Stranger

four

Alice sat down on her bed alone after Clara had left, contemplating what to do. She did want to meet Bentley, but at the same time, he was practically a stranger.

Finally, she couldn't help it. She really wanted to meet him.

We should meet up sometime, she texted.

The reply came quickly, only a few minutes after she had sent her original message.

That would be cool. Want to come over to my place?

Alice smiled to herself as she wrote her reply and hit send. Sounds good. When?

How about tomorrow? I'll send you the address.

Can't wait. xx

The garage door from downstairs buzzed, rattling the walls as it opened, signalling that her mom was home. Alice jumped up and rushed downstairs, wanting to see what her mom had brought for dinner. Sandy must've had the same idea because he was already whimpering at the door.

A moment later the door swung open, revealing a pizza box and Alice's mom. "Sandy, do you always have to stand right at the door?" she sighed, looking down at the little dog wagging his tail.

"You bought pizza? I love you!" Alice grinned, taking the box that smelled of heavenly greasy bread and cheese. She took the box into the kitchen with her, already pulling out a slice.

It was as her mother walked into the bright glaring lights of the kitchen that Alice noticed that her mom didn't look very happy. The opposite in fact. "Mom, what's wrong?" she frowned, leaning against the counter.

The woman plastered a clearly forced smile across her face and shook her head. "Nothing," she replied, taking a piece of the pizza out of the box before shuffling over to the cupboards to get plates.

"Seriously, what is it?" Alice asked again, her voice taking on a worried tone.

A short sigh escaped her mom as she sat down at the table. "Your dad called me today. He said he wanted to talk."

Alice's father usually went unmentioned in her house. He had left when she was only five years old and she hadn't seen or heard from the man since. It used to bother her, but now she simply didn't care.

"Why?" she asked curiously, sitting down to face her mom.

"Nothing really. Just bills and such. You don't need to worry." If it hadn't been for the convincing smile her mom had flashed, Alice never would have believed her.

"Okay," she shrugged slightly. "I'm going to take a little shopping trip tomorrow so can I have a couple bucks for the bus?"

"Oh, sure, there's some change on the counter. You can just take it in the morning." Her mom beamed, standing up as she finished her pizza. "I'll be upstairs if you need anything."

"Alright." Alice shrugged, standing up to grab another slice from the box.