Preface Part 2

I’ve decided to spend a bit more time on the editing and polishing of my new book, so I won’t be releasing it until the end of July or the beginning of September.

But I realised that I hadn’t posted the second half of Chapter One, so here it is! Sorry it took so long!

Part Two

“Pick it up boys. We have a few hours of dark left, we cannot be out her once dawn breaks, we are it easy range. I want nice smooth rowing, no splashing the water. I want total silence.” No one answers. Karl pulls himself gently and slowly up to the bench watching the coastline with me.

“To your right.” Karl says. I follow along the coast back and forward. I can’t see anything. No movement, nothing.

“I can’t see it.”

“Straight ahead.”

“Slow down.” I say to Luca, realising what Karl is talking about, it’s in the water. All four oars drop down at the same time and we glide to a stop I hand the binoculars over to Luca.

“Look in the water.” I say.

He mutters something to himself. “Right, you are going to bring us in and around them.”

“There are too many, and there’ll be plenty more below.” I say, my hand twitches, wanting rub at my neck. I don’t want to be responsible if we sink.

“This is where we land. We have to get through it, guide us through. Quietly.” He winks at me.

I take the binoculars back and lift them quickly to my eyes. “Straight ahead there is a four foot rock. To your right there is a three foot rock.”

“To your left there is an eight foot rock, but you have a six foot wide clearance, the others are only four and we won’t fit.” Karl says.

“You heard them boys, round to your left. Keep it slow and steady.” He says quieter than the wind.

“Mark, turn there.” Luca says looking down into the water. “You’ve got inches, try not to touch the rock, we need all oars in one piece.” Luca nods at whatever Mark’s doing. “That’s it boys bring it through nice and slow. William where to?”

“Stay straight. There’s a few more big ones. Stop, stop.” I say urgently and too loud. My voice lifts over the wind, “stop.” I say quieter. “Underneath us.” The boat lurches as everyone’s heads drop to the side of the boat. I thought it was the wind moving the tops of the water, but its two dozen tiny razor sharp rock tips right beside us. There will be some touching the bottom of the boat right now.

Luca squints into the darkness. “Good work William, where do we go?”

I don’t know, we’re a quarter of a mile off the coast, and I can’t see anything but the sharp, pointed tips of wet, black ragged rocks rising out of the water.

“William?”

“Move back a little, then to the side.” I nod my head, confirming the plan to myself. “Move to the right, then hold your oar down and see what’s under there, move it around a bit under the boat, make sure we’re not riding on anything.”

The boat inches back toward the massive rock behind us, then gently to the right before Luca drops his oar and feels around in the water. “It’s clear.”

“Then run this way a bit. We going to need to check every little bit. I can’t see what’s under the water.”

High on the cliff light suddenly appears out of the night, illuminating a group of tanks sitting on the edge on the land, guns pointed out over the water, then it shuts of just as quickly. Faint gunfire is carried our way over the wind.

Luca holds up his hand just as Mark goes to dig at the water with his oar, held up high above the water to race to land. “It’s not at us. They’re not firing at us. We know what’s up there, let’s just carefully get to shore. We’ve got an hour, William, Karl, let’s get it done.”

“Sir.” We both whisper.

“We’ve got clear water twenty yards to the left, could be rocks under water.” Karl says, scanning wider than me.

“Left boys.” Luca calls softly.

I lean forward watching the surface. “I can’t see anything breaking the surface.” Luca keeps pulling, relying on me to watch behind him. Sweat trickles down my spine, my eyes keep flicking to the cliffs.

“Take it around a bit to the right, a group of little ones in the water.”

“Right.” Luca says without looking down.

“Hold up.” Karl says, holding his hand up. “The tops are smoothing out. I think we can lift the boat and walk across the rocks to shore from here.”

“Are you sure?” Luca asks, I check too.

“I think it’s better than try to row around them. We’ll have to go down a couple of hundred yards to get to shore if you don’t want to go over them.”

“What’s the best one to start from?” Luca asks, Karl and I lift our binoculars trying to make a quick choice.

“That one.” I say pointing.

“I think so too.” Karl drops his binoculars down.

“Are we close to where we are supposed to land?” Paul asks.

“It’s here somewhere.”

“Let’s get out boys.” Luca uses his oar on the rock to pull us closer, while John pushes the water away from the boat, sending us lightly into the rock. Luca climbs out and the boat shudders. He lies flat on his stomach and holds the boat, and one by one, we each climb out and onto the rock. Karl and I climb to a rock just ahead of the other.

Luca pushes the boat toward us, “up.” He says and the boat is out of the water, and we pick our way across the rocks.

