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    Gemma: Mental Book 2
    Gemma: Mental Book 2
    Gemma: Mental Book 2
    Ebook70 pages1 hour

    Gemma: Mental Book 2

    By Marcus Freestone

    ()

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    About this ebook

    The second in a series of novellas on the theme of psychological trauma and the ignorance and prejudice surrounding mental illness. Gemma mysteriously acquires a life-changing amount of money but she is still hiding from the world and the repercussions of her childhood. Will she ever be able to break out of her isolation, and will she ever discover the truth about where the money really came from?

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMarcus Freestone
    Release dateJan 5, 2017
    ISBN9781370011704
    Gemma: Mental Book 2
    Author

    Marcus Freestone

    My main work is the T14 series of thrillers about a futuristic, high tech counter terrorism agency headed by a man with a computer implant in his brain. The first book "The Memory Man" is permanently free in e-book. I also have a series of novellas on the subject of mental health and psychology. My most popular book is "Positive Thinking And The Meaning Of Life" which has had 200,000 downloads. It deals with psychology, philosophy, depression, anxiety, mental health in general and the human condition.I have also released more than 50 albums, ranging from metal and rock to jazz and ambient/electronica. And last but not first I also produce the "Positive Thinking And The Meaning Of Life" podcast and "The Midnight Insomnia Podcast", a comedy show with ambient music and abstract visual images.

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      Book preview

      Gemma - Marcus Freestone

      MENTAL

      BOOK TWO: GEMMA

      A SERIES OF NOVELLAS

      by

      MARCUS FREESTONE

      ALL MATERIAL © COPYRIGHT MARCUS FREESTONE 2016.

      ISBN 9781370011704

      Smashwords Edition, License Notes:

      This e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This e-book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

      ALSO AVAILABLE BY MARCUS FREESTONE FROM SMASHWORDS:

      FICTION

      THE T14 SERIES

      The Memory Man: T14 Book 1

      Random Target: T14 Book 2

      Just Murder: T14 Book 3

      Two Serial Killers, A Wedding And A Funeral: T14 Book 4

      Never Kidnap A Serial Killer: T14 Book 5

      THE MENTAL SERIES

      Book 1: Brian

      The Least Resistance

      Ethelbert's Sunday Morning (short stories)

      What To Do If Trapped In A Lift With A Dentist (poetry)

      NON FICTION

      Positive Thinking and The Meaning of Life

      101 Ways To Happiness

      Tell Depression To #@%! Off

      The Psychology Of Happiness: Unravelling Self Help Nonsense By Understanding Your Brain

      Donald Trump and Brexit: Misguided Rebellion

      101 Completely Made Up Untrue Facts

      As usual she logged off and shut down her computer at the stroke of five thirty. It took precisely one minute for her to tidy away the paperwork on her desk, check that everything in her rucksack and coat pockets was where it should be, put her chair neatly underneath the desk, and exit the room. As usual nobody talked to her, nobody invited her to the pub for post-work drinks, nobody seemed to even notice her presence or absence; she was the Schroedinger's cat of office workers. For twelve years Gemma had worked very hard to become invisible. Now twenty eight, she had long ago succeeded.

      It was always the same, in all of the more than sixty offices she had worked. On the first day of her new assignment from the temp agency she would be shown to her desk by a supervisor or team leader or whomever. She would do all in her power to discourage any personal interest or chit chat. She was there to work, not make friends. Usually a few people would show some degree of cursory interest but they soon gave up. Sometimes she would have to block out the snide comments they made behind her back, the nudges and winks or the laughter that was clearly aimed in her direction. Only on two occasions had she ever had to go to a supervisor and make a formal complaint – because this was not school any more, both situations were swiftly dealt with. By the end of the second day of most of her assignments everyone bar the supervisor or manager had forgotten she was there. Exactly the way she wanted it.

      Her appearance was as bland and off putting as she could possibly make it. Dressing like a freak would put some people off but could attract too much attention from others, who mistakenly took her appearance as an act of deliberate irony from someone belonging to some kind of cool sub culture. That would not do at all. It was hard to be invisible but Gemma was a master of it after so much practise. She wore no make up, no jewellery or piercings, no logos or branding or musical references on her clothes – nothing that anybody else could possibly identify with or take an interest in. Her naturally blond hair was dyed a mousey brown colour and cut short enough to be acceptable for an office job but not in such a way that could be construed as punky, alternative or interesting enough to be worthy of comment. She wore sturdy boots because she did a lot of walking but they were light brown, old fashioned and clunky in appearance. All fifteen pairs of trousers she owned were loose fitting, navy blue and did not cling to her in any way. She had unpicked the label from the rear pocket because it was large and bright yellow and tended to draw the eye. She did not want anybody's eyes there or anywhere else about her person. She had not worn any sort of dress since the age of eight.

      She wore two sports bras that flattened down her large breasts as much as was comfortable, with a baggy t-shirt and a man's plaid shirt over the top. She also had fifteen of each of these items in the same bland colours. In school it had seemed to be her breasts that caused all the trouble, drawing unwelcome admiration from the boys and violent hatred from the girls. That and her waist length blond hair. The day she left school she cut off her hair up to her ears, dyed it the blandest colour she could find in Superdrug, then went to a charity shop and bought a collection of unappealing clothes she could hide behind. She now looked more like thirty five than sixteen and was confident that anyone from school would walk past her in the street without even glancing at her, so radical and complete was the transformation. Nevertheless, because of her desperation to escape from her parents and everything to do with school and her childhood, she immediately moved forty miles away to where her grandmother lived.

      She only intended to stay with her grandmother until she had passed her exams, got a job and had saved up enough for the deposit on a flat but she saw how much her only surviving grandparent enjoyed her company and never got around to leaving. Gemma didn't think she did very much for her gran, just cleaning and tidying the house, picking up her prescriptions during her lunch break, getting in the food shopping when her gran's arthritis became too much for her to bear. Gemma was used to putting everyone else's needs before her own and didn't think anything of it.

      So it was a great surprise to

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