Isobel Hermann

Chapter 2

The next morning was a Thursday. Thursdays were my least favourite day and the moment I awoke, I knew it was going to be a terrible day. I was shivering in the makeshift bed we had set up late last night and I was sure I was sick. Whenever I get sick I tend to go to school anyway, unless someone notices, because if I miss a single day, I will have to spend the next few weeks trying to catch up. That was never fun. Mostly because I didn't have any friends to request assistance from and instead had to work it all out alone. 

I felt Annabelle shift besides me and knew that it was time for me to get up. So I did. Quietly I stretched before carefully sliding out and throwing on my uniform.I headed to the bathroom and finished preparing myself for school, insuring that my cuts were covered by my school shirt and blazer. I walked into the kitchen and noticed that Borelli was making breakfast, "Would you like a hand?" I asked him.

"Yeah, sure, you can lay the table." He told me, seeming surprised to be seeing me awake already. I began laying the table as Dad arrived with the boys and Annabelle. We ate a quick breakfast before heading towards school it begin the seven hours of torture that would start as soon as Dad exited the gates. I looked down, at the ground as Dad left and entered the building an act I knew I would soon regret. 

Surprisingly Alexander and his friends left me alone until lunchtime but when they came for me I was not willing to put up with them. Throughout the day I had begun feeling worse, and by the time they came at me I had a pounding headache and could hardly breathe, so when Alexander decided to punch me in the nose, I fought back. I had kneed him in the groin, causing a scramble-fight, when the teachers arrived to break it up. When they asked why we were fighting, I tried to explain that he had been picking on me for months but they refused. Hence why I am now sitting outside of the principal's office, waiting for Dad to collect me.

When Dad arrived, 30 minutes later, it was obvious he had come from a fire by the fact that he was still in his turnout gear and the fire truck was waiting outside for him. "In." He told me in a calm voice, the only sign of his anger present in his eyes. I obeyed, reasoning that it would be best to challenge him once he'd had the time to calm himself. The ride to the firehouse was awkward to say the least and once we arrived I was directed to the kitchen table, which I knew I would spend a while near, completing homework. 

An hour later, I had finished the schoolwork that Dad had collected from school for me to finish. I  had even checked it thoroughly, before I caught Dad's eyes and he wandered over, presumably to check on how my work was going. Raising an eyebrow, he questioned in disbelief , "You've finished it?"

"Yes sir." I work quickly when I don't have to check my surroundings for danger.

"Well then, I believe it is time for us to discuss what you were thinking. Come."

He led me out of the firehouse and perched awkwardly on the wall. 

"Why?"

I didn't respond, not ready to see him angry again.

"Why were you suspended Isobel?"

"I was fighting."

"Why?"

"He's been picking on my all year."

"I don't believe you."

No one ever does. I shrugged, what else was there to say. I didn't want to lie to him — to see the disappointment in his eyes and know I'm the reason it's there. 

He sighed. "Since you've finished your schoolwork, you can help the candidate."

I nod, immediately regretting it when everything starts spinning, "Yes sir."

Dad leads me back into the firehouse and tells me to help Jimmy clean the showers — everyone's favourite job. I walk into the shower-room and immediately spot him attacking some grime on the wall, "Hi, I've been told to assist you..." I say .

"Sure, hi Isobel. Shouldn't you be enjoying yourself?" Jimmy asks me.

"I'm suspended."

"Oh, what'd you do?"

"Fighting. How can I help?"

"Grab a sponge. These walls should be shining once we're done!" 

I did as he asked and in a few short hours, my arms were burning from the inside out but the small portion of wall I'd covered was shining. Just like he said it would. Suddenly the world seemed to shift under me, and I leaned against the wall, sliding down it as I waited for the world to reorientate itself. I could hardly breathe. Every breath I took seemed to be denying me oxygen. The back of my throat burnt. I coughed. Again. It hurt. I could hear my heart resonating within my skull, giving me a headache — worse than anything I'd ever felt before. It was fast, the beats running into one another.

 I felt cool, wet fingers press against my neck — probably Jimmy's — followed by frantic yelling. Hurried footsteps came, and I caught sight of Brett's blonde hair before I lost touch with consciousness.