Hi everyone! I'm really sorry I seem to have abandoned All Too Well, I haven't really and I will be back on it as soon as I have the inspiration for it. This is an idea I've had in my mind for a while, just haven't had the motivation to write it, until now! Thanks to Oblivionokay for her endless support, she is fab, and everyone else whose screen names I can't remember because I have a head like a sieve, you know who you are and you're brilliant! Anyway, hope you all enjoy this, its just setting the scene for now, but more developments to come in the next chapter!

Have fun!x

I'm not sure how my life could get any worse right now.

This morning, after months of protest and tears and bargaining, I finally filled up my suitcases and, with a heavy heart, climbed into the car that would deliver me to my fate. Mum and Dad didn't come with me, no; this was too hard on the of that. Of course, everything is hard on them. I don't have feelings. Or I might as well not, for all the good it does me.

When the taxi eventually pulled up outside the large, surprisingly modern campus I wanted to scream. All around I could see kids with their parents, kissing, hugging, promising to write and telling how they can't wait to see them at half term. I'll be lucky to see my parents at Christmas.

I'm making it out like I'm from a broken home, a neglectful family, a childhood of pain and disruption, but up until recently my family life had been relatively good. We were just normal. I would go to the football with my dad on a weekend, bake cakes and go shopping with mum, trust both of them with my life and be able to tell them everything on my mind. That was until dad got his new job. It's more money, he'd told me, what can be bad about that? He was working away most of the time, and I missed him, though not as much as mum. She was nothing less than distraught at the separation, and at night I would hear her crying. I tried to comfort her for the first couple of months, but she didn't see to want comforting. All she wanted was dad, and so I left her to it.

Six months down the line and they both sit me down for a 'family meeting'. We'd only ever had one of these before, and that was when they had told me that my aunt had died. I was trembling, my stomach as cold as ice, braced for the terrible news. Mum was dying, dad was dying, my best friend was dying. I was completely unprepared for what they had to say next.

"Darling, I've been offered a job in Australia."

My mouth fell open. "What?"

"I said I've been offered a job in Australia, and after lots of consideration, your mother and I have decided to accept it."

"What about me?" I whispered. "Didn't I get a say in this decision?" There were tears in my eyes and I was shivering with quiet rage.

My mother offered me a sympathetic smile. "I'm sorry, love," she said in her soft, north-eastern accent. "But this was a decision your father and I needed to make."

I sat in silence for several moments, processing just what they had said. Moving to Australia? I couldn't envision it. How could I move to Australia? Leave my life, my friends? Never mind my education. I had just finished my AS exams and was hoping to go on to uni next year to fulfil my lifelong aspiration to become a nurse. How could I pass my A levels in Australia?

"So when are we going?" I eventually said, flatly, numbly, resigned to my fate.

My dad hesitated, looking at my mother for support and she squeezed his hand. "That's the thing, darling," he began slowly. "This job is only for a year, and with your A levels coming up and university and everything… We thought it best that you stay here."

I frowned. "What, so you go swanning off to Australia whilst mum and I are left to fend for ourselves? Do you realise how much your working away tears her apart as it is?" I was getting angry now, bordering on yelling.

He looked at me gravely, and I waited expectantly for a response.

"Your mother is coming with me. You're staying here."

I was stunned into silence, and he took this as cue to explain further.

"I will be earning a fair amount more in this job than the one I have now," he said, his voice speeding up, rambling. "So we thought we'd invest that in your education. You're going to be moving to Saint Margaret's School, just outside the city, and you'll live there until your mother and I return."

I felt my world crashing down around me and my head span, and it hasn't stopped spinning since. Everything feels too much to take in, and as I step out of the taxi I have to bite the insides of my cheeks hard to stop the tears. I must appear strong. I can't have people thinking I'm a wreck otherwise they'll walk all over me. I need to power through it.

On the first day of term there were no lessons, I was informed, just admin tasks. I was to place my luggage with the rest of my year group's, making sure I had attached a tag to it with my name and tutor group, then go to the main hall to wait for instructions on what would be our itinerary for the day. Then, in the evening, we would be allocated our rooms.

The main hall was massive, much larger than the one at my sixth form previously. It had a stage at the front, set out with curtains and lighting sets just like they do at proper theatres. The seats were arranged in rows, again like a theatre, with a wide aisle through the middle. On the walls were plaques commemorating past students who had gone on to achieve fame - a couple of actors, some Olympic athletes and a nobel prize winner - and from the ceiling hung several large and priceless-looking chandeliers. Coming from my small, state-funded, run-down sixth form, this place was practically Buckingham Palace.

I kept my chin stuck out in feigned confidence as I made my way to sit on the end of a row at the back of the hall. There were already a few students gathered in the seats around me and I tried to look nonchalant as I waited for the assembly to begin. Soon, though, there were more students filling the seats around me and it wasn't long before someone spoke.

"Hello," a kind-looking, red-headed girl said as she shuffled up next to me, beaming. "You must be new. I'm Robyn."

She held out her hand to me and I hesitated before accepting her warm shake. "Rita," I replied, smiling back.

"That's a nice name," she thought out loud. She seemed quite dreamy and I felt slight fondness for her already. "Where have you come from, then?"

"Holby Comprehensive," I replied.

