Born on Monday, February 27 to Christopher and Summer Harper, sister to fourteen-year old Ethel. Pepper was a noisy baby, a handful for the middle-aged parents. The Harper's house was constantly noisy with shouting and arguments. Pepper had picked up many traits from her family, and as soon as she could speak she was trying to take control in the home. This caused more quarrels, more raucous. Pepper's parents were demanding and harsh. The bickering had grown so serious that every time the youngster tried to open her mouth she'd be told to "be quiet" or "shut up", therefore she almost never opened her mouth.
As if that wasn't enough for young Pepper, her older sister took out all of anger on her, punches, fights, kicks and worse, Pepper was younger and weaker and couldn't fight back against her, and if she tried to tell her parents, they'd demand her to shut her mouth. Pepper, at this stage was very excited for school, she'd have friends and time away from the sounds of her home! The best part of the now 4-year-old Pepper's day was when her sister was off to school, although Ethel would be leaving her school soon as she'd reached the age of fourteen. During the days Pepper would practise speaking to herself, she'd teach herself new words that she'd heard from her parents. Also, she'd go out to the market with a shopping list given to her from her father, she'd buy apples, bread and vegetables, usually, her parents sometimes went out after her. She always passed the school on the way to market and saw all the children having fun, playing and making friends. "One year to go", she told herself, every time.