The Pentagones: Re-United

Chapter 1

I was running. Running faster than I’d ever run before. I could hear it creeping closer but I kept running. I had to. I came to a clearing. There were two pathways. I froze. I peered down one, then down the other. Wait. What was that noise? It sounded like crying.

“Hello?” I whispered.

No answer. The crying echoed around me.

“Hello?” I repeated, louder this time.

Nothing. The crying had stopped. Then, “They’re coming. They’re coming. They’re coming.”

My head was spinning. I sat up suddenly and clutched hold of the cotton sheets under me. My knuckles turned white as I tried to steady myself in the bed. My cheeks were damp and my palms, once again, were overflowing with sweat. I loosened the grip on the sheets and wiped my hands on them. My head began to throb as my arm reached towards my bedside table. I fumbled around for my lamp. With the flick of a switch the light came on and I squinted as my eyes re-adjusted to the light. I thrust my head back on the pillow and kicked the duvet off me.

I turned over onto my side and glanced at my alarm clock. 03:57, I read. I leaned over the alarm clock and found the lamp switch again. It flickered off and I fell back into darkness.

***

“Come on, Amelie, rise and shine!” I felt mum’s cold hands on my forehead. My eyes lazily opened and I let out a loud yawn.

“What time is it?” I moaned.

“Time to wake up!” My mum chuckled whilst opening the curtains.

“Ha ha,” I replied sarcastically, “No, really. What time is it?”

“Almost ten.”

My mum slipped out the door and pulled it shut. I sat up, remembering the dream I had. It wasn’t the first time I’d had it. Although, I’d never heard the crying before.

I hauled myself out of bed and flung open my wardrobe. I was amazed how all my clothes fit in it! I decided on wearing a pair of high-waisted shorts and an oversized t-shirt as it was a sunny day. I shut the wardrobe door again and walked over to my dressing table.

Make-up or hair first? I asked myself. Hair.

I picked up my hairbrush and yanked it through my brown, ringletty, full-of-knots hair. I scraped it back into a bun and began on my make-up. You could say I’m a typical girly girl. I quickly glanced at my calendar. A bright red circle circulated Sunday 5th June. Hold on. That was today. I tripped over my pyjamas as I ran to the wall where my calendar was hanging.

“Meet Naomi at 10.30 in Café Nero,” I muttered. I looked at my alarm clock, ticking away on my bed side table.

Great. I had fifteen minutes. Just what I needed – a lovely wake-up rush on a Saturday morning.

As If.

I grabbed my handbag off the end of my bed and emptied out the contents. A £10 note fell out along with a couple of coins. It was enough for breakfast as I didn’t have enough time to eat at home. I dug around under my bed to find my high-heels and quickly threw the money back into my bag. I scribbled down a note for my mum telling her where I’d gone and raced down the stairs taking two at a time. I stuck the note on the fridge and sprinted out the door.

As I approached Café Nero I could just see through the window a mass of strawberry-blonde hair belonging to a girl drinking her signature drink – hot chocolate with marshmallows and lots of whipped cream. It was my favourite too. Trust Naomi to be early. I sped through the door and plonked myself down next to her.