Rory's Journal [Do Not Open]

Hey, journal! I'm 14 now...Haven't written in this thing for awhile.
Well, I'm 14 and Bradley's 13 (Naturally..I am a year older.)
I'm doing school (Well homework) right now--and it sucks more than mosquitoes...kay, that was lame. ANYWAYS, I'm gonna carry through with the day as I usually do, sit back and relax, journal...There's A LOT we need ta discuss.
Ever since dad was taken away by Torad (I'll never forget that name...) mum has never been the same. She acted like, the day after he was ripped away from our family, we never even had a father. She remarried a man, who is even more of a witch than she, named ERIK..ER-YUCK!...Okay, I'll stop with the cheesines...Ahem, anyways. This new lad sucks more than school and he ruined my life more (if it were possible). Erik pretends he's my dad...but he's not. He's just as bad as Torad in his personality. He treats Bradley worse than I do (thats sayin' something) and my mum worse than Bradley (YOU KNOW he must be harsh). Now, I've got no reason to complain, you may think, Journal...Because what has he done to ME?..Nothing but constant spoiling. He buys me ALL this junk because he's rich ou--..ahem..anyways, he's just plain strange. Mum only married him, and she has said this before, because we needed the money and support. We meaning SHE. Like he does anything for any of the family except me. She just wanted enough money to drink up an ocean's worth of rum and smoke a boatload of cigarettes...THIS is why I hate my life, journal. So, thats the news and deets on life at the mo, now I'll fade into what has happened during the DAY.
As I sat in class, playing apps on my iPhone (as I said, my step-father is rich and buys me everything) and whistling Levi King songs over and over again. (If you didn't know, Levi King was an Australian singer that I used to be obsessed with when it was a fad..after he died)
"Seriously, Ror.." I was interrupted in the middle of my favorite song by 'The King of Rock' as my Jimmy said this. I peered up at him and blew an enormous bubble (of which I am still proud of) and mumbled through the gum 'what'. He rolled his eyes and slapped my feet off my desk, drawing attention to himself on accident. " Pay...Attention!" He said through clenched teeth, realizing the deep trouble he put himself in instead of myself. And, of course, the dimwit was called out by Mrs. Rumblebottom (shiver), our hilariously hideous History teacher. She swung herself around to face him. (I must explain how hilarious she is. She wears all pink as if someone drowned her clothes in a vat of pink dye. It also looks as if someone took her face and slammed her cheeks into this said vat. Her pudgy body makes this already laughable appearance just WORSE.)
"MISTAH Finnigan!" She said, loudly announcing his name as if he had won a raffle. The whole class turned to the back of the room where Jim and I sat to stare at him, raising the pressure as they loved to do. Jimmy began to open his mouth and reply with a kind tone so he could settle this mess he'd stumbled into, but, I, seeing a PERFECT opportunity to make Mrs. Rumblebottom more of a laughing stock, interrupted him,
"Yes, Mrs. Rumblebutt?" The class burst into laughter, raising my pride higher than I could stand. The look on her face was priceless as always when I insult her. After a long time of attempting to shut the class up, Mrs. Rumblebutt (Sorry, its so catchy), turned to me now, instead of Jimmy. I felt Jim's foot slam against mine meaning, 'shut up now!'. I ignored this.
"Excuse me--" She was about to state MY name as if I had won a raffle when I pressed the raspberry app on my phone, making her look quite guilty of the release, if you catch my drift.
"Yes, excuse you ma'am." Again, the class exploding laughing. With a gasp from my unexpected actions, Mrs. Rumblebottom stomped to her desk for revenge. She opened her punishment drawer and snatched up her metal ruler. The evil in her eyes grew as she smirked at her often used tool. Jimmy kicked me again and this time he pulled me to his desk.
"SHUT UP, RORY..." He again said through clenched teeth, of course trying to protect me. With a huff I pushed my protective pal off me and moved back to my position.
"Mistah Finley!" Her English accent drowning all purpose for talking, for it sounded as if she had walked straight out of old England. She walked slowly down the classroom to the back of the room, where I always sat, slapping the ruler on her hand a couple of times. Each time she did, the class would get more quiet until she stood in front of me and all was silent. I swallowed hard. The look in her eyes was shameless intention of inflicting pain on me as to 'settle the ordeal' like she said. I nodded in response to my name as she bent down slowly, intimidating all of my pride away as if she had pulled the cork to a bathtub and the pride all drained out. Our eyes were directly in front of each other. She shot her eyes, back and forth, curious at why I was so stubborn. "Must I use my ruler?" She spoke finally, her breath hot and stale, reeking of cigarettes and apple juice. "Or do you think that giving me another fake check for two thousand pounds'll settle this ordeal?" (SEE!? She always says that...) Its true, I had given her a fake check to make up for the papers I hadn't written and the times I never even showed up at school...That would keep her from beating me so often--But, I guess this time I'd have to sit through the pain. "I've given you straight A's...making you look like the perfect student..I was going to keep it that way even after the check was fake...would you like me to tell your parents the truth?" I shook my head. Although my parents thinking I was a bad student mattered not to me, I still felt that keeping a good resume on school would be a nice plan for my future life, if I ever thought of getting a job. She just stood there.It felt like hours went by as she stood staring into my eyes. Losing my mind in a scramble for some reason, I shouted.
