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chapter three: bella

chapter three - bella

✥ Arabella ✥

I brush my gold streaked hair out of my face as I hurry down the streets carrying a large and heavy file full of Clary's stuff for her interview. She rarely forgot stuff this important, and it was usually her doing this for me. It's magical really; Clary forgetting her stuff for a BBC Radio 1 interview? Wow.

And of course, I feel guilty that I always made her run around passing me my folders that I have forgotten, making her drive all the way around the university campus just for me. And that is also why I was actually skipping one of my Sociology lectures to deliver this to her like, a kabillion miles away from the campus.

I have my fur-lined trench coat wrapped around my body tightly to keep out the intense cold of the season. The chokingly cold air made it hard to run, so I had to brisk walk my way out of the tube to the BBC building, which I know is about 4 blocks away.

Me, being clumsy, of course I bump into someone (correction: many people). I mutter rushed apologies and continue walking toward the destination.

Shoot. She's got only 6 minutes to the interview and she needs her stuff!

I have no option but to break into a run - my lungs feeling dragged down by the freezing air.

I arrive wheezing at the gates of the BBC skyscraper, and I jog into the lobby to find Clary's dainty figure, back toward me, leaning against the wall. Why on earth would she be leaning against the wall?

"Clary!" I shout/gasp, she turns as she hears her name. I jog toward her, and I lean against her to catch my breath. "I'm so sorry- I should've left earlier!"

"Don't apologize," She replies, taking the stack of papers from my arms, "It was my fault for forgetting them anyway. Thanks so much for bringing them."

I gasp out pleasantries back, while I continued to pant from the intensive running from the tube to the building.

For an unknown reason, Clary's eyes widen a little with shock, and she taps my shoulder tentatively. I turn around to see what she's looking at, and I come to find her gazing at two pretty chubby policemen. She's acting pretty weird today. Nerves, or what...?

"Hello officers, how may I help you this evening?" She asks in her puke-worthy goody-goody voice. Yep, she is up to something.

"Have you ladies seen a teenage boy, roughly around your age in here?"

"No officer. The only person that has been here for the past ten minutes was I, Sir." She replies, tapping her heel-clad foot in an anxious manner against the marble floor.

Did my Clary just lie to a policeman?

"I only just got here," I pipe up in my sweetest voice. If anything, I better lie too, to protect Clary. My curiosity aches to find out what's the real story behind this.

"I see." The second policeman surveys the lobby with squinted eyes, then says, "Well, you girls have a nice evening."

"You too!" Both of us reply, and I even dare to give a small wave, though acting as if this whole situation confuses me.

I watch the two policemen walk around the lobby for a little more and then make their way to the grand doors of the building, appearing to talk nervously to each other as they walked.

I swivel round to meet Clary, looking satisfied with herself. I puff out and ask, "Okay, what the flip are you hiding."

She sighs, biting her lip. Nervous habit of hers! "I may or may not have just lied to those policemen."