Pretty, Ugly Girl

“Abi! Are you awake?” Mel yelled up the stairs to the fifteen year old who was still laying in bed despite the fact that it was almost half seven and school started at nine. Abi needed to get ready before her bus came though she had been trying to get back to sleep for the past twenty minutes but the fact that Mel wouldn't stop calling up to her and her older sister was not helping the fact.

Groaning, she turned over in bed and pulled the covers above her head to try and muffle the new sound of her little sister being up. In Abi's opinion her little sister acted more like she was seven then she was eleven. It made her embarrassed to be in the same secondary school to her.

When Hannah had left primary school and Mel had made it known that she was going to be going to the same secondary school as Abi was at, she had asked to move school or even be home schooled so that no one knew that she was her sister. It was safe to say that Abi didn't get along with Hannah all too well, nor that she liked her that much.

And it wasn't just sibling bickering that made it so that she didn't like her too much; Abi thought she was too annoying and childish. She had also called Hannah a spoilt brat at times which had James, their brother, agreeing with whenever he was around. It wasn't much because he didn't like his family either so he spent most of his time out with friends or with his girlfriend.

He hadn't been home for Christmas in the last three years and as of this year, Jade hadn't either. She was their older sister and finally of legal age. Abi was envious of the fact that she was now eighteen where as she had to wait another three years.

“Abi, I'm not going to ask again. Are you up?” Mel's voice sounded muffled to Abi as her quilt was pulled up and over her head, covering her ears in the process. Abi often told Mel to give up with the act she was pulling and that no one wanted her here to try and boss them around.

It was almost true though – despite the fact that each and every one of them had been supportive of their father marrying her, most now couldn't stand her. It wasn't the fact that she had done anything bad to them – she had been nothing but nice to them – they just didn't like her. Even though she often told them that she wasn't trying to replace their mother they still thought that she was getting a bit too close for comfort to that role.

A knock on her bedroom door told Abi that Mel was being relentless this morning. Most times she gave up after calling up three times and having no answer from the girl but sometimes she dared to venture upstairs and knock on her door.

Pulling the quilt down so that her mouth was clear, Abi yelled, “I'm not going in today,” before pulling the quilt back above her head and shutting her eyes.

Though when she heard her door open she opened her eyes again and pulled the quilt down. Mel stood in the door with an almost pleading expression on her face. Abi just found it pitiful.

“Abi you have to go into school today,” Mel said to the girl, hoping to win this time with convincing her that school was actually worthwhile. Abi found it a bore and a waste of time. “You've just had your half term. You should be refreshed and ready to get going Abi.”

That made her snort at Mel. “Go spin that bullshit to someone who cares. Oh wait... no one does care. Just give up before you lose Mel,” Abi said without any emotion in her voice before turning on her side and pulling the quilt back up around her.

A sigh came from Mel which told her that she was still in the door way. “I guess I'll tell them that you're ill today,” she mumbled out before backing out of the room and pulling the door shut on the way. This wouldn't be the first time that she phoned up the school and lied about Abi being ill.

The girl was notorious for never going into school.

Abi managed to get another two hours sleep in before she was up again but this time it was from her phone vibrating on her desk. Groaning, she propped herself up on her elbows, reached over and grabbed her phone before bringing it up to her ear and pressing the answer button. “What do you want?” she hissed down the phone, not at all pleased with the fact that she had been woken up again.

“You're not at school,” came the voice of her friend, Robyn. Abi found it typical that she would state the obvious like she just did. It was one thing that she disliked about her.

“No shit Robyn, of course I'm not at school.” This was a conversation that she had almost every day that she wasn't in school. One of her friends would call her and ask her why she wasn't in school and then she'd have to listen to them go on about how she was nasty for leaving them alone in whatever lesson they had with her that day. If she was being honest with herself, she really didn't care about what any of them had to say to her most days.

In truth Abi mostly hung round with the people she did because they were the only ones she could become friends with and she didn't want to become a loner. But now, after almost five long years with the friends she has, she's almost regretting not becoming a loner.

“You're leaving me alone in English,” Robyn whined down the phone which made Abi roll her eyes. Who gave a fuck about English?

Shifting her elbows slightly, she looked at her alarm clock and saw that it was only half ten. She really shouldn't be up right now – midday should be the earliest she was up. “So what Robyn? What is so great about me being in that lesson with you anyway? I get sent outside practically every lesson which leaves you on your own. It's not like I give a fuck about that lesson or any of the others for that fact,” she said finally, finger itching to press the hang up button.

The other end of the phone was silent so Abi guessed that Robyn had either been passed by a teacher so she had hidden her phone or she just didn't know what to say. Abi guessed it would most probably be the second one because she didn't think Robyn was smart enough to be on the lookout for teachers whilst she was on the phone.

“I have to go now Abi,” was all Robyn said before hanging up and leaving Abi with the phone still at her ear. She guessed that she had somehow hurt her friend's feelings which was why she hung up as fast as she did. Abi found it pathetic that someone could get offended by what she said. It wasn't even mean and yet it had hurt Robyn's feelings.

This was another reason as to why she wished that she had taken the loner tag when she started secondary school.

Tossing her phone further down her bed, the girl ran her hand over her face before heaving a sigh and sitting up. She couldn't go back to sleep now because there'd be no way she would manage to fall asleep so she had to opt for the only thing she could do – go into town.

Of course she could have stayed at home but Abi knew that Mel would be home. And, now that she though about it, James was meant to be coming round with his girlfriend. Abi thought she was a slut and didn't keep her opinion to herself which often made James furious at his younger sister.

Getting out of bed, she looked around her floor for any clean clothes that she could find before throwing them on and putting her hair up in a ponytail. She hated the fact that her hair always looked greasy no matter how many times she washed it. She even went as far as buying shampoo that would help tone down the grease but all it did was make her hair greasier.

Abi made her way downstairs and to the shoe rack, finding her shoes before pulling them on. She made it to the door but as she was about to pull down on the latch, Mel came through from the sitting room. “Your brother's here Abi, why don't you come say hello?”

“Why don't you just butt your nose out?” Abi bit back before pulling on the latch and leaving the house, making sure the door slammed as it shut. It was just a typical morning for them because the days that Abi actually went to school were few and far apart. Never once did she even give a care to her grades or even the fact that her dad could get into trouble for it.