Chapter 1 - Gen 2 - Tapestry

~Everything has Changed ~

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Walking down the school corridor with Honey on the way to history class, she is gibbering on about something that her sister Strawberry has done that she is not very happy about, but I'm not really listening to her because I've been distracted.  I've spotted a girl that I have never seen before walking towards us going in the opposite direction.  Straight away I think she is really pretty, and can't help but keep staring at her.  As she gets closer she notices me watching her and she smiles at me ........ she's totally got me now ........ I am gone.

I don't take my eyes off her for a second, suddenly she just stops walking and smiles at me, I feel like my legs are going to give way, but I carried on walking.  I'm not watching where I'm going because I'm still staring at her face.  I walk smack bang into the lockers.  The whole corridor erupts with laughter, I've made a fool of myself yet again - even she is laughing at me now.  I could have faded.  I can't stand anyone laughing at me, especially not a corridor full of people, my head starts going and I storm off quickly into the class room before I explode.  Honey is chasing after me calling my name, I told her to leave me alone quite nastily, threw my bag down by my desk and sat down.

I'm sat just staring blankly down at the piece of paper that the teacher has put in front of me.  I'm staring at the black squiggles that are supposed to mean something but they don't to me.  I sit and watch the letters jumping around on the page, they never sit still long enough for me to even work out what they are supposed to be saying, I really hate having dyslexia.  Why me?  Why did I have to get all these problems when my two siblings didn't get a single one - not even the colour blindness, they were pretty shocked, my parents and grandparents that Mosaic escaped it, he sees colour, unlike me.

One of the other kids in the class is reading out loud and I can't even keep up to follow where she is reading from on the page.  So I just sit listening and pretend I'm keeping up with what is going on in this history class, but of course I'm not, I'm daydreaming about the new girl I saw out in the corridor, who's eyes and smile I don't seem to be able to get out of my head.

I look at the empty chair next to me and wander where Miss Pine is?  She is supposed to sit with me in all of my classes but she hasn't turned up to this one, which is very unusual.  I have a special teacher to help me with my problems, my learning difficulties especially my dyslexia.  She would normally now be running her finger under the words that are being read out loud so that I can at least follow and try to take them in, but she isn't here so I'm now completely lost.

Lost because I can't read my time table, lost because I can't remember what my next class is.   Even though we are three quarters of the way through the term and by now I should know where I am suppose to be next lesson without looking at a time table, I don't, but then we are talking about me here ..... I struggle to take in and remember things.

This starts to aggravate me because when this class is done I'm going to have to look like 'the idiot' again and find someone to tell me where I am supposed to be next lesson.  I looked around the room and am relieved to see Honey, who is looking out of the window and doesn't seem to be paying attention to the lesson either.  I'd forgotten she is even in this class right now, that's how my mind goes.  I start to feel a little better and not so lost knowing Honey is here, I know she'll help me without judging me.

I follow Honey's gaze wandering what she is looking at, but can't see anything going on out there.  Then something catches my eye outside the window, a butterfly fluttering close to the glass so I sit watching it and I switch off again, the noise in the classroom dims to a hum in the back of my head as I stop listening and all my attention is focused on the butterfly.  Another big problem of mine, lack of concentration, I'm easily distracted my mind never settles in one place for very long.  I'm just about to get up to go over to the window so I can take a closer look at the butterfly, when a noise stops me.

The chair legs scraping loudly across the floor next to me snaps my head back inside the classroom and away from the butterfly.  I look in the direction of the noise, expecting it to be Miss Pine but it isn't.  I am looking up at that girl again, the new girl who I'd seen out in the corridor before, she sits down in the empty seat next to me.  She smiles at me and says "Hello" probably because she can see I'm sat blatantly staring at her, I can't take my eyes off her face again, she's even prettier up close.  My stomach suddenly starts to feel strange like I've eaten the butterfly's and they are fluttering about in my stomach.

"Fern, you can't sit there, can you sit here please."  the teacher is walking up towards our desks pointing to the empty seat in front of me.  Fern, I now know her name,  pulls a face and starts  muttering under her breath as she gets up and quickly takes the seat in front of me throwing her bag on the floor.  She turns to smile at me again before she faces the front of the class.   

