Luna Brown- Ignored, Forgotten

Chapter One: Change

I looked across the small pink room as the shrill buzzing from my sister’s alarm broke through the light dreamless sleep like state I had been in. One of the springs of my cheap thin mattress dug into my back as I rolled over. Sophia's bed creaked as she dragged herself off to the bathroom. Sighing I grabbed my jeans and tee-shirt from the pile under my bed. They were dusty and wrinkly from having been shoved under a bed, instead of hung up in the wardrobe like Sophia's clothes. The shirt was too big, mainly because it came from the op shop around the corner, where there weren't many choices. My stepmother always bought my clothes from there, not because we were poor or anything. I mean, Sophia's clothes came from the most expensive shops in the city. It was just because my parents couldn't be bothered "wasting" money on me, when Sophia was so much more important.

The shower turned off in the bathroom, so I slipped quickly out of the room and through the living room of our small two bedroom apartment. I didn't want to still be around when everyone else got up, not that they would notice I was there. My sneakers made very little noise on the soft carpet of the stairs as I made my way out of the building. There were very few people on the streets between my house and school. I walked with my head down, trying not to look in the windows of all the families having breakfast. When I reached the school it was practically deserted. There were a few teachers wandering around but they didn't notice me as I slipped through the corridors. I didn't mind though, I preferred it when there was no one around.

Dumping my bag in my locker, I headed for the library. The library was probably my favourite place to go. It was always quiet, mainly because no one came in there unless they really needed to. Settling down on one of the arm chairs I began to read. I stayed there until I heard the high pitched ring of the bell telling me to go to roll call. I walked slowly, detouring to my locker to pick up my book. Catching the door as it swung shut, I slid into roll call behind Mr Barns. It didn't matter that I was late; he didn't notice me as I walked to my seat at the back of the room. As I sat there, listening to the drone of Mr Barns talking, I watched the people in front of me. When you are the observer, as I have discovered, you tend to learn more about the nature of those around you then you do if you are in the middle of it.

The bell pulled me back to reality. Grabbing my books I followed the crowd out the door. No one paid any attention to me as I pushed my way down the corridor. Ducking through the classroom door, I headed to my usual spot and sat down. General chatter filled the room as the rest of the class sat down. I ignored them and stared out the window. Mrs Holly came in and began to speak, so I turned back to the front and pretended to be interested. I tried to listen for a while before turning back to the window. The rest of the class passed slowly. Next period was the same; I didn't even try to pay attention. When lunch came, I sat on the edge of the grass outside the classrooms. From here I watched the different groups in our year. Sophia was laughing with her friends in the middle of the grass. She was one of the popular girls, along with her best friends Ruby, Shayla and

Lauren. On the other side of the lawn were the sporty guys. This group included Billy; the boy Sophia had a crush on this month. Last month it had been Billy's best friend Ryan. As I watched, Billy, Ryan and their other friend Gordon, stuffed the last of their food in their mouths and headed for the basketball courts. Soon enough the rest of the boys would wander over to join them, with the girls watching from the grass.

When I had finished eating I headed into the library, as I had done this morning and as I did every lunch. It was quiet inside; everyone was outside in the sun. I stayed there for the rest of lunch before

I had to go back to class. The rest of the day passed in much the same way as the first part had and soon I was sitting in last period watching as the minute hand got closer to three o'clock. This was the slowest part of the day, the last ten minutes before it was time to leave. The end of school bell rang finally and I pack up my books. I waited for everyone to leave the classroom before following them. The crowd outside shoved me as I headed for my locker. A couple of older boys ran straight into me, causing me to nearly drop my books. They didn’t appear to have noticed, they didn't look back as they hurried off. I didn't head to my locker; I already had all my books in my bag. Instead I headed towards the exit, being pushed and shoved by the crowd as I went.