Part 1
Paint it RED!
Prologue
Emilia left the hospital alone, walking through the doors.
‘I’m not going to let this bring me down’ Emilia told herself, eyes wide and soul burning with determination.
She raised her head.
‘Every day is a golden opportunity, to better yourself, and to better the life of those around you. If I’ve learned anything…its patience, it’s never to be hateful, and it’s the knowledge that things can always get better…’
PART 1/2
Chapter 1
Dear mother in hell. Today is the day, my first day, in this godforsaken school you insisted on me attending…. back when you were alive.
Sigh…...
‘Even in death you control my life’ Emilia sighed. ‘Such unfortunate circumstances for me.’
She reached the top of the concrete steps, seeing at last clearly now, the entrance of this new and unfamiliar school.
It looked nice, it looked really nice. The walls surrounding the property looked new, looked clean, the silver gates were open and welcoming. Upon the top of the wall itself there seemed to be shallow trays of soil, from which grew little bushes and flowers, some of which were hanging over the wall, but everything was maintained and organised.
Through the silver gates, there was a slightly curved road that led to the school a short distance away. The grounds either side of this road were large, the grass lush and green and cut-low. From where she stood, could be seen a tennis-court, a basket-ball court, and a larger building further away with a glass ceiling, that looked like it was perhaps an indoor swimming pool.
Emilia noticed then in the carpark before the front of the school, was a large and wide fountain. It was really big…. like…. you could probably fit …. twenty washing machines in this pool or something.
Emilia stared at it in surprise for a few moments, caught off-guard. There was a large statue in the centre of the pool, two dolphins leaping up playfully, water spraying from their mouths and raining down into the pool below.
The whole place was truly extraordinary, and Emilia was completely swept off her Swedish feet.
‘Ok, maybe this school isn’t so bad after all’ Emilia chuckled to herself awkwardly. ‘It’s gotta be better than my last one… anyway…. don’t let yourself be fooled Emilia!’ she beat her fist into her hand. ‘Appearances can be deceiving. Let’s remain cautious!’
‘Excuse me miss, are you alright?’
Emilia jumped out of her skin at that, attention shooting towards the voice.
The woman she saw was wearing a simple green jumpsuit and heavy boots. There was dirt on her knees and elbows, and her hair was held back from her face, tied neatly in a white bandana.
A gardener?
‘You were talking to yourself’ the woman said, ‘I was just wondering if you were alright.’
Emilia stared at the woman for a few seconds, catching herself. Her cheeks flushed red in embarrassment.
‘Oh gosh, I'm sorry’ Emilia fumbled over her words, hand going to her cheek, feeling herself getting suddenly hot. ‘I…talk to myself sometimes…. you know…when I'm nervous. I’m nervous now. I’m new….to this school I mean. This is my first day. Oh, sorry I'm rambling now…’
‘It’s ok’ the lady smiled welcomingly. ‘My name is Bootsie.’
‘Bootsie?’
‘Well…yes. My real name is actually Jessica, I have the same name as my stepsister and in the beginning, things got kinda confusing. My father began to call me Bootsie one day and it just stuck. I…always wear boots, even when I wear dresses, which isn’t often mind you. Oh, listen to me, I'm the one rambling on now.’
‘Oh no its ok!’ Emilia replied excitedly. ‘I um…my name is Emilia.’
Bootsie took in Emilia’s appearance. Her thick pale-brown hair with a big red clip on one side, and blue-grey eyes.
‘Lovely.’
Emilia’s attention began to slip away then, eyes glazing over.
My mother is…. was… a devout Christian. She believes in purity, and wanted to keep me away from men until I was ‘ready’…. whatever that means. She did not want me to give into my ‘lust’, and so she sends me to this all-girls school.
‘Ha! Jokes on you mother! As it turns out, I'm a raging lesbian!’
‘You’re talking to yourself again’ Bootsie smiled sweetly.
‘Oh my gosh I'm so sorry!’ Emilia went as red as a strawberry now.
‘So, you’re a lesbian. Well, I guess you’re in a good place then’ Bootsie chuckled.
‘No that’s not what I..... I mean uh….’
‘Relax. I was only teasing you.’
‘Sorry’ Emilia said. ‘I get uh…. I’m such an airhead. I really do live in the clouds.’
‘You mentioned your mother’ Bootsie said. ‘Did she want you to come to this school?’
Emilia hesitated.
‘She’s dead.’
Bootsie looked shocked then, eyes wide.
‘Oh I'm…I’m so sorry.’
‘It’s ok’ Emilia shrugged nonchalantly, looking towards her own shoulder and brushing off some dust from her collar. ‘It’s kinda a relief if I'm honest.’
‘I’m sorry?’
‘She didn’t like me very much’ Emilia admitted. ‘Truth be told I don’t know why she even had me.’
‘Oh I'm…sorry to hear that…’
‘Don’t be’ Emilia interrupted.
Emilia walked past the gardener then, pausing briefly and glancing back with a smile, eyes wide with excitement.
‘Every day is a golden opportunity to better yourself’ Emilia said, ‘and to better the life of those around you. If my mother ever taught me anything, it was patience. Things can always get better.’
And with that she turned and strode away, heading towards the entrance of the school, walking with a spring in her step.
Bootsie stared after her…
‘What a strange person….’
Emilia enjoyed the short walk; it was a pleasant day and the environment was serene. There were few others outside, and the grounds were mostly empty. The only figures she could see were far away.
Emilia’s eyes roamed all about her, seeing as much as she could.
This place is so cool.
Emilia paused, looking to the side.