"Ah, I've got a friend that went there. They're at uni now though. What subjects are you taking?"

"Biology, Chemistry and Psychology. You?"

"That sounds tough. I'm doing Health and Social Care NVQ."

"That sounds interesting," I smiled. "What does that involve?"

She started to explain to me the various topics they studied on her course and I listened intently, as it sounded much like something I might have taken had they offered it at Holby. She was just going through the case study she was doing for her coursework when I felt a presence behind me, and her face fell. I frowned and turned to face her mystery tormentor.

She was a tall girl, towering over the both of us. Her long, dark, wavy hair swung round her shoulders, her long fringe tucked carefully behind her ears to stop it covering her face as she looked down at Robyn. She wore cold expression, and a mocking smirk. I looked back down to the ground and saw the reason for her height. She wore tall, black stilettos which I'm sure were more expensive than all my belongings put together. I looked to Robyn, confused as to why this girl was here, but she was merely staring up at her in fear.

"Hello Miller," the taller girl said with false kindness. "Did you have a nice summer?"

"Yes, thank you," Robyn stammered, looking nervously towards the ground. "Did- did you?"

The girl laughed. "Oh yes it was lovely," she said sarcastically. "Or would have been, had someone not stolen my clothes on the last day of term. But you don't know anything about that, do you, Miller?" She leant over me so that her face was nearing Robyn's and twisted into a snarl.

"No. No I don't," Robyn tried to hold her ground, but I could see she was getting tearful.

"Of course," she smiled, then her face went hard and she spoke with so much venom that is made my heart thump. "I know it was you. So you had better watch your back this term. It would be such a shame if something were to happen to your personal belongings, wouldn't it?"

I saw Robyn's bottom lip wobble, and my care for this girl who had made me feel so welcome in just a few minutes fuelled my anger at the girl who now leant over me obliviously.

"Hey," I said, raising my voice and pushing her away from Robyn. "You need to calm down and back off. She doesn't have to answer to you."

The girl turned to me, her eyes boring into mine. I felt my stomach drop and twist and turn. Her cool blue eyes were sharp and I felt as though she could see right into me, could see my fear. She had a light peppering of freckles across her nose and cheeks, and I could see a red tint to her cheeks beneath her makeup. I stuck my chin out in defiance.

She held my gaze for a few seconds more, then turned back to Robyn. "I won't forget this."

She stalked off, and I let out a deep breath that I hadn't even realised I had been holding. "Who was that?" I asked, flustered.

Robyn looked at me with a wince. "That was Connie Beauchamp."

I turned around to look at the girl who was walking away from us, trying to act nonchalant. But in reality, I felt anything but. Something had shifted, then, when our eyes had met, and I hadn't the faintest clue what. All I knew was that I was intrigued by this girl, and determined to find out more about her. She awakened a sort of irritability within me, an anger, and I felt like screaming.

Hopefully I wouldn't have much more to do with her here.

"So how have you found it so far?"

It was now nearing eight o'clock, and we had just been allocated our dorms. I was in the 'Sparrow' block, and my housemistress was Miss Dixon. However, she wasn't around today, so Zoe Hanna, the head girl, was showing me around instead. She was attractive, medium-height, dark-skinned and had a smile that lit up the entire corridor. I was half expecting the head girl to be some jumped up, brattish rich girl with her head in the clouds, but Zoe was one of the most easy to talk to people I have ever met. I knew immediately that she would be a confidant during my stay here.

"It's been okay," I replied. "Better than expected."

She smiled warmly at me. "You'll get used to it. It's tough on everyone when they first arrive, particularly the older ones as they are less used to it. But it gets better."

"How long have you been here?" I asked as we turned a corner to go up some stairs.

"Since year twelve. They offer a certain number of scholarships each year to people that did well in their GCSEs but can't afford to go to a place like this. I thought it was a good opportunity, so here I am."

We went up two more flights of stairs to a corridor with only two doors on it. I assumed that this was what had once been the attic, as the roof was slanted and I could hear the rain softly thumping down above me. She stopped outside the second door, the one at the end of the corridor, and carefully unlocked the door before handing me the key.

"Your roommate should be up soon. I'm not sure who you're sharing with yet, but they're usually quite good at matching people. Your luggage is in there. You know where I am if you need me."

She smiled warmly and I returned this, watching her leave before opening the door to my room.

It was larger than I had expected, with a door in the corner which I assumed was for the bathroom. At the far end of the room there was a tall, wide window filling almost the entire wall, and below it two oak desks, both supplied with storage boxes and office chairs. There was a bed against the wall on each side of the room, with room for clothes both underneath and in the small wardrobes next to them. My suitcase was on one of them, and an unknown one on the other.

I began unpacking my case, deciding to try to stay up until my roommate arrived. I was tired, though, and after an hour decided to get ready for bed. The bathroom was small, but still housed a shower, bath, and two sinks beneath a wide bathroom cabinet. I decided to go with the general theme of the room and put all my toiletries in the left hand side of the cabinet. I was just brushing my teeth when I heard the door open, and footsteps on the carpet.

Quickly rinsing my mouth, I went back into the room, a large smile on my face as I prepared to meet my new roommate. She was sat on top of her desk, her silhouette illuminated my the moonlight that flooded through the large window, and when she turned to me my stomach flipped.

It was going to be a long year.

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