Heidi and the Wolf

8.

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-H xx

We had been in Penshaw Lake for four days. But it didn't feel that way. It almost felt as though we had been there for five minutes and yet, as though we had been there for longer too. Mum was coming out of her shell, judging by the off-key song she was currently singing in the shower and the pep to her step that I hadn't seen in a long time. She hadn't stopped smiling since our dinner with Jane and her family, despite the hiccup with Mason. In fact, she had barely mentioned him. I stared at the plain, white door leading to the bathroom as I heard the water be switched off and her singing stop. It seemed as though she had finally made a friend after years of not being allowed.

It was sweet, and for the first time in a long time, I felt hope flutter deep down inside that we could somehow make a real, normal, living here. Mum pottered out of the bathroom moments later, humming to herself as she wrapped the towel tighter around her chest.

"You had better change, you don't want to be late," she ushered as she tutted at me sat absentmindedly on the bed.

I nodded, slowly getting to my feet. On the way home from Jane's last night, we had seen some posters advertising a summer market fete, held in the grounds of Penshaw Lake Primary School. We had both decided that it would be really intriguing to explore; especially considering mum loved antiques. Checking to see that mum was clothed, I swept open the curtains to judge the weather outside. I swung open the window and felt the crisp, cool air of a sunny, May morning. The sky was blue, dotted with white, fluffy clouds and I took a moment to breathe in the fresh air, so different from the smelly, stuffy air of our home town. It wasn't unusual to inhale the grease from a nearby kebab shop either. However, here, I could faintly smell lawn clippings and a real, homemade breakfast from a house down the street.

It was like we had moved into some kind of TV suburbia.

I could feel the warm sun begin to heat my skin and satisfied that I could wear shorts, I dug out a pair of black, jean shorts from my case. I paired them with a pink t-shirt, teased my hair into a loose french braid and placed my worn trainers back onto my feet. I looked down at them with a sigh, I would really need to buy some new ones.

But cash was running low.

"If we're going to stay, what are we going to do about jobs?" I asked nonchalantly, swiping some nude lipstick across my lips.

Mum shrugged as she finished styling her neat, brown pixie cut. She turned to me with her hands on her hips, "It has not been seven days yet," She tutted. "Don't get ahead of yourself, I have still not decided if we should stay."

I huffed. Penshaw Lake was calling to me like no other town ever had. I loved its beauty, its peculiarity, even the people like Josie and Dee I knew I would find myself missing if we had to move on.

'Three more days' I thought, as I pushed open the hotel room door ready to leave. 'I just have to convince her in three days.' 

The hotel room door slammed shut noisily as mum came out behind me. I winced at the bang and furrowed my eyebrows at mum who simply shrugged and walked ahead of me.