon but she hates me. She has since the first day she met me. Her father knew mine when they were children, but they had a huge fight over a girl. Since she found that out, she's hated me ever since. I also think that she had a crush on Jon but had to settle for Sam instead; she always flirts with Jon to try and upset me, but it doesn't work. I think she thinks that I would leave him, and she could have him. She's welcome to him.

Luckily, Sam, Jon, Amy and I go to a different school as Nina is home-schooled. She's a couple of years older than us, but she passes for our age. Her parents are wealthy and as an only child, she prefers to be taught at home since she's from Italy. Her English accent is perfect, but her parents worry that she'll get bullied for being from somewhere different. They don't know their daughter very well. She hates me with every fibre of her being. I don't know what I'd do if I had to see her every day. I've only met Nina a couple of times since she and Sam got together, Sam was only twelve and Nina was fourteen. Sam always says that he wants to be with Nina for the rest of his life, the same thing that Jon had said last New Year about being with me. I don't think Sam should model his relationship off mine and Jon's. Although, I wouldn't put it past Nina to do something horrible to Sam to prove a point. I don't know her well, but I know that much. Sam mentioned that she doesn't get on with people very well. Nevertheless, I walk over to her, say hi and hug her. She reciprocates this.

"You alright, Anna?" she says.

"I'm good, thanks. I feel so young. You're all thirteen now, and I'm still twelve."

A voice shouts out. " For only two months, Anna. Then you're old, like us." Sam laughs as he says this. "Let's go, we're meeting Nathan and Lucy at the park."