"Tapestry where is Miss Pine today?"  the teacher asked me, I told her I didn't know.  "You'll need someone to sit with you"  she said as she looks around the class  "Honey can you sit by Tapestry for the rest of this lesson or until Miss Pine appears, to help him with his reading please."  Fern turns round quickly and sniggers at me before facing forward again.  This gets my back up - I really can't hack anyone laughing at me especially when it is because of my learning difficulties.  The whole class is nattering now and the teacher tells everyone to quieten down, she introduces Fern to the class then tells everyone to settle down again as she starts placing a sheet of paper on everyone's desk.  Honey says something to me but I'm not listening..

Once the teacher had sat back down at her desk and started reading a book, Fern turned round in her chair to face me, she smiles at me but has a strange look on her face, I noticed she is chewing gum, she grabs it between two of her fingers and pulls it out a little holding it between her teeth, like she is trying to see how far she can stretch it, then stuffs the gum back into her mouth and carries on chewing it. "So what are you then - special needs - can't you read??"  she said as she started sniggering.

I snapped  "Shut your face bitch!!  It's none of your business and I'd ditch the gum if I was you it makes you look like a cheap whore!!!!"  I'm going, that's three times she's laughed at me today and I really don't need a stranger pointing out to me that I'm special needs - I already know!!  It doesn't take much to set me off and once my tongue starts running away with itself that's when the trouble starts, and I can feel it coming.

"Tap don't!!"  Honey has her hand on my arm, she's known me long enough to know I'm losing it  "Please!! She's not worth it."  I ignore Honey as I watch Fern take the gum out of her mouth and she rammed it hard onto the piece of paper in front of me then she turned round to face the front of the class and is sniggering again.  I just sit for a moment staring at the gum which is now stuck to the paper on my desk, not quite believing she just did that.  My hand is feeling about the table and it lands on a ruler.  I picked up the ruler holding one end tightly I pulled the other end back as far as I could, leaned over the table and  Honey shouts "NO DONT!!" just as I let the one end of the ruler go.  It smacks Fern hard across the back of her neck.  She screamed as she jumped up to face me.

"FUDGE BERRY!!!  What did you do that for BERRY HOLE??!!"  she looks angry as she's rubbing the back of her neck, now I am the one laughing at her, even though she has riled me up, I can't help it, she even looks pretty when she's angry. 

The teacher stands up asking what is going on but I don't care.  Fern is standing there glaring at me.  "MOVE your gum you Dirty Whore before I make you really sorry you just did that!!"  this set the whole class off giggling and I can feel everyone watching us which always makes me feel uncomfortable.

She gave me a sarcastic smile  "Move it yourself bright eyes!!"  then started to sit down in her seat.  Before her backside hit the seat I pulled the chair from underneath her, she fell backwards onto the floor hitting her head off my desk.  The whole class is in uproar laughing hysterically and I can't help but laugh with them as I watched Fern spring to her feet rubbing her backside.

I soon stopped laughing when she starts launching things at me in temper, the contents of her bag are flying at me - books, a brush, a make up bag, her lunchbox and a pencil case, come flying at me in quick succession, which I'm trying to dodge.  A hard backed book hit me hard in the stomach, I didn't think twice when I threw it back at her with force, she squealed as it bounced off her head.

The teacher is now on our case shes marching up towards us and orders us both, quite angrily, to go and stand outside the classroom until we have cooled down - we both ignore her too busy stood intensely glaring at each other.

We both end up being frog marched out of the classroom by the teacher, Fern is ordered to stand one side of the door and I'm told to stand on the other side.  The teacher then goes back into the classroom leaving us alone together in the corridor.  For once I found myself doing as I'm told and I'm standing in the corridor with my back to the wall wandering why I hadn't kicked off like I normally would have done.  Fern had proper riled me yet I'd managed to keep some level of calmness.

The classroom door opened and one of the other kids came out of the class and ran up the corridor, I notice he has a piece of paper in his hand - probably a note for the principal about my behavior again!!!   So I'm now standing  here expecting the principal to put in an appearance pretty soon.

I looked over at Fern, who is standing just a few feet away from me, she's looking in my direction with a huge grin on her face.  "What are you looking at"  I snapped at her, surprised that she would be grinning at me.

