In The Rain

Chapter 1

Hi, my name is Leigh-Anne. It's Leigh-Anne Pinnock and I'm very close to turning eleven. I don't know why I'm writing in this but I am. If I'm being honest, I'm not supposed to. My mum gave me money today to go to the bookstore to buy myself a new folder for my test papers but I saw this pretty little book on a shelf and decided to buy it instead. Don't tell her I did that though. Then, I'll get in trouble. I don't like it when she's upset with me at all. She gets real fussy when she is.

Let's see, what else should I write in here? Um . . . my name is. I already said that sorry. I like to sing, cook, play piano, play the drums and most of all to play. It's quite strange but I like to do it anyway. Everyone's always telling me to grow up but I really don't want to. Being an adult or even a teenager sounds hard and boring. I just want to live in an imaginary world where . . .

"Leigh-Anne why are you still up?"

Leigh-Anne screamed and tossed the book to the other side of the room. She then turned in her seat to look to her door. Her mother was standing there dressed in pyjamas and a frown. In her right hand, she held up a small laptop which she used her left hand to type into. Her full attention was not on the child.

"Homework?" Leigh-Anne said slowly. She got herself off her seat and ran to her bed. She sat in it and took her favourite plush toy, holding it in her arms. "Why are you still up?" She asked curiously, mischievously- and probably to her mother- rudely.

The woman looked away from the screen and narrowed her eyes at her. "I'm a grown woman Leigh-Anne. I don't need to tell you why I'm up."

Leigh-Anne scrunched her nose a little in slight annoyance. "Okay. Sorry."

Her mother sighed and closed the device. She entered the room and sat next to the child. "Is everything alright?"

Leigh tried to hide how happy she was for what her mother was doing. She crawled next to her and rested her head at her side. What should I say? Is everything alright? She thought about that as her mother rubbed her shoulder. "I don't know." She whispered.

"What's that?" Her mother asked sweetly, moving her face to Leigh's.

"Nothing Mum. I'm fine. Everything's fine." Leigh rushed looking up at her mother's face.

The woman seemed skeptical of that. "Are you sure?" She began surveying the room.

Leigh nodded. What would she think if she spots the notebook that I bought illegally? She began to panic. "Yeah-huh. I'm sure. I'm certain. You can go back to your work now Mum." Or you could stay and read me a story. Her eyes looked at where her bookshelf was. She may have been eleven but she would not mind if her mother would baby her more. She liked being babied and played with. Her mom just didn't do that. It made her feel just a little bit unloved at times.

"Alright then." The mother kissed her cheek and then stood. "I hope you've finished your homework though. Have you?"

Leigh nodded. Have I? She could not remember. While she did homework, her mind was usually on other things. Homework was boring.

"Okay then. Good night Lee-Lee." She moved to the light switch and touched her fingers on it with her eyes on Leigh-Anne.

"Good night Mummy." Leigh said lacklustre. She felt kind of bad that it did not take her mother any time to head back to whatever she was doing.

Her mother smiled then turned out the lights. She closed the door then and left.

Leigh-Anne pouted in the darkness. "Nobody loves me." She folded her arms like a brat. Stop being dramatic you little twerp. She thought. That was what her sister would say to her when she got on like this. Sairah was not here now though. She was in a different side of London with her father. "I miss her. Even if she could be mean at times." The girl was seventeen. She never really liked playing with Leigh but she did so sometimes anyway. That was when Leigh had been younger though. Now, Leigh was a 'pre-teen' and was expected to act the way that pre-teens did.