“We’re going to have to get back in.” Luca says. There’s thirty, maybe forty yards of freezing water between us, standing on the last rock we can reach and the beach.

“I don’t think we can.” I say, “we’ll tip it.”

“Maybe.” He says, “But I’m not volunteering to swim, are you?”

“Not tonight Sir.”

“Good, then, you can be first one in. To stabilise the boat.” He smiles.

“Yes Sir.” I whisper. Moving all the way to the front, grabbing an oar, Karl takes the back corner and we load up the rest of the boat corner by corner.

“Right, let’s get moving.” I tug on the oar for the first time, it only takes a minute to pull us to the pebble lined shore.

“Put it up.” Luca calls. We stand three in a line and hoist the boat onto our shoulders, grunting softly as we walk it up the beach.

Luca stops, doesn’t move the boat, but pulls out a pistol and points it into the darkness. “Stop. I will shoot.” He says calmly. I freeze looking in the direction that he is. I can’t see anything. My hands shake under the boat, at least no one can see it.

I don’t understand the answer, but Luca puts the gun away and a short, stocky man steps toward us.

“Drop it in here.” He says and we follow him up the beach, until it changes to sandy dirt and then long grass.

We flick the boat off our shoulders, grasping the inside of it in one movement before sliding it in the deep hole. The man walks away and comes back with a shovel for each of us and we replace dirt and sand in the hole covering everything back the way it was before.

He walks over it, stamping down a couple of soft spots, smiles at Luca. “This way.” He motions with his head.

I keep hold of my shovel and follow last up into chest high grass. We move quickly through it, ending up in a small clearing of pine trees. An old pick-up truck is waiting for us.

“One in front, under the seat. Five under the deck.” The man says looking at us. “Your gear can go in the barrels, they are empty.” He turns to Luca. “I thought there was only four of you coming.”

“There was, but we needed two more.” Mark and I were last minute add-ins, we are by far the youngest and newest to the army. I was completely surprised when they asked us. Mark just thought it was because he’s Mark. I watch the man show Luca where we all need to go.

“Come on Will, ladies first.” Mark nudges me when the man pries up the last of the floor boards for us to lie under.

Karl swings himself up and over the side in one go. I pull myself over at the same time as Mark, John and Paul, leaving Luca to take the front spot.

The old man stuffs one pack into each of the barrels. “No, I need mine.” I sit up suddenly.

“It won’t fit.” The old man tells me.

“I need my pack.” I repeat and look at Luca.

“He needs his pack.”

“And where will you put it?”

“Here,” Luca says, “Move your feet Will, push them up against Mark’s.” I squish them over as far as I can and Luca shoves the pack firmly in place. “Try not to kick it.” Luca smiles and the old man lays the first floor board over John, Luca starts in from the other side, grinning at me when he places the final board over the top of me.

“Sleep tight.” He says tapping the wood, then barrels scrap over top and get secured against the sides.

 

been gone

Finally all moved in at my new house and back to writing. With moving my schedule has gone out the window and hopefully I’ll be publishing One Minute in about 6 weeks from now.

But, for everyone being so patient I thought I’d post the first half of chapter one.

Here goes!

Preface

“William, please! Is it not enough that your father is gone?” Mum pleads with me. She gave up on yelling half an hour ago, the only thing she has left to do now is cry.

“How do I wait at home everyday to see if either one of you makes it home?” I don’t want to look at her face. She takes advantage of my silence, “How do I do that William. How do I wonder if my son and husband will come home to me? You tell me what I am supposed to do if neither of you come home?”

“It’ll be fine Mum, they would have called me up if I didn’t volunteer anyway.”

“Not today, you’ve only just turned eighteen, why can’t you wait. Wait for them to ask you. They might not because your father is gone. We need some men at home. Please William.”

“Mum.” I hold her by the shoulders, looking down into her eyes. I am trying to speak gently. I have to make her understand that I am not here asking permission. “I’m sorry that I am disappointing you, but I have to help. I can’t wait here doing nothing everyday.”

Mum stiffens her shoulders like I insulted her, “You aren’t doing nothing, you are with me and your grandparents. You’re making money where you can.”

“I haven’t earned a cent in weeks and probably won’t. Please mum, let me go.”

“No William, please that is enough.” Mum turns away from me. She picks up the frying pan to make us supper, she turns the pan around and around in her hands.

Mum half turns back to me, it looks like she is going to say something, but she closes her mouth and turns back to the range and starts frying some potatoes. I take that as my queue that the conversation is over, walking out of the kitchen, softly shutting the door behind me.

I lean on the back of the door in my room for a second, before pulling out my one backpack, stuffing it full. Ticking off the items on the list the recruitment officer gave me.

