Vanishing Alley

-15-

     We all walked together up to the road that eventually splits and leads us each to our cottages. When we got there, we all hugged each other because we knew that Amy was leaving on Wednesday and because she was going to be busy helping her parents pack-up the cottage and their things, that we weren't going to be able to get together again before then. Even though we were bummed that we weren't going to be able to spend more time together, we knew we'd be seeing each other back at home in Toronto. Even with school starting, we had all promised to make time for each other on weekends. When I got back, it was just a bit later than I had planned, but luckily my parents weren't angry and understood that we wanted to spend as much time as possible together before we all started to leave.

On Wednesday, Amy stopped by with her family to say bye before leaving.

"Hey Amy!"

"Hi Clara!"

"Are you and your family heading back today?"

"Yeah. I just wanted to stop by first. They're in the car with my brother who is a bit fussy... he doesn't really want to go back yet and he's making a bit of a scene. So, I'm their messenger today. Anyway, we hope you guys enjoy the rest of the summer."

"Thank you! You guys too."

"Oh, hi Amy!"

"Hello, Mrs. Bianchi. How are you?"

"I'm good. And you and your family? Are you all ready to head back?"

"Yeah. I was just telling Clara that my parents are with my brother in the car because he's being fussy this morning. He's not ready to go back. He knows that he's going to have to start school in a few weeks and he's not very happy about it."

"Ahh, I see. Well, I'm sure Clara has already told you, but we hope you all enjoy the rest of the summer, we had a great time together here at the cottage, and we'll see you guys when we get back at the end of the month."

"Thank you, I'll tell them."

"Oh, and good luck with your brother. I hope he doesn't make the drive back too chaotic, but I'm sure he'll calm down eventually."

"Me too. Anyway, I better get going. Bye Mrs. Bianchi. Bye Clara."

"Bye Amy, I'll see you in a few weeks. Text me when you guys get home, or later if you're too tired from the drive back."

"I will. See ya."

When she said she'd text me, she looked like she wanted to ask me something, or tell me something, but it also could have been my impression. Once Amy and her family left, I closed the door and saw my mom cleaning the main floor.

"Do you need help with cleaning today?"

"No, I'm almost done. Is there something you wanted to do?"

"I was thinking to take my book and head to the tree."

"That's fine, you can go ahead until lunch."

I headed upstairs to grab my sketchbook, and then headed outside to sit under my favourite tree. I looked through my phone and found a photo I had taken of some stores and decided to try drawing it. I usually have trouble drawing buildings; getting the angles to create the right perspective is always a source of stress, but I thought I'd give it a shot. As I sat there, I got a text from Amy. I thought to myself that they couldn't have been back already! She had only left half an hour before! When I looked at it, I knew that I was right, there was something else she wanted to tell or ask me. She asked me if we were going to go back through the alley. I told her that we weren't because we had all agreed to go there together — the 5 of us. She said that she'd be fine with it if we went back without her, but I assured her we wouldn't. Even though she told me why she was texting me about it, I already knew it was because my mom was there, and she couldn't ask me in front of her. We texted back and forth for a while, and then she said she would text me when they got home. I continued with my drawing until lunch. It was coming ok. I mean I did struggle with some aspects of it, and I knew I wasn't going to finish it that day, but I was going to do what I could.