Nobody was home at this time, evident by the lack of cars in the drive. Using the key under a fake stone, Kim opened the door skipping on the spot as her anxiety spiked. As soon as it was open, she flew up the stairs and slammed her bedroom door. She leant against the door, hand on her racing heart and tried to force herself to calm down. The eye of the hurricane that swirled in her mind finally came, and for the first time in an hour, Kim was able to think. 

She took off her soaked clothes and put on her housecoat. The first thing she had to do was shower, not only to warm up from the freezing water but also to think. But as she entered the bathroom, she passed the mirror. Kim felt her already cold blood freeze and she screamed at what she saw. Her eyes! Her hazel eyes, like two chocolate drops were now, there was no other word Kim could think of- rainbow! The spectrum from red to violet circled her black pupils like dancers. Kim covered her eyes with her shaking hands.

“No, no this isn’t happening,” she spoke out-loud, thankful that she was alone, “this is not happening, my eyes are not multicoloured! They’re brown. My eyes are brown! I’m imagining it!” She uncovered them and much to her dismay, nothing had changed. She was… a freak. There was no way she could deny that now. Why was this happening? 

Forgetting her shower, Kim retreated to her room, and picked up the small blue bear. Holding it tight against her racing heart, Kim paced back and forth and wringing her hands. What was she going to do? Surely by now the school would be trying to get hold of Trudy or Tristan, and Kim’s stomach (which now had a sharp pain spreading throughout from being kicked) flipped fearfully as she occurred to her just how apoplectic Trudy was going to be when she found out that not only had she “dyed” her eyes (‘was that even possible?’ Kim thought) but she had also caused such destruction of the school, and attacking other students AND terrifying everyone who witnessed her! 

Trudy might make do on her perpetual threat and beat her within an inch of her life with the fire poker! She would be thrown out!  Could she be arrested for this? Surely this would be enough for her to be thrown into a young offenders institute! Destroying property and attacking other people, maybe she would be tried as an adult and put in prison! They would certainly put her in prison! 

…No. No they would not. Because she was not going to be here for them to come and arrest her! 

Her mind was spinning in a whirlwind of fury and fear as she threw on her jeans and several layers of hoodies, which happened to be three- the amount she happened to own. Two pairs of socks went under her trainers. 

She was going to run away, far away before anybody got here. She did not know where to or what she was going to do, all she knew was that she had to leave if she wanted to keep her freedom. The closest city was Glasgow, it was a huge concrete labyrinth, far too large for one girl to be found without having every member of the public on the hunt. It would buy her some time before she could come up with a proper plan. What that plan was, she had no idea. All she knew was that she had to go now! 

As she rummaged through her cupboards, Kim realised that she did not have a jacket big or padded enough to sustain the rain. So she went into the master bedroom and took Tristain’s parka jacket. It was too large and the sleeves reached past her hands but Kim did not care, it was better than freezing to death like that matchstick girl in that fairytale she once had to write about in English. Kim remembered having no idea what she was supposed to take from that story, but now she did; do not sit in the freezing cold without a jacket like a dafty or you’ll be found as a lolly. 

Kim shoved on her gloves and a blue wool hat with a fuzzy pom-pom on the top. It had been her mother’s, and never worn. It was only this hat that existed as a memento, alongside the little blue bear stuffed safely inside one of the jacket’s deep pockets. Grabbing her rucksack, she emptied it of its folders, books and papers onto her bed. The sight of this terrible pile would send Trudy over the edge but at this point, Kim could not care. She would be gone long before anyone got back.

In the kitchen, Kim stuffed her rucksack as much as she could with bottles of water, cereal bars, packets of crisps and other snack items. It was only now that she became aware that she had left her lunch in her locker, and she had been too frustrated and anxious to eat breakfast that morning. A hollow bubble of hunger built up in her stomach, which caused Kim to wince as it clashed with the sharpness of the wounds left by the kick. She could not afford to stop to eat, she would have to wait until she was actually safe. 

Anxious and desperate, Kim gathered everything together and ran out of the front door, re-locking it with the spare key, before throwing it into a hedge. Without another backward glance, she sprinted down the road, her rucksack jumping painfully on her back with every stride. She took no notice of the stares as she ran past the houses, through the village, down the cycle track and to the train station. She could not afford to wait for a bus, they could come at that time! 

The town had one little train station. It was an old red building with only two tracks. One of which went straight to Glasgow. It was deserted, much to Kim’s relief. The last thing she needed was to be questioned. How would she know that particular person would not call the police? She could not take any chances. Just as Kim ran up, a train was just pulling into the closest platform and slid to a stop with a light squeal of the wheels. Without much thought, Kim leapt aboard and collapsed into a seat, breathing fast and heavy, sweat running down her still damp and cold back. She was exhausted, she had a hard stitch in her side and she could barely breathe. 

The train pulled away from the station and began its streamless trek to the city. It was not a long journey but, only now when the adrenaline was wearing away did Kim’s mind finally begin to relent. And then… it was electrocuted with panic. A surge of prickles ran up her neck as the realisation of her decision finally began to probe. 

What was she going to do? Why had she done this so irrationally? Kim knew she could not go back to the house, there was simply not an option. She did not know anyone in Glasgow, and she had nobody else she could call or go to that would not result in her being sent back. Sighing, she opened one of her packets of crisps and started eating while staring out the window at the blurred world outside as it sped by. She supposed that the best she could do was try and find a shelter to stay in for a few days until she came up with a plan. What that plan was going to be, she had no idea.

The train soon pulled into the station and Kim quickly got off and went through the gates. She pulled up her rucksack and, putting her hood up made her way to the main exit. As she went, her eyes glanced up towards the tall ceiling where pigeons often roosted. There was a neat clutter of them sitting on a rafter. But something else caught her eye. Amoung the plump grey pigeons, there appeared to be a much larger bird sitting in their ranks. It appeared... to be some kind of owl? No, surely not. Kim looked at the huge clock hanging in the middle of the station. It was just after two o'clock in the afternoon, far too early for a bird of the night to be active. She looked up again. The bird was looking back, blinking its great dark eyes slowly. It was quite unsettling, how intensely it was watching her. Pulling her hood up further, Kim quickly left the station.

Goodness knows what she was going to do. But what choice did she have?