Author note: Hi! So I just wanted to clarify - Evie, Becky and Will are my own characters, everyone else is from WR. I've set WR in Greenock but Rachel is still head - I've essentially picked up the Rochdale school, planted it in Greenock, and got a mix of teachers who I'd have loved to see work together, I'm sure you'll pick it up! Also I hope I've got the school ages right - my Scottish friend has been helping me understand it as I'm from England. Thank you so much to those who have already reviewed, it means so much. - Holly
Chapter Two
"Oi, kid! Up, now!" Becky's shrill voice called out. Evie had been asleep for little more than two hours.
"Oh, p*ss off, Becky…"
"Don't you dare disrespect me like that! Get up, I need the house spotless, my mate's coming round later and she doesn't know about you. Move, now!"
Evie groaned. She bit her lip to stop herself saying any more. She'd be gone by the afternoon. Evie pulled on her tatty uniform, and ran a comb through her limp, messy hair. It was once full of thick curls, but those had been taken along with her childhood, left behind in a squalid flat in South London. The tired, worn-out girl headed downstairs to start the hoovering. Becky and Will had gone back upstairs, probably to smoke weed, Evie guessed from the smell coming from upstairs.
Until she had to leave for school at 8:15, Evie cleaned the house as thoroughly as she could. Becky came downstairs and gave her hell over it, but she did her best to brush it off. Grabbing her school bag, she left the house, the door slammed on her by Will as she left. Evie had no intention of going back.
Evie had no directions to get to Waterloo Road, but spotted some other children in the same uniform as her, and decided to follow them. Eventually, she reached a red brick building, sporting the Waterloo Road logo, alongside a flock of rowdy children. Despite her tough exterior, Evie felt vulnerable and isolated in the crowd. Not knowing anyone felt threatening to her, and she had two options - to make herself known from the start, or to keep her head down. She knew that making herself popular would likely land her in trouble, which would ultimately result in her being sent back to her foster parents', so she aimed to keep as quiet as possible.
"Hi, I'm new here," Evie said to a female teacher with short brown hair. "Do I need to go and sign any forms?"
"Hi, yes, if you go up to the headteacher's office she'll be able to register you. I can take you, what's your name?"
"Evie." "Hi, Evie. I'm Miss Boston, and I think I'm your form tutor. You'll have me every morning for registration and I teach PE as well. Do you do any sports?" Evie shook her head. "I'll find you something." Miss Boston remarked as they took the stairs up to the head's office, and knocked on the door.
"New girl for you, Miss Mason. I'll see you in form time, Evie." Miss Boston turned to go back to playground duty.
"Right, lets get you registered…" Miss Mason's voice broke off.
"Rachel?"
"Evie? What- what are you doing here?"
"F*cks sake, I'm not doing this." Evie backed out of the doorway and stomped out of the office.
"Evie? Evie, come on, let's talk this through?"
"I didn't talk then and I don't talk now, so back off!"
"Hey, hang on, nobody says you need to talk, I just want to get you registered."
Evie sighed. "Evie Thistle, fifteen, used to be homeless but now I'm in care, okay?"
Rachel gave her an exasperated look. Evie tried to leave.
"Hey, hey. Listen. I know it's a bit of a shock that you're here and I'm your headteacher, but I'm not going to probe into anything you don't want to discuss. I wouldn't normally do this but seeing as this is a bit of an exceptional circumstance, why don't you go home and we'll try again tomorrow? Have a day to yourself and then tomorrow can be a fresh start, hmm? You're not in any trouble."
Evie gulped. Going home was the last thing she needed, but she couldn't face the day, not with Rachel being her head after seeing her living on the streets.
"Yeah, sure, whatever."
"Good. See you tomorrow. Come in a bit earlier so we can go through all the paperwork." Rachel sighed as Evie headed down the stairs. She'd always liked her at the shelter, and had accepted that she didn't like to talk, but something had changed now she knew she was younger. Rachel saw beyond the hardened exterior and understood that there was a deep fragility in the thin, young girl.
Evie turned left out of the school gates and walked. She didn't know where she was going; just away from here. She eventually stumbled upon a small coffee shop, and bought herself a black americano with the change she had left from the night before. She sipped it slowly, and read the book she'd been carrying with her to read at the shelter.
