I Solemnly Swear ☆ CAPTAIN SWAN

Chapter 7 ☆ Caught

            

☆ Eeeek, I know it's been a while! So why not give you a 4:20 am update 🙈

Just to refresh your memory: it's field trip day, the new kid gave Emma a new book on the bus and they just arrived in town. Okay, read on ;) ☆

The new kid's POV

Long after the group of kids had followed the other supervisors to the town mall, which was just behind the supermarket, her piercing blue eyes found mine and she came barging towards me.

"Has she figured it out yet?"

I sighed, because I knew she was going to ask that. The main reason for that was her impeccable capability of NOT noticing how someone was feeling, which she managed to hide most of the time. But not with me.

I didn't get why they sent Emma off to these nutters. I'd heard her talking bullshit about giving her her best shot, but that was all this was: bullshit. Regardless of her high position and years of experience, this was just stupid.

"She hasn't," I said.

"How come she—"

"She not a psychic, okay?" I snapped, trying to keep my voice steady. "She will eventually figure it out. She hasn't had enough time."

"Oh, she's had almost eleven years t—"

"Actually, she hasn't, because she's been stuck with the lousiest foster parents for most of that time," I cut her off, feeling the heat rising to my cheeks.

She couldn't actually be serious, right?

"Okay, just make sure you—" she started, wiping her face like she wanted to calm herself down, but I interrupted her again almost immediately.

"I know what I have to do. You don't have to remind me of that."

And I stared back at the coldest blue eyes I'd ever seen, holding her gaze until she was the one to turn away from me.

Emma's POV

Don't venture out on your own.

Stay in a group of at least three people, supervised by someone older than fourteen.

Be careful, be polite, and don't lose your money.

We were standing in front of the town mall, and the supervisors were giving us the traditional speech before we were allowed to go inside. Meanwhile, I was doing my usual moonwalk to the back of the group, to a point where I knew I could escape as soon as they were done talking.

I didn't have any interest hanging out with my classmates, and neither did they. Simple.

I kept my gaze focused on Miss Gerda, watching her lips move without actually listening to a word she was saying. When she eventually smiled and gave the little nod, marking the end of her speech, I was the first one to run for it.

I didn't notice how hot it had been outside until the glass doors of the mall slid open and a wave of cool air conditioning air washed over me. I shivered for a second, adjusting to the temperature, and then I glanced around me.

We always had an audience when we went to town. Little groups of kids were heading in different directions, and the other shoppers only had to look at us once to know that we were the Orphans of Tallahassee.

I hated that. I hated that people looked at us and pitied us, I hated that I was one of those poor kids who didn't have anywhere to go but the boarding school on the outer edge of city. The only thing I knew about my parents was that they weren't around, had never been around, and would never be around. I'd been on my own ever since I was a baby.

I got on the escalator to the first floor, to my favorite shop in the mall: the toy shop. Freddie Russell and his friends were heading upstairs too; they were making a game of waving at people who were going down the escalator, and laughing hysterically when the shoppers just looked at them with a confused look on their faces.

As soon as I got to the first floor, I squirmed my way through the crowd near the cash register of the toy shop. Usually, I would look at the smallest toys and pick out the best one I could get for two dollars, but this time was different. I went all the way to back, where it was quiet and it was just me, and there I dug the book out of my bag and read the title.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.

A smirk spread on my face; I had a few hours until I had to get back to the group.

I turned to the first page and from the moment I started reading, the toy shop around me transformed into a world where magic and wizards were real, and where I didn't feel like I was all alone.

* * *

"What are you doing back here?"

I jumped at the grunting voice of the shop owner; he was towering over me, big and threatening, and when I checked my watch I noticed that I'd been here for three hours.

"Reading," I said, pointing out the obvious, but before he got the chance to start yelling at me I swung my backpack over my shoulder and scrambled to my feet. "Thank you."

I had no idea why I said that. I ran past him, out of the shop, and I only stopped when I was back on the ground floor. My heart rate went back to normal; I could breathe again.

And the two dollars were burning in my pocket.

When I saw the sign of the grocery store, I didn't think twice and headed inside.

But maybe that wasn't my smartest idea. As soon as I caught sight of all the food, my belly reminded me that I hadn't had breakfast and started protesting viciously. I strolled through the aisles, trying to decide upon a decent breakfast.

Donuts. I skidded to a halt, pressing my hands against the glass showcase that kept me from grabbing all of them. After three seconds of resistance, my body decided for me and I headed back to the cash register with four donuts and the appetite of a wolf.

I waited behind an older lady that must've had the largest amount of groceries I'd ever seen. I let my gaze wander off as she put everything on the conveyor belt, and then I saw them.

Old 80s hits, next to a compilation CD of Simon and Garfunkel and some other old bands. But it was the Coldplay CD that caught my attention; I'd wanted this for ages.

I felt my intestines squirm when the thought occurred to me, and I almost felt sick for even considering it. No way. I wasn't just going to take it.

I bit my lip, looking from the donuts to the CD, and then at the ceiling.

There are no cameras.

So what? I hadn't even stolen a pack of gum before, let alone a CD, and I wasn't planning on changing that.

But the woman at the cash register isn't even looking. I could just grab it.   

With flushed cheeks and a terrible feeling of guilt spreading in my abdomen, I looked up at the cashier. She wasn't looking. No one was looking. Not a single person in the shop seemed to know of my existence.

I scooted closer to the CDs, trying to pretend that I was just looking, while the desire to grab it became overwhelming. I thought about the hours I'd spent listening to the same songs, and how boring it was starting to get.

Maybe...

Maybe I could...

"That will be all?" the lady said with a smile when it was my turn.

"Yes," I said a little too quickly as I smacked the donuts down on the conveyor belt. I was clutching the CD in my other hand, out of sight, and my heart was pounding a million miles an hour. I forced myself to keep walking, even though I couldn't feel my legs.

"That will be two dollars, please."

Don't smile at me like I'm innocent, I thought, because it made me feel even worse. I struggled to get the two dollars out of the pocket of my jeans, feeling my cheeks becoming even hotter when I failed to pull it out.

"Sorry, I just—" I started, but the rest of that sentence got stuck in my throat when someone yanked the CD out of my hand from behind me.