Chipped by Esme Peplow (best feel good books .TXT) 📕

"What about you James, how is school going for you?" Mum asked James.

"Same old same old, bad test results, even worse packed lunches" he replied. I didn't think he was trying to be mean, but I could hear the bitterness in his voice. 

"Can I please leave the table?" James asked politely, not waiting for an answer. He stood up and placed his fork on his plate, and quietly walked away.  Dad cleared his throat, and I looked up at him. His mouth was by Mum's ear, I could hear his muffled harsh whisper from where I was sat. When he noticed me looking, he turned away from Mum and smiled. 

                                                                             ***

Dinner had been hard, having to watch Mum and Dad pretend that they weren't arguing, and having to talk about the Council meeting, but finally I had given up, and gone to my room. Now, I lay on my bed, looking through the transparent ceiling of the Pod, and looking up at the stars. I loved the stars, I loved how some of them would dissapear for a few seconds, and you would wonder where they went, but then they would be back, as if they were never gone. I sat up on my bed, reached my hand up, and placed it on the ceiling, lining my fingertips up with the stars. Part of me wished that I was not stuck inside of the Pod, but sat on a cliff, looking out at the stars that rested peacefully in the navy blue night sky.

I suddenly heard a soft knock on my door, I stood up and slowly walked over to the door. I pushed the white button on the wall, and the door slid upwards. James was stood in the doorway, I could see his tear streaked cheeks in the dim light. I didn't say anything, but I put my arm around him, and led him over to my small single bed, where he sat down next to me.

"What is it?" I asked him, but I already knew the answer.

"Everything, Mum and Dad, School, Tests." he stuttered in between tears.

"It's okay." I reassured him, pulling into a hug. I could feel his tears soaking through my shirt, and his body was shaking as he cried. I rarely saw my brother like this, torn apart, but I could tell that even when he was laughing, inside he was in pain, and there was no one to save him. James looked into my dark green eyes, and a ghost of a smile appeared on his face.

"At least I can count you." he whispered as he stood up, still holding my hand. 

"Go on now, go back to bed." I said, gently pushing him forwards to my door, which was still open.

"Thank you Cassia." he told me, and then he walked out of my room. I pressed the button once he had left, and the door slid closed behind me. Seeing my little brother cry, made me want to cry, but I knew that I was stronger than that, I wouldn't give into my weakness. I sighed pathetically  and climbed into my small bed, pulling the thin sheet over my cold stiff body, and looked once more at the glistening stars above my head. I thought about the day ahead of me, school, work, friends. That was one of the only reasons that I kept going to school, because of my friends, I didn't have many, but they made me determined to go to school. I gradually closed my eyes, still thinking about the day ahead of me. 

Memorized 

It was the first thing they taught you in school, before learning how to flush a toilet, and before learning how to chew, but the first thing they taught you, was how to see the patterns in the Stars. I had been four when I started school, I remember all of the bright primary colors that made our small classrooms happy and cheerful on a daily basis, and I would wake up early every morning to go and stand by the large black gate, and then when it opened, I would skip inside, and smile to myself. However, my favorite thing, was seeing the patterns in the Stars, I loved how they would give us a HB pencil and a small A5 notepad, and tell us to draw the Stars, and then, they would tell us to find some patterns in our drawings. I remember two of my patterns, a horseshoe, and a small flower. I had been so pleased, and I would have run home to our Pod, and Mum would have to wake Dad up, so that he could see the patterns too. After that, it just stuck, and I would remember it, and when I looked up at the Stars, I would see many patterns.

In my small rucksack, I had my A5 notepad, and a HB pencil, just as I would have done when I was little. I knew where I was going, it was where I used to go with the primary school, the highlands. I loved the highlands, there were so many cliffs to choose from, but I knew the exact one I wanted to be on. I looked down at my watch, for what felt like the a thousandth time, 9:27, I had ages until sunrise, but sunrise was not what I wanted, all I wanted, was the Stars. Already the highlands were towering above me, tall and proud, as they had been for the past twelve centuries. 

I placed my foot onto the bottom of the cliff, some of the stone crumbled away, and fell down next to my other foot, which was still firmly in the ground. I grabbed onto a large bit of stone with both of my hands, and pulled myself upwards, I was no longer touching the white chalky ground. The rough edge of the rock was digging into my hands, and I felt a warm liquid trickle down my fingertips. I looked up, squinting my eyes to see the top of the cliff, I would estimate it was about one hundred meters, a deadly drop if I were to let go. I held my breath as I removed one of my hands from the sharp rock, and felt along the rough face of the cliff for another stable rock. My hand rubbed against a small hole in the cliff, I held onto it firmly, and found two more foot holds, I then hoisted myself up again, nearly breathless. It's okay I reassured myself, but deep inside, I knew that it wasn't. I suddenly felt a sharp pain across my foot, my foot slipped off the rock, I was hanging by two hands. 

Publication Date: 07-25-2013

All Rights Reserved

Dedication:
This book is dedicated to my two best friends, who love writing as much as I do!