Rainbow Veins

Rainbow Veins (5)

Leaf avoided school for the next few days, she knew it would be awkward between her and Jimmy and she didn't want to get her heart broken anymore. She told her mum she felt sick, and she didn't want to make anyone at school ill - not that they would ever get close enough to her to catch her "illness". Leaf had been away for three days and all she had done was sleep, cry and sleep some more. She knew it wasn't healthy and her brain was beginning to feel like jelly. She needed go back to school, not to see anyone - they probably hadn't even noticed her absence - she needed to go back for lessons, she had missed nearly a whole week and this yearl was an important one. So reluctantly, Leaf began to get ready to go back to those same old grey bricks, the same old gum coveted floors, and the same people.

Leaf wanted to start her morning in a fairly normal way, but it wasn't right. She saw the hair dye box in the bin, as she brushed her teeth, she had died her hair a mousy shade of brown, hoping it would help disguise her. She pulled on her black jeans and grey top, they looked nice together, but the combination wasn't a Leaf sort of one. She stood in front of her mirror for five minutes, just staring at her reflection. She couldn't find anything that made Leaf original or different, her purple waves of hair were gone, her rainbow clothes lay discarded on her floor, even her bright eyes looked boring and dull. It was like the rainbows in her blood were gone, the colour had been stripped from her heart.

The walk to school wasn't the same either, she didn't notice the wildlife or the beautiful flowers, all she saw ahead of her were grey clouds, rain and darkness. School was busy when she arrived, thick masses of people milled around the entrance, not wanting to be the first person in. Leaf scanned the crowd counting in her head. One. Two. Three. Four. She could of gone on for ages, she had been counting the amount of people wearing black jeans or a grey top, the amount of people with the same shade of brown hair that Leaf now had, and there were hundreds. For the first time Leaf could remember, she didn't stand out from the crowd.

She began to make her way to her tutor room, bracing herself for the harsh comments she always received. Today was different though, a few people looked at her when she walked past but nobody stared. Nobody shouted anything hurtful to her, in fact no one said anything to her. It was the first time in ages thar she had got to tutor without her eyes blurring with salty tears.

Leaf sat down in her usual place and began to draw some Chinese style dragons on her arms. A shadow loomed across her, but Leaf ignored it expecting it to be Jimmy - who she definitely didn't want to talk to.

"Hey. Your drawings are real great." Said an unfamiliar voice, it had a Southern twang to it. Leaf looked up to see who this stranger who was completing her artwork was. She couldn't stop herself was gasping. It was him...