The Disclosed Secret

Chapter Six ~ A Jigsaw Puzzle

I woke with the sun streaming through the blinds in my room. But I wasn't fooled. The sun was there to try and convince me that it's warm outside, but I knew I would be chilled to the bone. It was October, of course it was cold. I sat up in bed, shivering from the lack of my warm duvet covers. I smelt burning. I fled from my bedroom and rushed down to the first floor.

"Dad?" I said.

"Morning pumpkin" he exclaimed.

"Dad, the toaster!" I said obviously.

"Oh holy Jesus!" he yelled, pulling the waffles up from the toaster.

"Oh Dad" I said sighing, as he deposited the black burnt waffles into the rubbish bin.

"Your mothers working a bit later tonight, and then she's going to go and see you Auntie Jenna for a while, so it's just us two tonight kiddo" Dad said. Mum worked as a solicitor and often didn't get back until half fiver - or later.

"Well, I'm meeting a friend at five, but I'll be back by eight, or half eight say?" I asked.

"Of course, but be back by dinner, that reminds me, what do you want for your dinner?" he asked, serving up fresh waffles for me and doused them in a little too much syrup and out them in front if me on a green plastic plate.

"Oh, just do whatever, I don't mind, I'll eat anything. See I'm eating burnt waffles with too much syrup on"

"Cheeky!" he laughed as I rushed upstairs to get changed. Our school is a non-uniform school and the schools motto is 'express yourself'. So I decided to express myself by pulling on some jeans, a grey 5SOS t-shirt, an indigo Lonsdale hoodie and my trainers. I pulled my long tightly curl hair into a fluffy ponytail and was ready to go. I said goodbye to Dad, stuffed my coat in my satchel and flung the straps of my heavy satchel over the handlebars of my bike. I stood up on my bike, wary of busy roads. It took me twenty minutes to get to school and it was still virtually empty. I locked up my bike in the bike sheds and walked into the toasty school. I walked to my locker at the other end of the hub and stuffed my satchel inside it, pulling out my Science and English book, as those were the two lessons I had next.

"Nice necklace" my best friend Kate appeared at my side. I realised she was talking about the jigsaw puzzle necklace that Tia from The Pearl Dimension had given to me. E one Lawrie had identical.

"Yes" I said, then whipped my hair out of the way and tried to pull the necklace from around my neck. I tried again to lift it but it wouldn't lift above my chin.

"One sec Kate, I just need to go get something, I'll see you in English" I said.

"Well, bye then Charlie?!" she called after me.

I needed to find Lawrie! I ran frantically through the corridors trying to take off the stupid necklace. I pushed open some double doors and bumped into none other than Lawrie himself. I grabbed his arms and steered him into a darker corner of the corridor.

"Woah, what the hell Charlie?!" Lawrie said.

"They don't come off!" I whispered.

"Which don't?" he replied.

I put my arms around his neck and tried to take off his necklace.

"See!" I hissed. He tried to take it off himself but was unsuccessful. Suddenly, I don't know why but me and Lawrie were pushed chest to chest.

"Jesus Christ!" I said. I saw both our necklaces attracting towards each other. We both grabbed them and shoved them under our t-shirts.

"What the hell?" asked Lawrie.

"I don't know, we'll have to ask Tia tonight" I said.

Lawrie nodded in agreement.

Lawrie Johnson was in my Science class. But Lawrie Johnson confused me. One minute he was angry, guarded and distant and the next he was kind and shy and grinning. We had to work in partners for a chemical explosion experiment. Kate nor Liz were on this class so I was paired up with Harry Brewster, the class clown. I had known Harry since nursery and had never liked him much, nor did I look forward to reacting chemical explosives with him. He kept messing around with the hydrogen oxide and lime water. Suddenly, the chemicals spilt all over the table.

"For God's sake Harry! Grow up!" I shouted, walking out of the science lab. I stood outside the door, seething with anger. Lawrie walked out.

"Are you okay?" he asked quietly.

"What?!" I asked in disbelief.

"I asked you if you were okay" he mumbled.

"Lawrie, you confuse me. One minute you hate me and the next your nice, please just choose one" I said iteratively.

"Charlie, you'll never understand. You have your perfect life with your perfect house and your perfect parents and-" he said.

"Well Lawrie, help me understand. We have to learn to get along, we're apprentices of a kingdom I'm finding it hard to believe exists and I'm wondering every minute whether or not I'm going mental!" I said.

"Okay, we'll try to get along" he nodded.

I smiled.

"After all we are kind of magnetised together" I said.

And I watched his mouth turn into a smile and his cheeks flush crimson.