Your fairytale is our reality - chapter two

Instructions

Chapter 2 (WARNING- bullying, high emotions) It’s late afternoon when the rain finally stops. The hissing sound like a cacophony of snakes stops, leaving an echoing silence. Avery looks up from their place on the couch. “Wanna go for a walk? This house is suffocating.” I can’t say I disagree. Averys brother has returned from his friends house, and is screaming because he doesn’t want to get into the bath. He is filthy. Every time I look at him, I want to flinch. Dribbles of snot run down his shirt, cakes of mud make homes in his trousers. I don’t want to offend Avery, but that boy is filthy. And loud. His screams echo down the stairs, like a screeching hyena. The atmosphere is tense, closing in on my lungs, like I can’t breathe. The sounds of slamming doors, hasty footsteps clumping upstairs, it’s all too much. Avery notices my face, twisted into a grimace. They take my hand gently, and lead me out of the door, into the air. I breathe refreshing lungfuls of cold damp air, relishing the cold biting at my face. I can finally breathe again. “Where do you want to go?” Avery asks gently, letting me make the descision. I hate it when they do that. Hate the responsibility. I shrug, handing the question politely, but firmly back. “Let’s just… go.” We go. We wander. I’m not sure how long we’ve been out when a clump of dirty, wet, slimy, stinky mud hits the back of my neck and trickles down my spine. I swivel, only for the next bout of mud to hit Avery, smack in the face. It’s them. Hector and his mates. The very people I’ve been avoiding since they emptied a pot of paint over my head 5 years ago. I can see Avery, out of the corner of my eye, wiping mud off their face. I can feel the fresh, rain-soken mess falling down my back, slipping on my spine. It’s all wrong, the texture isn’t right, the thoughts aren’t working, my eyes are spinning, my lungs are bursting. I turn and run. My legs are pounding, my lungs fighting to keep up. My arms are pushing, pushing me through the nipping air, sprinting through the wet streets. I can hear Avery, yelling like a wildcat, “YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF YOURSELF.” I hope hectors sacred. But right now, I have only one objective: get out. Before you burn out. I dont stop running until I reach home.