Chapter Two ~ Toilets and Pendants

As the bell rung signalling the end of English, I unzipped by black O'Neill BackPack and popped in my Neat book, Draft Book, Planner, Pencilcase and a textbook on the Romantic Poets. Zipping it up I swiftly walked away from the noise of the classroom, away from the students whom all seemed to hate me. Apart from one, they seemed to find me okay. But if only Kezia were here, Kezia my best friends from Year Seven to Year Nine. However around Year Eight she developed a rare form of Schizophrenia which I had seen forecoming, I just didn't tell her. Anyway they took her away to a House for the Mentally Isane. A Care Home labelled as an Asylum. I wasn't allowed to write letters in fear that she may remember and do something rash.

We had been the best of friends, inseparable in fact until that evil illness came and savaged her mind clouding it with an illness beyond repair. With these thoughts I walked to the Locker Block and came to Locker 13, which was unfortunately right at the top meaning at my small height I wasn't able to reach it without standing on tip-toe. Taking out my silver locker key I slid it into the gold coloured lock and tried in vain to turn it, whilst straining to gain more height. Eventually the lock gave way with a 'CLICK' and fell into my small hands. Opening the light blue box sized locker I lifted out my black P.E. bag and closed the locker, locking it as I did. Sighing I ran off before the evergrowing crowd of people had a chance to engulf me and sped off to the Sports Hall, dodging cars and students as I made my way. Quickly pushing open the red door to the Girls Changing Room I took off my tights and slid my black shorts on underneath, then unzipped my skirt and folded it neatly and placed it in the large red lockers.

Then I took off my shirt and winced at the sight of the cuts and bruises that covered my arms, back and stomach. It was only just Autumn so there was no need to wear a thick vest and my bruises were visible to the naked eye. Sighing quietly I pulled on my white P.E. Polo Shirt just before the first people had begun to arrive. The Changing Rooms filled up and the air became warmer, choking me as it desperately tried to filter through my lungs. Hanging my white shirt, tie and black Blazer from the small hooks inside the lockers I found my blue sweatshirt and pulled it over my head, satisfied now because the wounds were hidden. I shoved my black lace-ups inside the locker and closed it, not bothering to lock it for there were no keys. And even though there were bullies in my form, the Girls certainly weren't thieves.

I made an assumption that the bruises on my legs wouldn't really matter, because everyone knew I was always falling over and bruising myself blue. Rummaging in my black sack bag I found my white trainers and socks, put them on, tied my brown hair into a high ponytail and headed outside. The only people standing in the mild Autumn breeze were the P.E. teacher, a few boys, girls and of course my 'Friend' Jake. This was the setting for my vision and whether it would come true I had no knowing. But of course Miss. Green had to pick on me and I knew I was in for a hard time. 'Miss Kopalev, it's perfectly warm you have no need for that jumper take it off!' she said in her stern voice and I bravely stood my ground against the enemy.

'Sorry Miss, but I can't you see I have a bad cold,' I muttered but she merely shrugged my comment off. 'Until I have a note from your parents and your doctor you will not wear that jumper now, Take. It. Off.' she shouted, saying each word with an equal amount of evil. Adamant, I shook my head and her fat face grew red with fury and hatred for me. Hatred and fury for the girl who forever disobeyed her. 'Mr Matthews, please escort Miss Kopalev inside,' she snapped in her prim and stern voice. My eyes immediately widened with fear at the mention of the name Matthews. My arms shook violently and for a moment the world stopped until one voice, one voice alone possibly saved my life. 'Miss Green, I think I had better take her, you see she often has panic attacks and only I know what to do to calm her down,' a smooth voice said and Miss Green only nodded. I could feel strong arms wrapping over mine, pushing me into the Sports Hall. Into the Disabled Toilets.

'Come on Anastasia take the jumper off?' He said questioningly, iconically raising an eyebrow. I just shook my head, saying no in a silent way. 'D-do you have anything on underneath?' he asked nervously and so I revealed my white polo shirt underneath. 'Well then- wait is someone hurting you?' he asked, confirming the vision to be true. But not how I had seen it. Tears welled up in my eyes and I immediately wrapped my small arms around my tiny waist, in a protective manner. 'I just can't take it,' I sobbed and pulled off my jumper revealing the cuts that scattered my arms. 'I've been bottling it up for so long, ever since Year 8 they've been hurting me, abusing me,' I sobbed quietly, still looking at the dust particles on the boring grey floor. 'Wait who is hurting you?' he asked in a rather concerning voice. After a long, long, long while I answered in a small voice, 'My parents,'

He seemed to be completely shocked by this and traced the cuts on my arms, counting each one. 'Are there more?' he asked raising his eyebrows. I nodded instantly indicating with my finger to my face, legs, back, chest and tummy. 'It goes on for hours, hours on end and never stops even when they stop physically. There are still things in my mind, monsters waiting to hunt me down and devour me at the first time they get. Monsters that refuse to stop,' I whispered, looking into the floor yet again. Now it was his next action that really surprised me, he pulled me into a huge cosy bear hug as my tears dripped onto his polo shirt. It was the nicest thing anyone had ever done for me since I was diagnosed with ESP. That's when the trouble started, when I was around five years old.

