Okay, I think this chapter is fairly long so read on
My mother died the day before I started school. I wanted to stay home but Tynan (my step-father) told me to suck it up and go to school. I brought Bree to school around 7am even though her school started at 9. I sat with her to get away from Tynan before he woke up. We sat there until 8 when other kids started arriving then I left to go to my own school which was only a couple of blocks away. We did that same thing for about a month until I just stopped caring. I think I began to drift away and sort of let Bree down. I still regret what I did but I can't go back and change it so I must live with the regret.
I wore black and other dark colours so no one notice me. I would stay in the back of the classes and wouldn't really participate. I would just do the work, hand it in and get a good mark. When we had to get partners for projects, I would just get the last kid left which was usually someone who was part of a group with an odd number of kids. They would never enjoy my company.
I never talked and never showed any happiness, my face always showed depression and pain. I began to wear eyeliner to try and hide my face and got a hairstlye that would shadow my face. All of that effort I had put into trying to hide from people, seemed to bring more attention to myself. I finally got the name émo punk goth kid' and people (mostly jocks) would come up to me and startpicking fights with me. I got suspended a couple of times for taking them up on their offer and kicking their asses. Everday that I was suspended, I would go sit in some dark place and wait for the time when I'd pick up Bree from school. I didn't do much on those days, I just sat and thought about how terrible life was. Most people would think I was suicidal but I wasn't. I just thought of how terrible life was but I never once wanted to end it. If I wasn't around then there'd be no one to protect Bree. I never once cut my wrists, took any kind of drug, I didn't even smoke. I had high hopes and dreams that I wanted to acheive. I wanted to see Bree grow up and I wanted to love. Above all things I wanted to find my true love.
Well I would go back to school after being suspended and this one time that I went back, it was April, I saw the most beautiful girl I've ever layed eyes on. She had long black hair, deep green eyes and the most beautiful smile ever. She wore dark clothes that fit her curves perfectly and her personality seemed upbeat. She never seemed to let depression get the best of her. Her name was Sarah. She had just come to the school the day before I came back from my suspension and almost immediately befriended me.
I had been sitting at the back of the classroom as we did our math work. She came up to me with her dazzling smile and spoke her first words to me ever. She said, "I don't get the math. Do you think you could help me?" Sure, it wasn't most lovely sentence but it was the first sentence that she ever spoke. I never forgot that one sentence.
When she had asked me the question, I had just looked at her. Her eyes were so beautiful, I just couldn't turn away. I looked into her eyes as she smiled and looked into mine. "Well? Will you help me?" Her voice was so kind even if she was getting irritated.
I snapped out of my trance and nodded. I moved my things across the desk so she could place her things down. She smiled and looked down at her paper. I followed her gaze to look at the page with erase marks and a couple of rips. I took a page out of my binder and gave her a clean page, "what do you need help with?" She smiled, just barelly, and said, "everything. I just don't remember the formula and since I can't copy it down, I don't know how to do it and-" She sighed and put her face into her hands, "you have the highest mark in the class. I would figure that you'd know."
I smiled on the inside, she looked so distraught and needed my help. She was so beautiful and out of all the people she could've asked, even the teacher, she asked me. I tried to teach her the formula and how to do it but she just seemed so confused. Then the bell rang, I sighed and said, "I'll try to help you next class." Sarah frowned, "but it's due next class. Can't I come over to your house?" Immediately replied with a harsh "no." Sarah stood there, taken aback and then spoke, "can you come over to my place?" She asked this slowly, seeming to want to hear 'yes.' I looked into her eyes which seemed to sparkle, "could my sister come too?" Sarah smiled brightly, "sure! I have a brother who's just great with kids." She began walking to her art class and said, "I'll see you after school. I'll come to your locker!" People looked at me and then at her and began to snicker, thinking it was some kind of joke. This really made me start to think, maybe it is was a joke. I shook the feeling off and went to class and began to look forward to something. The last thing I had looked forward to was when I was still in England with my dad and he was taking Bree and I to a drama production. We never got to go though because of the split up.
