Previously, we witnessed Emma’s sadness as her mother married another man, Jack, after the death of Emma’s real father. They decided that it was time for them to have their own child which caused a heated argument between Emma and her mother. Their decision, however, has not changed and soon a little girl named Mary was born into the world, leaving Emma with a feeling of abandonment as her mother devoted herself to the new addition to their little family.


With the arrival of summer, heat went up for what it felt like a thousand degrees. I didn’t have the willpower to do anything. Dog days, I heard older people calling this type of weather. They were the hottest days of all summer. With my mother still being busy taking care of little Mary, boredom and loneliness soon became omnipresent. I had no siblings to play with and our neighbourhood was filled mostly with older people whose children were already grown up and having children of their own. I could spend hours just laying around the couch doing nothing and hoping that the heat would let go, just for a short while.
I tried several times to get some attention from my mother to ease my boredom. I even tried bothering Jack once or twice. But when Jack wasn’t busy with whatever he does for a living he would spend all of his time with my mother of playing with her and Mary. Deep down inside I knew that this was a lot for my mother to handle, especially because she had a career of her own and she willingly put it on hold to take care of her new helpless little baby. She would often tell me that I was already a big girl and didn’t need her to be with me every minute of every hour of every day. To an extent I agreed with her but couldn’t help feeling nostalgic.
I decided that I won’t let my loneliness get the best of me so I found an old fishing rod in the basement and from that day on spent my days enjoying the little lake in the woods nearby. The lake was cool and perfect for a little refreshment when the heat got unbearable and there I was able to amuse myself for hours, fishing, laying in the grass, picking wild flowers or just swimming around for hours on end. At first I thought mother or Jack would be worried with my constant disappearances but they just wanted to know what it was that I was doing for the entire day. After the initial explanation I was left to myself to enjoy the rest of my lonely summer by the lake.

One evening after my little fishing journey I heard whispers coming from the study and found my mother and Jack in a conversation I wasn’t supposed to hear. It was about me.
“Honey, you know that’s the right thing to do, we have our own child now and you see she’s jealous of her.” Jack said calmly, putting his arm around my mother’s shoulders.
“But Jack, she’s just getting used to her, this is a normal child’s reaction to something like this, this is so abrupt-“
“But honey”, Jack whispered to her softly, “Burdens are for shoulders strong enough to carry them.”
I gasped. That’s what he thinks I am to them? A burden? I couldn’t listen to them anymore. I ran to my room and cried. Awful scenarios ran through my head as I pictured what was going to happen to me next. After all of this, if this wasn’t a true act of betrayal, I couldn’t tell what was.

A couple of mornings after that horrible event my mother woke me up, helped me get into one of my prettiest dresses and tried to prepare me for what was coming up next.
“Emma, darling, I have something serious to tell you,” she began.
I looked out the window into the first truly gloomy morning since last spring. Back then all was well.
“Jack and I only want the best for you and have decided to enroll you in a private school. It’s a boarding school, it’s not very far from here, you could visit us during the weekend or holidays or whenever you choose. It’s a really good school, too, you’ll get excellent education…”she started blabbering nervously, I could tell. I decided not to let her know that I heard their conversation from a few nights before. Even to my surprise, I didn’t make a scene and just quietly whispered “Okay.”
Soon, a certain Mr. Jude Campbell rang our doorbell and was escorted into our study where he engaged in a long conversation probably about me and finances with my mother and Jack. I couldn’t hear much because after the initial introduction to Mr. Campbell I was shooed out of the room and the doors were closed. I didn’t even bother to try to hear anything of their conversation because deep down I knew that my fate was sealed and that I was leaving to this Campbell guy’s school and there was nothing I could do about it. I still felt betrayed. I was being sent off to another part of the country because I was a burden to them.
The two suited men firmly shook their hands and signed the contract between Campbell’s Private Boarding School and my parent and guardian. It was now official. They were willing to pay someone to take me away just so they wouldn’t have to handle me next to their precious new child. I hated both mother and Jack when I saw Mr. Campbell walk out of that study with a wide grin on his originally strict face. He said something to me about seeing me very soon, bowed a little to my mother and walked into the rain towards his car.
Autumn came relatively soon and so did my new uniform. Not long after, Mr. Campbell showed up at our door again this time to take me away. I didn’t have a lot of things to pack. Everything I thought I must take could fit into a couple of boxes. All I needed was my uniform, really. That and a couple of books. My mother wore her dress that reminded me of old secretaries again. After he stayed for lunch, Mr. Campbell told us that it was time to go and that he had other responsibilities. My mother burst into tears almost immediately after he suggested that we leave our house. She hugged me firmly and whispered to me “It will be alright, sweetie, it will be alright.” She held me in her hands for a couple of moments I wish lasted longer and then it was time to leave.
We had a relatively long ride to my new school but when we arrived I cringed. It reminded me of a prison, or maybe it was my subconscious that thought it was one. I dropped my boxes on the floor and looked and this big brick structure surrounded by big brick fences.
“This is your new home,” said Mr. Campbell calmly and looked at me.
I just couldn’t reply. I stared back at him and didn’t know what to say. I wished it wasn’t, I wished I could just go to normal school in my town like all the other children I knew.
“Alright, let’s get you settled,” he said after a short pause and we went inside.
The place didn’t appeal to me at all. It was brown and bland and depressing and ugly. I wished I could be anywhere but there. I placed some of my things around just to feel more at home. It didn’t help. At home I had a huge room with plenty of my things, it was colourful and bright but here I had a little space that could be called my own and the rest of the room I had to share with my roommates. I didn’t bother to introduce myself to any of them. I didn’t care if I had any friends over here. I got here by the act of pure betrayal by my so called “family” that was all I could think of.
But as much as I tried, I wasn’t able to isolate myself as a girl approached me soon after I unpacked and introduced herself as the girl who sleeps in the bed next to mine.
“I’m Jane,” she said with a huge smile on her face. I introduced myself and we started conversing about many things, most concerning me and how I got here.
“You know, I’ll help you to see that this school isn’t as bad as it may seem,” she grinned. “And my lesson starts first thing in the morning at Ms. Keira’s class.”
Her way to devilishly laugh at things got me intrigued and by the time the lights were out I was able to call Jane a friend.
Even though I feared my first night in here, I slept like a baby. I was incredibly exhausted by both the trip and Jane’s never-ending stories and couldn’t wait to see what kind of adventures this old school has in store for me. Jane promised me that I wouldn’t be bored, sad or lonely here and so far I have no reason not to trust her. This boarding school idea just might not prove to be bad after all.


Current Events: Dog days, Betrayal
Previous Events: Wedding, New Addition to Family
Word Count: 1496
CC Used Allowed : Yes, Penalized: Yes