Chapter 10 Realisations I felt like a spy, but in the most uncomfortable position EVER.

. I was crouched on the window seat with my laptop on my knees, craning my neck to see out of the window. I opened up a document and typed a few sentences so it would seem like I was doing my essay, when in fact, I was waiting and watching for my dad to come home. He was late... It was making me nervous. My fingers drummed on the window sill. Carrie? Mum popped her head round the door. Dinner in a few minutes, ok? Yeah, I murmured, still looking out of the window into the rain. Carrie? she said more firmly. I could feel her eyes boring into me, so slowly looked round to match her stare. Yes, mother? I didnt mean for it to come out rudely and she recoiled a little at the harshness in my voice. Sorry - I began but she waved it away. I heard something about a school trip? she inquired. Oh, right, yeah. Here you go. I handed her a pen with the slip to sign it. Its a maths trip? Sounds like so much fun! she smiled at her own joke. Oh Mum, youre so funny, I muttered, snatching the slip back playfully. The information evening is this Thursday so please make sure that you or

um... Dad, can come. Speaking of him, where is he? I tried to sound casual. Since when do you worry about your Dad, huh? He just picked up an extra shift at the gardening centre so hell be home soon, dont you worry, she answered as she left the room. And come down in a few minutes for dinner. Yes Mum, I said as politely as I could to cover up for earlier. I began looking out of the window just in time to see my Dads car pull into the driveway. He looked annoyed and I was going to find out why. Time to play detective! I scrambled off the seat, causing a stack of papers to fly everywhere, but carried on and stumbled quickly down the stairs to the dining room. As I rushed past the hall way murmuring a Hey Dad, I noticed he was sopping wet from the rain. I dont think he even heard me; he was far away in his own little world. I sat and waited for him with my Mum at the table and literally watched the food get cold. He was really taking his own sweet time. Just as I was about to ask if we could start, he came in and sat down. Ahh right, he sighed. Sorry about being late. Ive had a horrible day. What happened? Mum asked as she served the food. He sighed before launching into the story. This lad must have been about your age- he gestures to me. -Id seen him wandering in circles about the store, but he came up to me as if he was going to ask me something. Then when I turn around to help him he just completely shuts

down on me! He just stares at me and doesnt say a word! It was so strange! And then, on top of that, he runs away, from me! He shook his head. You know what; I think I recognised him too. He might have been from your school, Carrie. What did he look like? I asked, a strange feeling beginning to settle in my stomach. Erm... He was an English lad, dark brown hair, about the same height as me probably. Will immediately sprung into my mind but I tried to shrug it off. Well that just about describes every guy at school! I joked uncomfortably. We continued to eat but my mind wandered to Will again; I couldnt shake the feeling that my dad was talking about him. And then my boss proceeds to yell at me for scaring customers away! I didnt even do anything to that boy, he just . Dad threw his arms up in the air exasperatedly. After that, dinner conversation was minimal tonight and everyone had slipped into silence. I wolfed my food down and then waited, for what seemed like an age, for my parents to finish. I glanced at my Dad curiously. Even the thought that what I saw in my dream was actually real and meant something was doubtful but nevertheless, the thought still nagged me at the back of my mind. Everything else in the dreams seemed to be true like the fact that the guy was Will, an actual person, and his Dad was killed exactly like that. It was too accurate for it not to mean anything...

A loud click brought me back to the present. My Dad was waving his hand in front of my face and clicking his fingers. Earth to Carrie? Mum and Dad laughed. What? I huffed annoyed. Hey chill out, Dad said leaning back. You were daydreaming, thats all! What was it about? Mum asked smiling. Too uncomfortable to respond for fear of saying something about my daydream, I excused myself hastily, mumbling something about my essay. Eager to get away from my parents, I said goodnight and rushed upstairs only to be further annoyed by the mess I had left my room in. Picking my way through sheets of paper, I sat down on my chair with a sigh. I needed to actually do some work and less spying so I opened up my laptop. Only three sentences into my essay and an alert popped up on my screen a Facebook message. I opened it up to find that it was from Will saying Can we talk? Its important. No smiley faces it must be serious. Before I could reply there was a knock on my door. Hey Carrie, how was school today? Dad asked conversationally as he leant against the doorframe. Oh, erm... You know, the usual, I replied vaguely, swivelling on my chair and avoiding his gaze. I peeked up at him but his gaze had shifted to the laptop, his eyes wide.

Dad..? What are you looking at? I asked cautiously. I followed is gaze to the alert on the screen. Wait a second. He inched closer to the screen, peering closely at the message from Will. I waved my hand in front of his face as if to wake him from a daydream. Erm Dad, do you mind? Ive got the whole private conversation thing going on right now- Its HIM! he exclaimed. That damned boy from today. Whats his name? He squinted at the screen. My stomach clenched uneasily. It seemed like all my hunches were turning out to be right. His names Will. Are you sure it was him? I asked hoping it was a mistake. Hmm... Will? Hes your friend isnt he? Dad enquired Uh... Well, actually it turns out its a little more than that but we havent really talked about it much. But he does like me and I like him and he did kiss me although that was really unexpected and I totally freaked out for a second but then I did kiss him back. But nothing much has happened since then and..., and Im rambling so Im just going to stop there... ... yeah you could say that. Do me a favour and tell him that if he actually wanted something at the gardening centre, ALL HE HAD TO DO WAS TALK TO ME! Dad said in a loud and clear voice as though I was stupid. I rolled my eyes at him. Tell him to use WORDS next time. Its called COMMUNICATION! he finished and stormed out of my room slamming the door behind him.

I turned back to my laptop and replied to Will saying Im really sorry but can we talk tomorrow? I have an essay due and Ive barely started xx After a few minutes I got a reply back: Sure no problem. Night. I hated leaving like that; it seemed like it was urgent. Anyway, I turned it off and settled down to do my essay. *** I headed to bed soon after completing my essay but couldnt sleep with my mind full of stuff about what Will was going to tell me, my Dad possibly have killing his Dad and whether or not I was going to tell him that I knew. The dream came again, same as the last time and I awoke with a chill running down my spine. Apprehensive of the day ahead, I made my way to school. I didnt see Will all day. He wasnt in any of my classes but we usually spent lunch sitting together. It was odd... I felt like he was ignoring me even though he said he needed to talk to me. Maybe I could catch him at the information evening tonight. As soon as I thought about it, the clenching feeling in my stomach appeared. I had learnt by now it was never a good sign...