Mark’s dad is taking us tonight.

***

Sorry Mum,

I know you don’t want me to go, but I’ll be fine. Sorry about leaving you with just Nan and Pop, but I have to do something to help. I can’t get any work, we all know that there is nothing for me to do, but wait for them to call me up.

Don’t worry about me; we will be back before you know it and you can yell at me all you want then!

Love, Will

Two Months Later

“William, come in close.” I huddle in around all the others. “There’s only six of us going. We need to drop in supplies to company Dee. We’re going to have to go across on a row boat. It’s dangerous, but there’s no other way to get across the channel without being gunned down, and we still might. We have five minutes, get your packs.”

“Yes Sir.” We call in unison, spin on our heel and march away.

I can’t see where I’m going, I just know where I left my pack. Mark is close behind me, he’s excited to be chosen, but after everything Luca told me about what’s happening over there, I’m not sure I want to go.

I hoist my pack over my shoulders, and pull the straps down hard until they’re biting into my shoulders, but if I have to run it won’t fall off.

The command comes. “Company.” Softly, but firmly through the still, damp, night air. Unseen, I walk swiftly to the edge of the sand, the edge of home, and position myself at the far end of a wooden row boat. Two oars on each side and the whole English Channel in front of us.

Luca’s pack, along with mine and John’s, get wedged under the wooden seat. We load up the middle section with medical supplies. Small wooden boxes stack three high between the two benches at each end that the six of us have to sit on. Three at each end.

“You have your map Luca?” Our commander asks.

“Yes Sir.”

“Good. It will be burned if anything happens, understood?”

“Yes Sir.” He replies seriously.

“William, you have the extra soft pack in your supplies.”

“Yes Sir.” I nod my head as well. I’ve checked three times just to be sure, Mark laughed over my shoulder, saying that I was turning into his mother.

“They must have that. If nothing else make sure they get that.” He says to me.

“Sir.” I bark out as four others push us softly into the inky black night. Luca and John pull on their oars at the same time, then a few seconds later Mark, Paul pull on theirs. Karl is in the middle, like me, spotting, but from behind us.

We glide out further and further into the black, Karl nods at me and we both swivel around pulling up our binoculars and scan the horizon for any light. There’s not a lot to see, but the tiniest spark of light means someone else is out here too and we are too small to put up a fight to anyone. We need lots of warning to turn back.

Luca sheds his coat after half an hour, but doesn’t lose his rhythm.

After an hour Karl sits up, making the boat rock slightly to one side, my signal that he wants me to check something. He points without a word and I follow his finger with my binoculars looking for whatever he saw.

“A house?” I ask.

“Maybe.” He whispers. “But on what side?”

“Can’t tell.” The shorelines between Dover and Calais aren’t that far apart and we can’t see either coastline tonight.

We have been waiting for a night like this for the last four nights. It’s not raining, but it looks like it could any moment. The clouds are covering the moon, but not low enough to block our sight of the coasts, but it means that people can see us too.

The wood on the boat is wet and black like the water. We are all dressed in dark green wool. No army uniform, no identification other than our accents. No one knows we are going except our commander and the commander of Company Dee.

For the last two months I’ve been learning basic French, learning mostly to wipe the English accent off my words. Out of everyone, I can’t get caught. I need to get whatever is in the soft pack to Company Dee. There’s one extra map in the soft pack. If I get separated for any reason, I can get myself to where we are going.

“I think my arm just fell off.” John whispers after a couple of hours of constant rowing.

“It’s fine.” Luca says. “It will just join mine. I lost it an hour or two ago.”

“I can’t feel my feet anymore.” I admit. I’ve been kneeling for so long that the blood has stopped running down there, but I can’t move unless I see something. Even then I have to be careful, there’s too much weight on the boat, too much shifting will send us all into the water and I can’t swim all that well. Mark can barely keep his head above the water, he’d probably have five minutes before he went under. So I stay on my aching knees and hope that I have toes when I’m finally able to stand up again.

“What are you complaining about.” Mark says, “I don’t see you pulling on an oar.”

“You want to swap and have you knees soaking wet, your feet numb and your back feeling like someone’s packed a bunch of ice down the back of your shirt?” Karl hisses, straightening his back, he’s so tall that he’s eye to eye with Mark.

“Always complaining.” Mark says, but doesn’t lose time with Paul, everyone keeps the boat going at a steady rate.

“Slightly to the right.” I whisper up to Luca watching my compass for the first time. I was starting to worry that the moon wasn’t going to shine through the clouds at all tonight.

