Even Angels Fall Read Free Page B

everyone still thinks very highly of her. For that reason, when the house is finished and things have settled down, she will be starting a new job at the Northern office of the firm.
    It is only Abbey who has to start again from scratch. It wouldn’t be so bad if she had Ryan with her to help her through it all. They would joke about their new teacher’s, moan about how rubbish the uniform looks and laugh at all the kids who laugh and make fun of them. They always faced everything together; the two of them against the world, but Ryan isn’t here anymore. Although he is part of the reason she is.
    Abbey straightens her tie and stares at her reflection in the mirror. ‘It could be worse’ she thinks. At least the uniform is black and navy and not a ridiculous colour like you find at some schools. She hopes to blend in as much as humanly possible. In an ideal world she would have powers of invisibility and wouldn’t be noticed at all. Or better still, in an ideal world, she wouldn’t even be here.
    “Abbey come on you’re going to be late…!” Janet shouts from downstairs and suddenly the moment at hand seems very real. New school, new people, no friends. Abbey tries hard to focus and think positive. Maybe this will be a good thing? Maybe it will go great and she’ll really like it? As she tries her best to convince herself, she is hit by another wave of nerves that cause her stomach to flip uncontrollably. Positive thinking never was her strong point.
    It is a 20 minute bus journey to Eden Comprehensive from Abbey’s new house but seen as it’s her first day, Janet has offered to take her. Time is passing far too quickly, and whenever Abbey glances at the clock on the dashboard it appears to have jumped forward 5 minutes in what seems like 30 seconds. Her nerves are getting worse and she is starting to feel sick.
    “Here we are!” Janet announces their arrival in an annoyingly enthusiastic manner, clearly trying her best to be encouraging. She pulls up outside a large, modern building that has 2 flights of stairs leading up to a walkway and the front doors to the school.
    “You’ll be fine darling, you’ll do great…!” She adds, checking her watch distractedly.
    Abbey takes a deep breath and climbs out of the car, glancing around at the mass of students - all in their matching uniforms - talking and laughing together as they make their way inside. The sudden desire to be back at her old school overwhelms Abbey. Her friends will be sat on the wall by the side of the gym right now, in their usual spot, chatting excitedly about what they did at the weekend and exchanging as much gossip as possible before the first bell rings, announcing the start of class.
    She wonders if they are missing her as she slowly climbs the steps towards the main entrance, trying hard to ignore the stares and whispers coming at her from every direction. If only the ground would open up and swallow her. She should be so lucky. There is no going back now, as of today she is officially a pupil here and all she can do is accept it – and with that resignation, she opens the main door and nervously walks inside.
    Abbey manages to find reception easily enough by following the various signs with their colourful little arrows pointing the way and she cautiously approaches the large oak desk that stands in the middle of the room. It is littered with stationery, fliers, in trays and post-it notes, and is occupied by a woman who is wearing far too much make-up and a perfume so sickly sweet it almost burns Abbey’s throat.
    “Excuse me?” The woman looks up from her computer with a vacant expression.
    “Can I help you?”
    “I’m new here… I was wondering if you could tell me where I need to be?”
    “Name?” The woman speaks in a chirpy, pleasant voice but somehow still manages to come across as rude.
    “Abbey Miller…”
    “If you would like to come through…” She stands and walks over to the far side of the room and Abbey