When Dad dropped her at home Alice waved bye and rushed into the house. After an unseasonably warm Autumn, the weather was just beginning to cool down and the first signs of frost were appearing, glittering the tips of lawns and the edges of car windows.
A blanket of warm air enveloped Alice as she entered her home. She searched the house for Jamie and found him in his room.
“That was a real dick move,” she scolded him, bursting into his bedroom without walking.
“Learn to knock,” Jamie tutted.
The old park was on the outskirts of town, roughly an equal distance between his location and Jamie’s. Still, he ran the entire distance, not wanting Jamie to get there first and be forced to wait around, having no clue as to what was going on. Ste leaned on the old goalpost as he caught his breath. His lungs were on fire, probably because of the smoking, but all that realisation did was make him crave a cigarette. ‘I need one to calm my nerves,’ Ste told himself. With a shaking hand, Ste dropped the pack of cigarettes as he went to retrieve one. A couple fell into a puddle and weren’t rescuable, but he scooped up the dry ones and poked them back into the packet, popping one between his lips. The cigarette made him feel lightheaded but slightly less panicked as he awaited Jamie’s arrival. He saw Jamie in the distance, walking at a slow pace toward him. He looked so small and innocent, hugging his oversized hoodie around himself and wrapped in a pink scarf. Ste wanted to hug him, m
“I need you to do something for me,” Jamie said, staring into Ste’s eyes with an intensity he’d never seen before. “And I'm afraid you aren’t going to like it.”“What is it?” Ste asked, dreading to think what Jamie might ask of him.“I planted a little seed in Adam’s mind. He thinks he’s so smart but he’s as easy to manipulate as anyone else. You remember when I mentioned that teen gangster who let all of his mates shag his girlfriend?” Jamie said.‘No… he wouldn’t want that to happen to his own sister. Sur
Alice smiled at Joseph, trying to focus on what he was telling her.She couldn’t.All she could think about was Adam. He never replied to her message about meeting Dave. This was either because he didn’t care, or he was annoyed about it.‘Or seething with rage about it,’ Alice thought with a shiver of dread.“So… should I say yes?” Joseph asked.
Seeing them there, holding hands and staring deeply into each other’s eyes, Adam almost couldn’t believe it.It had to be a mistake.Surely.Adam realised he’s stopped walking only when Ste walked into him and almost tripped over.“Sorry,” Ste uttered in a panicked voice, even though they both knew the collision had been Adam’s fault.Realising he had no choi
Alice smiled to herself as put her phone down and got ready for school. She was still smiling as she brushed her hair and applied her lip gloss, happy with how she looked today.After practically floating down the stairs, Alice greeted her family in the kitchen.“Yay, panda-cakes,” Alice cried, seeing the pancakes. “Thanks, mum.”Alice poured syrup and blueberries onto her stack, then tried to eat the pile of food without messing up her makeup.“You’re cheerful this m
Adam held his phone, thumbs hovering over the screen.‘Should I message her?’ he wondered. Would it be weird? Or would she be happy to hear from him?Adam shrugged to himself. If she didn’t want to talk, she could always ignore him.He unblocked Alice and sent her a good morning message.He smiled when she replied almost immediately.‘I wonder if she’s