𝐑𝐮𝐧𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲 |𝟏𝟖+

01 || The Colony

Song: Harry Styles - Golden (slowed + reverb)

𝔚𝔚𝔚
Josiphina

The morning bell was louder than it normally was.

Today, it blared from the street, through the house, vibrating off the walls and nearly knocking down my breakfast utensils.

Luckily, I was up early and not laying in bed, where I'd be left to wake up to such a wretched sound. It was something I hated.

I wasn't a vicious person by any means, Marie wouldn't allow it. But I did tend to get moody in the mornings when I was particularly tired.

And although I was tired, I couldn't bring myself to fall asleep either. Today was not only the last day of classes but it was also decision day.

I was bubbling with nervousness and excitement. It got so bad that I nearly forgot to give Michael and Marie a goodbye kiss on the cheek before I headed out towards the school path.

I walked alone, behind a larger group of students who were heading towards the school. It was always best to go unnoticed in times like these. Especially when girls like Beatrice were near.

Today she was walking ahead of me, laughing with the girls around her. Girls that had once been my friends a long time ago.

But that was before everything. Before I became Father Kade's number one and before Daniel had been banished.

At first it was teasing and tormenting, something I knew would happen out of jealousy. But she had succeeded in shunning me from their sisterhood completely once word of Daniels crimes had surfaced.

But the teasing had started way before all that, back to a time where we were all carefree children. In the first grade, she had gotten everyone to start calling me Grams. I was fine with it before I found out what it was short for; Grams of fat. I cried for days, refusing to go to school because the nickname had stuck amongst my other classmates.

And Daniel - being the mean sixth grader he was - had collected a bucket of horse feces that had been sitting around for days and during break, when we were all playing in the field, he did something terrible.

He threw the bucket at Beatrice and we all watched in horror as the feces splattered all across her face and into her mouth, but he didn't stop there. He had proceeded to call her Waste Face in front of the entire school.

I'd asked why he would do such a cruel thing, but all he said was that I could now go to school in peace, because people were too busy calling her Waste Face to call me Grams Of Fat anymore.

And after Daniel had ran away, Beatrice only got worse. I figured she'd have reason to now hate me, though.

After all, her sister was Daniels assigned. When he ran away, she couldn't fulfill her duty and thus she was ridiculed for it. While all the other newly graduates were conceiving children for the future of The Colony, she was set aside.

My heart hurt for her, but that was nearly five years ago. She had no reason to be bitter towards me. I had no part in any of it.

I'd tried to ignore it, Ella - my closest friend tells me not to pay any mind to her. Saying that she's just jealous of the attention Father Kade gives me. But it still bothers me.