Watched...For Nineteen Years

[dolly-999]

ok here's the chapter:

Mistake 3, part a

Nineteen year old Amanda Vale staired out of the glass window of the bus to Summer bay. She didn't know what she would do when she got there, probably find some cheep rent and try and get money any way she could. Beside her sat her five year old daughter Belle fiddling with the strap of her bag looking incredibly bored. Belle's father had disappeared a soon as Amanda had told him she was pregnant, she was only fourteen, just been kicked out of home and jobless.

Things hadn't been to great since then, she'd found a part time job that she could do after school hours and she'd been sharing a rental house with some other girls slightly older than her that had left home. She ended up pulling out of school after year ten, by then Amanda had already started to worry about how she was going to continue to afford to look after Belle, although the little girl had was fairly well looked after, she still was going to need more as she grew up.

Sometimes she wondered why things had turned out like this, as a kid she grew up in a rich family and had everything she ever wanted and more, but one thing got her kicked out of all that, not that she'd have life any other way now, she'd rather have her daughter Belle than all the money in the world. Hopefully things would get better though, after working at the supermarket for a few years she'd found enough money for her to go to tafe to do a hairdressing course, not that that got her much money but it was enough, well it was enough till she ended up getting fired just last week, that's why she was coming to summer bay, by what she had heard it was small and out of the way, hopefully that would mean that the guy who got her fired wouldn't be able to do that again, he'd got her fired from five jobs so far, it was like he didn't have a heart, he knew very well that she needed the money, but that never stopped him.

“Mummy are we there yet?” Belle asked innocently, carelessly tossing her bag strap aside before giving out a sigh, leaning her elbows on her knees and placing her chin on her hands.

“Almost sweetheart, see look there's the welcome sign” Amanda told her cheerfully, pointing out the bus window at the sign.

“Why don't they put pictures on it mummy? it looks boring” Belle winged.

“I don't know, maybe they didn't want the whole town to know that they couldn't draw to save themselves” she suggested, making Belle chuckle.

“Well I'm sure I could of drawn some good pictures for them” Belle huffed.

“I'm sure you could” she said giving her daughter a small smile and squeezing her little hand, “It's going to be great here, I just know it will”.

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“Martha” Roo called out throught the house from the kitchen, “Martha your going to be late for school” she tried again, “Martha I'm loosing my patients, Hurry up or your going to be very late” she yelled, making her way down the hall way and opened the door of the seven year olds bedroom.

“Mummy do I have to go to school?” Martha winged where she sat on the edge of her bed in a sook.

“Yes you do, look I've met your new teacher and she's very nice, ok?”

“But I don't want to be in grade two”.

“Well I'm sure your going to love it sweety, and guess what?”

“What?” Martha asked in curiosity.

“I checked with the principal and you and Tash are both in the same class this year” she exlained, last year the school had had the guts to separating the two best friends into different classes, and Martha hadn't been very happy at all.

“Really?”

“Yeap, so why don't you hurry up, the bus should be here any minute”.

“Ok” Martha smiled like a kid in a lolly shop, racing to grab her back and get out the door.

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Amanda lead Belle along the foot path next to the beach with Belle's hand in one hand and a newspaper in the other. “Come sit down sweetheart” she told her patting a spot next to her on a wooden seat along the side of the foot path.

Sighing she flicked through the newspaper to the job section, “Ok what do we have here... to many qualifications needed.... and again... oh gosh how am I ment to get a job?” Amanda asked out loud in frustration.

“Mummy?”

“Yes sweety?”

“Where are we going to sleep tonight?” she asked with a twinkle of hope in her eyes.

“I don't know sweety” she answered sadly, “I really don't know”.

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