I had allowed myself a lie in, for the first time in almost two months; no more exams meant I could sleep in an hour or so longer. Except, instead of waking up for school, I had to help out my dad as his assistant. Even a professor at the Central Metropolitan University needs help sometimes, but I assumed it was more of a case of keeping me out of trouble.
But not setting my alarm appeared to be a mistake, as I woke up to bright light streaming in through a gap in my curtains. A jolt of panic forced me upright and my left arm batted at my bedside table, looking for my phone. It was 09:40am, and I was running late. Shit.
I scrambled out of bed, tripping on my duvet and sending myself to the floor with a painful, cracker flavoured thud. Sharp yellow spiked up my arm as my elbow collided with the ground, which dissipated into cream throbs. Ignoring the pain, I pulled myself up and got dressed; a pair of jeans and a baggy top were all that was necessary. After feeding my plants with the rest of my water from the night before, I dashed downstairs.
I grabbed my bag, beanie and my chunky black boots and then checked the time. 09:48am. No time for breakfast, to which my stomach complained in vocal form. I put on the house alarm and dashed out the house, slamming the door behind me. I legged it as fast as I could down the street, praying that what I lacked in speed, I'd make up for in endurance.
I had just over ten minutes to make it to Dad's office on time, and something told me I wouldn't make it. Perhaps it was the sharp yellow stitch in my side twelve minutes in; or how I'd started panting after fifteen; or even the spots in my vision I started seeing as I reached campus. Either way, I couldn't be knocked for my determination, even if I arrived out of breath and dripping with sweat, five minutes late.
I continued at a slower pace, allowing myself to catch my breath a bit. Students stepped out of the way as I jogged past, some moving faster than others. Most were sipping coffee and had bags under their eyes from studying all night - something I could relate to. Once I approached the building where my dad's office was, I sped up again, hoping that he'd notice I was hurrying and take pity. Not that he'd care too much that I was late, but I'd still rather not be.
I shot past the windows to Dad's office, hoping that nobody would be there yet, but alas, 3 blurry figures came and went in the split second I hurtled by. I could guess that one was Dad, another most likely Stephen, but the last was a mystery - another professor? A student? I'd find out in a matter of seconds anyway.
I skidded to a halt right outside the office, caught my breath, and entered still pink in the face and sweaty. Stephen, Dad and the stranger were deep in conversation and hadn't yet noticed my arrival. The unknown man had dark brown hair that fell to below his ears, and wore too many layers for this time of year. Dad held aloft his fossilised Sarcopterygian - the rocky remains of a dead fish.
"Not again." I mumbled to myself, trotting down the stairs. The sound set off a waffle taste in my mouth. The flavours made my stomach grumble and I wished I'd had breakfast.
"No trace of it in the fossil record for 70 million years, and then suddenly, one of them just pops up," Dad snapped his fingers, "In the middle of the Indian Ocean." He explained to the young man.
I rolled my eyes, putting my bag down under the table Stephen was working at. He was watching the pair in amusement, no doubt at the stranger, who appeared to be a student being scolded. "You're late." Stephen teased, his voice the flavour of sticky toffee sauce.
"I overslept. It's my first day back, give me some slack." I leaned back on the table, also watching the pair. "Who is he?"
"Connor Temple. Some student, who never turns up to the seminars." Stephen lowered his voice so it was more gooey with a hint of rich dark chocolate. I licked my lips.
Connor held out a newspaper and showed it to Dad with a crispy rustle. Dad walked over to take a look, acknowledging my presence with a small nod and slight smile as he passed the fish fossil over to Stephen.
"Some sort of giant undiscovered predator." Connor's strange, new voice spoke - it was starchy and soft, like mashed potatoes.
Dad looked at the newspaper and I could see he fought the urge to roll his eyes as he passed it over to Stephen. I bit back a laugh.
"No, no, no, no. This," Connor said, taking the newspaper off Stephen, the crispy rustle making my mouth water. "This is the real thing." His eyes were wide with sincerity and belief, and it was hard to have to witness Dad crush his delusion. But it had to be done.
"Connor, you should get out more. Go to a bar, meet a nice girl. Life will seem a lot less confusing." The patronising tone of Dad's tinged his soggy cereal flavour, and I had to stifle another laugh, and turn away to avoid Connor's notice.
"I've already got a girlfriend." Connor lied. His smooth, creamy voice turned to lumpy mush, almost making me choke. That was a lie. "Sort of." I reached down for my water bottle in my backpack - a necessity for moments like this. I ignored the conversation for a while after, in an attempt to start with filing and tidying up; Dad's office was in a worse state than my room, and that was impressive to say the least. It wasn't long before my attention snapped back into the conversation, due to the sudden change in tone.
"Your wife wouldn't have ignored it." Connor had said in desperation. I looked up from my work, staring Dad in the face. It was still a soft topic, for both of us, and I knew he wouldn't take it well. Even eight years on, every mention of Mum still hurt. He paused, his eyes filled with a million memories as he tried to produce an argument. I swallowed.
"My wife was a serious scientist." Dad told Connor, defending Mum. "Not some gullible ... Monster hunter."
Connor blushed, embarrassed over his outburst. "Sorry." He apologised, and I could taste the sincerity. It didn't take away the tightness in my throat though.
"It's okay." Dad mumbled, barely loud enough for me to hear, but he had clearly been affected. He wasn't the only one. The entire room was quiet for a moment. I bit my lip.
"I thought you might ... Wanna check it out, is all." Connor sounded defeated, walking towards the door. "It's not as though the Forest of Dean is very far away though." Connor added, subtly trying to get our interest, and succeeding. Stephen's head shot up from where he was working, and Dad was wide-eyed with interest. I sighed. The forest of Dean was not somewhere I wanted to go back to, especially with other people.
"The forest of Dean?" Dad reiterated. Stephen sighed. Everyone knew the forest of Dean was where Mum was last seen, where her backpack had been found, and so of course Dad would want to investigate. Stephen and Dad exchanged glances, and I knew then that it had already been decided.
"If we leave now, we could be there by lunch." Stephen estimated, but I lost interest. I wasn't going, end of. I cleared up another pile of files, ordering them alphabetically and placing a few mislaid papers into the correct folders when I received a tap on the shoulder.
"Hmm?" I slid the files into the drawer and turned to see Dad behind me. Stephen was packing his bag and Connor was stood by the stairs, an excited look on his face, though he was biting his lip trying to stifle it.
"We're going out." He said, to which I nodded.
"Call me if you find anything." I started to turn away when I heard the mango of my name. I closed my eyes and exhaled before turning back.
"You're coming too." He told me matter-of-factly.
"What? Why?" I asked, frowning. Surely he wouldn't make me go? He knew how uncomfortable it made me.
"Since you still haven't gone to pick up your keys from your friend's house, and we don't know how long we'll be gone." Dad continued to watch me as I turned away and chewed my bottom lip, scowling.
"Well, I could just go and get my keys from her, it's not like it's that difficult." I muttered, but it didn't change his mind - he was being stubborn. I felt tears welling up in my eyes, but I wouldn't let them loose. "Please don't make me." I pleaded, staring into his eyes. That was when he wrapped his arms around me, holding me tight.
"Hey, it won't be for very long, I promise." He meant it, like he always did, but I knew we'd spend more time there than he'd mean to, like always.
"Hmm." I nodded and pulled away, grabbing my backpack. "Fine, lets go." There was no point in arguing, I didn't have the energy. "But I missed breakfast, so you're buying me food on the way."