"Wanna get outta here?"  she says suddenly and I can't do anything other than stare back at her not quite sure that I have heard right.  "How fast can you run?"  she asks without even waiting for a reply to her first question.  I'm still trying to make sense of what she's saying when suddenly shes right next to me, she grabs my hand and shouts "RUN!!"

So I run.

Now we are running down the road away from the school and we are both laughing, she also still has a hold of my hand, but I'm in no hurry for her to let it go - but she does far too soon.   "Where can we go in this dead beat town?"  she's stopped running bringing us both to a halt and is now bent over holding her stomach and panting like she's just run a marathon and has got stitch.  "Is there anywhere we can hideout till schools out?" 

Actually there is, I know just the place, in the woods by the meadow, the place where I always go when I bunk off school, only this has to be the first time that I've bunked off half way through the first lesson of the day, I don't tend to leg it until after dinner.

"Follow me ........" I said as I set off running again.

"So do you make a habit of bunking off school Fern?"

"Yes all the time - I hate school!!"  she said smiling at me  "I've skipped so much school I'm having to repeat a year"  I frowned at her not quite understanding what she is saying.   "I'm a year older than you probably, I should be in year 11 not year 10, this poxy school said I had to repeat year 10 because my grades are none existent."  I started to run what she had just said through my head - my grades are none existent - I hope they are not going to make me repeat a year, because they will be wasting their time even trying!!  Everyone knows I'm leaving school without a single qualification, so what would be the point of even try to prolongue my agony!!

We stood in silence for a while not talking, just staring at each other.  I start to wander about her, she is obviously new in town and as the outside world follow the colour code I wander if she is a pure berry and what colour.  I also wander why or how I have managed to calm myself down and I'm no longer angry with her.   She started to fidget, kicking at the grass like she is feeling uncomfortable with our silence.

I suddenly feel panicky, I need to move away from her, put some distance between us. I feel strange being around her and I need to try and work out what it is.  I started skimming stones across the water while I'm thinking about all these strange feelings running through me that I don't understand, it's making my head go again.

She tapped me on the shoulder and I swung round to face her, suddenly she moves up close, she's in my face staring intensely into my eyes which took me off guard and makes me catch my breath.  For one mad moment I thought she was about to kiss me.  Yeah right!  like that is ever going to happen!!   

"Why do you have the strangest eyes I've ever seen??" She is now inches away from my face, I could so easily kiss her ...... and I wanted to.  I nearly did until she distracted me by talking again.  "It's almost like they don't have any colour." she said as she came even closer to me, our noses are virtually touching.  I can't breath, I have to move away before I do something stupid, I want to kiss her so badly but at the the same time I don't want to blow it - I like her and I don't want her falling out with me already.  If I kiss her now she's probably just slap my face and run away.

"They don't have any colour, my Mom is completely colourless." I told her as I step backwards to put some distance between us, but she just steps forward back into my face again, she seems really fascinated with my eyes.

"Really!!!  I've never seen a colourless berry before."  she smiled at me  "Maybe you can take me home with you one of the days after school."  I started to laugh, she's joking right!!??

"You want to come home with me - just to see my colourless Mother??"  

"I'm sorry that didn't really come out quite right."  she looked a little embarrassed  "See my Dad he's not big on mixed or colourless berries, neither are my brothers, and if we are going to hang out after school then we would have to go to yours as you have colourless eyes, I don't think they would like it."  I stood for a moment trying to process in my head what she has just said. 

"Are you asking me to hang out with you after school??"  I asked her not quite sure as usual that I am keeping up with the conversation.

"Yes if you want to."  she smiled  "What about tonight?" My head is swimming, I'm sure I'm imagining this conversation, why would she want to hang out with me, but then she doesn't know me yet, or anything about me, so I guess she thinks I'm just a regular kid.

"I'm not sure you would want to hang out with me, if you really knew me!!"  I said to her realizing that I'd just opened my big mouth - and if she asks I'm going to have to tell her.  I know as soon as I tell her she will change her mind about hanging out with me and I quite like it that I'm with someone who is just treating my like I'm normal.  "What colour are you?"  I asked trying to steer the conversation away from me, but I haven't really have I - my colourblindness is one of my problems, now I must look like an idiot asking such a stupid question.  She gave me a strange look.

