10 October 2012
Bursting into the laughter of the classroom, I search for my seat where Jessica and Alice were already sat near; chatting away.
"Hi Nat!" Jessica and Alice exclaim at the same time.
"Hi guys" I replied, still puffing after my little marathon.
"You okay? You seem a little out of breath" Jessica said.
"Oh, I was running to school again. You know how distracted I get".
Immediate laughter rings out from all of us.
"What was it now Natash?"Alice asked sarcastically.
"The birds. And the stream! Oh the stream was so pretty! It was shimmering like diamonds..."
Another cluster of laughter.
"Oh Natasha, you really need to stop! What are you going to do when you get married and you hear the birds singing? Are you going to run to them too? You'll be late for your OWN wedding!" Alice says, barely able to hold back her laughter.
But then my lessons began. The rest of the school day went by quite quickly, except mathematics. This was the class in which I was made to sit at the very front in. And this meant I HAD to pay attention ALL the time. I didn't even get a single precious look at the sunshine that gleamed through the windows; desperate to be let through the glass and share it's rays with everyone...
"Natasha! Look this way! And pay attention. Now how would you solve this equation?" Mrs Fernery demanded.
Okay maybe I did have ONE look.
After school, me, Jessica and Alice agreed to have a trip to the forest. I still had a paper bag left over from my lunch which I could easily collect a few berries in, and Alice and Jessica needed to collect some wood. In a group, we walked up to the forest.
"Hey there are so many blueberries here!" exclaimed Jessica, already popping two into her mouth.
"I'm going to collect some" I said, thinking of Rosie.
"And I need some wood for the fire. I'll just be around here" Alice said.
After about ten minutes of picking; when I finished, I called out to my friends. But there was no reply. I turned around, turned to the right, left and then it I felt a strange sensation that someone was watching me. From the corner of my eye I could just see a dark figure stood, leaning against the oak. I strolled through the woods looking for them, and possibly someone else, until I spotted two figures coming towards me- thankfully familiar ones.
"There you are!" I said. "Yep. Just finished collecting all the wood!" Alice proudly said. "And blueberries!" Jessica added.
I smiled.
"Well, should we get going?" I asked. "Sure" Alice and Jessica replied in harmony.
We walked down to the field, and then to my cottage where we said our farewells. But I still couldn't stop thinking that I saw a shadow behind the oak. Could the it be the same oak I met Alek at? I had no idea. But what I did know, was that I had a plan. A plan to find out if Alek had been spying on me this whole time, or was it a killer lurking in the woods ready to take action the next time I came. A plan to find out who really was Alek- the handsome stranger I met, or who was this figure- that I'm quite sure I saw behind the oak.
Chapter 6: Figures. • Opuss № I