Pretty, Ugly Girl

The sky was dark and threatening to just let down a shower of rain. No one paid attention to it though because that was how it almost always was. It was the last month of winter as well, so it gave the excuse as to why it was such bad weather. But then the summer weather was rarely any different – a bit of sunshine here and there but nothing too much unless they have a lot of sun which ends up with people complaining about it because they're not used to it.

Abi had just been in the local off licence and brought a packet of cigarettes. They knew that she was only fifteen but they still let her buy them. She wasn't the only one they let buy cigarettes underage but no one complained about it because it was only cigarettes. Teenagers get their hands on far worse things than a mere packet of twenty fags.

She made her way to the park just around the corner from the shop. Once there she sat on the swing and lit up one of the tobacco sticks with her lighter. It was so easy to just rob one from places that never had them behind the tills. Abi was just waiting for someone to spot her and yell that she shouldn't be in a children's play area whilst smoking. There was even a sign on the outside of the gate that showed that no smoking was allowed but it wasn't like anyone paid attention to it other than the parents of the children who frequented it.

After finishing her first cigarette, Abi tossed the butt of it to the floor and squashed it with her shoe. She wasn't going to pick it up because there was a whole pile of them accumulating under the slide so she didn't see why she couldn't make a new pile by the swings.

There wasn't really much to do where she lived and even in the towns and villages surrounding the town she lived in there wasn't anything to do. It was probably why a lot of teenagers went out at night and spent their evenings drinking on the street with a group of people.

Plenty of people were willing to buy a group of teenagers alcohol in exchange for a cigarette or two.

Abi let out a sigh before standing up from the swing and making her way across the grass and towards the back of the park. There was a bike track further ahead which most people didn't use for bikes but rather a neat hiding place for drinking. After all the track did slope upwards at a point which gave a very nice little ditch where a group of people could hide without being spotted from far away.

The fact that she didn't go to the local school influenced the fact that she had practically no one to hang around with in her town. Most people tended to live either by their school or at least near it. Unfortunately for Abi, her father had picked the school she and her siblings went to rather than let them choose. It annoyed them all except for Hannah. The three of them didn't get why their father had to butt in with their lives then when he couldn't be bothered most of the other times.

And it was true. He was barely home and didn't really acknowledge them even when he was. But that was okay for them because they didn't acknowledge him either nor did they like him. He chooses his job over them with everything and whilst it was great he had a job that had a decent amount of money coming in, he could at least have time for them. But he never did which was why they didn't like him.

Reaching the bike track, Abi could see a group of people in the ditch. She couldn't see any bottle so she put it down as they were either smoking something a little stronger than tobacco or they were doing something else that was illegal for them to be doing.

She didn't care enough to go and nosy about. After all she was bored and that wasn't going to change by her nosing about with people who probably wouldn't appreciate her doing so.

As she walked further along the bike track, Abi could spot the skate park coming into sight. Even though it was a skate park many people used their bikes in it or even just played a ball game in it. It wasn't like it was ever locked. It didn't even look like it was looked after by anyone.

A group of teenagers were inside the skate park. As she got closer some of them looked up to see who she was and whether it was an adult. Not that an adult coming would get them scared but they'd have to get out of the skate park as soon as because they didn't want their faces to be seen. It wasn't like there were any cameras there either so nothing done there could be caught on tape as evidence.

Many things happened in the fenced area. They ranged from a place to get drunk to a place where people could shoot up with drugs and dump the stuff. There was a corner of the skate park that was just filled with rubbish and among them were several needles that lay empty but untouched. No one would willingly touch them because they were manky and used.

“Hey, Abi!” one of them teenagers called out from the skate park. Abi looked over to them and saw someone was standing by the chain linked fence surrounding it. She figured it was that person who called her so she changed direction and walked towards the person. As she got closer she worked out it was a boy but not one that she could recall meeting before.

She stood a few steps away from the fence but still close enough that if the guy stretched his arms, his fingers would brush again her arms. “Yeah, what?”

“My friend says you're a loner,” he murmured, looking her up and down from the other side of the fence. Abi couldn't guess who this 'friend' was because she wasn't a loner because she had friends at school, despite the fact that she didn't really like them.

“Well your friend speaks shit.”

“Is that so?” he mused. She nodded. “I'm not talking about at school Abigail; I'm talking about in this town.”

She shrugged her shoulders. Even though she wasn't sure how come someone would know that, she didn't question it because it was a pretty small town. “Sure, I am. What's it to you?”

The guy looked behind him at the group who were staring at the two before looking back at Abi. “I hear you're a good source to get weed from. Is it true?” This had Abi's eyebrows raise.

Even though she didn't have many friends in this town, Abi was someone who often had weed on her and at times, she did go into school high as a kite. She never once got called into her head of year's office for being high nor did she ever get in trouble about it. There were others who also went to school high and didn't get in trouble about it. It was either the fact that the school didn't care or they just didn't notice even though at times it was as clear as day.

Most had it down to they just didn't care. No one really minded that they didn't care because it meant more freedom to do what they wanted at breaks and lunchtimes.

“Depends,” she finally replied, tucking a piece of loose hair behind her ear.

“On what?”

“Who told you.”

“James.” Abi couldn't help but snort. Her own brother told people about her being able to get weed easily. For some reason it didn't surprise her because he was the one she met the guy through who provided her with weed most times.

When she didn't reply to him quickly, the guy reached his arm out and beckoned her forward. Without a thought she stepped forward so that she was closer to the fence and him. “I know what you want more than anything in the world Abi. And I can help you get there.”

She raised her eyebrow, “Oh really? And what is it that I want then, huh?”

“To be beautiful. To be loved. To be cared about.”

Abi narrowed her eyes suspiciously at him. “And how would you go about helping me get there?”

A smirk crawled onto his face. "It's simple really. You help me by getting me what I want and I guarantee that I will help you. So you in?” Despite her hesitance towards the guy, Abi couldn't help but nod her head, confirming that she was in.

Hook, line and reel.