A/N- Due to the fact that people spoke to me, commented and PM'd me, the main character is Echo and one of her best friends is called Jade. Thank you for voting and hope you enjoy the story.

"Echo! How many more times am I going to have to tell you? You are going to be late for school!" Mum yelled from the bottom of the stairs.

"And how many times do I have to tell you that I have to only go down the road to get to school!" Echo yelled back as she got off her bed.

Grabbing my bulging backpack she glanced at her reflection to make sure she looked ok.

The reflection showed a young girl who hung her long frizzy black hair cascading down with a streak of white that refused to change colour covering a face who's expression was almost always a frown and smart brown eyes which darted from place to place unconsciously as she took in everything.

The slightly plumper figure of the girl didn't bother her confidence and wore a white blouse which should of been chucked away and put in the bin for being too small for it showed the girls belly button, but that was how she wanted it to be. The girl had just had a belly button piercing and she wanted to show it off and be like some of the 'popular' kids in her year.

Her skirt, green and black striped, ended no further than the bottom of her knees yet looked respectable compared to her white and light blue jacket she hung around her waist always even if she never wore it.

The girl buttoned her green blazer up and hid the too small blouse and smiled a little at her reflection.

She wore shiny black boots with over large soles in making her clunk with each step she took, but that was how she liked it.

Putting a strap of her backpack over her shoulder she pocketed her keys and her phone and buds into her pocket and opened her bedroom door.

Her mother shouted from the bottom of the door again. "This is the last time I'm going to shout up at you young lady!"

"Alright mother! Calm down!" The girl yelled and walked down thudding as she went.

Her mother gave her a big hug which although Echo hated she didn't stop her.

"You've been a brave girl you know Echo, believe me when I say this." The girls mother held her face with her arms.

"Two months after your father died and you still try to keep up day to day life. I'm proud of you but you worry me so."

Echo sighed biting her lip as tears welled up and threatened to spill. "I'm, I'm ok." She lied.

Her mother looked at her concerned. "Are you sure?"

Echo nodded. "Of course." Looking away Echo blinked away the tears and headed to the door. "I'd better go."

Her mother nodded agreeing with her. "Come back for lunch if things get too much for you still."

Echo nodded again. She didn't speak to her mother much any more and most of the time it was spent shouting at one another. This was the longest that they'd not argued and she didn't want to spoil it.

Walking out the door she stood at attention by the front gate and looked at the American flag which hung proudly where it has since her father joined the army.

Allowing herself a minute of silence she remembered her father helping her put it up before sniffing as she strode confidently out on to the path and towards her school.

Along the way she met Mr Tibbles, the elderly gentleman's gray and black cat who took to wandering the street as people went to school in search of some scraps that youngsters gave him.

"Hello Mr Tibbles." She smiled and watched as he padded down the road and out of sight.

Getting out her phone she put an ear bud in her ear and put a song on. Walking down the street she texted friends and played a quick game of Candy Crush before she got to school.

A bark interrupted her game flow though but she smiled when she saw who it was. It was Tom, the golden retriever who sometimes greeted her when she went past.

Stopping by the owner's gate to greet him she frowned when she saw Mr Tibbles in front of him.

Blinking a few times she still couldn't believe her eyes and whispered to herself. "I must be crazy."

The cat turned its head and faced her with soul starting eyes.

Shaking her head she walked into school thinking about how she really needed to eat breakfast again.

She got into the school grounds just as the bell rung for the end of registration so she went to her first lesson which was Maths.

Plonking down on her seat by the window she got out her maths book and pencil case.

"Yo Echo, why weren't you in registration, again." A female voice asked her.

Echo looked up and smiled when she saw her long ginger haired friend Jade, perhaps named after her green eyes she was one of the skinniest girls in the school. Jade wanted to be a model but she also didn't eat much and so she had pale white skin like a ghost.

"It's boring, besides, I had better things to do." Echo replied to her.

"Better things to do?" Jade echoed, "you left me on my own to be bored! I had more important things to do too but I went to registration."

"Then why don't you do them then?" Echo asked.

"Because I get a school bus, I can't escape registration."

"Why not just hid out in the toilets? That's what I'd do if it were me." Echo told her friend.

"Because we all can't be badass' like you, some of us are on final warnings by the principle." Jade told her rolling her eyes.

"What did you do this time?" Echo asked grinning.

"I told the teacher to piss off when she told me to do my homework, if you'd come to school last week then you'd know I was in the triple R room for the week." Jade explained.

"Then I'm glad I wasn't." Echo grinned back.

The class filled up and everyone took their places and began talking. Their teacher, Mrs Humble, didn't always turn up, she didn't really care for teaching and so everyone took the hour of the maths lesson as a free lesson, except when she turned up and took the lesson.

The door opened up and in hurried Mrs Humble holding a armfull of folders, books and loose papers.

Placing the pile on to the bigger pile of mess on her desk she wrote the date, title and learning objective on the whiteboard.

"Everyone write them down in your books, Echo, the headmaster wants to see you in his office." Everyone opened their book up and began to write the things down.

"Good luck." Jade whispered to Echo. "Your gonna need it."

Grinning Echo got up and walked to the principal's office and knocked on the door.

"Come in."

Opening the door Echo sat down on the chair in front of the desk and looked at the aging master of the school who was losing his hair.

"Echo Caves, you missed a week of school and didn't turn up to registration, what can you say for yourself?" The principle said.

Echo looked down. "I don't know sir." She muttered. For all her confidence charade with her mother and friends and sometimes even teachers, she was in fact nervous when it came to the headmaster.

"I want to say again, how sorry I am for your loss. As a retired member of the Army I know what it's like to, lose a important person in battle." Echo winced and looked away.

"But what would your father say? This is the fifth time your in my office for bad behavior, I don't know why you feel you should do what you do now but I feel that your father would be disappointed in you."

"Shut up!" Echo said with a tear falling onto her lap.

"I cannot let this behavior off without consequences so I'm giving you after school detentions for a week." The headmaster carried on as if he hadn't heard Echo.

Echo didn't say anything about her punishment.

"I am deeply sorry about your father's death, though he did it for his country."

Echo stood up suddenly making the chair she was sitting on crash on the floor. She had an angry expression on her face and tears rolled down her face.

"Echo?" The headmaster asked shocked.

"Shut up! You don't know the meaning of dying for your country! You decided to leave the Army, therefore you decided to be a coward! Least my father wasn't one like you are!"

Turning on her feet she opened the doors and slammed the door shut and left the headmaster frozen in his seat.