“Ease it round boys.” Luca gives the quiet command. Mark puts his oar in the water and holds it for a second while the other two row and the boat moves slightly to the side, then Mark and Luca start pulling again.

I push my compass back into my pocket and scan the horizon again. I stop, go back and look again. “I think we have company.” I breathe to Luca.

“Where?”

“Behind your left shoulder.”

“How many?”

“Can’t tell.”

“They got a tank out?”

“Don’t know for sure. But there’s something moving on the cliff.” The boat rocks, Karl must be turning my way.

He swears under his breath. “There’s someone up there.”

“How many?” Luca asks again.

“It’s too hard to tell. It’s a long way up.” I say.

“Then how can you tell that someone is moving up there?”

“We can’t be sure that there’s anything. But it looks like a big something moving. They must be using a covered light down on the ground so they are back-lit.” Karl says.

“How big?” Luca asks, his eyes narrowing, he’s probably running through all the maps of the coast, trying to remember the best one if we can’t make our original landing point.

“Tank size.” We both say. Luca nods.

Release date and chapter 2

Monday January 16 FALLING will be available on Amazon.

I worked through my trip to Australia so it would be ready on time and I’m really excited for it to be released this month, so I thought I would let you all read a sneak peak of chapter two! Hope you enjoy it.

I hear it. The blare of my alarm clock, I know I have to move my arm and get my hand to whack at it to stop it making that sound, but I can’t remember where I left my arm or how to grow another one so I can make it stop.

Sara finally climbs out of bed and slaps the top. She takes a step away, turns back to me, her eyes still shut. Then she yanks the cord right out of the wall.

“Saturday. I don’t have to get up.” She mumbles without opening her eyes she slumps back to her bed, pulls the covers back up and promptly goes limp.

I roll over, digging my legs further down into the deep warmness to find sleep for another couple of hours.

I bury my face into my soft pillow smiling, I so love the weekend. Nothing to do. No school to go to. No six thirty breakfast. No anything.

Thirty seconds later I switch sides kicking with my feet to find the warm again. I roll back to the other side.

Then back again.

I move my pillow so it angles away from the slight crack in the curtains that’s letting in the faintest sliver of light. But it’s so bright, like someone’s coloured in the sunrise with fluorescent paint.

I pull my pillow over my head to block out the light.

Now it’s too hot and I’m breathing in the air that I have just breathed out. It’s gross. I need to brush my teeth.

I throw the pillow off and the blanket back, pull two bull dog clips out of my desk and hold the curtains shut right to the top of the window. I stand back assessing to make sure all light has been excluded.

I stomp back to bed, pull the blanket over my shoulder and wiggle down to find the body-shaped warm spot where I was just lying.

I sigh disgusted. It’s gone.

Turning flat onto my back I force my eyes to stay shut, but it’s not going to work. I am awake. Stupid alarm clock, I only went to sleep a couple of hours ago.

I breathe in deeply, flinging my covers off. Might as well go use up all the hot water while everyone else is sleeping.

 

“You’re up early, Reid.” Megan passes me in the hallway after my shower. “Have an early night?” Her voice is filled with fake concern.

“Not really.” I answer, walking right past her and into my room, closing the door behind me.

“You shouldn’t be sad that you have no one to hang out with on a Friday night. Not everyone has friends, and that’s okay.” She says loud enough for everyone on our floor to hear.

“Reid, you’re here?” Sara says sitting up in bed, laptop resting on her knees.

“Where else would I be? Don’t you remember breaking my alarm clock this morning?”

“No, I don’t remember that. Did I really?” She looks past me to my bedside table.

“I just saw her, she just told me to keep my showers shorter. If she had something to yell at me about, she would have.”

“True.” She says unconvinced.

I throw my towel over the back of my chair. “So what are our plans for today?”

“My parents are coming to get me.” She says, her face growing red. “Sorry.”

“You don’t have to apologise that you have a real life.” I try to hide my disappointment.

“But I said that I would hang out with you this weekend.” The end of her nose is fire engine red.

“Sara stop, you are going to catch on fire. You don’t have to feel bad, you should be with your family, it’s an out weekend.”

“You’re really okay? My Mum wants to take me shopping, she says the shops I can get to don’t stock the kind of things she feels are appropriate.”

“That sounds like it’s going to be all kinds of exciting.”

“Mmm.” She says with her face screwed up, but not so red.

“I can deal with it all, until she starts on the floral prints. It’s like my Nana’s curtains and matching table cloth and air freshener cover and tissue cover.” She sighs loudly.

“You really shouldn’t miss that.” I rip a brush through my wet hair, yank it up into a rough pony tail. “Ready for breakfast?” I ask, and the red starts creeping up her neck again. “What?” I ask.

