Broken Words

Chapter 2- 11/07/10

"Has everyone got a buddy?" Mrs Everton asked.

The children in the room yelled a loud and disorganised cheer which she could only assumed meant yes.

"This is so unfair!" Joe complained.

"I know, why do we even need a buddy!" The other boy added.

Both had been abandoned by their friends, the stupid traitors, and were now left to pair up with each other. They turned to look at each other.

"I'm Luke," The other boy said, holding out his hand.

"Joe," Joe replied, shaking his hand.

It was all so formal that it made him slightly uncomfortable.

"Come on, we need good seats on the bus!" Joe grabbed his wrist and dragged him outside.

In the end, they did get good seats, though they had to push a large group of girls out of the way, and were sat in front of Joe's traitorous friends.

"Where are you from?" Luke asked as the car started moving.

"Australia. I lived in Sydney until I was seven."

"Why did you move here then? I mean, Australia defines paradise."

Almost immediately, Joe's throat dried up, preventing him from talking. He absently scratches his neck, opening and closing his mouth slightly, as he decided what to say next.

What he really wanted to say was the truth. That his mother had left him in front of carousel and gotten on a flight back to Sydney the next morning. That he know lived in a care home filled with other kids that he despised, and though the workers were nice, none of them compared to a mother. That he'd felt useless for his whole life because some woman decided that she didn't want him.

No, what he really wanted to do was scream. He wanted to scream and kick and cry. He wanted to demand answers from his mother. He wanted to stop her leaving again.

But he knew that if he did this, he'd look the way she had on that day, running around looking for him, looking like a cornered animal. Joe may have put that memory out of his mind but he refused to be like her, even if it was shown through how desperate he was.

"My mum got a new job," Joe replied, his face icing over into an emotionless mask.

"Cool, I bet you would have loved to stay in Australia though."

"More than anything," Joe said quietly, leaving his head against the window.

Rain rolled slowly down the window pane, creating streaky tear marks behind them. It was almost as if the rain was taunting him, teasing him for not being able to cry.

"Ok everyone, we're finally here. I need you all to stay on the bus until I tell you," Mrs Everton said.

Of course, none of them listened and Mrs Everton was nearly knocked out of the bus by a stampede of excited nine year olds.

In front of them was a large building, honestly more like a mansion. About 10  or so floors high, it towered menacingly above them, flower boxes filled with wilting roses in every window failing to soften the monstrous appearance. Maybe it looked nice in the summer, or at least when the weather was reasonably nice.

But today the rain seemed to suck the life out of it, creating a terrifying illusion of an otherwise pleasant house. The bland grey sky didn't do anything to improve the image, just acted like a patchy watercolour background in an awful painting.

Outside stood two people, both blonde and dressed in bright red T-shirt's and beige trousers. The boy clutched a purple umbrella above both of their heads while the girl had small rectangles of paper clutches in her small hands. Both of them were smiling, too widely and too brightly to look in any way welcoming.