HOT-SPOT RAIDERS

{K2} Only you can make a change

"She needs someone to look after her Sandy, you're getting older now and she is looking after you more than you look after her, I think..."
It was six-thirty on a Friday morning, just like it was every morning, and whispers could be heard from down the stairs.
Katherine sat up in her bed eagerly - she was a morning person - not unlike her grandmother, Sandy.

Katherine swivelled her legs around the side of her bouncy bed and walked out to the bathroom. The tiles on the floor were bitterly cold as she tiptoed across them. Katherine washed her face and brushed her teeth and hair before climbing over the creaky, wooden floorboards.

She got dressed in her outfit, bohemian style, while pelting down the stairs and rushing to butter some toast.

As soon as the butter hit the toast it melted like ice on fire. She ate it in one bite, hugged her grandma and informed her that there was milk in the fridge and food in the cupboards.

"Bye love,"

"See ya grandma."

The wind blew her hair ferociously as Katherine struggled to comb her fingers through the tangles.

She knocked on the door of her best friends' house and the twins arrived dressed defying the dress code rules with skirts too short and revealing cleavage.

"Hey Katherine!" They sang simultaneously.

"Hi girls, Reagan, Haley!" She winked back at them.

They gossiped throughout the walk to college and met other friends on the way as well as the twins' boyfriends; Morgan and Dallas.

The bell rang and the day went slowly, unusually slowly. So slow Katherine thought she had overtaken the day and was moving faster than time itself!

"Hey Katherine do you want to hang with us down the park?" Dallas screeched from across the football field. The twins knew how much she hated being the fifth wheel, so decided to let it slip occasionally when she said she was busy, but today Reagan spoke up.

"Hayden will be there~" she mocked. Katherine groaned internally as she waved them off while stifling a chuckle.

"You know I don't like him as much as I dislike being the fifth wheel, I'll see you tomorrow!" She yelled back backing away casually.

Katherine grabbed her bicycle- with a basket on the front she had decorated with pink roses- from her home, past the bakery and past the recognisable mechanics, waving at the garage owner Grant as she did so. Thankfully he allowed her to leave her bike with him as she ran off, the chain had broken so he offered to fix it.

Suddenly she came across a small ally way she hadn't ever paid heed to it before. She had walked this route thousands of times and never realised it had been there. Her curiosity grew as she heard music playing deeper in the ally way and she ventured forwards, completely forgetting about her job at the pharmacy.

Katherine loved chemistry and enjoyed making solutions of her own. She was quite an intelligent girl and had outstanding grades at school.

As she strolled along the alley way got darker. A damp smell filled her nose and a light could be seen. So she followed it.

As the light grew closer and closer Katherine made her way out the other side. She gasped not knowing what to think since she had never heard of a ally that lead to this in Mirestone.
It was a small cafe, engulfed in ivy, with beautiful hanging baskets and delicate flower pots. The glass windows were freshly polished and the wooden beams had been painted latterly.

In front of the cafe stood a boy-similar to her own age- sweeping the crumbling brown leaves from the floor. Katherine walked up to him and showed a friendly smile while opening the cafe door to sound a small tinkle from the bell.

"Welcome, would you like to take a seat," the lady had beckoned her forwards. The cafe was a retro one but was also a crossover of an arcade as well.

She nodded her head mutely yet politely and sat down on the table the lady was standing next to. She was handed a menu and examined the options as her tummy growled. Ravenous would be an understatement. She chose the classic BLT sandwich and some iced green tea. The music playing flooded Katherine's ears and cleared her mind as she stared, intrigued in the arcade machines.

Before her food arrived she calmly smiled and walked over to the game.

New high score!

A crowd started to gather as Kat played the new game like a professional, the group watching in awe.

"Table 17? BLT baguette and an iced green tea please!" Yelled a waitress causing Katherine to sit back down and raise her hand.

"There, anything else?"

"That's just right thank you." She grinned in response.

Placed ahead of her on the distressed wood was her drink in a delicate china teacup rimmed with golden paint, a crispy baguette with juicy tomatoes and lettuce, and a disk. No cover on the front except the words 'Hot-Spot raiders' in white swirly scrawl.

"Um, excuse me miss, I didn't order this?"

"Oh yes. It comes with your meal only, a special offer." She giggled which made Katherine grow in confusion.

'I guess I'll give it a go...' she thought.

"SHOOT! PHARMACY!" She screamed dashing out of the cafe and into the horizon, forgetting about her food yet still leaving the bill and a generous tip.