WHEN LOVE BIND

Tommen College were opened to the students at 7 in the morning, obviousl

building to get o

I might consider it a bad omen, but this was Ireland wher

ly January, typ

e school hours, noting several students already wandering thro

ommon

uld only describe as spaciou

asn't the immediate target for bullies like I

terested in my presence, clear

in my mouth for a cruel

did

e neighboring public school, I had been expec

hing ha

of curious glances,

either didn't know who

ly off the radar in thi

g me, and feeling more positive than I had in months, I

ographs of previous students adorned the lemon painted walls. Plush couches and comfy chairs filled the large space, along with a

y c

hat the other

fferent world in

iverse to the o

o

ces of bread and have t

and wandered through every hall and

ed where every building and wing

ling fifteen minutes before the start of the school day, and when I was

a football pitch squealed loudly, drawing mine and everyone else's attentio

enveloped in when she reached me, even though I s

riendly faces instead of what I wa

led, half choked out, squeezing m

ed and failed to free myself from her lung-crushing embrace. "But

er death hold. "I forgot you haven't grown since fourth class." She took another step bac

; it was an obser

r my age, dwarfed even furth

ically built, and ex

emure form of

t of her face

and ringlets of light blonde curls. She had a sunny disp

old, I'd known this

I'd felt it as she stood in my corner for eigh

ght and wrong and was prepared to

as a

e secondary schools, but one look at her an

ot back good-naturedly, knowing h

She did this adorable happy dance and then threw her arms around me once

, uncomfortable a

oken emotion. "All that shit you've suffered? It's in the past." She sighed again an

re k

ere in pri

how it was for

was glad she hadn't seen ho

ion I didn't want

d Lizzie, too – if she ever decides to drag h

demons to the back of my mind an

usiasm, fist bumping me in the process.

roduced me to her friends, and while I couldn't remember the names of most of the pe

myself working hard to keep up with the constant flo

k into normal teenage society. Having people other than Joey and his friends that were wil

halfway through the third class of the morning, blaming a dentist appointment fo

n't seem to care what people thought. She dressed according to her mood and projected vibes the same way. She could show up tomorrow in a s

g, dark blonde, swishing ponytail and makeup-fre

regardless of the baggy trousers and messy hair she was sporting, proving the point

d a nice personali

ire in many ways, but sta

Lizzie was bl

or their age and both

times, a little overly excited, Lizzie

and Lizzie took her time to

makeup and a perfectly coordinated outfit for any g

nette who buddied up with the

gh

an?" Lizzie asked