Whispers on a Wing

Chapter Seventeen

The next morning I woke up to the sun streaming through my window, the light blinding me as it bathed my face in the morning light.

Groaning I burrowed deep into my pillows, sighing as the sun finally disappeared. Why was it even out so early? I felt like I hadn't gotten a second of sleep last night, my mind unable to rest with the uneasy feeling I'd felt last night.
I was being ridiculous, I knew I was, but no matter how hard I tried I couldn't shake the feeling that something had been out there watching me.

I lay there for a second, my mind slowly waking up as the birds sang their morning song and I frowned. Hang on, it shouldn't be this bright, not unless I was-

"Oh crap!" I exclaimed, throwing myself out of bed and stepping into the first lot of clothes I could find. "No, no, no," I repeated over and over as I ran around the room, grabbing everything I would need for today.

I'd slept in.

I never slept in, even when I didn't have an alarm I couldn't sleep in. I was such a light sleeper since living here the sun or the morning birds was usually all it took for me to be up and about.

I ran out the front door, startling Harper as the door bang against the inside wall and I threw out a rushed apology as I set off into the air.

It was a bright blue sky today so I had to fly low in the tree-line so that I wouldn't be seen by the people who were already out and about going to work and school.

I wasn't sure what time it was, not even checking my clock before rushing out the house, but judging by the position of the sun and how busy town was I'd say we were bordering on lunchtime.

How had this happened? How had I slept in so long it was now the middle of the day? It didn't make any sense.
I landed on the outskirts of the school grounds, quickly strapping my wings tight to my chest with the belts before shoving my clothes and coat on over the top. The belts pinched my skin where I'd been careless in tightening them and I fiddled with the buckles until they were semi comfortable before finally stepping out through the fence and into the field.
It was empty, thankfully not a soul in sight, so before a bell could ring or someone came out I hugged the tree line and sprinted as fast as I could towards reception.

Mrs Dooley was where she always sat, bright pink lipstick smiling over at the door as I shoved it open. I was a panting, sweating mess. My hair was no doubt all over the place and I hadn't even stopped to brush my teeth or even wipe the sleepy dust from the corners of my eyes.

"Miss White, how nice to see you," she smiled as I walked over to the front desk, sucking in lungfuls of air as my muscles rejected the sudden exercise I'd forced it through.

"Hi Miss Dooley, sorry I had a Doctors appointment I completely forgot to tell the school about," I lied as I rested my hands on her desk, my heart rate finally starting to calm down.

"That's alright dear, just hand over your doctor's note and I can make a note of it so the absence doesn't appear on our system," she said, smiling kindly over at me.

"Sure," I nodded. "Thank you."

I took my bag off my shoulders and searched through my bag, looking for the stack of permission slips I always kept on hand just in case.

I shoved my books and water bottle aside, searching through every bit of paper I could find, but frowned when I noticed the papers weren't in here. How was that possible? I never took them out of my bag, and no one was around me long enough to steal anything from there without me noticing.

"Everything alright Miss White?" Mrs Dooley asked, peering over the desk and practically pressed against the plexi glass that separated me from the office.