I raced downstairs and found Rose sitting in the living room with a SOMEWHAT GLUM expression on her face.
‘What did Grandma say?’ I asked breathlessly. ‘Did she tell you when Mum would be back? Did she tell you where she is?’
‘She says we can have oven pizzas for dinner,’ Rose offered sadly. ‘She said she won’t be back until late tonight and she’ll talk to us both properly in the morning.’
Although Rose hadn’t really answered my question, I didn’t see what was SO SAD about that, I ABSOLUTELY LOVE OVEN PIZZA. That at least was a cause for CELEBRATION. Mum always said that if I wasn’t careful I’d turn into a pizza, which I had to admit would be REALLY WEIRD, however much I loved it.
Thinking about pizza reminded me of Mum, and the reason I had wanted to speak to Rose in the first place. I decided to draw her attention to POINT FIVE on my list, which was CHRISTMAS SHOPPING.
‘Rose, I’ve had an idea,’ I said, still a bit out of breath from running down the stairs to find her.
If Grandma wouldn’t be back until later, perhaps we could still CRACK THE CASE on our own.
‘Oh yeah, brainbox,’ Rose replied. ‘What’s that then?’
I paused to catch my breath before telling her my latest theory.
‘Perhaps Mum’s gone Christmas shopping. And she had to leave really early to get to the shops before all the best presents were gone.’
Rose was staring straight at me looking SOMEWHAT SCEPTICAL but at least I had her full attention now. At last someone was taking me seriously.
When she didn’t reply I continued, ‘And then she got stuck in a massive queue at the checkout and missed the last bus home. I bet she’ll be back any minute now. She’ll come through that door,’ I gestured wildly towards the door of the living room, ‘and explain everything. Just you wait.’
‘Maybe,’ Rose sighed. ‘But what about the note?’
‘She had to leave something to throw us off the scent. She wanted it to be a surprise.’
Rose didn’t seem AT ALL CONVINCED by my latest theory. I’d just have to try harder to persuade her. We were RUNNING OUT OF OPTIONS. Rose had to see sense eventually. Where else could Mum possibly be?
‘I’m sure that’s what’s happened,’ I continued desperately. ‘I’m sure she’s going to be home soon.’
‘OK, OK, I believe you!’ Rose exclaimed. ‘But we should at least have something to eat whilst we wait for her, don’t you think?’
‘Yes, pizzas!’ I replied. ‘I’m starving.’
‘OK, hold your horses. I’ll put them on then.’
Once the pizzas were ready, we went into the kitchen and ate them in silence. I was way too hungry to be able to talk and eat at the same time and Rose seemed preoccupied with something. Perhaps she was also wondering what time Mum would get home from her shopping spree.
As Mum wasn’t here and Grandma wasn’t back yet, we could watch whatever we wanted on TV but Rose said she had to go upstairs and finish her homework (boring) so I got to watch my DOCTOR WHO DVD for the rest of the evening.
I’d watched TWO ENTIRE EPISODES and Mum still wasn’t home and my eyelids were starting to close. I couldn’t even summon up enough energy to find my phone to check if Dad or Lukas had tried to call. Suddenly I didn’t feel as if we were any closer to finding Mum after all. Unless she had gone to visit FATHER CHRISTMAS himself, she probably wasn’t still out CHRISTMAS SHOPPING. All the shops would be SHUT BY NOW anyway.
I wished Rose had stayed downstairs to watch TV with me for a while instead of disappearing to her room. We could have got cosy on the sofa like we usually do when Mum’s at home.
At around NINE THIRTY PM, I took myself upstairs. Staying up late wasn’t nearly as exciting as I thought it would be. I tried hard not to WORRY as I changed into my pyjamas and got myself ready for bed. It was VERY WEIRD knowing that Mum wasn’t here to tuck me in and check I was ACTUALLY ASLEEP not just FAKING IT.
My mind was a TOTAL WHIRLWIND. I needed to MAKE A NEW PLAN if I was going to get ANY SLEEP at all. I decided that I needed to try to speak to Grandma as soon as I woke up, even if it did mean waking her up and risking her ETERNAL WRATH (like anger but much, much worse).
I also needed to speak to Lukas and find out why he was acting so strangely. Had I done something to annoy him? I couldn’t think of ANYTHING. Though I knew I could be PRETTY ANNOYING sometimes and am prone to a VERY SHORT MEMORY. As hard as I WRACKED MY BRAINS, no answers came.
I brushed my teeth and went to my room. Although my world had changed completely since the previous day, my bedroom looked as normal as ever. A poster of Tim Peake looked down at me reassuringly from its place on the wall above my bed.
I turned on my nightlight, which cast warm shadows of the moon and stars across my bedroom walls. I wondered if Mum would be home later to turn it off once I’d drifted into sleep.
I decided to review my list one last time before going to bed. I couldn’t believe there were only THREE POINTS left on it. I could hopefully cross off Lukas’s house in the morning, once I’d had a chance to check that Mum wasn’t hiding out there for some UNKNOWN REASON.
And Lukas had PROMISED to help me. Tomorrow we could come up with a plan. I was even prepared to FORGIVE HIM for running off after school. Tomorrow was a brand new day after all.
I must have eventually fallen asleep, thinking of Mum on a beach somewhere, sun shining on her face as she smiled to herself. She looked happy.
places mum might have gone:
- The EU
- The Bahamas? Lanzarote
- Prison
- Tesco
- Christmas Shopping
- Oxford Street (see point five above)
- Hospital
- Lukas’s house
- Dad’s
- Dead?