Letters From Laura

13

Dear Mum,

I'm finally out of bed. Victoria was my first visitor and she seemed relieved to know that I was alright.

It's nice to know that I have someone who cares about me. Even if the person is 12 years old.

Anyhow, I told her how Nancy saw the map and I promised to be more cautious about our secret mission in the future. Then Victoria went quiet and she looked up at me sort of nervously.

She seemed scared to tell me something and I was worried that perhaps our secret mission was out in the open now.

"Oh, no. It's nothing like that!" She assured me. "You see, earlier this year- before you even came here- mum signed me up for summer camp and I had completely forgotten about it until now. Laura, I'm sorry but I'm leaving tomorrow. I'll only be gone two weeks but I know it'll delay our mission. I'm so sorry!"

She was looking at me and I could tell she really was sad about going.

"Oh. It's alright. We'll just put off everything until you get back. We have all summer to figure it out." And I tried my best to reassure her and myself.

She opened her mouth to talk some more but I didn't want her to be sad.

"What kind of camp? What will you do?"

So she started telling me about the horses she'll get to ride and how it'll be her third year in a row going to the camp. She was very excited.

So when she left this morning, I made sure to hug her very tight and promised to pause the investigation.

It wouldn't be right without her anyway.

So while she's gone, I'm going to try and interact with my surroundings a bit more. You know, go outside and try to forget for a while. Maybe it will do me good to not be so obsessed with the mission.

I just need a break.

Laura