"Green, can't you see I'm green......... oh wait, you can't read can you, you are going to tell me you don't know your colours next!!"  she said and started laughing.

"NO!!!!  Actually I'm colourblind, all I see is grey!!  I would know my colours if I could actually see them and I'm not stupid because I can't read you know, I have Dyslexia, which makes it very hard for me to read. "  I snapped at her then asked her something that has been bugging me, trying again to move the conversation away from me  "Why would you move to this town if you don't like mixed berries??  You said your Dad and brothers are not big on mixed berries."

"My Dad was transfered here though his work unfortunately, this would be the last place we would live if we had a choice." she's now looking down at the floor and kicking at the grass, she really doesn't look happy.

"You don't like colour mixing do you?!"  she looked up at me a strange expression on her face.  "You know I'm a mixed berry, I might look like an orange berry but I'm not, my brother and sister are orange and purple with colourless eyes like mine, my Mom should be purple."

"Colour mixing doesn't really bother me that much, but the rest of my family hate it, I don't care if you're a mixed berry!!"  She said smiling, but it isn't like her normal smile, I wasn't so sure she actually meant what she said.

We both lay down on the grass and spent what felt like hours just talking about anything and everything.  I feel really comfortable in her company, which doesn't happen very often for me, not to mention that I fancy her like mad.  She makes me feel like I'm just a 'normal' person, even after I told her about all of my problems and how I can be, her attitude towards me didn't alter, she didn't seem the slightest bit fazed by what I'd told her.  And I never meant to tell her, it just came out during our conversation.  I suppose only time will tell if she walks away when she has seen my dark side, when she doesn't like or understand the things that I say and do, when I've been nasty to her for no reason, she'll turn out to be just like everyone else - she'll walk away!!! I know she will!!!

It's a really nice sunny day and the sun is beating down on us, I can feel myself starting to overheat, it's actually starting to make me feel a little sickly, I need to cool down.

I jumped to my feet and suggested we move under the shade of the trees.  Fern also stood up, and starts kicking at the grass again, I notice she does that at lot as well as keep biting her lip.  She looked up at me suddenly with a strange expression on her face  "Can you swim?"

"Yes ..... why?"  as soon as the words were out of my mouth she pushed me backwards a huge grin on her face. I felt myself falling backwards and hit the water with a huge splash and went under before I even realized what was happening.  She has pushed me into the pond!!  I came up to the surface trying to stand myself up while I have a fit of coughing from a mouthful of water that I've swallowed.  There is another huge splash then Fern comes bobbing up out of the water laughing.  At first I didn't know whether to have a go at her or laugh with her and just stood there in the pond watching her having hysterics.  She started to move towards me and her laughing is infectious, I find myself starting to laugh with her  "You are crazy!!!"

"Well you did say you needed to cool down!!!  If you think this is crazy - you wait - you haven't seen anything yet!!"  she carries on laughing with a mischievous grin on her face.  I am beginning to think that she might be a little on the wild side.

Sneaking into the house and to my bedroom without getting caught is going to be hard, but according to Fern that is all part of the fun of doing it.  I couldn't remember if my Dad and Grandparents are at work today, and even if they are at work,  there will be someone sitting with Mom, because of her 'switch offs'  keeping her company until one of them return home.   It doesn't help that we are leaving a trail of wet footprints on the carpet, that can be quite easily seen, from the front door across the hall and to the basement steps, we are both still dripping wet from swimming in the pond.

I heard my Nan speaking "How are you doing dear?"  I froze for a second thinking she might be talking to me and we have just been busted.  I am very relieved when I hear my Mother reply to her, but know if I can hear them speaking clearly they must be very close,  I grabbed Ferns hand, put my finger on my lips to tell her to keep quiet and hurried us down the stairs into the basement.

We both collapsed into a fit of giggles once we were safely inside my room and the door is closed behind us.  I doubted that anyone would come in and find us here as long as we are quiet.  After Mom recovered from her coma the hospital room was changed into a bedroom with a living room type area, which is now mine, I kicked off proper until my parents said it could be my room, they weren't happy with the idea of it at first, me being away from the rest of the house, but I got my way in the end like I do most of the time.  So now I am down in the basement where I can make as much noise as I want blaring out the radio or having temper tantrums without disturbing the rest of the house especially when they are trying to sleep.

