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Chapter One ~ Bacon and Tea

It was a Monday morning. I was on my way to the local charity shop: Carol's Collections. I had been doing work experience there for quite some time and even though it wasn't the most exciting place to work, it was full of interesting and weird stuff. There were ancient relics, the majority of which were old and tattered books as well as intriguing statues from the 1600s. Or at least that's when Carol says there from. Carol, the charity shop owner, was a kind yet eccentric person. She wore rounded circular glasses and a large necklace with a single green eye. I honestly think she's as old as some of the books. Her husband, Barry, ran the local butchers next door. He had the same large nose and eccentric personality as his wife.

I got off bus number 54 and strolled down the street, passing the new swimming complex and the cheese shop which was going out of business. I saw the 50% off posters in the window as well as the 'for rent' sign. It was only 7am so the streets were fairly quiet and most of the shop lights were out. I stopped at my favourite cafe 'Cafe Well-Bean' for a quick tea and bacon roll before my shift officially began. The usual barista Geoff was serving. To work in Cafe Well-Bean, employees must be rather overly optimistic. This applied to Geoff perfectly. As I entered the cafe Geoff immediately recognised me.

"Morning Skye," he said cheerily. "How's life?"
I smiled. "Oh, you know. Boring as usual."
"Well, have a happy day!" he exclaimed, waving me out of the shop.

I took my tea and bacon roll and left the now empty cafe. The sun was beginning to rise so I decided to sit down on a park bench and eat my breakfast. Watching the sun, I began to think about a plot for my English narrative coursework. I love to write murder mystery books as I can often string together convoluted murder plots. Since I do a combined honours in English and Music, I also need to start composing my piece which I haven't thought about at all yet. Being so lost in thought, I didn't realise that time was marching on, and I needed to be at the shop in five minutes.

I raced down the street and turned the corner where Carol's old charity shop barely stood. The walls were covered in graffiti and an old sign slouched against the dusty window. As people entered the shop they were welcomed by an ancient bell which hung just above the creaky door. I'm surprised it hasn't fallen on a customer's head yet. But to be fair we really don't get that many customers. I heard a loud crash and a subsequent yell followed by the appearance of a cheery Carol entering from the storage room. I said hello.

Carol grinned and said, "Did you know that a slug has four noses? Absolutely fascinating. They must be able to smell a sausage roll from miles away!"

I just smiled. By now, I was used to Carol's unorthodox greetings.