My secret neighbour

Chapter four- Thief

Groaning I woke to the sound of Riley shouting my name.

I rubbed my eyes and slowly got up, looking to my bedside clock I realised I'd fallen asleep. Walking slowly I hesitantly opened my door.

"What!" I shouted.

"Lunch!" Riley answered.

Groaning again I made my way downstairs.

"Ah she lives." My mother laughed.

"Sorry" I mumbled as I sat down," thank you for lunch" I smiled at my mother. She just smiled back.

"Dad do you know of any jobs around town?"

"No sorry, but you can come and work with me today at the market, Peters got a cold."

Nodding I took a bite out of my sandwich.

Oscar looked at me and smirked and I knew he was thinking about the deal we made.

"You better eat quickly tho we've got to be there in ten minutes." He said taking another bite.

Nodding again I began to eat faster. Looking up from my plate I saw that my father had already finished and was now washing up his plate. Quickly I stood from my seat a half eaten sandwich in one hand and my empty plate in the other.

"Maddison sit down and finish!" My mother called to me as I made my way to the sink.

I quickly ate my sandwich and turned to face my mother," gone!" I explained. My mother gave me an unimpressed stare so I turned back around and started washing my plate up in the sink.

"Madison I'll wait in the truck." My father explained as he put his coat and shoes on.

"Ok, I'll only be a minute." I called to my father as I grabbed my bag, put my shoes on and ran out the house.

"Madison you forgot your coat" I heard my mother call me from inside the house. Rolling my eyes I went back into the warmth of my home to retrieve a coat, slinging it over my shoulder I closed the door and made my way to the truck my father was waiting in.

Opening the door I noticed he was looking down at his watch.

"You were two minutes thirty five." He smiled at me in a mocking tone.

"Its a saying dad, it doesn't necessarily mean I'll be an exact minute." I sighed as I put my seat belt on. I don't trust dads driving, or his truck, it's a rust bucket, basically a death trap on wheels. Mum keeps asking him to scrap it and get a new car but he's adamant he's not getting ride off it.

It's bright red... The only good thing about it being bright red is we never lose it in a carpark. It's so red it practically glows. It's not normal to say the least. If dad drops me off at school when I'm running late I ask him to drop me a couple of streets from school, even if it's raining.

Town isn't very far from where we live. Meaning when you run out of milk or fancy a cup of tea at a cafe it's not too far to walk. But on the down side, sometimes traffic can get hectic, especially when farmers sell there livestock at the market. Lucky that's only three or four times a year.

Finally we pulled up in the town carpark. The town didn't look to busy but I guess it was still early. As I opened the truck door it let out a blood curdling screech sending shivers down my spine. I hopped out of the truck and made my way round the back to help father lift the boxes of merchandise and carry them to the stall, just round the corner in the town centre.

Greeting the locals I set up the stall and prepared to sell the merchandise.

"Farmer Jack," an old friend of my fathers called to him as he approached the stall.

"Hello Earl, would you like to buy any eggs?" I smiled.

"You know your father once told me that these eggs were born from royalty!" He laughed.

"Well you always were a gullible one Earl" my father laughed.

"Madison do you mind if I borrow your father I need to have a private word with him." I smiled and nodded.

"I'll be right back" my father explained as he followed Earl into the crowd of people.

I stood at my family stool and served people for a hole two hours and my father still wasn't back. Most of the stalls were packing up and leaving as the street needed to be reopened to allow the growing traffic past.

Looking round one last time I still couldn't see my father so I decided I'd better start to pack up the stall. The boxes were still heavy as i didn't sell much of our merchandise.

"Hey, you need a hand?" A voice I recognise spoke.

I looked up from the boxes to see non other then Zak.

Smiling I excepted his help.

"What are you doing out here running a stall all by yourself?" He asked intrigued.

"Why do you think I can't do it alone?" I raised my eyebrows as I laughed," I came here with my father but he had to go and talk to an old friend. He said he'd be right back... That was two hours ago." I explained.

"Wow, he seems like a nice father!" Zak said sarcastically.

"Actually he is" I suddenly become protective.

"Sorry I didn't mean it like that, it's just that my father and I didn't get along I just assumed you and your father didn't either by your comment." He tried to get out of the hole he'd dug for himself.

"It's ok, and I'm sorry to hear you and your father don't get along."

" it's fine, it's not your fault, sometimes parents just don't understand there children."

"Yeah, it's a shame." I said with a sad smile.

One of the men in charge of the market was asking all stall owners to pack up so they could hurry up and open the road.

Zak and I started to load the truck up with the unsold merchandise we packed away all but one before my father came back.

Zak and I were talking and laughing with one another that was until my father came over and demanded that Zak was to leave me alone.

I apologised to Zak as he walked away only to receive a dark glare from my father.

"Maddison, I don't want you to talk to that boy again, do I make myself clear." My father shouted at me.

"What?, no!" I agued.

"Maddison get in the truck now!" My father screamed at me.

I flinched at his tone of voice and did as I was told. I opened the passenger door and sat in the truck waiting for my father.

My father picked up the last box put it in the truck and got in the drivers seat.

"Maddison I'm not saying you can't see him because I can, I'm saying it because he's a bad person and I don't want you to get hurt or caught up in his mischief."

"What are you on about, you don't even know him he's really nice!" I tried to defend him.

"Maddison you don't know him!, the reason earl wanted to talk to me was because someone has been stealing from him and we've led to believe it's that boy!" My father explained.

Now that father had explained his reason for not letting me speak to Zak I felt a sinking feeling. I couldn't believe someone so nice would go behind someone's back and steal from them. But then again, what if it's his only means of survival. The only way he'll get a meal.