I stood staring at Fern in disbelief who is now taking off all of her wet clothes in front of me  "I need something dry to wear, I can't sit in these wet clothes all day!!"  she said as she starts peeling off her leggins then stood there smiling at me in just her underwear.  She doesn't seem the slightest bit bothered that I am in the room staring at her half naked.  I threw her one of my T Shirts which she put on as I quickly changed my own clothes with my back towards her, hoping that she is not watching me.  When I turn round she is.  This feels really awkward.

What now??  It's not like there is anything we can do down here without making any noise other than talking.  Before I know what is happening our faces are stuck together, she has closed the gap between us and is pressing herself against me, her lips are touching mine but she's not moving like she's waiting - for what? - for me to react?  I can't believe that she would even want to kiss me - this girl is unbelievable and I thought I was the inappropriate one.  I wrapped my arms around her and started to kiss her, I'm not even sure I know what I'm doing I've never kissed anyone before, she starts to kiss me back ........

"TAPESTRY!!"

My Dad!!!  He sounds angry.  I had not even heard the door open, his voice shocked us both and we jumped apart. Our lips parted and I could hardly breath.  


"What do you think you're playing at - everyone is out looking for you right now!! - you've pulled some stunts in the past, but this ........"  he looked really angry stood in the doorway, I noticed my school bag on the floor by his feet.  I hadn't given my bag a thought, which I had left at school by my desk when we had been ordered to stand outside.  I laughed in my head thinking he must have been called into school AGAIN, after they noticed we had done a runner.

Dad came towards us, I saw him reach into his back trouser pocket then held out his hand, he is holding my medication tub which means he has been through my bag.

"You've been through my bag - you have no right!!"  I snapped at him as I can feel myself starting to get angry, imagining him going through my bag - my private space - even worse he has also interrupted me kissing Fern, which I really didn't like - my head is swimming.

"Well it's a good job I did, you haven't taken your medication today - TAKE IT!!"  he snapped back as he thrust the tub into my hand, that's when he glanced over at Fern, he looked her up and down then frowned  "And who's this? ......... is this Fern?  The girl you ran out of school with??"   Me and Fern both looked at each other and started giggling. Dad really wasn't impressed.

"Well I suggest Fern that you get dressed and go home, your Dad was called into school like I was so he'll be out looking for you."

"My clothes are all wet ...... we went swimming"  Fern told him, now I know I'm going to get a telling off when he finds out where I've been swimming  - that pond in the meadow, he's never really liked us going there unsupervised, made worse by a young kid drowning in that pond a few years ago.

My Mother walked into my room, I thought for a fleeting moment that I saw a look of amusement flash across her face, then she gasped and put her hand over her mouth as she stands there looking at me and Fern wearing just TShirts and our underwear.

"Oh Berry .....!!!"  my mom now looks a little angrily in my direction, but it isn't me that she speaks to  "Mango please tell me they weren't ........."  she said.

It took me a few moments to process her words, but that's when it hit me - it had never even crossed my mind until now, now I know why my Dad seems extra angry - both of my parents think me and Fern have been  'doing .... IT'  - they do - don't they!!??  This makes me laugh out quite loudly.

"Lilly please don't stress yourself, I'm dealing with it."

"Whats so funny Tapestry!!??  You've had everyone worried half to death, running off like that without taking your medication!!"  she snapped at me quite angrily before she glanced over at my Dad, they stood there looking at each other, strange expressions on their faces that only they know the meaning of, sometimes I swear they can read each others thoughts and have silent conversations in their heads that only they can hear.  Mom looked at me again then and said  "I had better let everyone know we've found him!!"

"Lilly before you do that can you take Fern and sort her out some of Corals clothes to wear please, then see her out, she needs to go home."  he smiled at Mom then turned to me.

The tone of his voice as well as the expression on his face changed to one I've never known him use with me before  "You and me son need serious words!!"

Oh here it comes - although I think this is going to be more than just another one of his normal lectures!!!!

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Song:  Everything has Changed ~ Taylor Swift & Ed Sheeran

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