Changes

And so it begins

Authors note: this is my first piece of writing so i would like genuine feedback and i apologise for any spelling or grammar mistakes

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Time was frozen, the rain was dripping down my face and i was cold, very cold, i was drenched with misunderstanding at the last 24hours of my life everything had changed everything i had ever known was no longer safe and here i was alone. it all started...

"Rosie! get out of bed, if i have to go up there and get you its not going to be pleasant"

The sound of my mother hollering at me drifted from downstairs and i rolled over to glance at the clock which read 5:30am. Time to

get up and head to swimming practice, i loved it the feel of the water rushing past as you dive in and take off at a sprint, come up for

air and your lungs are burning for more but you don't let them. Sometimes however i loved sleep much more and it always took a lot to

rise me from the comfort of my bed. Why do they make beds so comfy. i started dreaming of a cloud wisking me away in the sky and

just as you get to any good bit in a dream i was suddenly shaken by a very angry woman with a cup of water in her hand.

"im up im up!" i pleaded with my mother as she silently threatened me. quickly put on my swimming costume and my gym clothes

over the top and before i knew it i was in the car eating an apple and on my way to training.

If i had to describe myself i would have to say relatively boring, ive got long straight brown hair which i cant do anything with because

if i curl it it straightens within the hour. Im quite slim due to a lot of hard work but i eat like a horse so i guess you could say im kind

of lucky in that department. My social life does not exist because of all the training i do and being 15 (almost 16) theres nothing

happening in the boyfriend department either, not that ive tried or had time. I dont think a boy has interacted with me since pre-

school pulling of hair, so im not exactly what you would call prom queen material. I started thinking about my 16th birthday which

was only days away and i still dont have anything planned. Ive found out i dont have training so im totally at a loss for what to do. We

pulled up outside the sports centre which doubled up as the home ground for our club and i leapt out to head downstairs to get

changed whilst mum pulled the car around. i was the first one there (after my coach of course) and headed into the changing rooms to

get one of the bigger lockers right at the front near the pool so i dont freeze when i get out too much and then began the monotony of

setting my gym clothes into my locker along with my bag and trying to get my swimming hat over my neatly tied bun .

As i dove into the pool i was welcomed by the euphoria i always felt when i swam. I belong to a club so its at least 40 laps to warm up

and then the real training begins, i don't mind though because i have always welcomed the burning in my muscles whenever i work out

and miss it when i don't. i set into a regular rhythm for the warm up, not too far infront but enough so that the girl behind me wasnt

annoyingly brushing at my toes and i went back to thinking about what i am going to do for my 16th. I dont have a lot of friends just

one or two who are in my swimming club who i also go to school with. I could go to the cinema or shopping or ice skating but i want to

do something i will always remember like go to the new carnival that has just moved into town (me and my best friends emma and

danielle -elle for short have been discussing this for weeks about how to approach my parents because they have already made it clear

I'm not allowed because

a. they suck and b. They think I'm too young to go anywhere with my friends other than the high street near my house because they are

ridiculously overprotective since i am their only child. By now i had almost finished my warm up and was about to make my last

tumble turn when i glanced up to see a guy standing at the end of the pool watching me. He completely startled and i had to stop as my

throat was filling up with water. I put my feet to the smooth floor of the pool, took my goggles off and he was gone. Strange. " You have

not finished your warm up rosie don't think im not counting" my coach yelled from the other side of the pool .

"I was'nt coach there was someone standing at the end of the pool and made me jump"

" dont be silly you know i am the only one allowed poolside during a training session so stop making excuses and carry on"

"Yes coach" Obviously it was just someone getting in the pool and now i look like an idiot , my mum was scowling at me from the

viewing area seats above the main pool area and i quickly pushed my goggles back down and resumed where i was.

The rest of the session went normally and i quickly got dressed and changed and met mum outside so that i could rush off to school.

She dropped me off and just as i went to get out of the car out of nowhere i plucked up the courage to ask about my 16th.

"mum do you think i could go out with my friends for my 16th?"

"Who with?" shes frowning, this is already not going well.

" probably emma and danielle"

" i dont see that being a problem you fancy going shopping?" shes looking quite pleased and i thought i might as well go for it.

"well actually we were thinking of going to the new carnival, not till very late of course and danielles sister was going to drive us so you

know we will get there and back alright" I was rambling hoping i could try and catch her out and counter any issues she had with me

going before shes said anything. As it turns out that was a bad idea because she knows exactly what im doing when i get nervous and is

glaring at me in a way that could melt the polar ice caps, steam might have well been coming from her ears.

"No , no way, your 16 and thats far too young to be going anywhere without either me or your father or any other responsible adult!"

she could tell i wanted to argue the point because she added an "end of discussion" for good measure. So with that i slid out of the car

and slumped into the school gates...