Note: This was an English Assignment that I submitted, I haven't got the mark back yet, so I just wanted to se what other people thought of it. I also wasn't sure of what genre it should be, if anyone has any ideas, let me know, please.

Belonging

People were everywhere, running towards the platforms, desperate not to miss their train. No-one took any notice of a young woman, sitting on a bench near the entrance to the station. She looked distinctly careworn, her short black hair a complete mess, her clothes ripped, tears in her eyes. Every now and then, she'd begin to vaguely wonder how her life had come to this. And every time she did, her thoughts would always drift to the same day of her life. The day when she had finally had enough.

She had been suspended from school. It wasn't the first time that her parents had had to come and get her early from school, but it was the first time that her parents were to be told not to bring her back for several weeks.

She sat waiting in the office for her parents to come, if you could even call them parents. They didn't act like they were.

The door opened, and her parents walked in. Her mother was looking furious, her father slightly less so, but that didn't make him any less scary. On the contrary, he terrified his daughter, regardless of his facial expression. He had hurt her enough for her to flinch every time he looked at her, wince every time her mother mentioned him.

The Principal of the school came out of his office and beckoned her parents to follow him back into it. The girl remained in the office, waiting for the inevitable time that her parents would leave the presence of the Principal, and take out all their fury on her.

The time came. Her parents walked out of the Principals office. Her father walked straight past her without a word, but her mother turned to her with a look of disgust. "You, get up, get in the car, and if you make a single noise, you will regret it." She pointed to the door; the girl got up obediently and followed her father out of the office, her mother close behind her.

After a silent car ride that couldn't last long enough, they arrived home. The girl got out of the car as fast as she could and ran for the front door, but she wasn't fast enough. Her father caught her arm, and kept a tight grip on her all the way to the house. She could almost feel the hatred radiating from him as he steered her through the door.

Inside was cold and dark. Her eyes had trouble adjusting with the light, and as a result she wasn't prepared for the sudden pain she felt on the side of her head. Her parents were creatures of darkness, so they could still see perfectly. "That's what you get for getting suspended, you stupid thing." She heard her father say. Her mother was laughing with her witch-like cackle. She felt another blow to the head, and fell to the ground. Her father was laughing as well now. She felt his foot make contact with her stomach and cringed on the floor.

After what felt like hours, her parents finally gave up on hurting her, and left the house. Barely conscious, the girl managed to get to her room and lock the door. At least the door still had a lock.

She went to her bed and collapsed on it, holding her teddy bear, her only possession, as close as she could to herself. She had always wanted to run away, but she was afraid of being caught, and then punished even more. Still, she had to try.

That night, she had managed to run away. She had been 10 years old, and had spent the next 8 years living on charity food, wearing charity clothes. But it was still better than what she had left behind. And now, she sat on the bench outside the train station, with no-one taking any notice of her, no-one caring about her, wishing that she'd never been born.

Thanks for reading, a review would be hugely appreciated.