Eight Minutes

Prologue: Remi

"I can't believe you didn't tell me, you're supposed to be my friend!" I yell, Clyde sighs and rolls his eyes.

"I didn't want to upset you! I was trying to help!" He screams back, standing up.

"But you knew all this time!"

"Yeah, but..."

"I can't deal with you right now. I'm going home."

I turn and walk out of the library. Clyde sits back down and puts his head in his hands. I'll probably see him in a few hours. I live with him after all.

The road ahead is lit only by the lamps suspended from the clean walls of houses. The lamps alternate position with the solar explosion siren. Lamp, siren, lamp, siren. The pavement is damp from recent rain and I dodge the occasional puddle, not wanting to get my new shoes wet. They're white, big mistake. A few droplets of rain land on my head so I pull my hood over my blonde hair. The sky has a thin layer of grey cloud covering the full moon and I can spot one or two stars.

I turn into my street and climb the stairs to the front door. Number 12, white door with a silver letterbox. I test the handle and, discovering that it's open, walk inside. I am greeted by a wave of warmth and the smell of curry coming from the kitchen. I kick off my shoes and pad into the living room where Mark is sitting on the sofa watching TV.

"Hey Mark."

He glances up at me from the program he's watching.

"Oh, Hi Remi! Come watch TV with your father?"

I smile at him, I don't think I could ever call him my father even though he's starting to feel like one. He was just Mark, Clyde's funny dad, for the nine years I had my parents, why change now?

I plop down on the sofa and try to get interested in whatever documentary he's watching. I think it's on old fashioned methods of transportation. (Cue sarcastic voice) fascinating!

I can't stop thinking about Clyde. He was starting to feel more like a brother than a friend. I thought he trusted me but I guess I thought wrong. I never kept secrets from him, I told him when my friends were blocking me out and not including me in their plans. He told me when he had fallen off his chair in class and everyone laughed at him. We never took things too seriously, always found a way to laugh about stuff but not this.

I hear the front doorknob turning. Probably Clyde coming home. I get up and go to my bedroom. It used to be the spare room but Mark and Lacy let me have it. They accepted me which was nice. I never felt like I was intruding on their family, I just felt like I almost was one of the family. I grab a book and lie down on my bed to read it. I have only read the first paragraph when Clyde comes into my room.

"You know, you really should knock."

He ignores my comment and sits down on my bed, almost making me fall off.

"Look, Remi, I'm really sorry I didn't tell you. I promised mum and dad I wouldn't and I didn't want to break a promise. I didn't know you'd find out about them anyway. I thought they would've told you but apparently not."

"But Clyde! We promised to always be honest with each other. Now that I know you've kept this secret from me how do I know there's not other stuff as well?"

"I swear on my life, that's the only secret I've ever kept from you."

I hate being angry at Clyde but I don't think I can ever forgive him. Not for something like this. It's not like when I beat him at Mario Karts and he said he won, or when he took the last cupcake when I was saving it. Those times I forgave him as soon as he said sorry, this time I don't think I can. It's alright being sorry but he did it in the first place, that means everything.

I bite my lip, fighting with myself. No I won't give in. He deserves every minute of me not talking to him.

"Your dads watching some old documentary in the living room, maybe you want to join him?"

Clyde takes the hint and leaves. I put my head inside the pages of the book I'm reading and inhale. I always loved the smell of books. Clyde always said that books don't smell of anything but I disagree. If you're really looking then it's easy to pick out their scent.

When Lacy calls us for dinner I sit as far away from Clyde as possible. I don't think Mark or Lacy notice anything different but I can see Clyde picking at his food. Curry is his favourite meal, he must be pretty upset. I try not to feel guilty, it's his fault. If he wanted to enjoy his dinner, he shouldn't have kept secrets from me that are about me. Sort of.

Dinner finishes quicker than usual and I go to my room to watch a film by myself. I can hear Clyde with his parents downstairs, watching something on the TV. I switch off my iPad and get into bed. Maybe I'll forgive him in the morning. Maybe I won't. Who knows.

I fall asleep quickly, listening to the sounds of the family getting ready for bed. Winding up the day. I hear Clyde climb up the stairs and walk into the room next to mine. We used to share but then I took the spare room. My bed is warm and soft underneath me, I clutch my teddy that I've had since I was born, Teds. He's a big bear with a smile that stretched right across his face. When my parents died, Lacy found a picture of me as a baby, sitting on Teds, gazing up at him. He makes me look so small, so insignificant. I still feel small and safe whenever I'm with Teds.

When I wake up it's still dark outside. I check my alarm clock, 2:58 am. Why have I woken up so early? I always manage to sleep through my alarm clock. I never wake up before 7:15! After a moment of confusion, I hear the reason I woke up. The my solar explosion siren is flashing and wailing, a timer counting down: it's at 8:12 minutes. 8:12 minutes until the world comes to an end.