“They’re down stairs now, signing me out.”

I look down. Her weekend bag is sitting next to her bed, and I never noticed before, but it does have a faint floral pattern. It’s really ugly, kind of peachy coloured. She follows my gaze.

“See, stupid flowers. I washed it about fifty times to try and make it less floral, but that stuff doesn’t fade easily, probably why my Nana liked it so much.”

I laugh even though I want to cry. I can’t believe she is going away and I am going to be stuck here all by myself, again. At least Megan will be gone too.

She throws back her covers, revealing that she is fully dressed. Red flares across her face again, and she slides the laptop into the side of her bag.

I walk her downstairs to show that I don’t resent her life.

“You guys enjoy your shopping.” I stop at the door when they start down the stairs. Mrs. Haddin looks back.

“Are you not leaving today, Reid?”

“No, my aunt couldn’t come and get me. So I am going to have a relaxing weekend all to myself. All the hot water I want.” I smile holding back the sinking feeling. This is the second out weekend in a row I’ve had to stay by myself.

She gives me that poor orphan smile, then moves down the stairs, Sara grimly waving behind her.

At least I have breakfast to look forward to, I think as I let myself morbidly watch them get into their car and drive away.

 

Once the doors open to the dining hall, I know they must love me. They have done it again. I take my tray off the stack, sliding it along the rails. No, they have topped it. I pull a bowl filled with berries out of the cabinet, thick yoghurt on top. And there they are. Pancakes with maple praline butter and a side of crispy bacon.

I slide into my normal chair, even though no one else is here, pulling out my book, flip open to the page I was reading yesterday and take my first bite.

 “It’s just so sad.” Megan says, her followers smirking at me from behind her. “Don’t you feel unloved and unwanted being left at school on a compulsory out weekend. Can’t you find anyone to take you?”

I stuff my mouth again and make a noise like I am answering her then turn back to my book. She pulls out a chair and sits down. “Don’t you feel like a pig eating like that? I don’t remember the last time I ate carbs.” She comments flipping her hair over her shoulder.

I smile and shove a big forkful into my mouth, raise my eyebrows at Keegan who has her mouth hanging open over Megan’s shoulder. I pick up my book, hold it in front of her face and pick a strip of bacon and crunch through it.

Megan storms out like I told them they were fat. They must be afraid that the calories are going to chase them down and make them gross.

 

I push my plate away. Nine o’clock. My book drops to the table, finished, echoing in the empty room. No book, no food. I really need to do something other than sit in here.

 

I trawl slowly through the library stacks, looking at people. Walking through the main floor, there is a square right in the middle filled with couches for people to sit and read. I slowly move around it looking at the people, but trying not to make it obvious that I am looking at them.

That guy doesn’t even have a book, he’s just watching a group of people who are in the corner room, roughly half guys and half girls. About my age, I guess. The guys are all sitting on the edge of a study table while the girls look at books on the shelf behind them, randomly pulling them out, then pushing them back almost immediately.

The guys lean forward, talking and laughing with them. The girls are all coy and smiling at them.

I keep walking, not sure of where to look. I come back to the centre of the room. I think I’m going to look on the next floor up, as I walk past the edge of a row of couches I brush past a girl who is looking at an old copy of a music magazine. I walk slowly to the side of her. She looks kinda interesting.  I grab a magazine off the shelf and sit down near her, but she stands up and starts moving toward the stairs. I impulsively follow her.

She moves up the stairs slowly and walks into the first aisle she comes to. I come around the side just behind her and  before she can look at me I dive forward, my arms at my sides so if I miss it doesn’t look like I’m trying to grab her.

In.

I right myself up watching out her eyes as she wanders around in the library for ten minutes without looking at one book. There’s no pattern to what she looks at, I don’t think she comes here very often, she doesn’t seem to know where any of the books are supposed to be. Judging by her snorts at the cover of the display book in the architecture section, she’s not really up on modern-historical European design.

Three sections later we are in geo-political theories. “What’s a geo politician?” She asks herself out loud.

You can’t tell if someone is going to be dumb by just looking at them, unfortunate in this situation. I look around, we are deep in the library, I think we went up to the third floor.

“You want lunch.” I say loudly. I’m really bored. And I can’t get out until there are less people around. Who knew so many people wanted to read about geo-political theories on a Saturday afternoon?

Her head pops up, swaying slightly from side to side. Stopping, she reaches into her giant bag and pulls out a tiny phone, brushes her fingers over the screen. The time pops up and she slides it back into her bag.

She walks slowly back towards the stairs. She must be waiting for someone or something to start. She has to take each step down the three flights of stairs with careful thought, because her ten inch heels have a pencil thin spike. It takes ten minutes to reach the first floor.