"What're you gonna do?...Fire me?" I chuckled and Jimmy kicked my leg once again. A fed up Mrs. Rumblebottom slammed her ruler on my desk and stared me in the eyes. I swear I jumped five feet in the air and landed in my chair again.
"DETENTION, MR. FINLEY." She announced and walked back to the teacher's desk. This was nothing new to me--I got detention more than once a day, but my parents will never know that!...That is, unless they read my journal..crap..
An hour later, class ended and everyone headed out, leaving me behind for detention.
Mrs. Rumblebottom, mad for some actual schooling for me, began writing historical events (of which I knew zero about) on the board. Before she could begin lecturing, I left a check on her desk for two thousand pounds and winked at her as she stared at it.
"This one's real..." I said knocking on the check. "If it isn't, you can send me to the jail for kids or whatever, kay?" She nodded and without another word, the 'ordeal was settled'. Of course, only for a little while. As you can tell, journal, my life was much harder when I had to be at school. But then again, since I SUCKED at life, I guess no matter what, there isn't any dodging torture, right?
At lunch, I grabbed up my sludge filled platter and made my way (away from my brother, who was waving at me to come and sit with him) towards Jimmy's table when suddenly, I found my face covered in sludge. Oh great, I thought, its,
"Luke..." I nervously said, spitting some of the sludge out and wiping it off my eyes. Of course, the day my life decides to splatter sludge on me is the day I was wearing my favorite blue shirt.
"FINSTER!" Luke Scorpio said in a happy tone. I glanced up at him revealing a not-so-happy expression on his face. I knew exactly what this was about and I didn't want to see what would happen next. "'Member that check ya gave me so I'd stop beatin' ya up?" He smiled and hunched down to me. I mean, this lad is bigger than Goliath! I am tall for my age...HE'S taller...And he's in 3rd grade...but he's 12...not too much of a difference.
He slapped a hand on my back, in a sarcastically friendly manner.
"Well...IT BOUNCED!" As he said this he lifted me up by the shirt (Now STRETCHING my favorite blue sludge covered shirt) so I could match his height. The Lunchroom started to laugh. Now, since no one is reading this but me and you, Journal, I'll admit, I squealed like a girl and shuddered like a puppy before shouting back to him.
"DON'T KILL ME!" My voice as high-pitched as a squirrel. He lifted back his fist behind his head about to punch me.
"Awww, Finster!" He said, in a mockingly childish voice. "I won't do that..." I knew what was coming after he was going to finish his come back, "NOT YET!" And what I expected happened. His fist pounded on my head like a baseball bat to a baseball. And, it hit a home run...Literally. After the long beating, school ended early because of the Teacher's all deciding to go on strike and I ran as fast as a blind kid could. During the fight, I lost my glasses and my eye swelled up like a balloon. I was totally blind from both these events. I was so upset from this happening I didn't even noticed the way I stomped, swiftly, down the road. I heard, behind me, a small lispy voice calling to me.
"Rory, slow down!" It called, lisping away. My anger from Luke was so built up, I had no way of controlling it now. Bradley rushed to me. "Didn't you hear me?" He said, oblivious yet again to the fight I had gotten into. I turned to him. Since he had no clue what to expect, he jumped back and snarled at the sight of my puffy, bloody face.
"Brad, you are the last person I want to see!" I shouted and shoved him backwards as to slow him down, giving me a head start. Thinking I lost him, I heard his annoying lisp yet again.
"That is, if you could see..." He said handing me my smashed glasses. Upon seeing...(Okay fine, feeling) them, my anger grew to the maximum and I let out the loudest anger sigh the world has ever known. I am SURE it echoed to China....or the States, perhaps. Regardless, I continued to stroll on down the road towards home. This time, I sped up as to lose the annoying scum, Bradley.
Thinking I lost him yet again, I heard a scurrying of his light feet up to me.
"Brother..." He said. (He always called me this..)
"OOOOOOOOOH, BROTHER!" I said, frustrated.
"Yes...yes I am! At least you recognize me, even without your glasses." He pointed at my face and leaned in closer to see the puffy balloon of an eye I had on my face. The anger was now overflowing out of me.
