One Night Stop

It Started as a Normal Day

I slammed down the snooze button on my alarm clock. Yay, I think, another day of homeschooling. Resisting the urge to fall back to sleep I drowsly stumble to the bathroom. The cold shock of water on my face jams my brain into action and I start the repetitive cycle of a day in my countryside life.
Halfway through my afternoon science lesson my dads eyes suddenly flit to to the window and open wide with fear. My eyes follow his but find nothing but a flock of crows. "What's wrong?" I ask, frowning.
"Oh don't worry about it Jemma", He says absently. I can barely concentrate through the rest of the lesson. Possibilities fly through my head: was it the crows that scared him, or something he only saw for a moment, it even could have been something that he didn't see! These thoughts stay with me throughout the evening and keep me awake and fidgeting half the night. Finally the enticing pull of sleep drags me down. When the morning comes I sleep through my alarm and wake up 15 minutes later after a nighmare that I cant remember jolts me, shocked and sweating, out of bed. I have a quick but freezing shower to get me going and sprint down to breakfast.
"What kept you so long?" my dad, Jon, jokingly asks.
"Bad dream", I pant, my hand waving to dismiss the subject.
"Aww, want a cuddle?" He grins.
"Dad! Im 13, not 6 ", I groan, smiling. He ruffles his hand though my sleek dirty blond ponytail. He knows I hate that. It makes me almost forget about yesterday. But no. You don't forget about stuff like that when you live in the Canadian countryside where nothing ever happens. Thoughout the day my eyes flick to the window untill my dad asks what I am doing. I look around the room for inspiration. The biology textbook from yesterday jumps out at me.
"I was looking for that Canadian butterfly you talked about earlier ", I lie. He nods at me like that made sense. We had lived here for as long as I can remember and I had never seen one. He must really be distracted.