Safe and Sound (Watty Awards 2012).

Chapter Ten.

Author's Note: Sorry for the late upload! I've had writers block and been really busy with school haha. I'll try to upload another chapter at the weekend but I have to go out on Saturday and my godparents are coming over on Sunday so I'm not sure if I will have time.

IMPORTANT- I've entered this story into the Watty Awards, so I'm going to need as much help as I can get. Please read, vote, and share with your friends! I really would appreciate it. Thank you!

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Chapter Ten.
Kyle's Point of View.

I drummed the fingertips of my right hand against the table and rested my head against my other hand. Every couple of seconds my eyes flickered over to the classroom door. My gut told me that something was wrong.

Well, she wasn't in school so something had to be wrong. My right hand strayed to my pocket, and I hesitated before pulling my blackberry out. I moved my pencil case closer to me and placed my phone down on the table so that it was hidden by my pencil case. I typed in my password and went onto my messages, using the trackpad to click on 'compose SMS'.
'Hey Madeline. I was wondering why you're not in school today? I'm missing you in English.'
My thumb hovered over the trackpad as I tried to decide if I should send it or not. I quickly pressed the back space, deleting the last sentence so that the text now said 'Hey Madeline. I was wondering why you're not in school today.'

I clicked send before I could change my mind, and slipped my phone back into my pocket so that I would feel it vibrate against my thigh if I received a text. I tapped my foot on the carpet impatiently. I didn't know why I was so anxious to know where Madeline was, but something in the back of my mind told me that something bad had happened. I didn't know Madeline that well, but I didn't think that she was one of those people who would skip school, and she had been fine last night so I didn't think that she was ill.

When mum had pulled up in front of Madeline's house the night before, I had to admit that a shiver had shot through my body. The front garden was thick with brambles and weeds, and the terraced house looked as though it could tumble to the ground at any moment. The brickwork was shoddy and crumbling away, and I bet that the inside wouldn't be much better. I had been shocked. I never would have thought that Madeline would be living in a place like this.

As well as the house being horrible, the neighbourhood wasn't all that nice either. I had wondered if there was anyone at home in Madeline's house, as there were no lights shining through the windows. It had struck me as strange; something didn't seem quite right. I just didn't know what. But, I was going to find out eventually.

My foot continued to tap on the floor as Mrs Johnson's incessant droning went in one ear and straight out of the other. I uncapped one of my pens and positioned it over my blank piece of lined paper, jotting down some notes even though I wasn't actually listening to anything that  the teacher was saying.

I sunk my teeth down into my lower lip, biting at a loose bit of skin as I stared down at my pad of paper. The day was passing excruciatingly slowly. It felt as though it was already the end of the day when in reality, we were only half way through second period. I sucked in a breath and blew it out through my teeth. My eyes strayed to the clock, and I watched the second hand move slowly around.
Tick
Tok
Tick
Tok
The last half an hour of second period passed by excruciatingly slowly. Why is it that time always seems to mock you when you're waiting for something. Speaking of waiting, I was still waiting for a text. Why hadn't she texted me back yet?

The bell cut harshly through my thoughts, and I quickly shoved my books into my bag before hurrying from the room. I had been hoping to make a quick getaway, but apparently my luck wasn't very good today.