I woke up at 8am, ready for Jo to come pick me up at 10am. On the way out, I caught my fingers in the door. Ow.
When I walked in Fairbridge and sat down, I took in the people who were already there. I gave them all personalities straight away. It was easy to do and it also proved to be right as it always does.
They were friendly people, but not one of them was my age. Infact, they were all under 16. They were all your typical scouser. Loud, wild and bad mouthed. Most of them had also been arrested for one thing or another.
After near an hour of just sitting there silently, waiting for something to happen, Zoe, who is a member of staff there said they were ready to go orientering, ie, map reading in Southport.
Already I felt very out of place and like I didn't fit in. One of them even asked if I was a member of staff because of the way I was dressed.
There were around 10/12 people altogether, but 7 of them had been there before and they were regulars there. The other 5, including me got in the minibus. Darren, who is another member of staff sat with them. I got in last. I sat in the second foremost seats, whereas the rest sat at the back. I had nothing to say to them. I wasn't interested in them.
After 10 minutes, Darren came forward and sat opposite me. I said hi to him and I think he knew I wasn't enjoying this. He knew I wasn't like the rest of them. I could tell from the tone of voice he used with me, compared to them, which is, of course a good thing.
The journey took around 30 minutes until we got to what looked like a golfcourse. We all got out and sat down on a nearby bench. Darren explained to us what we had to do.
We were given a map of the supposed golfcourse. On it where markers scattered around the map. Our task was to find these markers by following the map. It sounded quite good and I was willing to give it a go.
We left the table and I walked to where I thought the first one was. I turned round to notice none of them were even trying to make the effort.
We found the first one and jotted down the letter that accompanied it, before moving onto the next one.
The next one took us to the boundary of the course. It was near a wooded place, with tall trees. No grass, just bits of branches coating the floor. After we had jotted down the second number, they went into this forest of sorts. They say there couldn't be bothered doing it no more. Two of them lit spliffs, while another lit up some sort of cube. Not sure what it's called.
So, here I was surrounded by 4 people who couldn't be arsed with the task and were now lighting up.
They asked where I was from and I said Kirkby. One of the girls was from Kirkby also. They began chatting amongst themselves while I looked at the map and my surroundings. It was a lovely place. Very quiet. Very calm.
We were in there for about 10 minutes and then one of them decided that they had better start doing the task. They went one way, while I went the other. I asked where they were going and they told me they were going after a number, but the one I wanted to go to was closer and I didn't understand why they wanted to go to a further number. In the end, I just went on my own. It was a relief to be away from them. They looked at me strange and I carried on walking. Soon they were out of sight and I concentrated on the task.
I found the first of the numbers on the route relatively easy. I then carried on for another minute before reaching a very sandy area with a small walkway. I could hear waves crashing. I had to have a look.
I walked across the walkway and up the sandy hill to see a lovely sight of the beach and the waves crashing against the shore. It was both a lovely sight and sound. I stood there for a few moments, just taking it in. It was so nice.
I returned to the course to find the next number. I spent quite a while trying to find it. A group of three of the regulars walked by and asked if I was on my own and I said yes. They asked if I wanted to join up with them and I said no. I asked if they had the number I was looking for and they give me it and I give them one in return, before I moved onto the next number.
This proved to be hard. Very very hard. I knew exactly where I was on the map. I knew that the number was in a radius of about 15 metres. I began scouring the area for a small post with the number one, yet it was nowhere to be seen. I'm a patient person, so I went back to the centre of the radius and began the search again and yet still nothing. I tried at least another three times.
I decided that it was time to give up and I admitted defeat to myself. I decided to return to the minibus because I really needed a drink and was hoping there would be somewhere about I could get one.
Just before I began walking back I stopped. I just stood there and listened. Nothing. I could hear nothing but the wind. No voices, no traffic, no man made sounds. It was an extremely nice moment. I felt as if I could think properly for a few seconds without interruption. I felt my thoughts come to the surface and I could feel my emotions beginning to rise and for a brief second, I could feel properly. I could of stayed there for much longer.
When I returned to the minibus, they were all there waiting. They had been waiting for me. I looked at the time and realised I'd been looking for that one number for at least 30 minutes. Darren asked me how many I got and I said 4. The other group said they got 12.
Once I got in the minibus, I asked my group how many they got and they said five.
On the way back, I showed my camera to them. They liked it. I didn't mind them playing with it really. One of them took a picture of Darren which was rather scary.
Darren explained to me on the way back about how it's not usually like that. That there's usually more than 5. He also said that if I were to keep on it, I may be able to be with people my own age instead of them. He apologised to me about it being boring.
Once we got back, he said he'd call us all and ask if we wanted to stay on the course. I for one, will not be.
I said goodbye to him and left.
I had to make my own way home. Jo couldn't pick me up. I bought a scratchcard while I was in the station and used it on the train. I actually won!
Shame it was only a pound. I think I shall use it to buy another one.
So, that was my day. Useless. So much for hope.
Oh, I got reviewed. Have a look.
12:15am
