Everything's going smoothly. My plan is going without a hitch, and that is so much more than I expected. My mum has been busier than ever, painting out house and other peoples, trying to make it the home that we have always had before. It is working, the bare walls springing to life with paintings of hers and complex textures that match our sparse furnishings perfectly.
All of this helps keep her off the changes I'm going through. She barely notices me at the moment, as rushed off her feet as she is. Her only target is to get everything back to normality and then start acting normal herself.
I've been meeting up with Elliot every day for the past week, slowly installing myself into his life. His taken me shopping another three times, getting me makeup and school accessories. He even took me to the hairdressers to get my long light brown hair chopped.
I now have a short bob, two shades darker than it was previously. It draws together all the other changes. Cutting my hair seemed to cut off the ties I had left with my old life and that eight year old me.
I am a new person, and I'm going to stay this new person. I'm not going back to who I was before. I can't go back to who I was before. Doing that would drive me crazy.
Elliot is supportive in whatever I choose to do, always there with a suggestion that is better than my own, propelling me closer and closer to my final destination.
My breakthrough came on the Sunday before I started school. I am sitting in Elliot's bedroom, flicking through his fashion magazines while he gets us drinks, when there's a knock on the door.
Louisa opens the door, poking her head through the gap that she creates. From what I can see, she looks stunning, even though it is the weekend and there's no one around to see her. Her hair is pulled up into a perfect bun with carefully styled ringlets falling on either side of her dainty face.
"So, you're starting my school tomorrow, right?" she started after a pause that allows me to study her.
I nod, trying not to look too eager, or like a silly fan girl trying to be someone she's not. Which I kind of am until everything is sorted.
"Now that you aren't nerdy looking or anything like you were before Elliot got to you, I just wanted to let you know that you're welcome to hang around with us at school tomorrow."
I resist the urge to squeal in excitement or do a little victory jig around the bedroom, because that would almost definitely get that invitation retracted. "Thanks, I guess," I reply, trying to sound uncaring and cool.
Even though she doesn't say it as such, I can tell that Louisa isn't buying my cool act. She somehow knows that inside, I am jumping for joy at the prospect of being with the in-crowd. Maybe she's been through this with so many people that she knows the exact thoughts her target is thinking as they think it. Whatever the real reason is, I don't care. I'm in.
Three days pass in a blur of names, faces, places and classes. Occasionally, I miss my old life where everything revolved around school work, and I had no room for anything else. At least then, I wasn't constantly confused about what I should be doing. I had one set thing, and I always completed it.
When Louisa first introduced me, things were slightly awkward. The popular kids weren't keen on accepting someone new, just because their 'leader' said that I was one of them.
One of the boys, Alex, is nice. He has sandy blond hair and an easy, big grin. His personality is as big as that grin, too. The first time we met, he was the one that made me feel comfortable. I feel completely comfortable next to him, even though he is more than half a foot taller and a good deal broader than I am. He is also extremely good looking.
