Avoid

Chapter 1

   Another house, we had moved numerous times. I was fed up of moving avoiding my dad. Why would he just not leave us alone! He was never gonna change. I feel lonely if I make friends and that's a big if, they are left behind. Truthfully I found it hard to make friends. I never know what to say, people get pretty bored of me quickly and I just get forgotten about. Today's my first day at another new school.
I'm pretty used to how this goes now.
I go, people give me funny looks, I try to fit in to please people but usually I just look awkward.

     I can hear some kids playing out, I look out of my bedroom window to see if I can see them. They are riding on their scooters and bikes. I wished we could afford things like that, with having to move so much, my mum works but we just get by. I gaze at the other kids laughing being so carefree. Maybe I could try play with them at some point.  I'm just grateful not to be near my dad avoiding the abuse that me and my mum have had to face over the years.

    I brushed my hair into a ponytail tying it with my favourite scrunchy. I wanted to make a good impression. My mum dropped me off outside the huge school gates, waving me goodbye.
     Well here I am.. the new school stood before me.  It looks huge, it's going to take some getting used to finding my way around.
I sighed.. took a deep breath I can do this! I can do this!

    I went to the reception and the lady took me to my first class. She knocked on the door the teacher called us in, all eyes were on me I gripped my bag straps a little tighter not liking all the attention. The teacher introduced me and told me she'd saved me a space third from the back. I strolled over took my seat and put my things on the desk. I glanced around trying to take in everything. I turned to look back just to my right there was a pretty boy with dark hair and bright blue eyes. I smiled at him and well.. let's just say he gave me the muckiest look and mouthed 'What'.
     I span back round embarrassed and focused on the teacher.
The break time bell went off... yess I needed to stretch my legs. I was walking out and a girl with long straight blonde hair barged past me.
"Watch it." She warned.
  Great this was going swimmingly well so far.. I sighed when was life going to give me a break.
"That bag is horrific." She said scrunching her face up.
    I nodded "Yeah it's grim I need a new one".
"Yeah you don't say." She laughed walking off with a group of girls.
    Ok so she doesn't like me. Not everyone will be like her though. I walked up to people and introduced myself but they would walk away.
Wow. Nothing worse than feeling awkward.
I was shy to be honest as my confidence had been lost by people just not being bothered about me. A ball cracked me on the side of the face with such force... everyone laughed I went bright red and covered my cheek as I started making my way back to class.

    Back in my seat, I was waiting for the teacher to arrive. Some of my class walked in. A boy kicked my chair on his way past. Another pretty girl sat on my desk looked down at my pencil case.
   "Hmm, when I get a new pencil case you can have my old one. This thing here looks terrible. Can't your parents afford a new pencil case?" She poked it with disgust.
   "Welll... Ermm... I'm not that bothered really." I said quietly just wanting the attention to be off me.
"What about your clothes? They aren't very stylish." She laughed.
Luckily the teacher walked in. I didn't know what to say. This is what I'm used to. I didn't see anything wrong with my things, I was just grateful to have them.

   Months went by like this both boys and girls being mean, embarrassing me, playing pranks on me. There were two in particular a boy and girl that made it their goal to try upset me in some way. Dinner time's were lonely if I sat down everyone scarpered. I think it was due to a boy who had told everyone I had some contagious disease. Suited me fine, people didn't pick on me as much. The boy that made that rumour up I would catch looking at me, I always wondered what plan he was next cooking up to torture me with. He'd say mean things. Tell me I'm weird and a geek. Jade with the long blonde hair once locked me in the toilet. I had been in there most of the day till someone finally noticed I was missing.

    They made my life a misery. I never told my mum she had enough to worry about paying the bills.
    I was sat in my seat when I felt something hit the back of my head. I sighed and saw a scrunched up piece of paper. I could see a little writing on it so I undid it 'Why do you wear such ugly clothes?'.
I turned to see who it was, it was the pretty boy. I frowned and turned around. So he threw another one 'Rude and weird'.

   I went out to see if I could play with the kids on my street one time after school. A boy called Jamie and Luke said I could but I had to find my own bike. The pretty blue eyed boy from my class came powering over a ramp and nearly knocked me clean over. He asked what I was doing out here.
  I pointed telling him where I lived, then wondered if I should of told him considering he was one of the mean ones.
  He let me have a go on his bike but told me if I break it he would break something of mine.
My mum called me in for tea. He laughed and made fun of me saying really it was just my bedtime.

    A few months later groups of boys and girls were in the playground. Jade seemed to take her job at being mean to me everyday to a whole new level. Today she pulled out my new bobble that my mum got me. Then started throwing it round. I begged for it back. But she wouldn't give it me.
    She started shoving and pushing me when I tried to grab it from her. The second time I tried she shoved me that hard I fell into the bin, everyone was laughing but she continued the torment climbing on top of me and was about to hit me when I squeezed my eyes shut bracing myself for the blow...
    When suddenly she was pulled back by the pretty boy. Everyone looked at him, even myself in shock, I knew we were all thinking the same why did he just help me? But then all was clear when he opened his mouth to speak.
    "Come on Jade, I've heard she's got nits I'd stay well clear."  Then put his arm around her and walked away.
   School continued to be torturous. I was fed up of people playing pranks on me, trying to embarrass me.

    Only the worse happened my dad rocked up at my school demanding to know where my mum was. He was drunk and aggressive. Everyone laughed I was mortified. He dragged me out of school. The cycle had started again..

   The horror on my mums face when she saw us enter the house. He went mental at her, screaming and shouting. Punching the doors, then he threw my grandma's vase the one she gave me before she died. It might look like nothing but it was special to me. It landed out the back.. I screamed at him! Making him jump that he slipped on the floor, I took one look down at him and knew he'd broken his ankle.
   My mum grabbed our stuff and we were on the run again.. This time though we found a better house and heard he'd been locked up for a few years.