"ENOUGH WITH THE BLIND JOKES!!" I said turning around and beginning to walk backwards, attempting to face him while I walked. "Okay, I've had a bad da--" And this was an embarrassing moment! But as I stated before, you and I...and Bradley will only know this. I swung around at my last word, not realizing my exact path of direction, I slammed right into the front door of my house, making my already bruised face just THAT much more painful.
Bradley, in a panic attack, helped me to my feet again.
"Brother..." He fiddled with his hands and hunched his back, as he always did, for his posture was just plain horrid.
"I know..I know..." I replied. "Upon opening this door, all hell will break loose. Brace ourselves?" I said, holding my hands out to him. He grabbed them and shook them both with his hands.
"FINLEY BROTHAS!" We shouted together and broke the hand holding. At that we burst the doors open and rushed to the stairs, being stopped by Erik.
"BRADLEY!" He shouted, echoing out through the whole house. I shrugged, realizing I wasn't in trouble and whispered down to him.
"SO LONG SUCKA..." Scurrying upstairs. Bradley took a deep breath and turned to face his hateful stepfather. Of course, I'd never leave Bradley alone in a heap of trouble, so I watched from the banister upstairs.
"I thought I told you to clean the whole house before leaving for school!" Erik lectured. "And, this morning, I found two thousand pounds missing from my bank account." And, of course, both these things were my fault... "Explain yourself, kid!" His voice was fierce and horrible.
"I don't know, sir..I can go clean the house now, sir." Bradley replied, clearly knowing he already cleaned the house. He shot a glance to me and it was clear he knew I messed up the house before leaving for school. He nodded at Erik and began to walk to the other room to grab the vacuum. But before he could get out of arms reach of Erik, the nasty man grabbed my brother's arm and squeezed him hard. Bradley yelled out a loud, forced scream of pain. With one painful-looking yank, Bradley was face to face with Erik. Although Bradley was so close, Erik was still inclined to yell at him,
"YOU ARE A DISGRACE TO YOUR FAMILY!" He shouted. At this I covered my eyes and only listened to what was happening. "You're nothing like your brother! At least HE can keep up his grades! A straight A student....UNLIKE YOURSELF!" A shriek echoed through the partially empty house. It came from Bradley. I peeked out to see Bradley now turning the other way and holding onto the bars of the stairs. Erik continued to yell at his stepson's back. "You hideous, worthless piece of scum, you! Its a wonder your mother even kept you alive! If you were in my control, I'd have gotten rid of ya by now!..." He paused and his voice lowered to a quieter tone, still full of hate. "Now go roll in filth you revolting good for nothing rodent.." At that, Erik scrambled his drunk butt out of the kitchen and back into the living room. Bradley, not fazed by these tragic events, sat up and straightened his bow tie (I know...why would a kid his age wear a bow tie? No one knows..). Clearing his throat and checking his face in the mirror for any bruises, he strutted out the door to go sit in his favorite spot outside: the hill.

"Brad, how do you put up with that?! I mean..all he does is taunt you about your appearance and your grades but you keep a smile EVERYDAY!" I said after arriving up the hill and sitting next to him.
He pointed to the sun setting "You see that? Its beautiful now, but soon, it'll be dark and scary...even sooner afterwards the sun will rise-but the point is, its dark and scary, yeah?"
I nodded "And, where is this going?"
"Well.. Once its down all the way and settled...It'll be dark and scary-the beauty will have gone away-..but where in one place the sunsets, in another it rises...The time will come for each person where it gets dark and scary and the beauty faded away over the horizon..then, the happiness goes to someone else whose life goes SMOOTHLY...But, remember...The sun ALWAYS rises...And ALWAYS sets...It'll eventually set for them and rise for you..Just wait, it'll come.." He smirked and looked over at me. "Erik will get his sunset." We chuckled together at the thought of Erik getting hit and yelled at. He lifted his finger and pointed at me. "And you know what?" I smiled and listened intently. "If you act like it doesn't bother you...you can mildly control the rising and setting of the sun!" He looked back at the sun, now fallen behind Scotland's hills and mountains, leaving us in the dark. "So, thats what I do..." He stood up and walked a way down the path, not before turning around and adding, "You should too..Being in control is...cool." He winked a subtle wink and was off down the trail back home. Rolling my eyes at his annoying 'cool' remarks I stared up at the stars and noticed the constellations. The little dipper, I pointed out to myself...Cassieopia...I saw that next...I followed these stars down and to the left side..Wait a minute, I thought. Where's Orion? Just then, Erik called from the porch.
"RORY!" He shouted, making me jump up and face the house. "ITS LATE! COME IN!" I did as I was told and went home.
Then I went to sleep.
-Bye Diary/Journal-
Rory Scott Finley