'Do you clean them?' he asked, pointing to a long scar in my arm and I immediately nodded. 'I have a First Aid Kit in my room, bought it from Boots,' I added, so as to not worry him. 'You have any bandages on you now? We could bandage your arms, and well pretend you were in... some sort of accident?' he suggested and I nodded to show that I had the bandages. Sneaking in the Changing Room- when your parents hate you and you live in the same house, you have to be able to walk silently- and unzipped my rucksack. Taking out the long white bandages I slipped out of the Changing Rooms and back into the Toilet. Softly taking the bandages off me, he slowly wrapped them around the patches of skin that contained the serious scars. 'Note, we'll need a note,' I whispered and he pulled out some paper and a pen from his tracksuit pocket.

'Hmmm, I'm very sorry to say that Anastasia cut her arms in an accident with a kitchen utensil, signed David Kopalev,' he muttered, as he scrawled on the paper and made up some sort of signature that resembled my father's name. 'Wait, you remember my Dad's name?' I asked, surprised that he had remembered it. 'Course I did, I remember everything,' he replied, smirking. 'Sure,' I muttered as he slipped the note into my hand and unlocked the toilet door. 'Try and make it realistic,' I called out to him as I walked out, remembering the time he was in my Drama group and he completely cocked up the entire thing. 'Miss. Green Anastasia has a note from her parents,' he said in a bold and confident voice, whilst I merely handed the note to Miss. Green with baited breath. 'Well I'm sorry to hear it Miss. Kopalev, although you could've told me,' she muttered and I held in a sigh of relief. God was she really that gullible? I just hoped that they wouldn't do an 'E.T. phone home' on me and alert my parents.

So my vision had been correct, but not in the way I had foreseen it. Even so Jake had learnt of my secret and would carry it as a burden before it got too heavy to carry. Then he would slip it off and let the cat out of the bag, hopefully to someone trustworthy. After a hard lesson of Football - in which I managed to bolt the ball into the hedge at least five time - we were allowed to go inside and get changed back into our school uniform then head off for lunch (Before English we had, had a Science Lesson on Reproduction, god help us) which was around an hour long. Slipping my skirt over my shorts I rolled it three times, took my shorts off then slipped my tights on and threw by shorts carelessly into my P.E. bag. Then I quickly unwrapped the bandages and slipped my shirt on over my bra and vest and then rapidly tied the red and yellow school tie and put my two-sizes-too-big blazer on. Undoing the laces on my school shoes I slipped them onto my tiny feet (size four and a half to be exact) and tied them into bows. Shoving my trainers, polo shirt and white socks into my bag I pulled the drawstrings and set in down on the floor and swung my rucksack over my shoulder.

Walking out of the sweaty Changing Rooms was like walking into a blissful and airy meadow, filled with pretty flowers and bunnies. However it was only the inside of the Sports Hall and nothing to be joyful about. Finding the silver chain of my Whitby Jet black pendant I slid my small finger down the chain so as to find the main attraction of the pendant. I had found it when I was around five, the day my ESP had been diagnosed. I can remember it as if it had only been a few months ago, the gypsy woman scrounging around outside the Doctor's Surgery had approached me and my parents. They were kind loving people then, who clutched either of my hands in their's looking down at me with smiling faces. The woman knelt down and opened my hand, then pressed the pendant in it. 'You'll need it,' she said, closing her gnarled hand over my soft skin.

'Nice necklace you got there!' Jake remarked, looking at my outstretched palm. 'Thanks, a gypsy woman gave it to me when I was five, the last happy day of my life. Well the last happy day I hadwith my parents,' I mumbled to him, and he nodded understanding the situation. 'Anyway, I was gonna' ask, do you want to come round to night. We could work on that English Project and you could stay for tea?' he asked, biting his lip afterwards. 'Yeah, I'd like that. I'll text my parents,' I replied and watched him smile that same 'cheeky chappie' smile. 'So... where you going at lunch?' he asked, looking at me with sort of puppy dog eyes. I just shrugged my shoulders, knowing that I would be 'haunting' the library as usual. 'Come spend lunch with me?' he asked and I nodded, glad to finally have a friend.