Each of us has a story to tell (Completed)

Chapter 1- Laura

Trigger warnings for Chapter 1 - Swearing 

The gates loom overhead as our dad drives the car slowly up towards the school building. The school is shrouded in black clouds which either means a thunderstorm is on the way or we are heading towards hell.

The school is made of a red brick that has been stained brown by its years of standing in the countryside. The majority of the walls are covered in green ivy which snakes up the walls. The gates are iron and look rusty, clearly no one cares how the school building looks from the outside. My first thought as we head up the driveway is the same thing my twin brother James says as we move slowly up the gravel.

"The picture they used in the brochure must be ancient" he says and I nod in agreement.

He's right as usual. The picture in the brochure showed a red brick building with no sign of any dirt or ivy anywhere. That picture has to be several decades old.

"I'm sure they just haven't done the weekly cleaning yet, J" my dad says. He always calls us by the first letter of our names 'J and L'. That's what we'll always be called I suppose.

I look to my left to look at James but he refuses to meet my eye so instead I stare at his uniform. Messy. As always. The black sweatshirt looks perfectly fine, maybe it needs ironing, but the tie is a mess. It's striped in green and yellow which I know sounds attractive but it most definitely isn't. I mean I can't really say that much about his tie tying ability. I had to google how to tie a tie so make of that what you will. James clearly didn't think to do that. We've been here for two weeks now...well not quite two weeks.

We left the school last Wednesday as our grandma was taken into hospital. Her heart condition has been playing havoc again, but she was ok. She went home on Friday. The doctors still aren't sure what caused it to flare up again.

It's now Sunday and we're back in school. Dad pulls up in the car park and looks at us in the rearview mirror.

"Check your uniforms first, kids," he says "don't want to make it look like you live in a barn." 

James lets out a groan but he pulls his sweatshirt down a small amount. I look at my tie in dad's mirror. It's wonky but it'll do. The rest of the uniform for the girls drives me insane though. The boys get a nice white shirt and black trousers and we girls get the same white shirt with a green and yellow tartan skirt. The thought that if we stay here for long enough I'll be stuck wearing this for two years makes me sick.

James gets out and leans in back in through the door and mutters a quick "bye" to dad before he slams it shut. He retrieves his suitcase and even retrieves mine which takes me by surprise. He must be after something.

Sure enough when I get out of the car he makes his request "hey I couldn't copy your homework for Mrs Greenwood could I."

"No" I reply bluntly and he walks off ahead of me. Mrs Greenwood is our maths teacher. She hates James, though I suppose it could be because she quickly discovered that James had been dating her daughter for over a year. He dumped her because he found she was cheating on him, though he won't tell me who she's dating now. Her daughter Jesscia is in our year and she was quick to tell Mrs Greenwood who James was. Ever since James has become her least favourite student.

That doesn't mean I'll let him copy my homework though. He should at least try and make an effort. But then who am I kidding lazy should be James' middle name. He doesn't give a crap about anyone. Not even me. Well that's fine. As long as he stays out of my way I'll stay out of his way.

When I head back to my dorm my roommates Alice and Bethany are waiting for me. We get on...kind of.

"Hey Girl you're back," Bethany says excitedly, hugging me as I enter "how's your grandma."

Alice lets out a laugh from her bed "god Alice let her come in the door first. Alice moves back and I take a seat on my bed.

"My grandma's fine," I reply "she's back home now. But guess what James just asked me the second we got here?"

Alice's ears prick up at this "he did not ask to copy your homework...again." I nod "bingo."

"He's so hot though," Bethany says dreamily flopping onto her bed "he can copy my homework any day."

Bethany is in that phase where she thinks any boy is hot. She says that James' eyes are the same colour as a squirrel. I personally think that our eyes are the same colour as a shit but apparently our eyes are different shades of brown. His are attractive, mine aren't.

"Beth that's disgusting," Alice says looking wide eyed at Bethany "he's our friend's twin brother."

"No it isn't disgusting," Bethany snaps "besides I've got my eye on someone else."

"Who?" I ask. The answer to the question who does Bethany fancy changes every day it seems.

"Ryan Jamison" Bethany replies as if it's the most obvious thing ever.

"WHAT" Alice and I reply in unison. "The head bully?" I ask.

Ryan Jamison is the head bully at Oakwood. He rules the school. He's famous for being in detention every day, bullying the younger students and being the schools number one drug dealer. He has dirty blond hair and blue eyes which are mildly attractive but apart from that I don't see what Bethany sees in him.

"Yes the head bully but he's so much more than that" Bethany replies in the same dreamy voice as before "he threw a ball of paper at me yesterday in the cafeteria. I mean it had no name on it but like... I'm sure it was meant to be for me."

"Well if it wasn't addressed to you it probably wasn't Beth" I say.

"Ugh how can you crush my dreams like that Laura" Bethany replies,clearly she has taken offence to my statement.

"Sorry" I reply, though I don't mean it and she can tell. Just then a note slips under our door. Bethany jumps up to read it. She opens it and looks heartbroken. Alice and I go and look over her shoulder to read it.

Dear Bethany

You are such a bitch. Don't read shit that doesn't belong to you.

Ryan