Chasing the Browns

Chapter Two

Chapter Two

I suppose I couldn't be blamed for not wanting to go to school in the morning when my alarm clock went off. I swiped it off my bedside table blindly and snuggled back under the covers. Not more than ten minutes later, Mum came in and woke me up again, opening up the curtains, knowing full well that I hated it.

'Mum,' I groaned.

'Lea.' She mimicked my tone. 'Why is your alarm clock on my floor?'

'Why are you waking me up so early?' I retorted.

'Because you have to go to school,' she replied, exasperated.

'I don't want to go to school.'

'Nobody wants to go to school.'

'No, I mean, I really don't want to go to school today,' I said, hoping she'd get the hint. Somehow she'd been blind towards my behaviour on the particularly bad days at school (then again, maybe that was the result of me hiding my feelings so well. Dad was always out working; he had big plans for the business and sooner or later we were planning to move abroad so he could set up base elsewhere. That was if the big business plan worked, of course). Sometimes I felt the need to tell her, but I felt that I would just be burdening her with my own problems when she had other things to deal with. A few names and trippings in the corridor is nothing, right?

'Yeah, but...' I trailed off, scrambling for an excuse as I sat up in bed, doing my best to look sleepy. 'I'm on my period and I have really bad cramps.'

She gave me a skeptical look as she glanced over at my calender. 'Your period was a week ago.' She walked over and sat on my bed. Oh no, she wasn't going to have another one of those heart-to-hearts, was she? Maybe this was a bad idea. 'Honey, what's wrong?'

'Nothing's wrong,' I mumbled, feeling slightly uncomfortable as Mum rubbed my leg from on top of my sheets. 'I just don't feel like going to school.'

'Something is wrong,' she said, giving me a knowing look. 'I know there is. Do...do you want to talk about it?'

I shook my head. 'Nothing's wrong, really, Mum. Can I just have a day off?'

She laughed, standing up. 'The day that I get a day off, you can, too. Until then, it's off to school for you.'

I groaned as I slipped out of bed and grabbed my uniform.

***

The morning was better than I hoped it would be. Then again, arriving to class late because I'd travelled via the longest routes possible hadn't been the greatest idea, but it had worked. I had Biology again and Mr Granger gaved me a strange look as I slowly walked towards the back of the classroom.

'Late again, Miss Reynolds,' he said, eyeing me carefully as he marked me as late into the register.

'I-I was on time yesterday, sir,' I said as I unpacked my books. Luckily for me, his attention wavered when Nick entered the classroom, even later than I was.

'And where have you been, Mr Brown?' he asked sternly.

Nick's eyes danced. 'I...I got lost on the way here, sir. Lost my map, too.'

That was a blatant lie and the whole class knew it. You could tell by the sweaty forehead and the messy hair that something was wrong. My suspicions were confirmed as Kai entered the classroom with a snarky grin on his face.

'Is there something going on here or is it just a coincidence that people are turning up to my class unusually late today?' Mr Granger asked, his eyebrows knitting together. 'Where have you been, Mr Banks?'