Raven

16 Years Ago
My parents left me on my own, it was dark inside and the power had gone out, I was left in my room asleep, until the bang from downstairs woke me. I sat up slowly in bed and listened hard for anymore sounds, but I couldn't hear any. So I led back down and just when my eyes were closed something sharp stung my neck. My eyes flew open, but there was nothing there, my hand went to my neck and there was nothing there. No lump or some sort of small bug. Nothing. I frowned and got a torch from my drawer, I switched it on and went to my mirror, I shined the torch on my neck and saw nothing. I flicked the torch off and got back in bed, as soon as sleep had taken me I forgot all about it.
When I woke up in the morning I felt different, I went to the mirror and tried to see if there was anything different about me. I couldn't see anything. I studied my face carefully and there was no change. I stepped back and frowned at my reflection, I checked again quickly and rolled my eyes at myself. I looked at the time and wondered what it would be like if Mum would come in to wake me up in the mornings. I sighed and ran downstairs for breakfast, on the table was a note from Mum and Dad.
We'll not be back until late tonight. I've left some food in the fridge for you. Love Mum and Dad.
I screwed it up and threw it in the bin, it was the same every day, there was always the same note and I got sick of it. I hadn't properly seen my parents in years, I'd basically lived on my own. I made my breakfast, I had a bowl of stale cornflakes in warm milk and then went up to my room.
I got dressed into baggy black jeans and a black hoodie. I made sure my ipod was fully charged and then grabbed my bag off the back of my desk chair and ran out the house. I walked to school every morning and it took me 30 minutes to get there.
When I got to school I dreaded going inside - like always - but still I went into the hellhole and promised myself I would be able to stay and ignore the constant sneers and name callings, just like every day.
In my first lesson I sat at the back and turned my ipod up, I blocked out all the taunting by listening to Evanescence, I loved Evanescence, Mum promised me she'd get me tickets, that was last year. Still no tickets. I pulled my hood further over my face, not that I was ugly, I wasn't, I was average looking, but I had weird eyes. They were a smoky grey with bright blue rings round them and my hair was jet black and was so long it reached my hips. I just hated people to see how much they really got to me, that's why I wore the baggy clothes and the hoodie, they was easier to hide behind.
After the first two hours of torture we were allowed a break for 20 minutes and I sat in my usual place, on the bench under the tree, I ate my apple, my ipod still blaring music into my ears. The teachers never really paid me any attention, they'd all given up on me ever listening, and that was fine with me. Mum and Dad didn't seem to care either.
What I wanted to do didn't include academic achievements. I wanted to be an artist. Art was the only subject I listened in. It was the only one I was good at.
I had art after break and couldn't wait, one of the reasons was because it was my favourite subject, but the other was because I could sit opposite to Matt. Matt was the only person that talked to me, although we didn't talk often, most of the time we were too engrossed in our artwork to talk, but occasionally he would compliment me on my work. When his friends weren't looking and listening.
He wasn't the most popular guy in school, Jamie was, but I didn't like Jamie, he was only interested in getting all the girls he could, Matt had been friends with Jamie since they were in playgroup and that's the only reason he was popular. He wasn't interested in getting girls, though he wasn't gay, he was quiet and didn't drink or do drugs. Instead he did art, wrote music, played the piano and guitar and sang. Although he never made it very public, he was in the background.
In art I sat down in my place and got my stuff out, I still kept my hood up but turned my ipod down, in case Matt wanted to talk to me. I began to paint my final piece, it had to be to do with music. I decided to do a picture of Amy Lee and then I wrote Evanescence along the bottom and did some butterflies on musical notes and I did some roses and instead of thorns they had musical notes. I did piano keys and guitar strings along the top and the piano keys went behind Amy and down off the bottom of the board. I painted the background black.
I was adding some detail to Amy's hair when Matt came in and sat opposite me, there were two per table and I was so happy when I found out it was Matt I was sharing my table with. I didn't look up at him, I kept my eyes down and focused on getting the hair right, her hair was like mine I realised. I smiled and Matt stopped painting, I looked up and met his eyes, "You smiled." I nodded and looked down quickly, I never smiled in school. Ever.
Matt came and stood behind me, I stopped painting and sat back so he could look at it, he took the paintbrush from my hand, his fingers lightly brushing mine and causing my heart to falter, "If you do this then..." He trailed off as he went round the outline of her hair in a really dark grey, "See, now you can see the shape of her head and when you finish the background you‘ll still be able to see it." I nodded and he went back to his painting. I finished what he’d started and was glad it was a double period, and then I had it the lesson after lunch too.