Not what I thought

Normalness

There's something soothing about magpie calls in the morning despite their fearsome springtime reputation. It's such an Aussie sound.

The morning is overcast, incredibly humid and the first morning in over three weeks without rain. All the grass is dewy, leaves still drip from last nights rain and puddles still sit in the gutters.

Mondays suck. No particular reason but it's just a Monday. My bag weighs about the same as an army pack. I'm convinced they're training us for war whenever it starts.

Third period maths is uneventful. The boys behind me argue about PVP shooter games, girls gossip about some guy they met on the weekend and I sit in the corner staring aimlessly out to the solid mass of clouds approaching.

Life is normal. Normal family. Normal house. Normal everything. Above average friends. Below average love life. Average-ish grades.

I sit next to my ex, not saying a word. For the two of us, music is the best medicine for a broken heart. The rest of the day is uneventful. I return home tired. Tired is my usual.

I'm always home first, around 3:25. Mum is usually home around 4:30 and dad, his times depend on where he is contracted to. I drop my bag next to my desk, remove my shoes and stare at myself in my mirror. I look like my usual untidy self.

"Cool. Whatever."

I grab whatever snacks I can find in the kitchen and return to my bedroom to watch whatever mildly interesting video I can watch on YouTube.

I love the quiet. It's good for thinking. I kinda lack a brain but I still like it. I find school deafening. I hate it. I'm an only child so it's always been quiet.

We have a small industrial area at the end of our street. At 3:30 every week day, they all go home. My street is a dead end. The only way out is down the street.

I'm cruising through YouTube, looking for videos when I hear a stream of engines going up the street. Matilda (Spawn of Satan), my cat, jumps off my bed and runs out towards the kitchen. She's a nervous cat, skittish, she's always running around for nothing. Maybe she wants to go outside? I put everything down and walk out of my room and look down the hallway into the dining. The cat comes sprinting back and hides under my bed with a tail almost the size of her body.

That's kinda weird. She only does that when there is another cat or a new person she doesn't know.

I'm starting to question those engine sounds. The phone rings, making me jump. I tip toe into the kitchen and answer the phone.

"Hello?"

"Charlotte, don't move."