The Lost Thought

12. Ned

10th, February

Ned  looked like he was going to puke.

He probably was going to, but that was out of the question. He couldn't puke in front of 28 people, including adults.

"B-but you mean me?" Ned blurted out, unsure what else to say.

"You want me -me." He said shaking with fear.  "Yes," Said one of the teachers. Another one nodded.

"Me in the school-play?" He asked. "As Romeo?"

Another nod.

Right then, right there, he puked.

A few of the kids laughed and snorted at him and Ned ran away out of embarrassment. He just couldn't do it. There was nothing that could change that. There was a reason, though.

There was a reason for everything.

Ned's mom passed away when he was 10. His dad married another woman. Sure, she was nice and a good cook, but nothing had been the same after that. His father encouraged him to try theatre even after his mom. His mom loved the theatre. She had acted in 33 plays and 7 movies.

"You've been nowhere except home and school since the funeral. You should be out there. Partying with your friends!" Ned's dad said when Ned got home. He always said that and Ned always said the same thing.

"No," Ned always said. His dad had given up. It was just too hard.

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Jacqueline

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  Jacqueline wanted to go to Africa. To visit. Because she was bored. Not because she knew that one of the kids from the riddle was Nedelion Parcher. Not because Nedelion Parcher lived in Africa.

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Jacqueline reached Africa. It was a very hot place. And plane. Jacqueline stared sweating the second second she left the plane.

There were a lot of plants, shaking in the slow, moist wind. Bamboo surrounded her as she walked into a hotel. Birds tweeted. Jacqueline felt some thing in her shoe. She was wearing slip-on Crocs so she took them off. A spider crawled outside her shoe.

"Ah!" she screamed. Everyone in hearing range looked at her. She smiled politely. "Heh..." She said, turning red and blushing. They went back to their things and Jacqueline sighed.

Jacqueline still had lots to do.

"I'm staying here for 17 days." She said to the hotel manager.

"Umm... Name?"

"Addie Botcher," Jacqueline said, very intimidatingly.

The guy widened his eyes. His eyes turned red. Then, green. Then he smiled. "Of course Madam. Room 1." And he blew Jacqueline a kiss.

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Addie

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  Addie and Jeff had discussed to meet each other at a meeting point near the baggage counter. But, when Addie reached there, afraid of being late, no one was there.

Addie checked what time Jeff's plane had landed, but, it said that Jeff's plane had landed several minutes before Addie's had even gotten into Africa. Addie had even found her suitcase at the baggage counter after 20 minutes, (long story) but Jeff was still nowhere to be seen.

She had asked a security guard where the other flight coming from London was, but the security guard spoke a different language -probably Swahili. When Addie went back to wait for Jeff, she spotted Jeff's flight number at a nearby baggage claim. (Yes, she memorized the numbers.) She rushed over there, desperately wanting to know why Jeff didn't meet her there, but something caught her eye which took her breath away. And not in a good way.

An empty baggage claim, rotating for what seemed like ever, with only one bag, spinning with it.

Jeff's bag.

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