At the bottom of the last flight of stairs, she swings back her hair, letting the thick blonde length bounce away from her as we strut across the ground floor and out the wide double doors. Even though she isn’t the most interesting person, I really love this part of being in people, going to see what the world looks like through their eyes.

It’s the only good part about this, I don’t know why I can jump into people, or why I can stay in them until I jump out. I can’t even figure out why I can do it to some people and with others it’s like I have to, like I am being pulled into their bodies.

We walk for a minute, but I don’t think she knows where she is going again. Maybe. Nope, she’s a little stalker, too. But he is amazing-looking. I lean forward in her to get a better look of him. He is walking toward us, a small smile building on his lips. He is seriously hot. Follow him. Please, if we’re going to follow someone, choose him.

He keeps coming, then leans down and kisses us on the mouth. I couldn’t feel it and I’m still breathless. I might bring snacks and just live in here if she’s going to hang out with him.

“How was your morning?” He asks.

“I just went to the library.” She answers like she does it all the time.

“That sounds nice, you get anything.”

“Nah, I’ve most everything I want from there.” The one magazine.

“We can go to a bookstore if you want something else.” We stop walking while he moves onto the road. He even has a car, no bus. This is just getting better.

“Maybe another time. Today I have more important things to shop for.” She gets into the car flaring her nostrils slightly, not touching anything she doesn’t absolutely have to. I have to remember which way we are going so I can get back. The bus stop to get back to school is in front of the library.

We drive for a couple of minutes of her talking non-stop about how excited she is about going away to college on Tuesday before we pull into the mall carpark.

We move painfully slowly toward the food court. She can’t go any faster in her stupid shoes, then the girl starts squealing, seriously squealing; clapping her hands together, jumping up and down. In tiny clicking leaps, her heels making it sound like a horse shoes being tapped together.

“Keller, look at the little tiny puppy.” She is holding his hand trying to get him to come closer, but she can’t, if she stands any closer to the glass pane she is going to be absorbed by it.

“Yeah, Hayden. It’s cute.” Keller says, and even his voice is hot.

“Cute.” Hayden says indignant. “It is so totally, absolutely, the most precious thing in the world.”

Keller coughs, covering his laughter. “I thought you said the kitten in the other window is the most precious thing in the world, ever.”

“Don’t mock me. I am allowed to be excited. You should so buy me one.” This girl is like a see-through bubble. Everything is on the outside. You can see how much is going on in the inside just by looking at her face.

Keller walks further into the shop. “Look at these. Freaky.” He says in an odd tone.

“Ew, what are they?” We peer into the glass tank. “Gross Keller! They are moving shells.”

“They’re Hermit crabs.” He walks behind us and puts his arms around our shoulders. Either this guy is stupid or he feels sorry for her, because she is just not that smart.

Example. “Ew, crabs. That is so disgusting.”

I look away, trying to roll my eyes at her. Then I spot chickens. I have always wanted a chicken. Weird I know, but they just look so cool.

“Go look at the chickens.” I shout. She whips her head up.

“Did you say you wanted to look at the chickens?” She asks Keller.

“No, but they are kinda cool looking. Look at that one.” He says walking to the bird cages. “Look at the silver looking one. Those feathers are freaky.” He laughs at how they stick out in every direction.

“Yeah.” She sounds really confused. She is certain that it wasn’t her idea to look at these.

“Hey, they would match those shoes you want. The sparkly ones.” He adds when she stares at him blankly.

“What ones, I’ve never worn a pair of sparkly shoes in my life.” I do not understand how this girl was reading either a magazine, or something on Swedish architecture. I honestly doubt her ability to actually read.

“You know the ones,” he says, moving his hands as if trying to get the air around him to lend him to right word. “The really expensive, um, silvery ones. You know, you dragged me into the shop the other day.”

“You are comparing a pair of silver patent-leather heeled sandals to a freaky looking silver chicken?” She slides her hands to her hips like she has never heard anything more stupid in her whole life. “Do you realise that those shoes are worth two thousand dollars.”

He is so stunned his mouth falls open a little. “You actually thought I would buy you shoes that will cost a month’s wages?”

“It is an investment, Keller. They will never lose their value.” She sighs at him.

“You buy them then,” he says.

She sucks in her breath and manages to make a little popping, squeally sound at the same time. This is fun.

“Hayden, I would have to starve for a month,” he says, like he’s explaining physics to a four year old.

“You can eat at my house.” I wish I could see the look on her face, because her voice has gone all misty, like she might cry. “It would be like the most romantic gesture ever. A whole month of begging for food, to buy me the one thing in the whole world that I want.”

