Today was school. A plain normal day; right? WRONG! Everything went so terribly wrong from the beginning...
I had poured milk on my toast and began to idly butter my glass when Dad corrected me. Hell, his touched zapped the both of us and we leapt again, guilty staring at where he had knocked my wrist. This was so much easier before neither of us knew what to do.
He didn't think of me in that way,he told me that at every chance he got. It was just a drunken accident, he would always add sheepishly. I believe him; I mean, I think I believe him... He's done crazy things when he was drunk... For example, he once decided to put up the christmas decorations up and ended up slow-dancing with Santa and getting angry at Rudolph because he had been eyeing up 'his girl'. Needless to say, he no longer decorates without supervision.
After breakfast, I was ready for school - make up done, uniform found from the back of my wardrobe and school books piled into my worn out saddle bag - but something was missing... Dad's comment of, "If you think you're wearingthat skirt to school you can think again Missy." He was avoiding me, staring avidly at the reports he had already finished. I didn't blame him. I would avoid me too after... the kiss.
I slipped out the front door and faced the crisp English weather. Nothing like a delightfully rainy British September morning to return to school... I fished an umbrella from my bag and struggled to open it, knowing that my hair would be curly by the time I reached school.
I gritted my teeth and closed the garden gate behind me, pushing the disobedient weather repellent in front of my with a string of highly repeatable words. Oh England, how I love thee... let me count the ways...
...
Finally I was there: Kings High School - apparently the only school in the area that had had no arson threats or actions yet. But then, something was different. There were new windows put in but that was definitely not it... I scanned the green as I steadily made my way up the path under the rustling trees.
I climbed up the first slope and my eyes widened; 15 different news vans were parked on the top ledge with each reporter frantically chattering into a highly polished, state-of-the-art camera. I rolled my eyes; someone probably killed Nina Pratt- the world's most revolting waste of oxygen.
"Ella! ELLA!" I could Jenna screaming as she ran from behind the BBC van, "They're here for you Ella!" She was sprinting, one hand holding her inky doughnut-like bun in place on the top of her red face while the other kept her skirt from riding up over her hips and probably showing her questionable choice in underwear.
Jenna was undeniably chubby- sorry, cuddly. Her skin was tinted orange from the spray tan she had obviously used last night and her eyebrows were slightly wonky as always. She had small brown eyes and a pair of tiny lips that seemed to be set in a constant pout. Most people would call her fat or tease her but she would've beaten them up without batting her thick lashes.
Something seemed to have clicked in everyone's mind and suddenly, everyonewas my best friend. I was somehow turned into the world's biggest people magnet; with people I'd never spoken to cramming their numbers into my phone and complimenting my no-longer-pin-straight hair. Hell! I even had one guy slide his arm over my shoulder to ask me out. I of course told him to go seriously reconsider his life skills.
I definitely preferred the thought of them covering Nina's murder...
By the time Jenna had reached me, the cameras were all trained on me as she pulled me into her usual bear hug. "Oh my God Ella!" She cried, dragging me away from the crowd and deftly rubbing her stubby fingers against the last of her foundation lines. "You never told me! How come you never told me?"
"What did I do?" I cried, absolutely bewildered and confused beyond belief. She grabbed my wrist and we were running, past the vans and into the science block. Jesus, I hadn't run that fast since... well never! She grinned at me, her muddy eyes gleaming in delight before she inhaled sharply.
"ELLA YOU'RE FAMOUS!" She screamed so loud I could've sworn my eardrums burst. "Why didn't you tell me you were adopted?!"
I blinked, "Sorry what?"
Her smile faltered, "You're... adopted..." She repeated slowly, noticing I had no idea what she was on about.
"No I'm not!" I snapped, "If this is your idea of a joke; it's not funny!" Why was I so tetchy lately? Everything seemed to make my blood boil... Oh no... My stomach was joining in with the boiling - bubbling up angrily... I didn't feel well at all...
"Ella?" Jenna's voice swiftly became a lot softer... Then I realized it wasn't hers. It was someone else, "Ella Hyde?" I looked up guiltily into the brilliant blue eyes of Anastasia Steele and she gasped, more tears flooding down her face. I was pulled into a tight embrace as she sobbed into my shoulder.
"Ana?" A male voice - It must've been Christian's. "Oh Ana..." His voice became soppy and cute, "Ella..." He swooped in, crushing me between the two (sorry, four - can't forget the twins in tummy) of them.
"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?!"
Oh thank god...