I was in a quiet field, that never seemed to end. It was just me, the grass, and the sky. I danced along the hills, my hair flowing in the wind. My leg had no pain whatsoever, and I felt free. Then I spotted a little red bird. It started to chirp. At first, I didn't take any notice of it. Soon, it got louder, and louder, and louder until-
"Alice!" a voice called, startling me awake. I stared around in confusion for a few moments, until I realized where I was. My bedroom. The female voice called once again, "Alice, get ready for school!" I sighed heavily. Why do all the good things have to be dreams? I lunged myself out of bed, falling onto my knees, shooting pain through my body. Great start to the day.
Wearing a long-sleeve white shirt, grey scarf, black boots and black leggings, I made my way down to the dining room. I could hear the T.V projecting out sound and light, with the viewer sitting down on the plump couch and eating an apple. My mom turned towards me and smiled comfortingly. I nodded back and focused on filling my bag with all my school work. Zipping the bag shut, I slung it over my shoulder while grabbing the kitchen bench for support as my leg wobbled. My mother came in the kitchen and beamed at me.
"Have a wonderful day, Alice!" she said, giving me a pat on the shoulder. She noticed my uncertainty. "You will do fine, Sweetie. Everything is going to be okay."
"Thanks..." I replied dryly, opening the door to the horrid world I lived in. If I was in a musical, I'd probably sing a song about my troubles. I sighed and trailed along the same road, waving to Mike the plumber and his family, hiding from a girl in my English class, and jogging across the busy crossing, trying not to knock over an old lady.
I eventually arrived at school, all in one piece. Clutching my timetable, I read over what I had first. History. I could do that. I patted my sore leg and looked around at everyone else, who were happily chatting. They're so... so lucky. They have normal legs and normal lives... Why can't I have that? It's so unfair... I shooed away my thoughts and focused on getting my things for History.
Surprisingly, the day went better than I thought. We had a sub for History and we practically got a free period to finish our homework (to some students, this means 'do nothing for an hour'). I managed to finish all my History and Maths homework, which cleared some of the food on my plate. Then we had Drama. Although I'm not very good at performing, it wasn't so bad and I actually had some fun. I didn't (well, almost) trip over! After that we had Science, which is the best subject ever so of course I enjoyed myself.
Lunch is where it all went downhill.
It started out okay. I managed to get a good spot in the line, next to all these big, burly boys. They were too busy talking to each other though, so I managed to avoid them. In front of me was a girl from my maths class who was really nice to everyone, even me.
Her name was Louisa (most people called her 'Lou'). She never called me Crashice and she sometimes said hello to me in the hallways. I beamed at her back; at least there was one nice person. That day she was wearing her special, really expensive brown leather jacket over a white tee; spanking new black leggings and red-rose glasses. Her soft, brown hair was pulled into a neat bun. She looked like a bit of a stereotypical nerd, but she was actually really bad at Maths and excellent at Phys Ed. It was lucky and all that I wasn't behind a bully, but the bad news was that a few people in front of her was... Chrissi. Great.
Louisa and Christina were best friends. They were attached to each other. It really didn't make sense to me; how is it that the nicest person and the meanest person are best friends?
Sighing, I grabbed a serve of salad and this weird sauce stuff. I put a couple of drops of the sauce on my plate and about 5 pounds of salad. So even if I'm clumsy, at least I can look healthy.
I looked at my skinny wrist and sighed deeply. My mother had tried to get me to eat more; I was on the borderline of Anorexia. Why don't I each much? I just couldn't eat anything... I wasn't even paranoid about being fat. I guess it was to do with me being downright clumsy... And afraid. I mentally argued with myself; eventually compromised and reached for the mustard bottle, so I could get some calories and sugar for the sake of my weight. But it was out of my reach.
"Do you want the mustard?" Louisa asked, kindly. If it was anyone else, I would've said no straight away. But it was Louisa, the nicest person in the school. I nodded slowly, keeping my legs steady so I didn't look like a bumbling idiot. She nimbly reached over and grabbed the bottle of mustard and handed it to me, not frailing at all.
"Thanks Lou." I said quietly, taking the plastic bottle of mustard. She nodded at me and turned to getting food for herself. I opened the top part of the bottle and got ready to squeeze it over my salad.
"Out of my way, Crashice!" one of the boys hissed behind me.
Then it all happened.
The boy shoved me, making me skid. To try to stay standing, I fiercely grabbed the mustard bottle, launching it onto its side and forcing my strength into it. It let out a blast of mustard, that landed all over a chatting Louisa. The mustard poured all over her clothing and some even went into her hair and mouth. It drenched her skin and her body, making her look horrid. I was so shocked that I couldn't speak. So was everyone else. Some people around the cafeteria started giggling at her. They started calling her names like 'mustard girl'.
"My... Jacket!" she blubbered. She stared at me, as I tried to keep standing. She glared at me with something she had never glared at me with before: hatred. It stung worse than if she were to throw a knife at me. People pointed at her and took photos; others looked away in shame. "My jacket... My jacket that belonged to my mother who is..."
"Crashice! Why did you hurt my friend like that?!" hissed Chrissi, standing next to Louisa. She glared at the people laughing at Louisa, and they quieted down. Some people still took photos.
"I'm sorry. It was an accident!" I said, my voice cracking. I felt like I had just murdered someone. Why did I have to be so clumsy? "I just fell over-"
"I don't want to hear your stupid lies, Crashice. No wonder no one likes you." Louisa spat, wiping mustard off her face. The words hit me like bullets and I felt like vomiting. Chrissi glared at me. Everyone in the whole cafeteria stared at me. I got to my feet and gave my legs everything I had.
