The Broken Record Player

Chapter 3

        I start digging, my eyes swelling up, thinking about how I might split up from my family. My life. I hear my name from above me. I look up wiping my eyes as I do, now getting mud on my cheeks. It's Alana.

"It's our hour break! Ready to go? Wait. Are you alright?" I don't want to lie, but I have to. I need to.

"Ummmm yeah, I just..." I look down to my foot "I, got angry with this world, and I pushed my shovel hard in the ground, then I noticed it wasn't the ground, it was my foot. A little painful, that's all." And my lie is complete.

"Wow, okay then. Here, give me your hand." She reaches out to grab my hand. I grab it and she lifts me up. When I am up she grabs a tissue from her pocket and wipes my face, from mud and tears.

"Thank you. Thank you for everything." I smile and try and hide my watery eyes.

"Excuse me? I'm the one who should me thanking you! You saved me from living on the streets!" She looks at my foot, "Anyway, why did that Redder want you?" Great, now what do I say?

"He wanted to know my family tree, there was a computer problem with our family list of names." I lie again. She will find out.

"Sound weird. It's over now! Want to get something to eat at the loop?" The loop is a restaurant that Alana and I go to almost every break. I start nodding, and then I remember I need to meet that Redder by 6.

"What's the time?" I notice she has a watch on.

"5:45, well we have been chatting for a little!" She starts laughing, but I don't want to fake laugh, or she will start to get my lies.

"I'm sorry, I need to go to the square, to collect something." I hate this lying.

"Oh, I will come with, if you want." No. No. No.

"I really just want to take a walk by myself if that's alright?" Oh god, I really don't like this.

"Yep. Okay. If there is anything you want to talk about, just talk to me. Okay?"

"Okay." We both stand up and start walking is the opposite direction, I look back at her, but she doesn't. I don't want to lose her.

        There he is. Standing literally right in the middle of the square. I walk to him, and he shakes my hand. Too tightly though. He is squeezing my knuckles together.

"Thank you for coming." He says.

"Who wouldn't come when you have the answers to their questions?" I laugh, hesitantly. A little scared that I am talking to someone who has the right to kill me at any second.

"My name is Charlie, just saying. And you are Hailey. Sorry just double checking it's you, and not some random freak who dressed up as you." He looks nervous. Like he is hiding something or just nervous to be here. He does the boy thing when they put their hands in their front pockets, whilst rubbing his hands down his jeans before reaching his pockets. To get sweat off his hands I guess.

"So what are the answers?" I'm not nervous unlike him. I just want my answers.

"Okay, so when the Pops were looking through your family tree, they found what they call 'a broken record player'." I look at him confused.

"Which means?"

"It means, that there is a sequence in your family somehow, maybe missing every other generation or something, and you are the next person in this sequence." He looks more nervous, he looks kind, but I don't know if I should trust him with this, he might be telling lies.

"What do you mean? What did those people do who are in the sequence?" Charlie suddenly grabs my arm and takes us behind a wall, in an alleyway.

"Well they all had a good friend, too close maybe. And they all tried to change the world." Still looking confused, I ask another question.