Today I am angry. I am an angry snake, ready to lash out at anything that gets too close. I have spent the day crying, because everything is just too hard.

I have run out of clean clothes for college, and today was confined to the 6^th form room because my dress was an inch too short. The other girls wear shorter clothes than me. The other girls have many many clothes which they can wear. But I am punished, because I deserve it. I am punished because I do not have enough clothes, and because I cannot afford detergent to wash my clothes, and because even if I did have detergent I don’t know how to operate the washing machine in my new place.

This is horrible. And I just don’t want to do any of it. Hopefully today I will find out whether or not the council can pay my rent. If they can’t, then I suppose I’m screwed. I suppose I’m screwed either way – I don’t have enough money to pay for my retake exams. The money is due in tomorrow.

***

I used to be a delicate flower, but now my stem has been cut.

They used to call me a butterfly, but now I fly broken like a moth.

I once was a role model, the one to look up to, but now quite simply, I’m not.

I used to dread falling asleep, but now I dread waking up.