After school I packed up my things and waited for Sarah, after about two minutes I convinced myself that she wasn't coming and began to walk towards the front doors. "Where do you think you're going?" I turned around to see the smiling Sarah, "I had to go to the washroom and you don't even want to wait for me?"I began to explain myself, "I tho-" She patted my shoulder, "don't worry about it." I followed her out of the school and she began talking again, "does your sister go to Kov- Kovalevsky?" She asked trying to say the name properly.
I smiled, for the first time in ten months, and replied with a nod.
We walked down the street from our school to go pick up my sister and so Sarah began talking again, "you never told me your name." I looked at her and replied, "I would think you'd know my name if you knew I was the kid with the highest mark in math class." Sarah laughed, "no I just asked the teacher and he said 'Mr. Ackerman' and pointed to you.I know your last name so if you want me to just keep calling you Mr. Ackerman forever, then I will."
I smiled again, "no. My name is Cody and my sister is Bree." "Are you guys from England?" She asked looking at me with a questioning look. I had to laugh at the way her face was shaped. "What?" She asked smiling. I stopped laughing but kept a smile on my face and said, "you're face was shaped all weird. No offense, but you looked like a baboon." Sarah laughed a laugh that made my heart warm, "well thanks." I smiled and answered her previous questions with a nod, "yes I am from England." She nodded, "I thought so." Then there was a silence, sort of abrupt but for some reason, it wasn't uncomfortable at all.
I began thinking of Sarah's beautiful smile, her beautiful eyes, her beautiful personality. She was such a sincere person and began talking to me out of all people. She was so kind-hearted and caring. The list of all her good attributeswent on and I began to list them off in my head when my thoughts were interupted by little kids yelling and crying.
I looked up to see that Sarah had stopped to see a little boy who looked to be in grade 6, picking on a little girl who looked to be in grade 4. When Cody looked up, he saw the little girl kick the boy in the shin and him get up to go attack the little girl. It was only about a second to realize that the little girl was Bree, and there was a boy, who was much stronger than her, going to tackle her to the ground.
I ran along the fence and ran into the school yard as the boy pushed the girl onto the ground. I picked him up by the colar of his shirt and looked into his eyes that held fear with my eyes that held fire, "if you ever touch my sister again, you will never see the light of day again." I threw him to the ground and ran to the crying Bree. I stood her up and looked at her face, it was bright red from rage and tears. I hugged her and let her climb on my back.
I exited the school ground and walked next to Sarah who began to walk on. She looked at me wanting to talk but she held back. She knew that I didn't want to talk. She knew me so well, she could read me just by looking into my eyes and she had only known me for that day.
As the three of us went down a street with many trees blocking the sun and barelly any people, Bree spoke up. "Cody, I want to walk,"and shebegan to wriggle out of my grip. I let her down and the three of us continued walking. Bree kept glancing at Sarah and finally asked, "who are you?"
Sarah smiled and looked down at Bree, "my name's Sarah Burr, I'm Cody's friend." I felt so happy when she called me her friend, it made my heart melt that someone as radiant as her would want to become my friend.
Bree looked at Sarah and said, "you're very pretty. You're even prettier than my mom was." Sarah laughed, "thank you. You're pretty too." Bree smiled, "my real daddy used to call me pretty but then my mom took us away from him. Then she got us a new dad but I don't like him very much, he's mean to me and Cody." Sarah smiled but a look of concern flooded over her face. I could feel her eyes burning into the side of my face but I didn't dare look at her.
She began to speak and I had prepared for all of her questions but was surpised, "this is my home." Sheturned onto a walk way of a nice little house. It looked like a little cottage from an oldfairytale.
It was a brick house with many flowers inside the fenced yard and there was a nice little stone path that led into the back. Sarah led the way on the path into the backyard. There were two paths leading off of the one. Oneled to more garden and a fish pond and one led to a patio, a pool and a jungle gym. For such a little house, there sure was a big yard.
Okay, well for those of you who may not know, Cody is currently 13 and Bree is 9. Sarah is also 13.
I want to ask if I should keep the story as Cody telling it or change it to third person? If people think it'd sound better if it was in third person, then I'd edit it and whatnot to make everything fit.
Please Review and tell me if I'm doing a good job in terms of writing and style. If you don't like the story, opinions are welcome, just don't tell me I suck because you don't like the story.