Tandem

Raechel Harchey

 The Next Morning

"I'm heading for a shower little man, I'll be back in a second. I will make you some brekkie as soon as I'm done." Just as Raechel slipped on her shoes and pulled on a hoodie, she heard her phone vibrate. The screen lit up to reveal a message from Jack, 'I'm visiting a friend nearby to you later, want to meet up when I'm done?'

She texted back a quick 'That would be lovely! I'll meet you at Rowlands Green' before lowering herself out of the Nook, down the ladders and walking towards the shower block.

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A strong wind sent the autumn leaves spiralling around Raechel and Jack as they approached the Stack. They were surrounded by children playing together in the huge leaf piles. Raechel noticed Jack smile to himself as they walked past a little boy rolling down a pile as though it were a grass mound. Every so often he would squeal with sheer delight when he reached the bottom.

"I'm getting dizzy," the boy shouted as they walked past. "Too dizzy to do it again?" Jack replied, stopping beside him.

"Nope, never too dizzy to go again." The little boy had barely finished his sentence before he ran up onto the top of the pile and threw himself down again. The boy beamed up at him and Jack beamed back.

"I'm Louie," the boy said. "What's your name?"

"I'm Jack and this is my friend Raechel." Raechel waved at the little boy.

"Is that your cat?" He asked, pointing to Alpha was snuggled in Raechel's arms.

"Yes, his name is Alpha."

"I know you. You live in the Stack too."

"I do," she nodded. "I live near the top."

"I live in the middle." He said proudly. There was something about him that reminded her of Charlie. She couldn't work out whether it was the dark curls, the dimples that formed when he smiled or his infectious giggle but there was something about him that made it feel as though she were talking to her brother.

"Well it was nice to meet you but I'm going to get back to playing now. Goodbye Jack and Raechel." Louie didn't wait for their reply. He had already run off to join his friends before they could respond.

"He's sweet," Jack said. "Kinda reminds me of what I was like when I was his age."

"You liked rolling around in leaves?"

"I liked doing whatever it was that my mum told me not to do. If she said don't do something because I'd get covered in mud, I'd nearly always do it."

The two continued walking, with Jack kicking away the leaves from the path as they went. Alpha rested his head on Raechel's shoulder and took in his surroundings as they meandered along the pathway.

Raechel heard Jack's sharp intake of breath as the trees cleared to reveal the Stack.

"Welcome to my home." Raechel said, turning to face Jack. He stared up at the building before him in complete and utter awe. His mouth gaped like a goldfish and his eyes were wide with disbelief. Raechel couldn't quite tell if his expression was one of disgust or awe.

"I never even knew this place existed," he said. His eyes hadn't left the enormous structure since it had first come into view. "Which one is yours?"

"Mine's just up there," she said, pointing to a Nook extremely high up. "The one with the purple curtain."

"Oh I see it. Does that mean you're going to climb all the way up there?"

Raechel smiled. "Yeah."

"That's really high."