“What’s romantic about dating a dead person?” He says sarcastically.

“Why would I be dating a dead person?” I can’t help it. I laugh so hard, I almost fall out of her. She turns her head to poor, poor Keller. “Did you just laugh at me?”

“No.” The look on his face says that he wants to. “Sweets,” he says gently, as he lays his arm across our shoulder and pulls us into his big chest. “I am not going to spend two thousand dollars on one pair of shoes. Ask your Dad.”

“I am independent now, Keller. I can’t just run home and ask my Dad for anything I want anymore. I am an adult.” She is woman; hear her whine.

“If you want to be independent, then you should buy them yourself.” He is steering her out of the shop.

“But, there’s nothing dependent about you buying me gifts. In fact, that’s just being a good boyfriend.”

“So, I’m not a good boyfriend if I don’t buy you two thousand dollar shoes?” He leans back and stops walking so he can look at her face. I think she has offended him.

“Well, a good boyfriend gets his girlfriend presents.” She isn’t even looking at him. We are walking past a bag shop.

“Hayden, I am a good boyfriend even if I don’t buy you two thousand dollar shoes.”

“Of course you are.” And she walks away. I turn around in her body to look back at him, but I can’t see him. She has no eyes at the back of her head, that’s just inconsiderate of her, doesn’t she know that I want to look at Keller?

“I’m going to eat.” He sounds mad. Ohhh, maybe I’ll change my rules about following people home. I’d like to see this fight.

“Mmkay. Just give me a minute.” I can hear footsteps and they aren’t coming toward us. Oh oh oh oh, she’s in trouble. I am so following them home.

She stays looking at the bag shop. I want to shout at her to turn around, so that she notices he is gone. But I really want to see how long she will look at the bags before she figures out he’s walked. 

Five full minutes. I cannot believe it. If it wasn’t for me having to pay the extra bus fare from here, I would be hoping that he has ditched her and gone home.

Ten minutes, okay, I’m bored now.

“Where’s Keller?” I say as softly as I can so that she still hears it, I try to make it sound like she is thinking. She turns around.

She sighs, walking back to the food court. I rake my eyes over all the tables trying to find him. Actually I take it back, I’ll pay the extra fare just to hear her when she figures out he’s left her here, but we spot him at a table eating Chinese food.

She stomps over to his table, it can’t be easy in those shoes, and crosses her arms over her chest, looking down at him. “I was just going to be a minute.”

 “Whatever. You eating?” He says in a dead voice, completely uninterested.

She slinks down into the chair opposite him. “What’s wrong with you?” She asks sulky and takes the fork out of his hand and starts picking at the broccoli out of his container. He picks up the other fork and keeps eating silently.

“Why aren’t you talking to me?” She asks whining.

“It doesn’t make me a bad boyfriend because I’m not like all your rich friends. If that’s the kind of boyfriend you want, then you should go find one. I’m sure your Dad can point you in the right direction.”

“Don’t be like that, Keller. I leave on Tuesday, let’s have a good last few days okay? I don’t care if you buy me things. You’re right, I’ll ask my Dad.”

Oh come on. That’s your big sacrifice? I’ll go ask Daddy like a giant baby?

He still doesn’t look impressed. “Let’s go.” He gets up abruptly holding his tray walking out. This is more like it.

“Come on, baby. We only just got here. Don’t be mad with me.” She presses herself as close to him as she can, and speaks real slow, pausing after each word. “I. Think. You’re. A. Great. Boyfriend.”

“What? Not the most precious in the whole world?” Keller says with his eyebrows raised, but you can tell he has forgiven her.

 “Of course you are. There’s no one better than you.”

 “Come on, let’s go. I’ve been at work all morning. I want to go home and watch some football.” Keller says putting his arm around her again.

“Well I’m not watching football.”

“That’s cool. Don’t you have packing to do anyway? I can just drop you at home on my way.”

“I thought you were going to help me pack.”

“Whatever, let’s go.” His arm drops off her.

I think I take it back. I don’t want to see this fight, and I think it will be cheaper catching a bus from here than anywhere near where she probably lives. I quickly look around for somewhere good to jump out. There.

I push forward and, “whoa. Sorry… are you all right?” I dive out as she skims past a concrete pillar. She trips over my leg as I try to stand back up.

“No, I am not all right. I think I have a cut on my face.”

I look at her with fake concern. “Nope, not cut. Just clumsy.”

“I am so not clumsy. You walked into me.” She spits.

“I was leaning next to the pillar the whole time.” And just to be really horrible, I smile at Keller. “Hi, I’m Reid.”

