Chapter one

"Hey, watch it!"

"Sorry!"

"Bitch."

Ignoring the insult that was just thrown at me, I continue to push my way through the crowd of people. The corners of my lips curl up into a bright smile as soon as I find myself outside. The fresh air is blowing through my long and wavy hair with a soft breeze, the sunlight hitting my pale skin.

I did it. I survived the last day of school. No more infuriating teachers and kids for the upcoming weeks.

I have hated school for as long as I can remember and the stuff they try to teach us just all seems so pointless. I mean, I will not

even need most of it.I swing my bag over my shoulder and start to walk. Fortunately for me, my home is not too far away from the school. I could go with the bike, but I prefer to walk. I quite enjoy walking as it calms my mind.

The waves softly hit the shore, the sunlight shining down upon my pale face and a soft, cool breeze is blowing through my hair. A smile is tugging at the end of my lips as I take in and admire the view.

Currently I am on the beach, sitting on the warm, soft sand, a beautiful lake in front of me. It's a remote lake in the wooded English countryside. So right at this moment, I am in the center of the forest, my favorite place to be.

I spent most of my spare time in these woods and at this lake. I visit this place almost every single day, probably even more now since the summer holiday has just started. It's a gated community, so it is really quiet out here, which I personally enjoy.

The only ones that come here aside from me is a twelve year old boy called Adam, who always seems to be collecting caterpillars out in the woods and some other kids my age. But they are loud, ill- mannered and bully and terrorize everyone on their path. Unfortunately for me, I happen to live in the same neighbourhood as them, though I try my very best to avoid them as

much as I possibly can.

I lean my back against the tree I am currently sitting under and look up at the sky, seeing a few birds fly above me. The sounds of the birds chirping happily reach

my ears as they fly over me.

My moment of being alone, however, comes to an end when I hear loud voices somewhere in the distance. I immediately sit up straight as I recognize the voices that belong to some of the boys from the 'gang'. My palms begin to sweat a little and I gulp in fear as I see four of the boys step onto

the beach.

I stand up quietly, wanting to leave unnoticed, but it's too late. I take a quick look in their direction to see them making their way over towards me. I want to move but it is like I am glued to the spot and all I can do is watch as they come closer with every step they take.

"What the hell are you doing here, Maysa?" Brett stops in front of me, pushing me backwards, "get the fuck out of here, you little shit."

I stay silent while I stumble backwards, trying to regain my balance, too afraid to speak or even look at him. Brett is considered the leader of the gang and he always wants to control everything and feel dominant and superior to everyone.

"What?" Are you mute now?" He turns towards his friends, who are standing a little behind him, all of them laughing out loud.

"I- I-" My voice fails me as I try to speak, panic starting to rise within me upon realizing how afraid I must look to them. Not knowing how to handle this situation, I spin around to rush away from them and leave the beach. But before I've even fully turned around, I feel a hand grabbing onto one of my shoulders. I'm turned around roughly and come face to face with Brett. I start to blink my eyes to keep the threatening tears from falling, as he digs his fingers into my skin, nearly causing me to yelp in pain.

"You really thought you could get away from us that easy?" He has a sick grin spread across his face and I shrink.

"P- please, let go of me.." My voice once again trembles as I speak, giving away how terrified I actually feel.

Surprisingly, he let's go of my shoulders. "Off you go then." He says, his words catching me off guard.

I turn around slowly and hesitantly, not believing for a second that they would let me get away from them so easily. Despite knowing they won't let me off the hook, I start to walk away fast, only to trip and fall onto the sand as Ricky lets me stumble. The sound of laughter fills the air as I pick myself up from the ground and wipe the sand off of my clothes, tears threatening to spill. The four boys stand around me and I rush past them in a hurry.

Without looking behind, I rush off of the beach and into the trees, my heart beating fast in fear that they might follow me. As I realize they don't, I finally convince myself to look back at the beach. I see Brett, Ricky and Cooper goofing around, as I see Harry looking my way. It almost looks like he is sending me an apologetic look, before he turns back to his friends.

Turning my back towards them, I shrug it off, silently convincing myself that it was nothing but my imagination. I hurry off deeper into the woods, starting to walk back home.

I'm a little further away from the beach, but can still hear the boys laugh and shout in the distance.

Ricky is the oldest, being nineteen years old. Brett and Mark are both eighteen, Cooper sixteen and Harry and Paige are seventeen, like me.

I stop walking when I spot Adam in the distance, who is sitting on the ground. He is holding a jar of glass in his hands, a caterpillar crawling around inside of it.

"Don't go to the beach." I warn him, causing him to look up at me.

He simply nods his head in return, letting me know he understands. I never really speak to him, but I've noticed that he's also being bullied by them.

A soft sigh escapes from in between my lips as I continue to go on my way, still having to cover a lot of ground before I reach my home, where I live together with my mother. My father had passed away when I was only two years old, so I only know him from pictures and stories my mom used to tell me about him.

As soon as I close the door behind my back, I can hear my mother's voice coming from the kitchen, "you're just in time for dinner."

A smile finds its way onto my face as I walk into the kitchen, sitting down at the table. She places a plate of lasagne in front of me before sitting down across from me.

"You're out a lot these days, didn't know this village could be that interesting?" She laughs, taking a bite.

I chuckle, "it isn't really, I just really enjoy being outside." I say, not mentioning the woods or the lake, since no one is supposed

to actually go there.

After dinner, I go straight to my room. I stand in front of the mirror after I have changed into my pyjama, my smile now gone.

My mother always tells me to smile and put on a happy face. But it is starting to drain my energy. My mother thinks that I am a very happy person, which is a completely different story in reality. Yet, I refuse to let her know otherwise.

I don't really know why, but as I continue to stare at my reflection in the mirror, I curve my pointer fingers. I slowly put them into my mouth and force a stretched out smile on my face.

I continue to stare at my reflection, starting to feel crazy. Sighing in defeat, I let myself fall onto the bed and cover myself with the blanket. I close my eyes and after tossing and turning for some time, I finally allow my muscles to relax. I slowly feel myself starting to drift off to sleep, only one thought crossing my mind; I'll either become stronger, or they will break me into nothing.