Chapter Two

Did I mention I hate school? Well if I didn't, you probably already guessed. I'm not usually the type to cry easy, but even so I felt a little pang in the back of my eyes. I pushed open the school doors and ran outside. I shivered. I didn't stop walking until I reached the subway. Thankfully, it was mainly empty. The Jamaican man was still there, this time with a ciggy in between his closed lips. I walked over to him and sat on the ground. Reaching into my jean pockets I pulled out a few bits of cash and handed it over. “Oh no, girlie,” he said in a rough African tone. “I play only for happy, not money.” I frowned. “You play music for... Happy?” He smiled. “Music is what makes me happy. So I play music. I figure, if I like the music, other people might like music too. So I play.” he hit the drums a little before facing me again. I smiled a little. “Thanks,” I said quietly, even though I wasn't sure what for. He raised his bushy eyebrows. “Welcome.” My subway pulled into the station and I jumped aboard. After riding for half an hour I was back home, only I was about six hours too early. I tip toed past the house and climbed into my apple tree. Yes, it was my apple tree. However much my mother tried to tell me it's on the neighbours land, it will always be mine. Climbing up the first set of branches I remembered when I was a little kid, I could barely reach the twigs. My dad used to lift me up so I could pick the fruit. I stopped climbing and instead pulled myself into my house. My house. The little tree house was small but I could still stand up inside it. The old tattered blankets covered the square windows which I had covered in plastic wrap. My old drawings were pinned to the insides of the wall, a drawer filled with craft supplies and an old blanket sat in the corner. I sat down on a mini beanbag and took one of the pictures off the wall. It was of my older brother and my father pushing me on the swingset in the park. I smiled as I remember kicking my boots as high as I could, until they came off and got stuck in the tree. On the drawing I had even scribbled a little red circle inside a tree to represent the missing boot. A small tear rolled down my cheek but I quickly wiped it away. It was no use crying over something I would never be able to change. I hung the picture back up and wrapped myself in the blanket. It was going to be a long day.

"Honey, Mrs Opal called to say you weren't at school today," mum sat at one end of the coffee table, dipping a chip in some sauce. We were sitting in the lounge watching chick flicks with takeaways. "I'm guessing you know about the rest." I groaned, hiding myself under a cushion. "Mum, please. She was being a massive-" "Bird. A massive bird," she interrupted me. I rolled my eyes. "Yeah yeah, a massive fluffy feathered fat, noisy, horrible bird." I slumped down on the couch before eating another chip. "Look, Jess," Mum turned to me. "I know how much you cared for James and your father. It's hard on me too. But it's only hard because you're making it hard. I know school is tough but, for me, just survive until the end of the semester?" I groaned again, but this time I removed the pillow. "End of semester," I promised. "But after that, I'm seriously considering changing schools. Or states. Or lives." Mum laughed before patting my knee. "I wouldn't change this life for anything," she said. I smiled before she turned back around and stole the last chip. "Hey no fair!" I said laughing. "Too slow," she replied. I grinned. At least I still had her, and I was never going to lose her like I lost them.