**Our+lives+as+we+know+it**

=Our Lives As We Know It =

//**Amy**// "Coming Mum", Amy yelled as she tugged on her ponytail while running down the stairs. She saw the banana skin too late and slipped on it, making her tumble down the rest of the stairs. "Stop being so clumsy", her mother sighed. She didn't notice Amy's brother sitting at the table laughing, nearly choking up his cereal, but Amy did and shot him a glare as she stood up. She didn't bother saying anything either. Her mum would be on her brothers side anyway. She stuffed a piece of toast in her mouth and walked out the door. "Bye hun", her mother called. "Have a good day at school." Yeah right. As if that was going to happen. Another day at school for Amy would mean another day of listening to Amanda, a stupid cheerleader that thought the world revolved around her. Another day of listening to stupid teachers going on and on about things she didn't need to know. At least she had Gabrielle. Gabrielle and Amy had been best friends since kindergarten. Gabrielle had long blonde curls and chrystal blue eyes. She also had a smile that lit up any room she was in. Amy had always been jealous of her looks. She had straight brown hair and brown eyes and looked like any other teenager. She sighed and started walking to meet Gabrielle at her house.

//**Gabrielle**// Gabrielle was tired. As she did every morning she had woken up at five. Cleaned the house. Made breakfast. Made her little brothers lunch. Got him out of bed. Got him dressed. The list went on and on. She walked to her mother's bedroom with her breakfast on a tray. As she opened the door she could hear her mother's wheezing. She sighed and stepped inside. Her mother's room was dark and warm. The doctor said it had to be this way so she could get better. But Gabrielle knew she never would. Her mother was still sleeping so she put the tray on her crowded bedside table and tip-toed out. As soon as she had closed the door she could hear the schoolbus pulling up outside. "George the schoolbus is here," she yelled. "Yeah I know." George was only six but he already knew everything. She flicked the kitchen light off and George and her walked out the door into the chilly air. "Bye," she called as George was climbing into the yellow bus. He didn't reply. Amy was already waiting for her at the gate, with a frown on her face. "Come on," Amy said. "Let's get to school early today."

//**Amy**// Amy heard the bus before she saw it. Everytime it stopped the brakes squeaked in protest. Normally she would have laughed but today she didn't even smile. As she turned the corner she saw George, his blonde hair glowing in the early sun, rushing into the bus. Gabrielle was standing on the step outside her house. Her blue schoolbag slung over her shoulder. Today she had a flowy purple t-shirt on and her favourite checkered mini skirt. Her golden curly hair flowed over her shoulders making her look like a sort of angel. Amy stood at the gate and looked at her friend. "Come on," she called. Gabrielle walked down the path with her model walk. "I'm bored," she said. "Bored of what?" "Everything. My life. School. Home. Everything is the same. I hate it. I want something to be different. To change." Amy thought about what her best friend had said. She was right. Everday was always the same. One day ran into another. She remembered it when they were small. Everday had been filled with suprise. She had skipped to school, feeling like the world was hers. That she could do anything. Now all that sparkle was out of her life. "I have an idea," she said aloud. Gabrielle looked at her expectantly. "Remember when we were little kids and we always dreamed of going into the forest? Well why don't we do that? Just for one day. It will be something different!" Gabrielle's face lit up. And then without talking they knew they had decided.

As Gabrielle and Amy came to the gate they were suddenly scared. Infront of them was a paddock and then behind was the forest. Gabrielle looked at the tall trees looming over the land. They opened the rusty gate. It creaked with protest. As they walked across the paddock the forest was suddenly everything. It came closer and closer. Gabrielle's heart was pounding in her chest but she didn't want to show Amy she was scared. They were so close. They couldn't back away now.
 * //Gabrielle//**

It had been raining and the pine trees were dripping. The forest would have been quite beautiful if Amy wasn't scared. Raindrops balanced on the dark green pine needles like little jewels sparkling in the morning sun. Spiderwebs hung from branches with dew chrystalised on them. A big fat raindrop landed on her cheek and Amy stopped suddenly. Gabrielle's head flicked around, her eyes wide. "Are you okay?" Gabrielle asked with a trembling voice. "Yeah," Amy replied feeling incredibly foolish. They carried on walking carefully into the black abyss of the forest. Further and further.
 * //Amy//**

Gabrielle had been thinking about school when she realised she had no idea where they were. She stopped and shivered. She was absolutely freezing. Amy's big brown eyes stared at her with a questioning look. "What?" she asked, her mouth hardly moving. "Where are we?" Gabrielle said. It took a while for it to really sink in but when it did she saw panic in Amy's eyes. "Oh my god," Amy said. Seeing Amy that way Gabrielle suddenly got frightened. Amy was supposed to be the calm one! Here they were. Both shivering with nothing but their school bags. They were lost in a huge forest they were told specifically not to go into. Oh god. They were in trouble. "Well what do we do?" Gabrielle finally managed to croak, hoping her friend would know. Amy used to go to Scouts so she must know. Right? Gabrielle hoped. "We sit down and wait,"Amy replied confidently. "It's no use trying to find our way back because we will just get more lost. If we have any chance of getting out of here in the next day we have to sit down and wait." Gabrielle looked admiringly at her friend, and got to work building a shelter out of the driest leaves she could find.
 * //Gabrielle//**

//**Lily**// Amy's mum had just gotten a call from the school. Amy and Gabrielle had never arrived. Oh my god, she thought. Where could they be. Why would Amy ditch school. She loved school. Actually now that she thought about it, she knew nothing about Amy's life. Who her friends were. What her favourite subject was. Nothing. Tears started to trickle down her cheeks. Where was her beautiful Amy? She then decided that as soon as Amy got home tonight she would apologise for never being there. And she would listen to whatever Amy had to say. But Amy never came home.

