The Boy with the Blind Eyes

FIVE

HI!! 

I hope that you are all having a fabulous week. Enjoy this new chapter x

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It was midnight when Tamsin was crawling into bed. Lina was already fast asleep in her bed, covered in the thousands of layers of sheets and comforters and quilts. She sighed, envious of her sleeping silhouette. Tamsin had never been a good sleeper, mainly because she couldn't get her mind to shut off—the other reason being she could usually hear her mother crying in the next room, leaving her to wonder why her father never noticed it.

She slipped under the thick quilt, her head just touching the silky pillowcase, when there was a small knock on the door, and a whooshing noise. Making sure not to wake Lina, Tamsin craned her head up and squinted into the darkness. There was a strip of light coming out from under the door, but something thin was blocking it. Curious and overcome with sudden alertness, Tamsin threw back her covers and walked quietly over the carpeted floor, and bent down to retrieve the item. It was just a piece of paper, but she couldn't read what it said. Sighing, Tamsin walked into the bathroom, turned on the light, and read it.

Tamsin,

Meet in the back garden clock tower in five minutes.

Eliza

Tamsin frowned. It was 12.03 already. She wouldn't make it in time, but did she even want to? She was exhausted from her first proper day, and was pretty sure her hair could have easily been mistaken as a bird's nest. She hardly had any energy left, and now she was meant to sneak outside the dorm, after lights out? She'd be expelled in an instant. The form said that. Was it worth the risk? Tamsin reluctantly weighed up her options. The risk might have been pointless had Eliza been a stranger. But she wasn't a mere stranger. Sure, the girl was obnoxious and didn't think about what came out of her mouth, but she had also taken Tamsin under her wing without any hesitation or question. And this wasn't a big deal, not really. Tamsin thought it was odd the way she had left only a note with five minutes to decide and get dressed and be there. Even if she got there and explained to Eliza that she was tired and needed to sleep, that would surely be okay.

Figuring that her reasons were sensible, Tamsin quickly pulled a sweater out of a drawer and tugged it over her pyjamas. Then she grabbed the pair of jeans she'd worn today, threw on her runners just in case it was cold and snowy again as it had been all day, tossed back her hair into a ponytail and slipped out of the dorm. Glancing down the darkened, eerie hallway, Tamsin crept over to the elevator. She realised with a pang of annoyance that the elevator would wake everyone on this floor. Gritting her teeth together, she opted for the stairs.

Nearly tripping three times, Tamsin glanced at her clock worriedly. It was 12.07. She was already two minutes late. Would Eliza still be there? Tamsin made her feet move quicker when she finally reached the ground floor. She jogged past the kitchen, her footsteps silent, and into the backyard. It took another two minutes of her time before she reached the clock tower. There was a single lamp right next to her, the only one in the entire garden, so she couldn't see anything but darkness around her. Where was Eliza? Had she left already? It was 12.09, so she supposed she had. Maybe this was all a stupid prank, some joke a smartass had come up with today. Was it possible that the entire building was laughing at her right now?

And then, finally, her anxiety stopped. Three familiar figures stepped out from the darkness and into the pool of light Tamsin was in the middle of. One of the figures yanked her arm so hard she crashed to the floor and grazed her arm.

And then she heard Eliza's clear voice. 'Tamsin! Anybody could have seen you! Don't stand in direct light!'

'You said to meet here,' Tamsin mumbled, annoyed. Crossing her arms, she asked, 'What's this about?'