Ad Lib

3 | @sunriseshine88

"Here's an idea: why don't you wake up early next time? If you get up early, you don't have to wait for me."

Jemma rolled her eyes at her sister's comment. She's late again; what's new? She wasn't able to wake up early because the Meerson kids had kept her up late last night.

"Why don't you hurry up already so I can have my turn?" Jemma snapped back.

Amy sighed loud enough for Jemma to hear through the bathroom door. "It's not my fault that you're a sleepyhead."

Amy finally left the bathroom after what seemed like seven hours. Jemma rushed in and immediately prepared for the day ahead.

+ + +

The cold air whipped her dark curls as Jemma stepped out of the house, and she clutched her hands together to keep them warm. Looking around, she noticed that Luke was not waiting in his usual spot.

Maybe he's a little late today, Jemma thought. And so she waited. It's not that bad, she told herself. Luke always patiently waits for me, and now it's the other way around.

Yet several minutes passed, and her friend was nowhere to be found.

Luke, where on earth are you?

Jemma glanced down at the time for what seemed like the millionth time and gasped. It was 7:57, meaning there were only three minutes left until her first class. She didn't have time to wait any longer. With one last regretful glance in the direction of Luke's house, Jemma jumped on her bike and pedalled as fast as she could. Before long, she reached the school.

Grace immediately pummelled her with questions. "What took you so long? Why are you so late? And... where's Luke?!"

Jemma shrugged and got out of her bike, not looking her friend in the eye. "He wasn't around when I came out of the house."

Suddenly, Grace's phone chimed loudly, causing the two girls to jump from surprise. Grace fished out her iPhone from her bag and checked the screen. "I got a message from Luke!"

"What did he say?" Jemma asked impatiently.

Grace's expression fell as she read the message. "He said he won't be able to come to school today. He has to do some stuff. Then he used a smiley face."

Jemma's face filled with concern. Luke never used smiley faces. Something was up. "I have a bad feeling about this, Grace."

Grace, who knew Luke just as well to mirror Jemma's thoughts, sighed. "Me too, Jemma. Me too."

+ + +

Lunch came around, and all she could think about was him. Hundreds of scenarios had passed through her thoughts in the past few hours. Could he have a family problem so bad that he had to stay home?

Grace was really worried too. In fact, Luke was all they could talk about.

"What if aliens kidnapped him?!" Grace exclaimed.

"I don't think that's possible." Jemma replied while eating a tuna sandwich. Usually, such a remark from Grace could bring her to smile. Today, it didn't.

"What could possibly be so awful that he had to stay home and keep it from us?" Grace asked no one in particular.

Jemma sighed. "I was wondering that too."

"I really hope that he's okay," Grace said. "Maybe we could visit him after school?"

Jemma agreed, nodding vigorously. "Yeah. Maybe he'll tell us what's up."

+ + +

Their classes were agonisingly long. Each minute felt like an hour and every hour was like day, until finally, the last bell of the day rang. Jemma speed-walked to Grace's locker to meet her friend. They rode their bikes to Luke's house, and Jemma rang the doorbell while Grace parked up nearby.

Luke's Mom, Mrs. Taylor, opened the door. She greeted them with a smile. "Hello girls! What brings you here?"

"We're here to see Luke. Is he home?" Jemma asked politely.

"Oh! He isn't home yet. He's probably still at school."

"What?!" Grace exclaimed. Jemma was equally shocked. "But he wasn't in school all day! We thought he was at home."

"Really? But I saw him off this morning." Her eyebrows furrowed together in concern, and Jemma and Grace exchanged worried glances. What had happened to Luke?

+ + +

Jemma couldn't think straight that evening, worry about Luke filling her mind. She tried calling him on his phone but he didn't pick up. Just when she was near giving up, her phone started ringing. After initial shock - she wasn't expecting a call back - Jemma shot out her hand to grab the phone from her bedside table.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Jemma." There was a pause. Then, "It's Grace."

"Hey Grace." Jemma said, slightly disappointed. "I'm really concerned about Luke."

"Yeah. Me too. " Grace sighed. "Do you think he could have ran away?"

"I-" Jemma was about to reply to her friend but was interrupted by her mother calling her name from the living room.

"Grace, I have to go. My mom is calling me." Jemma said.

"Okay. I'll... I'll call you again later. Bye."

"Bye."

Jemma ended the call and rushed to the living room. Her parents were sat on the couch while Amy was reclining on one of the armchairs.

Jemma's family only had meetings like this when something big was up. It could be good news, but there was equal chance of bad news. Jemma hoped for something good, not wanting to deal with yet another problem.

"What's up, mom?" Jemma asked. "Why are we all here?"

"Guess what, Jemma and Amy!?" Their mom said, barely able to contain her excitement. "I have a new job!"

Jemma smiled. Good news, then. Thank God. "That's great!" Jemma was happy for her; her mom had been looking for months.

"Right. Okay. Can we go to our rooms now? I still have so much important stuff to do and I don't have time tomorrow." Amy groaned.

"Yeah, even though all you do is watch silly unicorn videos." Jemma sneered.

"No I don't!" Amy cried. "Besides, they're not 'silly unicorn videos'. They're about ponies and friendship!"

"Aha! So you do watch kiddy, pony, whatever-it-is stuff on YouTube!" Jemma teased.

"No I don't!"

"Yes you do!"

"No I don't!"

"Yes you do!"

"Girls! Please stop!"

Both girls promptly ceased their bickering and turned toward their mother. Silence flooded the room.

"What?" Amy groaned.

"Girls, since my new job is located at a different state..." Their mother's sentence trailed off softly.

At first, Jemma didn't understand. Then suddenly, she realized.

"We have to move," Their father continued.

Jemma wanted to scream her frustration out. No - it can't be true, it can't be true...

"When?" Amy asked, still quite shocked from the news.

"Next month."

"Next month?! That's way too soon!" She protested.

Jemma shut her eyes tightly, wishing that this entire day had just been a wicked dream.

+ + +

Edited for sentence structure and heightened tension.