Marthandia

Chapter 1

"I didn't know someone could dawdle for so long until I met you." I said.

"Shut up, you love me." my best friend, Francesca Dawson, said. I just rolled my eyes. An embroidered patch with bright red lips and 'bite me' on it sewn on to her khaki green book bag distracted me momentarily. It was new.

"Come on, we'll be late for homeroom and Miss Van Hout will be angry." I said.

"Nah, she's chilled. Some teacher's pet will probably be chewing her ear off anyway." Frankie said. She fished a ponytail out of her locker and bundled her short, black hair into a bun.

"Frankie, we cannot get another detention this month." I said.

"Oh alright, but with this bag weighing me down you cannot blame me if I collapse halfway." Frankie said. She smiled her trademark smile and her hazel eyes flashed. Frankie's face is a patchwork of different shades of brown thrown together; from her tan skin to her freckles and light eyes. We slung our backpacks over our shoulders and ran towards our tutor classroom. 

As we slumped down in our seats, breathing heavily, the bell rang. "Good morning girls." Miss Van Hout greeted. Miss Van Hout is a petite lady. Her mousy hair is scraped into a militant ponytail this morning. Her pantsuit is ironed and also a ghastly shade of green.

"Good morning Ms VH." We greeted back. As Ms VH was telling us about the auditions for the school play, I noticed a large shadow outside shaped like a large eagle. I blinked and it was gone. I tried to shake it off, but throughout the periods before break I kept seeing the same shadow.

At break, while eating our lunch, we noticed two men walking towards our Headmistress's office. On closer inspection you could see one man was probably in his mid-thirties while the other man was not a man at all but a boy probably a year or two older than us.

"Why hello sexy!" my friend Melanie said, eyeing the boy. She fixed her waist-length brunnette hair into a ponytail.We all groaned and continued eating our lunch.

Just as break was about to finish and the bell was going to ring, the visitors emerged from the office. Much to everyone's surprise, they started walking towards us.

"What do you think they want?" Jemma said referring to the fast approaching visitors. "Hopefully a date." smiled Melanie.

"Margaret Hillstone," What have I done now? "Please follow us." The boy said.

"Margaret, I have some shocking news, you might want to sit down." Mrs Oakley, the Headmistress, said. Her grey eyes flashed. Her pants were crumpled and her grey hair was loose and messy. She seemed nervous, something she never was.

"You are needed in a case and these detectives are here to pick you up. You need to go with them." she said.

"What about school?" I said. "Don't worry about that. We can email you the work." Mrs Oakley said.

"Don't you want to know why you are leaving and where you are going?" she asked. "Yes please Mrs Oakley." I said.

"You are going to the East Coast. They have found your mother. Or at least, they think they have." Mrs Oakley said. How could they have found my mom. My dad filed the missing person report just after she disappeared She's been gone almost fifteen years. Tears formed in the corners of my eyes. I almost fell into Mrs Oakley's open arms.

I don't know how long it was until Mrs Oakley spoke but to me it seemed like ages. I said goodbye, but my mind was somewhere else entirely. The visitors herded me out of Mrs Oakley,s office.

"My name's Wyatt, I would ask for your name but I already know it." he said. "That's not creepy at all." I said. The boy just smiled and flipped his dark hair. I sighed softly and rolled my eyes.

"And I am Brian Golding." said the older man, while opening the car door for me. "Thank you." I said, climbing into the backseat of a black Volvo.

As we pulled into my drive way, I noticed my dad's car in the drive way. He must have known I was coming home and left work early. My grandmother and dad emerged from our small townhouse to greet me. My grandmother helped me pack a bag while my dad spoke to our guests in the kitchen.

"Dad, why are we rushing this? I mean it's a fifteen year old missing person's case." I said. "I don't know sweetie. All I know is what the agents told me." he said. My father avoided my eyes. He was hiding something. I decided to leave it.

"Say hi to Beatrice for me." my grandmother said. My father pulled me into a hug and I gave my grandmother one last kiss on the cheek.

As Brian pulled out of the driveway, I waved to my family with an ache in my heart. I wonder when I'll see them again.

"You're pretty quiet back there, is everything okay?" Wyatt said. "Yeah, I'm fine. How much further do we have to go?" I asked. "About eight hours." Brian said. I slipped my earphones into my ears and turned the volume up to drown out my thoughts.

We had driven for about three hours when we stopped for petrol. "I'm going to the bathroom." I said. "Wyatt will go with you." Brian said elbowing Wyatt in the ribs.

"I think I can go to the restroom by myself. I'm a big girl." I said. "We have to protect you. I have to stay with the car and pay for the petrol. Wyatt will go with you." Brian said. "Okay, I'll take him with." I said. We walked in silence to the restrooms.

"Well, here we are." He said as we arrived at the bathrooms. I smiled sarcastically before walking in. When I walked out he was leaning against the wall.

"You look like a stalker." I said. "Thanks babe, I try my best." He said, sticking his hands into his over-sized denim jacket's pockets.

"One caramel latte please." I asked the barista at the garage store. "You said bathroom. Brian is going to be angry if he knows we came in here." Wyatt said. I ignored him as I paid for my drink.

"Where have you been?" demanded Brian as we got to the car. "I was just getting coffee. It's a necessity." I said. "Coffee is a necessity?" Brian asked. "Naturally." I said as I climbed in the car.

Instead of sitting in the front, Wyatt climbed in to back of the car, and he sat down right next to me. I plugged in my earphones and turned my volume up full blast. He did the same.

An hour or two later we arrived at our accommodation for the night. It was a small Bed and Breakfast in the middle of nowhere. The paint was peeling off if the walls. A huge rusted sign hung next to the splintering front door. It read 'Carl's ed & brekfst'.

"Two rooms under the name Golding." Brian said to the man at the front desk.

"Only two bedrooms?" Wyatt asked Brian. He nodded. "Well, looks like we're sharing a room babe." Wyatt said. "In your dreams." I said.

Brian then gave me my key and room number. "Good night Brian, Wyatt. See you in the dining room for breakfast." I said .

My room was simple: a desk, bed and television was all there was. At least the paint was still on the walls. I turned the television on and surfed through the channels until I found a music channel. I showered in a trance. I let the lukewarm water wash away the day's event. I wrapped myself in a crisp white towel.

I slipped into my pyjamas. Had I been at home we would have been watching NCIS ,if my father had the remote, or Dancing with the Stars ,if my grandmkther had the remote. A pang of honesickness hit me. I climbed into the bed and slid under the sheets. As soon as my head hit the pillow I was fast asleep.