Cerys had tolerated about as much as she take. The personal insults were enough on their own but when coupled with the cruel words forced at her Mother it was more than she could stand. What did she do? Take one look at you and flee. I suppose she cant be blamed. Marcus Davey screwed his eyes up in disapproval. Couldnt have liked you one bit, Kirsty Wood offered. Whats to like? The whole group laughed as Cerys glued her eyes to the floor and felt herself blush, an unusual occurrence for the girl who looked pasty at the best of times. Shelley Pearson decided it was time to offer her opinion, An extremely sad state of affairs in my opinion. Well my Father says the whole sorry lot of them were always a sad state of affairs, the Mother couldnt even cope with a goldfish, let alone an ugly daughter. They giggled again amongst themselves as Marcus offered his best goldfish impression. Cerys felt the fury burn up inside her; she was going to allow these children to tarnish her own memory of her Mother. She focused her eyes on Marcus; her gaze was strong and wild as she began to mutter under her breath. Here she goes again, Shelley rolled her eyes. Where the words came from Cerys could never tell but reciting them always seemed to make her feel better. The grin on Marcuss face disappeared as a cold wind swept through the school corridor. He became as rigid as a bone as his friends began to look from one to another. Finally Kirsty spoke up, Just ignore the freak, Marcus give it up now. Stop fooling around. Its perfectly clear shes just crying out for attention and why should we be the ones to give it to her? Is it our fault nobody cares whether she lives or dies? Are we to blame for the fact her Mother was a waste of space who went and got herself lost? I dont think so.” Cerys saw red right there in front of her eyes and felt like it would only be another moment before she exploded. She was about to launch herself at Kirsty when she felt a sharp dig in her ribs and dropped her concentration. What on earth are you doing Cerys? Give it a rest huh? A tall, blonde boy had come to her rescue just in time. As Marcus gave up his pretences he began to draw in on Cerys but once again the tall boy cut in, looked deep into Ceryss eyes and whispered, This has got to stop, as an afterthought he growled, Now.With that he grabbed her roughly by the arm and led her out of the main entrance. He heard laughter and whistles behind him as Marcus yelled, Didnt know she was your girlfriend Dominic. Didnt know you went for girls so, well, ugly. Let me go,she struggled against his force. What is your problem Cerys? You cant keep getting into trouble like this. I cant keep defending you. My names mud around here already thanks to you. Things never used to be like this for me, not before your Mother Dominic stopped, not knowing how to finish the sentence her wished he had not started. My Mother what? Cerys stomped her foot furiously. Dominic looked down, ashamed he had let the others get the better of him. Come on, Im waiting to hear you finish your sentence. Not before my Mother what? Cerys blinked back the tears; she was not going to allow herself to cry. Dominic sighed, I dont know, I dont know what I was going to say. Then dont say anything. Dont even mention her name. He sighed and kicked a stone along the ground. They walked the rest of the way home in silence and when they got to the front door they quickly went their separate ways. Dominic into the garden and Cerys into her room, slamming the door behind her. She threw her schoolbag down and began to rummage through her drawers. Finally she found it. She pulled out the only photo she had of her beautiful Mother. Every time she looked at it she couldnt help but notice, although her Mother was smiling she had incredibly sad eyes, not unlike her own. However that was where the comparison ended. She sadly looked into the mirror, although people said it to her all the time it still didnt make it any easier to accept, she was simply ugly. There was no other word for it. Her long, dark hair always looked greasy no matter how much she washed it. It was untidy and unkempt. Her mouth was too big but it served a purpose. It managed to conceal her sharp teeth, which she often caught herself on when asleep at night. Her green eyes never sparkled and much like her Mothers they never smiled. Worst of all, Cerys looked down her long, pointy nose. How she hated her appearance but this most of all. Her hooked nose curved up at the end and was twice the size of anyone she had ever met. People were right, there was no other word for it. Still she had a beautiful Mother, with long golden locks, a rosy complexion and a wonderful smile. Beauty had existed in Ceryss world it was just no longer present. Cerys ran her fingers over her face and studied her sickly pale reflection. She would give anything for one last look at her Mother, face to face. Yet she knew, although always holding out false hope, she would never see her Mothers beauty again. She heard Dominic yell from below, Cerys, tea is on the table. She held the photo of her Mother for a moment more and then hid it back in her drawer. She sighed, it wasnt that she didnt appreciate all that Dominics family had done for her, it was simply the fact that no matter what they did for her they werent her family and nothing they did could or would allow her to escape that fact.