ISOLATION

Day 1

HOW MANY TIMES HAVE YOU READ THIS STORY?

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I watched as the trees on the side of the road blurred to a dark green. The bus window was down and I leaned outside, smelling the fresh air and the scent of the eucalyptus trees.

The beauty of the scenery in front of me almost made me forget that I was on my way to summer school camp, something that I had been dreading since the permission slips were handed out in class all those months ago. Key word - almost.

"Mum, please don't make me go," I had begged, grasping onto my mothers arms and holding tightly.

"Scarlet, it says on the note that universities favour entries from people who have attended this camp!" my mother had responded, and I knew then to just give up.

My mother had been set on me getting into a prestigious university ever since I came out of the womb. She herself had gone to the best university in Australia, and wanted the same for her only daughter. The thought of telling my mother that I didn't even want to go to University was terrifying, and something I was not willing to do.

So here I was, on the bus with most of my classmates, heading to Woodwick Bay Summer Camp. It wasn't the camp itself that I was dreading, it was the people I would be with. When I found out that Lauren Knight would be going to the camp, I begged my mother one last time, asking not to go. My pleas fell on deaf ears just as I had expected them to.

Lauren and I have never seen eye to eye, and I never knew why. I moved to Stone Creek High School in eighth grade, and since then Lauren has made it her mission to make my life a living hell. I never knew why though, I had never done anything to upset her.

I was sitting next to my best friend Dakota, whose head was lulling sleepily on my shoulder as we bumped along the winding road towards the camp. Dakota wasn't going to come to camp, but I had begged her to come to save me from Lauren's harassment, so Dakota agreed.

I turned around, eyeing Lauren sitting at the back of the bus with her group of friends. As much as I disliked the girl, I couldn't deny that she was extremely attractive. Her tan skin was smooth and flawless, her brunette hair always in a messy bun or ponytail on top of her head. She had brown eyes that almost glowed in the sunlight, specks of gold peppered through her chocolate orbs. Her smile was contagious, except for when it was brought to her face by bullying me.

I despised that someone so horrible could be so beautiful. Compared to Lauren, I was plain. I didn't have any outstanding features that made me different from anyone else.

"Oi, Harlot, what are you staring at?" Lauren called out, snapping me from my gaze.

I quickly whipped my head around, sliding down into my bus seat to remain unseen for the duration of the trip.

'Harlot' was a nickname that Lauren had given me last year in tenth grade after a rumour spread that I had fooled around with Lachlan Golding's nineteen year old brother Nicholas. Nobody knew that in reality, Nicholas had forced himself onto me and I had barely gotten away intact. If Lauren's friend Emily hadn't come into the room, things would've turned out a lot worse.

"Mmm, why are you sitting like that?" Dakota whined as she woke up from her sleep.

"Lauren..." I mumbled back, and Dakota looked at me sympathetically.

"Don't let her ruin camp for you, Scar, okay?" Dakota said kindly, taking hold of my hand and squeezing it tightly.

"Easier said than done..." I muttered, and Dakota nodded understandingly.