A couple of hours went by and Evie felt she was overstaying her welcome. She'd finished her coffee and it was approaching lunch time, but she had no money left to buy food. She got up and wandered around Greenock for a while. Evie enjoyed walking, as it helped clear her mind. She walked for hours, stopping every now and again to sit on a park bench and read a little more.
Darkness soon fell and Evie needed to find somewhere to settle for the night. Sleeping on the streets felt daunting to her, following her attack, so she looked for somewhere in a park, all of which were occupied by dog walkers and teenagers. She didn't want to be there. Checking her watch and seeing it was now nearing 8pm, Evie argued with herself that the teachers and staff at school must have gone home by now. She headed purposefully back towards the school, and began to look for somewhere to sleep.
Naively, she hoped some part of the school might be unlocked, but she was unsuccessful. Instead, she found a little alcove by the bin store, next to what she assumed to be the canteen. The bins didn't smell too bad, and she decided this was as good a place as any to pitch up for the night. It was slightly warmer tonight, so Evie was able to keep warm by cuddling her school bag close to her, and pressing herself against the door.
Sunrise came sooner than Evie would have liked. She ran her fingers through her hair and pulled it into a messy bun. The thin figure gathered her few belongings and darted out of her corner, and darted cautiously out of the school gates. It was 7am, still too early to be in school without being questioned. She ambled around town for an hour, and then made her way back to school, and upstairs to the headteacher's office, knocking on the door.
"Come in." a soft voice called. "Morning, Evie."
"Morning." Evie mumbled. Her guard was back.
"Right, let's try this again shall we? I'll just go and get the paperwork from Bridget."
Evie looked around the office. It was spacious, with a desk in one corner and a round table in the centre. Evie took a seat on one of the soft chairs next to a small table for making tea and a bookshelf.
"Okay, so let's start with some basic details. Evie…?"
"Thistle. Well, Evelyn Charlotte Thistle."
"Date of birth?"
"20th March 2004."
"Address?" Evie gave Miss Mason her foster parents' address and contact details, even though she knew she wouldn't be back there any time soon.
"Okay, Evie. So, were you taking your National 5's at your other school?"
"No, GCSEs. I moved here from London."
"Ah, right, okay. In that case, I think we're going to have to move you down into S3, as you're joining a bit late to take the Nat 5 exams. So you'll be in our equivalent of Year Nine. Is that alright?"
Evie wanted to kick off. She didn't like being the new girl, let alone one in the year below.
"Fine. Don't suppose I have much choice do I?" Rachel raised an eyebrow.
"Okay, well, I'll go and get your timetable printed out and I'll take you to your first class." Rachel took the freshly printed timetable from the printer by the door. "You've got form time with Miss Boston first, I think you met her yesterday? And then you've got English with Mr Clarkson. It's okay that you haven't read the texts, I'll pop a message to Mr Clarkson and he'll be able to get you a copy of the books. Come on, let's go over to your form room." Evie slung her backpack over her shoulder and followed Miss Mason down the stairs.
"Evie, hi!" welcomed Miss Boston. "You're a bit early, but come and take a seat, unless you'd rather wait outside?"
"I'm fine here." Evie grumbled.
"If you need any help with anything, you know where to find me, Evie," Miss Mason said. "Nikki, can I have a word?" The two teachers left the classroom and pulled the door to.
"I'm a bit concerned about her, I was wondering if you could keep an eye on her, seeing as she's in your form." Miss Mason spoke quietly.
"Yeah, sure, anything in particular I should be looking out for?"
"I dunno… So you know I volunteer at the homeless shelter some nights? Well, Evie was one of our clients, she'd lied about her age, I've only just found out she's 15. She's back with her foster parents now, but if you could look out for anything unusual or concerning, that would be great."
"Course," agreed Nikki.
"And could you let me know if you do see anything? I just feel like there's more to her than she says."
"Yeah, yeah, you'll be the first to know."
"Thanks, Nikki, I appreciate that. Have a good day." Rachel gave Evie a final glance before heading towards her office.
The other children began to arrive in small groups. Evie had sat at a table in the back corner of the room, and nobody sat next to her, or paid her much attention for most of the day. That was how she liked it.