‘That’s a pretty big car-park for the size of the school’ Emilia noted. ‘It’s like the kind of size I would expect for a super-market carpark. Hm.’
Emilia reached the entrance of the building, where the doors were left open and welcoming. She paused, glancing towards the plaque on the wall.
VISITORS THIS WAY
Emilia smiled in satisfaction, marching forwards, following the arrows upon the wall pointing her towards the reception.
She rounded a corner and came to a stop, suddenly faced with an obstacle.
A long flight of stairs.
‘Ugh’ Emilia rolled her eyes to the ceiling. ‘Great. Stairs. My one weakness.’
She frowned to herself, leaning forwards briefly and knocking on her shin with her knuckle.
Here goes nothing.
Emilia took a first step forwards, pausing, tilting her head up towards the top of the stairs.
From where she stood, she could see another sign, directing visitors towards the reception.
Emilia reached out, grasping the handrail firmly. She began to climb the stairs, doing so carefully and methodically.
Eventually she reached the top of the stairs, sighing in satisfaction. She was very pleased with herself.
‘That wasn’t so bad.’
Emilia continued to walk. She could see the reception now at the end of the corridor, a pleasant and spacious environment.
As she went, Emilia passed by a small group of girls. One of the girls, the one walking ahead of the others, turned.
‘Oh my god, what are you wearing?’
Emilia glanced around in response, eyes wide in surprise. It took her only a moment to gather her thoughts and think of a suitable response.
She stopped walking and turned fully around the face the girl that had spoken.
Emilia drew a slow and steady breath.
And formed her reply.
‘EEEEEEMAAAAAAHHHHHH GAAAAWWWWDDDDDDD. What are yew wearing?’
The girl blinked in surprised, obviously caught off guard by the response. The two girls that followed her, one either side, both looked shocked.
‘Oh look, a playboy bunny’ Emilia added as an afterthought, speaking normally now.
The stranger blinked again, composing herself.
‘You must be new’ she spoke curtly. ‘You stand out, and not just because the way you’re dressed.’
‘What’s wrong with the way I'm dressed?’ Emilia asked meekly.
The girl sneered at her, like Emilia had just asked the dumbest question.
‘You’re not in uniform. And why are you wearing trousers? It makes you look like a boy.’
‘I’m not in uniform?’ Emilia echoed. ‘Well dam, it’s almost as if I'm new to this school or something. Weird.’
‘You think you’re funny?’
‘Eh?’ Emilia shrugged.
The bunny’s eyes flashed. Emilia could tell that she was getting under the girl’s skin, though she honestly wasn’t trying that hard.
‘Why are you even in this school?’ the girl said to her, ‘you don’t belong here. You’re just a commoner.’
‘How can you tell?’
‘Anyone who comes from a decent background could tell’ the centre girl sneered. ‘Isn’t that right?’ she said to her companions that stood either side of her like columns.
They were already nodding at her words.
‘You can tell at a glance’ girl A said.
‘You look scruffy’ girl B added, ‘your shoes are scruffy, your clothes are scruffy…’
‘Not to mention the way you speak’ girl A chimed in.
‘My god’ Emilia said. ‘It’s like a hive-mind.’
‘Shut up’ the girl standing between the other two snapped angrily.
Emilia chuckled lightly.
‘I’ve met girls like you before’ she went on, ignoring the leader who had spoken, ‘the popular-pretty types. It’s all a front. You act confident and throw your weight around but in reality, you are nothing.’ She continued without pause, the looks on all the girl’s faces were all a mixture of anger, confusion, uncertainty, and hate. ‘You are not as great as you think you are. You are in this same shit-show of life as the rest of us. And if you’re the kind of person who has to put others down to feel good about yourself? Then that makes you only one thing.’
Emilia tilted her head.
‘Pathetic.’
A moment of hesitant silence followed. No one moved.
Emilia blinked then, lifting her head slightly.
‘I have to-’
The girl slapped her, abruptly halting Emilia’s words.
Emilia instantly tasted blood, having sharply bitten her tongue.
She whipped around back towards the girls, eyes burning with anger now. She was grabbed by one of them, who wrapped an arm around her neck, grabbing Emilia with her other hand by the hair.
Emilia snarled, teeth bared as the leading girl moved closer, hand lifting to hit her again.
Instinctively Emilia’s leg shot up, a perfect motion. Smooth and calculated.
She kicked the girl beneath the jaw, and the girl stumbled back, hand going to her mouth, eyes wide in shock and surprise.
She spat out a tooth.
Her friend stepped forwards then, not the one holding Emilia, but the other one. She began to sprout profanities at Emilia, charging towards her.
What she said went something like this:
‘You darn fool, I really wish you hadn’t hurt my friend. We will show you the error of your ways and make you regret defending yourself. You foolish female dog.’
The girl’s foot shot out, connecting with Emilia’s knee.
It was at that point, that Emilia’s leg fell off.
The momentum from the kick made the prosthetic leg sail through the air, sliding across the hallway floor and tumbling down the stairs.
The girls all screamed in fear and confusion.
‘What the fuck??!’
All their noise had finally attracted some outside attention.
The girl holding Emilia let go of her abruptly, causing Emilia to lose balance and drop to the floor.
By the time the receptionist arrived, the girls were long gone.
Emilia gazed up guiltily at the stern and frowning woman.
‘Emilia?’ the receptionist questioned. ‘The new student?’
‘Yes?’ Emilia replied, trying to sound as nonchalant and sweet as possible, sitting there with one leg folded outwards, and the other, at the bottom of the stairs.
