Don't Go Out In The Woods Today

Chapter Fourteen

Saturday afternoon...

Ellie had left earlier to go out with her Mum leaving me wandering the house in my pyjamas, I stared at the letter on the table that was addressed to Mr Bates but once again sent to our house because the people that used to live there had their mail sent to us until they get their new place sorted- but now he’s moved in his mail is being sent here too. I’ve told the postman to take his mail to his house but apparently ‘he’s just following orders’.

 I’ve been thinking too. I have to stay away from him, I have no choice. There’s laws, teachers code of conduct and if I start talking to him and something has happened like on Friday night for example, if he wants to he could say ‘it’s my job to look after the welfare of my students so I’m going to have to inform the appropriate person’ meaning he’ll blab my private life to any of the teachers giving me no choice in the matter- it’s an accident waiting to happen. He can tell anyone my secrets and use his job title as an excuse.

Mission avoidance is go- I’m going to take the letter round to Mr Bates, put it through the letterbox and…run, run like the wind.

…

I walked almost silently as I reached his house wearing an old pair of skinny jeans, black hoodie and some discoloured converses that I chucked on a few seconds before leaving the house, my long light blonde hair blew in the wind as I walked briskly down the gravel path. I was hoping that if he was in the house the sound of the crunching stones beneath my feet wouldn’t give me away.

As soon as I was at the front door I whipped the letter from my pocket and quickly but quietly put it through the letterbox. Swiftly turning round to make my getaway I reached the end of the porch

“Another letter? I must be popular” he casually asked in his gruff voice.

Sh*t I cursed in my head.

Operation avoidance, status- FAILED.

I slowly turned to see Mr Bates leaning against the doorframe looking a little flushed, his forehead had a tint of shine to it like he’d been working out. He wore a white plain t-shirt and black jogging bottoms.

“Yeah”

“Are you going to finally tell me how you’re getting my mail?”

Maybe if I tell him he’ll have one less reason to talk to me “The people that lived here before got their mail delivered to us so we could give it to them until they got their address sorted out. Your mail is getting mixed in with it… so if I were you I’d have a word with the postie see if you can get your mail…delivered to yourself” I was about to leave again

“How are you feeling today?” did he mean mentally or physically?