Rosie enjoyed walking home alone, which was good, because none of her friends walked the same way. Today was a warm spring day, with large, fluffy white clouds. As she left the school gates and started walking she was smiling inside, feeling totally serene.
She walked along the main road, electing not to turn down the first side road. All of a sudden, she became aware of laughter behind her, and she glanced over her shoulder.
There was a group of people walking behind her. Rosie recognised them from the year below. They were the kind of group that she instinctively loathed and feared, but only when she was on the outside. They laughed easily, with an edge that could be cruel, and talked loudly amoungst themselves in a language so peppered with private references that it was almost unitelligable.
Rosie faced forward, and tried to ignore them. She walked on, but the laughter came again and she could feel them at her back. She tried to speed up, to out-distance them, but could feel them gaining. They had a group's momentum that carried them faster than Rosie could muster. She gripped the strap of her bag, as a cloud covered the sky. She only had a short way to go until the next turn off.
Suddenly she was among them, and she was a part of the group. Someone caught her bag momentarily, and the conversation flowed on around her. The group carried her for an instant, then she fell off the pace and they were past her.
Rosie sighed, and slowed down again. She relaxed her grip on her bag and turned down the side road when she reached it. The sun came back out, and the only sound was the low drone of a small aeroplane passing overhead. Rosie pulled her bag around in front of her and hugged it to her. She smiled at the empty road and blank houses, and enjoyed the rest of the walk home.