He gives me the sweetest smile back. “Keller.”

“Who cares who she is? What a loser. Let’s go.”

I laugh quietly as she begins to walk past me. Her eyes graze over me starting with my feet. She lifts her head and marches away, leaving Keller trailing behind her.

Hi There

One thing I love about food blogs are the recipes. I love it when people post for the world to see and use recipes that they have slaved over, or had passed down to them. So in the spirit of sharing, I thought I would make my first post the first scene out of my new YA novel. I have also posted this is the Finished MS page at the top of the header.

CHAPTER ONE

Ew, that’s just filthy, my face screws up. My head’s telling me that I shouldn’t look because it gross, but my eyes won’t look away, like when you are driving past a car accident, you know you should look away, but you just can’t. The gory images pull you in, practically calling your name. ‘Reid, look. How will you be able to sleep later without first filling your head with grossness.’

He doubles over, heaving again. “No wonder she ditched you.” I say shaking my head. The man lifts his head in response, looking for the source of the sound talking to him. His heavy looking head swings slightly one way, and then lists back the other. He looks sea sick, which makes me laugh, but instead of looking around, he empties his stomach one more time before staggering and groping at the wall, wiping against his mouth with the back of his hand, his eyes half closed.

I’m so disappointed. He looked so nice, his suit impressive, hair done well, but not too done. A little stubble from the long day; it all hides the puking machine tucked neatly inside.

“Where’s he gone?” A woman’s voice screams from somewhere outside the alley.

“In here.” I shout back.

“Huh?” He staggers another step.

“Dork, you can’t see me, I am inside of you.” I explain. He isn’t going to remember this is the morning.

“Where?” He slurs and stumbles a step further toward the exit.

“Yeah, keep going. You feel fine.” I encourage trying to copy his voice.

“I do.” He announces, standing bolt upright, then promptly turns around and heaves all his manliness away.

Come on. How much more have you got inside yourself, if it wasn’t for being alone with giant creepy puking man in a dark wet alley, I would have left when the spewfest started, instead of hanging around for the whole loser-yakking-on-a-wall-show.

We both lean forward as he heaves again, I pull my face to the side. I have already had a close up of his dinner. And the longer he keeps going, the more the smell is leeching into a taste in my mouth.

My face screws up after the wind whips up the smell again, I wipe at my tongue with my sleeve, trying to get the taste scrubbed out.

“Come on.” I shout at him. People seem to only hear me really well when I speak real loud once I am inside them. I don’t know why. It’s just the way it is.

The guy staggers to lean on the alley wall again. “Take more steps.” I command him.

He stumbles to a stop, holding the wall for support, he looks around. Then takes another few steps, before he falls out of the alley.

That’ll do me. I dive forward, jumping out of him. Hitting the ground just before he does.

“You all right?” I ask.

“Sorry han. Didn’t see you.” He slurs at me.

“All good, don’t worry about it. You know where you live?” I help him up to his feet.

“I dunno, but you are pretty. You gona come back with me?” He reaches for my face, his hand swinging like a dopey bear.

“Unlikely.” I lift my hand, “Taxi.” I shout into the night.

One stops at the curb. I pull. Kinda roll, shove him into the back seat.

I look at the driver. “Sorry. I don’t know him. But he needs to get to where ever home is.” He looks at me so appreciatively of my good citizen behaviour, and I smile widely.

He sighs a pained sound. “And who’s going to pay me lady?”

“I don’t even know him, he knocked me down, and passed out on the pavement, what am I supposed to do leave him there?”

“Yeah.” The driver looks at me like I’m an idiot.

“Man. You.” I wave my hand in front of the guys’ face. “Do you have any money?”

“Why do you want my money pretty girl?” His hand touching my hair. Argh, I know where that hand has been. I duck away quickly from his touching.

“To pay the driver idiot. You’re puking on the street. Give the driver some money.”

“Okay pretty girl.” He salutes me then flakes out across the back seat snoring. I’ll take that.

“Money’s in his pocket I think.” I say to the driver.

“I hope he doesn’t spew everywhere. I won’t be able to finish my shift.” The driver complains while I shut the door, and wave like I care what he said.

“Mm, that would be sad.” I mouth, pretending concern for him.

Watching as the taxi drives out the end of the street, just in case he decides to come back with the man. I want a head start so I can go hide.

“’Scuse me love.” A guy bumps past me. “Have you self a happy night.” He points at me, winking and walking backward from the rest of his group. Must be time to go home, the crazy people are starting to come out. I look down at my watch. Oh man. One already. That guy spewed for an hour. I need to find me a bus home.

I hope you all enjoyed it!