The young girl glanced over at her alarm clock, it was a quarter to seven, and her mum always shouted her a few minutes early. Climbing out of bed, she reached for her hairbrush on the bedside table and began to get ready for school. The school blouse she pulled out from beneath the bed was torn on one sleeve and slightly bloodstained, coinciding with the cut on her arm, but her school sweater would cover it up. Telling mum would probably be the most sensible thing to do but not wanting to upset her any more than necessary it remained a secret. Checking her school bag one last time and glancing out of the window to see what kind of day it would be she hoped it would be better than yesterday.

They had moved to the village nearly a year ago, when her dad had left them both for someone else. The mortgage repayments were too high at their old home so they had to find somewhere smaller and more affordable. Mum worked very hard to look after them both sometimes up to 16 hours a day. Mary would be left to look after herself. She was only 13 years old and yet did a very good job of cooking her own tea and doing her share of the housework, trying very hard to make her mum happy.

Downstairs, Mary had some breakfast while her mum raced round making appointments and organizing meetings. ”Mum, do I have to go to school today? I don’t feel too good.” Thinking about the incidents that led up to the cut on her arm she really did not want to go. “Listen, love, I don’t work all day everyday so you can skive off school, unless your coughing up blood you are going in. Do you understand?” She was half serious. It would have been a good idea to tell the truth now but Mary just did not want to cause any more problems for her Mum. She would leave for school as normal.

On her way to school, she stopped before turning the corner at Binder Street where she had waited for the school bus for nearly a year now. Ever since her father left them and they had to move to the village, she could not help feeling out of place, like she did not belong here. She never did take a liking to the place and its people as her mum said she would. Watching the two girls laughing as they ran to the bus stop, she pushed herself further into the privets of someone’s garden. Her hands rummaged through the leaves just about making a hole for her to see through towards the bus stop. When the school bus arrived a heard of teenagers boarded and it drove off making its way to the school, this would be one of those days where she didn’t get on the bus, instead she would go up to the battle fields at the top of the village and spend the day alone. It was quite a walk, a bit further than the school, and she would have to go the long way round so that no one saw her. It was much safer than going home though, Mum sometimes popped back for lunch and it would certainly upset her if she Mary were skipping school. Therefore, to the fields it would have to be.

Skipping school was not a regular thing for Mary, in her last school she would never have even imagined it, but in the new school she needed a day or two, every so often when something happened like it did yesterday. The two girls, Kylie and Simone, had wanted the locket Mary wore round her neck. Had it been anything else she would have given it up without a second thought but this had belonged to her grandmother Josie who had died when Mary was young it was all she had of her and she could not possibly part with it. When she would not hand it over the girls, who were much bigger than Mary, began punching her. They managed to back her into a corner in the school gym and she had ended up hitting against a piece of apparatus which had made the gash in her arm, if it wasn’t for another girl walking in they would have surly succeeded in getting the chain, but as it was, they ran off.

Mary hadn’t hung around either, she felt like she should have thanked the girl for coming in when she did but she was too scared, all she wanted to do was go home, if she avoided them for a few days they would forget about it, for a while at least.

By the time she arrived at the field she was feeling very tired, a bit further up she could rest under one of the trees she thought. Walking through the grass, she noticed the sign that turned this place from a field into an historical place; a battle had been fought there many years ago. How appropriate it seemed that the place she came to hide from her own battles was a battlefield. Fighting against such great odds made her feel hopeless, and defeated already. Eventually she settled under a tree, got out a schoolbook, and began to read. Some kids who skip school are actually reading quietly under a tree somewhere.

After a short while, she began to feel a rumble in her tummy, glancing down at her watch she realised it was lunchtime. From where she was sat, she could see the school playgrounds and hoards of children running around working up and appetite. Pulling out her sandwich box she was glad she was not on school dinners. Her mum made a great packed lunch with ham and cheese and fruit. Leaning back on the tree, she was enjoying her lunch when she saw a commotion down near the school. A figure was running through the field and another two were climbing over the fence. They were running towards wear Mary was sat. Quickly packing away her things, she crouched down behind the tree. Surely, the gang of bullies had not seen her all the way up here. She could feel her heart racing and her palms sweating, she was scared but what could she do if she ran out it was all open field and then they would surely see her, if they hadn’t already. They were still quite far away but she could just about see who they all were now. At the front was the girl who had unknowingly rescued Mary the day before, following fast were Kylie and Simone the biggest bullies in the school and they were obviously displeased shouting and cursing behind the girl. Mary crossed her fingers hoping it would help but she could see they were gaining on the girl.

It was too late, she watched as the girl was thrown to the floor and punched ad kicked. They were beating her up badly. After a while, a long while it seemed they stopped and stood over her. They were so calm chatting and laughing together. The girl lay lifeless on the floor between them. Mary was feeling scared for the girl she too had played dead before now. Mary flinched as the largest of the girls gave the girl one last kick and then they both ran off.

When Mary was sure they would not return, she quickly crept over to the girl. Her face was bloody and swollen. “Hello” she whispered. ”Can you hear me? Hello.” She said a little louder. There was no response “ I will go and get some help, do not worry.” she said. Covering the girl up with her jacket, she knew she must go to the school for some help.

At the front gates it dawned on her how much trouble she would be in for skipping school, then remembering the day before she thought this would be a good time to show her gratitude for the girls help yesterday. At the office, she explained to the Head teacher what she had seen in the field and why she had been skipping school in the first place. They seemed very understanding. The police were called and Mary had to give a statement, they assured her that the bullying was going to stop now. The girl was taken to hospital in an ambulance where she would be looked after properly. Obviously, the school had to call Mary’s mum even though she begged them not to, but Mum was upset because Mary had not talked to her about it not because she had been skipping school. That night Mary’s mum agreed that she would not be working away from home so much and that, they could get to know the village together.

It was the next day when the police officer that took the statement from Mary came round. She had brought Mary’s jacket back. “You’re a very special girl,” she said. “Josie could have died if it was not for your quick reaction. She asked for you to visit her.” Josie, the girl, was still in hospital she said and had suffered cracked ribs and internal bleeding. “ I think you’ve made yourself a new best friend,” she said before she left.

Copyright © Amanda Aspinall