"Yeah, that's right, you little brat. No one wants you anymore. Go home and cry to mommy." jeered Chrissi, their stares burning my heart. One of her gang members came up behind me and fiercely grabbed my shoulders, making me shudder and forcing me not to move. Chrissi had a dark glare on her face, giving me butterflies. I spotted my lunch tray with my salad and grabbed it for hope. My hand landed on the edge of the tray, causing the salad to fling and spill everywhere; some of the juice landed on my shirt. My captor cringed a little bit, shutting his eyes.
"Crashice!" voices echoed from everywhere.
"Like her father!" I think I heard someone mutter, which confused me at the time. I shook it off with a heavy heart. One of my hands landed in a pile of mustard on the table, drying my skin in yellow mush. I noticed staff were coming over to see what was going on. The person holding me let me go with an innocent expression, leaving hand marks on my shoulders. Then I bolted.
I ran out of the cafeteria, the event breaking my weak soul. It was now a weak little bridge in a large war, and if it took one more hit, it would be gone. I had lost the only person who was nice. As I ran past the lockers, my leg stung and I tripped over, landing on my knees with a crack. My long sleeve got caught in someone's locker. I furiously pulled until the fabric snapped, leaving my sleeve with a hole missing. My leg stung like Hell, but not nearly as much as the burden I was at this school.
I burst the door open with a crash, sending a ear-shattering sound through the house. I heard a shuffling noise and I sighed.
"What on Earth..." my mother huffed, coming into the hall. She almost stopped dead when she saw me. "Alice Manchester! Why are you not at school?" I showed her my mustard covered hand, my torn sleeve and the patch of salad juice on my shirt. My leg had a brand new bruise and my hair was all puffy from stress. My mother raised an eyebrow.
"Because I'm worthless." I answered, sprinting up to my bedroom, ignoring my stupid leg. I slammed the door with a lot of force and face-planted on my bed. Great, now I was a criminal. No one wants me, no one needs me. What is my point of being around anymore?
"Alice! What's going on, Sweetheart? Please tell me!" My mother urged from outside of my room. I pressed my good leg on the face of the door and pushed as hard as I could. Mom was pushing back, the door handle turning and clicking. My leg wasn't going to cut it for much longer. I placed my whole body in front of the door and pushed, while I grabbed a heavy box of old school work and paper; it probably weighed more than I did. I pressed the box right up to the door, making sure it was secure. Mom kept knocking and shoving; the more she did the more I felt like crying. "Please, Alice! It's okay, mom's here."
"It's not okay! Why do you want to help me? Why do you even care about me? There's nothing you can do to help stupid, pathetic Crashice!" I bellowed, my voice cracking. I heard my mother sob for a moment.
"Oh, Alice. You're loved so much more than you know..." she muttered, before her footsteps disappeared in the distance. I'm not worth anything, not the brightest diamond or the smelliest sock. Of course no one likes me.. All I do is mess up things.. I have no purpose and no meaning. They're all right.
I went over to my bedside table, where there was a little silver box. It had patterns of unicorns and flowers embroidered all over it. I tapped the box; it made a little ding, almost making me smile. I opened it up and glanced at the contents. There was a picture of me when I was just starting school. I was smiling with my milk teeth and waving, Mom and Dad standing behind me; looking like giants and proud of their happy little daughter. My blonde hair was done into pig tails, really showing my age.
Then I saw my leg. It looked... Normal. I sighed and put the picture away, and grabbed a pink piece of paper, covered with 'well done!' stickers. It said, 'Alice Manchester. Awarded for being cooperate and respectful to fellow students.'
How cute, I thought. The next thing was a little golden ring, dotted with small blue gems and little swirl patterns. My mother had given it to me a few years ago. She told me it was real gold, but I now know it's just painted metal with plastic gems. Oh well. The next thing was a blue, plastic wristband from some sort of Cancer foundation.
Then I found the best item in the mix. It was a little orange Poptropica badge, that said 'Poptropica' in big, blue, puffy writing. I put on my little badge and went up to my large mirror, and proudly glanced at myself. It actually put a little smile on my face, and cleared the thoughts I had. But the badge couldn't keep them away forever, and eventually tears rolled down my face.
No one likes you. The words stung my head like a bullet. It had always been like that after the accident. Now it was even worse, since probably everyone thought I was psycho. I had no one... Nothing...
"Great..." I mumbled, flopping onto my bed and closing my eyes, allowing my pillow to get wet with tears and the sob train to pull into the station.
A few hours later..
Half my pillows were damp with tears, but I didn't care. I reached for my laptop and switched it on, the screen almost blinding me. I opened up the internet, and while letting it load, I grabbed my Dr. Hare plush from the cupboard and put it in my lap. I didn't really care if I was acting like a 'baby' or something; I already squirted someone with mustard. It didn't matter. I clutched my little badge and wrapped my arm around Dr Hare, while I booted up Poptropica.
"Please. Show me there's still something to live for." I begged to the screen, as I clicked to sign into Fierce Fox. Suddenly, there was a flash of bright light, and my whole view was filled with white. There were no sounds, just light.
I opened my eyes, feeling around myself. The whole world looked... More colourful to say the least.
"Where.. Where am I?"
CHAPTER RE-EDIT MARCH 2017:
SO ANGSTY UGHHH… I made it a little less angsty… I hope. And fixed stuff like grammar. Hope you guys like it!