//**Amy**// An owl hooted in the night, waking Amy from her light sleep. Fat raindrops poured down on her. She slowly became aware that she was shivering. Gabrielle's small head was leaning on her shoulder. There was a rustle on her left and Amy flicked her head around only to see a little hedgehog pushing it's nose into a small hill of wet leaves. She took a deep breath and stood up trying not to wake Gabrielle. As soon as she was up she immediately collapsed. She couldn't feel her legs. She started sobbing. Why had they come here? Amy should be at home on the couch infront of the TV stuffing her face with junk food. Instead she was lost in a huge forest. It was raining and she couldn't feel her legs. She thought of her mother and suddenly felt something urging her on. As if a little voice inside of her was saying //''Don't give up. Pick yourself up and get your blanket.''// Yes, thats right! She had a blanket in her bag! She crawled over the wet ground feeling the water soak into her jeans, her fingers stretched out infront of her. Suddenly she felt her fingers smashing into something hard. She yelped in pain and pulled her hand back. She felt something trickle down her fingers and knew she was bleeding. Tears rolled down her cheeks but she carried on crawling forward. She felt the familiar shape of her bag and unzipped it. On the bottom of her bag she found her big blanket and pulled it out struggling with her sore fingers. "Amy?" Gabrielle croaked. "Is that you?" "Yep. I'm just getting my blanket. Hold on." She crawled back to her spot beside Gabrielle and pulled the large blanket over them both. "Amy?" Gabrielle said. "Yeah" "Do you think they are looking for us?" "I don't know," Amy said. "I really don't know."

//**Sasha**// "Ow," Sasha bent down and rubbed her ankle. Her rainjacket made a rustling noise. "Are you okay?" her assistant Timmy asked. "Yeah fine thanks." "Damn this forest," she muttered to herself. She looked at her watch. 22:05. She scowled. If they couldn't find the two girls before midnight they would have to wait until morning. Amy and Gabrielle. Thats what their names were. Yeah. Amy and Gabriel. Pretty names. Sasha sighed. "Is everything okay?" Timmy asked. His voice filled with concern. "Everything is fine okay? Let it go." Immediately after she said it Sasha felt bad. Well it wasn't her fault. Timmy was way too nosey. A pang of pain shot up her leg but she ignored it. She could hear deep breathing. "Shush Timmy. Hold your breath for a sec." Timmy obeyed. Sometimes he reminded her of a golden retriever. He never talked back to her. Just always obeying. And then she heard it. Yes it was there. "Hello?" Sasha yelled. She could hear her voice echoing through the trees. "Hello?" She tried again. And then an answer. "Help!" somebody yelled through the darkness. Sasha followed the voice. "Keep on yelling. We are coming to get you out of this damned forest." She jogged forward following the voice her part golden retriever and part human assistant lagging on behind her. Suddenly she burst into a small clearing. Two little shapes were huddled against a tree, a big blanket draped over their shivering bodies. Sasha immediately felt sorry for them. "Amy and Gabriel? Is that you?" "Yes." Sasha took her walkie talkie out of her belt and spoke into it. "We've found them." She turned to the girls. "Come on you two. Lets get you out."

//**Lily**// Lily was breathing heavily. Amy her darling daughter was in that huge forest. Would they find her? They must. They absolutely must. A shiver ran down her spine. Oh my god. Amy and Gabrielle must be freezing. More tears ran down her already smudged with mascara face. She was just about to go get James, the person in charge of the whole operation, but he came to her first. His big boots made footprints in the wet grass. He layed a big hand on her shoulder. "Sasha found them. They are okay now." A smile of relief fell across Lily's face. Soon she would have her little Amy back at home. Infront of the fire. Stuffing her face with junk food. Just like she always did.


 * 1 Week later**

Gabrielle curled her hair into a bun. The smell of french toast wafted up the stairs, tempting her tastebuds. She rushed down the stairs. George was already sitting at the breakfast bar explaining to mum how he totally had to be driven to school today. Gabrielle smiled at her recovering mother. When Amy and her had got trapped in the forest, her mother had taken a good look at herself and decided that she wasn’t going to lie around and try to get better. Instead she was going to take action. Start walking around and enjoying the time she had with her children. She still had to sit down about every twenty minutes but she was getting better and that was all that mattered to Gabrielle. As for Amy, Gabrielle and her were now closer than ever. They were also friends with Amanda. She turned out to be not as bad as they assumed she would be. Gabrielle smiled. Her life was perfect. She was the happiest girl in the world. She finished her French toast and called goodbye to her mother. Outside Amanda and Amy were already waiting for her. She ran down the path, eager to join her friends just as the bright yellow school bus turned the corner.
 * //Gabrielle//**

The end