The Daylighter Apprentice

Chapter 8 - The One Who Shall Not Be Named

"Me and Chris are going out for lunch with Tom and his girlfriend, you wanna come?" Morgan asks at breakfast the next morning. Chris is still in bed and Tom is in the shower so it's just me and Morgan at the kitchen table. I yawn and pour myself a bowl of cornflakes, nodding at the same time. And who said men couldn't multi-task?

"Sure, sounds great. Is Tom OK with it?" I ask, pouring the milk into my bowl and eating the first spoonful.

"Yeah, he got me to ask you as he's probably going to be preening himself all morning so he'll barely see you." Morgan laughs, taking a mouthful out of his toast.

"Where are we going?"

"To a restaurant in town. It's nothing special but it's cosy and does amazing food. You've never tasted anything like it."

"Definitely up for this then. What time are we leaving?" I push my cereal around the bowl and wonder if I'll have to dash off early for work.

"About 11:30. It gets really busy at lunch and we need a table for 5 so we should get there early." Morgan replies, taking a sip of his coffee.

"Right. I was just wondering if I'd have to excuse myself for work. But if we're going that early, it shouldn't be a problem." I smile, finishing my cornflakes and taking the bowl to the sink. I wash it up and place it on the drainer, drying my hands on the towel afterwards.

"Yeah, you should be OK. I'm going to go get ready. See you in a bit, Dom." Morgan puts his plate in the sink and heads towards the kitchen door.

"See you later." I reply, washing his plate and putting it on the drainer behind my bowl. I stretch and yawn again, screwing my eyes shut. It had taken a little while to get to sleep as I'd spent all night fantasizing so all in all, I'd only managed to get about 6 hours sleep which was nowhere near enough. I scratch my chin before following Morgan upstairs.

I choose something plain as I know I'll have no time to change before work. I pick out my black jeans again and a grey skull t-shirt, finishing the outfit with my silver Converse. I look presentable; not too shabby and not too formal. Twisting about in the mirror, I admire myself from all angles just as the phone rings.

"I'll get it!" Morgan shouts just as I'm reaching for my doorknob. I return to the mirror, running my fingers through my hair and trying to style it into something that doesn't make me look as though I've just crawled out of bed.

"Dom? It's for you!" Morgan calls and I raise an eyebrow, trying to figure out who could be calling me. I head out onto the landing and take the phone from Morgan.

"Hello?" I twirl the cord around my finger.

"Hello, Dominic." I instantly recognise Matthew's voice. "Call me Alex, that's who I introduced myself as."

"Right. Hey Alex. How come you rang?"

"You needn't come in at usual time today. I'll require your assistance overnight. You'll be back before morning but your cover story is that you're meeting me in the next town. You'll get the bus at 8." Matthew instructs and I make a mental note.

"OK, so I'll meet you then. Any specific reason?" I try to make my questions as vague as possible.

"Yes, we're cultivating the bacteria tonight. I have things to do this afternoon so I won't be in the lab. There's a disciplinary meeting after yesterday which I think is totally useless but Katherine insisted so I must attend. But anyway, leave at 7:50 and I'll meet you at 8:30. Is this OK?"

"Yes. It will be great to see you again." I smile. This wasn't even a lie.

"It will be a pleasure to see you again too, Dominic. I'm making pasta for tea and there's always extra so if you'd like to join me you're more than welcome." Was he asking me to dinner?