Aware

I hate it here already. I've been in Ashville for all of five minutes, but that's all it took. I knew the second I got out of the car. I want to go back to London, back to my old house, back to my old life.

I'm well aware that I sound like a typical whiny teenager. I've heard all the clichés - 'I hate my life; my parents are ruining my life, why is it always me? blah, blah, blah.' I guess in a way I am that teenager, but in another rather large way, I'm not.

I can read people's minds. Yes, you read that correctly. I hear other people's thoughts. I'm a psychic, a mind reader, many would say I'm a freak. That is precisely why I've never told anyone. I don't intend to change that any time soon.

I learned to keep it a secret from a young age, when I first realised that it wasn't normal to hear other people's thoughts. As a result, I distance myself from other people. It comes as no surprise, therefore, that I'm not particularly close to my family. If you'd ever met them, you'd be even less surprised. My sister, Penelope, is a full time bitch who lives to make my life hell. My parents are both lawyers and professional workaholics. They're both majorly successful. My mother recently got this big promotion, which is the reason behind our relocation to Ashville. Then there's me. If our family were a herd of sheep, I'd be as black as the night. I swear I'm adopted. At least, I hope I am. Some days my parents think the same thing. I can hear them.

I turn my iPod up as I stare at our new house. Music's my coping mechanism. It drowns out the errant thoughts which reach my head. Being half deafened is much more preferable to being forced to listen to everyone else's thoughts. Music has always been my escape.

"Oi, retard!" Penelope's elbow digs into my ribs. I jump, my head snapping up to look at her. "Dibs on the biggest room!" she calls over her shoulder as she walks towards the house. I don't even bother trying to argue. It's always futile. Penelope has our parents wrapped around her little finger. It's the way it's always been.

I catch sight of my parents gesturing to me from the porch of the house. They want me to go inside. Time to face reality. With a sigh, I turn my music up louder and follow them inside.