Lukas lives in a flat on the same floor as mine, so on an ordinary day I knock for him on my way to school. That’s how we met, on our first day of secondary school, and we’ve been walking to school together ever since. Apart from yesterday of course but those were VERY EXCEPTIONAL CIRCUMSTANCES.
I wondered if that had anything to do with him acting so funny the previous day. What had his mum needed him to do that was SO IMPORTANT that he’d had to run off as soon as school was finished? And why was he suddenly acting all CHUMMY with NERDY NORA? Perhaps he had been trying to avoid me and just making up excuses so he could make a speedy getaway.
I decided to try and find out as soon as he answered the bell. And to see if his mum had any idea where my mum was at the same time. I didn’t even wait for a hello but got STRAIGHT TO THE POINT as soon as Lukas opened the door.
‘Mum’s still missing,’ I announced. ‘She didn’t come home last night. And Grandma’s staying over, but she won’t tell me what’s going on.’
Without waiting for a response, I continued:
‘Were you annoyed when I didn’t knock for you yesterday morning?’ I was changing tactic and trying to sound casual at the same time.
‘I thought you might be sick,’ replied Lukas. ‘So, no, I wasn’t annoyed with you.’
‘Were you worried then?’ I persisted.
‘Not really, no.’
It was GOOD TO KNOW that Lukas wouldn’t be the SLIGHTEST BIT WORRIED if I DROPPED DEAD IN THE STREET. I decided to think about the FULL IMPLICATIONS OF THIS STATEMENT later. At least he didn’t seem to be in a bad mood with me any longer.
Lukas’s mum is an amazing cook and their flat always smells of delicious food. The Polish sausage KIELBASA is my ABSOLUTE FAVOURITE. Today, however, there was no smell of food, and the flat seemed suspiciously quiet.
‘Where is everyone?’ I asked Lukas.
‘Out,’ he replied.
‘Yes, I can see that with my very own eyes Lukas, but where are they?’ I took a deep breath. I was trying very hard to keep my temper under control.
‘I don’t know. Mum said they were going out early this morning.’
Lukas is an only child so by THEY he meant HIS PARENTS.
‘But where?’ I asked. ‘Do you know if my mum has been here recently?’
Lukas blinked at me blankly from behind his glasses. He was ACTING SHIFTY. Perhaps he was starting to feel guilty for abandoning me after school the previous afternoon.
Suddenly I wanted to cry but I knew that wouldn’t help matters so I decided to search the flat from top to bottom instead. I had to move fast as I didn’t want to risk being late for school two days in a row.
It seemed HIGHLY UNLIKELY that Mum would be here if Valerie was out, as they were best friends too, just like me and Lukas. And she wasn’t likely to play third wheel on Lukas’s parents’ day trip. But I decided I should check the rest of the flat JUST IN CASE.
I looked everywhere. In the kitchen, I even looked under the sink, much to Lukas’s surprise. I ran up the stairs and checked in the bathroom and in all of the bedrooms which didn’t take long as there are only two.
Mum wasn’t there.
Having discovered that Mum was DEFINITELY NOT in Lukas’s flat, and ALMOST CERTAINLY NOT hiding under the kitchen sink, we decided to leave for school. At least I could cross one more place off my list and it wasn’t even eight thirty yet.
To make the most of the journey to school and as TIME WAS OF THE ESSENCE, I decided to fill Lukas in on what I knew so far. Everyone knows that in the case of a missing person, the first 48 hours are vital, and he had offered to help after all. He just wasn’t doing a very good job of it at present, but maybe all he needed was a bit of GENTLE ENCOURAGEMENT.
I took my notebook out of my jacket pocket and started to rummage through my bag. I successfully located my pencil case and my favourite red pen and managed to open a new page of my notebook and start to write, which proved to be EXCEPTIONALLY DIFFICULT whilst walking at the SAME TIME. Meanwhile Lukas was looking at me as if I’d GROWN TWO HEADS since I last saw him.
‘What are you doing?’ he asked seriously.
‘You know you promised to help me find my mum today?’ I asked.
‘Yes, of course,’ Lukas replied.
‘Well, we need to review the evidence.’
I stopped walking and showed him what I had written:
Review of the evidence pertaining to the case of the missing mum:
‘She’s left a note,’ I continued. ‘So she must have known she was leaving. And both Dad and Tesco Shirley remember seeing her down at Tesco the night she disappeared.’
Lukas looked thoughtful.
‘Dad’s statement puts her last sighting at 10 pm. When Rose woke me up at 8 am she was gone. So that leaves almost twelve hours unaccounted for.’
‘Perhaps your grandma knows where she is?’ Lukas asked.
‘Good idea, perhaps I should just ask Grandma,’ I replied sarcastically. ‘Don’t you think I’ve already thought of that?’
‘Sorry, I was just trying to help.’
‘Grandma’s always busy and Rose is no use either. She won’t tell me what’s going on. There are only two points left on my list now, prison and hospital. Both would account for Mum being away overnight I suppose. I’ve searched her bedroom and her passport is still there, so I don’t think she’s gone abroad.’
I paused for a second to catch my breath, ideas swirling frantically round my head.
‘Lukas,’ I ventured hesitantly. ‘Do you think it’s likely that my mum has been arrested?’
Lukas blinked back at me from beneath his glasses. He looked DEEP IN THOUGHT, so I decided to continue with my current line of investigation.
‘I mean, I’m not suggesting she’s one hundred per cent perfect all of the time, but she’s never been in trouble with the law before as far as I know. And wouldn’t a policeman have let us know by now if she had?’
Lukas continued with his PERSISTENT BLINKING. I warned you he DOESN’T SAY A LOT. He was blinking so rapidly that I was afraid one of his eyes would POP OUT.
‘Don’t worry,’ I said. ‘I’m sure the police station or the hospital would have called if something really bad had happened. But perhaps I should check with Dad or Grandma when I get home just to be certain.’
I was so busy talking I hadn’t noticed that we had arrived at the school gates.
‘I’d better go,’ Lukas said. ‘Don’t want to be late for registration.’
‘OK,’ I replied. ‘I’ll see you after school?’
By the time I looked up, Lukas had vanished. He seemed to be making a habit of RUNNING OFF these days. He really wasn’t turning out to be the sidekick I’d hoped for.
At least I felt reassured now that Mum probably wasn’t a CRIMINAL or in INTENSIVE CARE. Though I did still think we should speak to the police soon to report a missing person. Perhaps I would ask Dad about this later, maybe he had connections in the local council that might be able to help us find her.
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?