Chapter Two:

School

Mum never explained herself about the traps and I could only hope she didn't use them on animals that lived in the vast woods that surrounded most of where we lived. The trees were tall and I almost always wanted to drop everything and just run into them to see what there was in there. Around the woods there were all sorts of warnings, most of them said 'DO NOT ENTER WITH FOOD' but apart from that the woods seemed open and just calling me to go and explore. I have always been this way. I love the woods and the idea of being able to run free in them because it would just make me feel alive.

But instead I was stuck in the smallest room in a run-down messy cramped STUPID HOUSE! I hated it. One night and I was already going to go insane. An owl flew into my window at one point during my first night and I swear I heard some laughing. Mum reckoned it was the 'lads' who run round the woods almost every night laughing and probably getting high. A sleepless night wasn't very good for the first day of school. Great! School! I knew I was going to be the new kid who sat by herself at lunch and didn't speak to anybody.

I don't remember much about the lessons or who whispered what about 'the new kid' but I do remember lunch.

Once I had my tray of food I had nowhere to sit so I stood for a few seconds scanning the whole cafeteria.

"HEY! New Kid? EVE SWALLOWS?"

I turned round, my heart in my throat, praying someone was going to offer me a seat. Well they sort of did.

A girl with long curly brown hair was sitting in the midst of what I could already tell was the 'popular girls' table. All her friends were giggling and stifling bursts of laughter.

"The table for the weirdoes is over there." And she pointed over to a small bench where an assortment of people were sitting, none of them next to each other. I hurried over to the place to put empty trays and dropped mine and then turned and forced myself to walk out the door and not to run.