First day of school...
Claire's POV
"I am not going, and you can't make me!" A little girl wailed behind me. Her mother gave her a stern look and then dragged her through the gates, passing by us.
"Do I have to go?" I asked, watching the scene nervously. I re-arranged the bag on my back for perhaps the hundredth time.
Quil nodded, also watching the pair.
"Come on Claire, everyone has to go. You get to learn new things." He told me. That response sounded rehearsed, but it was probably true.
I looked up at the gate fearfully. Who knew what was behind that fence.
Quil opened the gate and walked through it, holding it open for me. There was a black lock at the top, just out of my reach. I wouldn't be able to get out of here without help. Trapped. I couldn't help but shiver slightly when it closed behind us. Quil must have noticed because he took a step closer and gave me a reassuring smile.
My hand automatically clutched onto his wrist, and for a moment I just wished he would pick me up and get out of here.
We walked down a path and stopped near the door of a classroom. There was a large sign on the door that read 'Mrs Chaytons Classroom'. The majority of the children were running around and playing on the playground. A few others were crying, hanging onto their parents legs like overgrown leeches. Probably partly like I was doing, I admitted.
"Quil?" An female voice asked from our left. I turned around to see a woman in her late 50's, she was fairly small, with greying black hair that was in a long braid. It was pretty.
"Good morning Mrs Chayton," Quil replied with a grin.
Mrs Chayton, she must be the teacher. How did Quil know her?
"I haven't seen you in ages! What have you been doing since gradution?" She asked.
"I'm working as a mechanic," he told her. Mrs Chayton smiled down at me.
"And who is this?" She asked cheerfully.
"I'm Claire," I told her quietly. She seemed nice.
"That's great, I'm going to be your teacher. Did you know that I taught Quil when he was little?"
"You did?" I asked incredulously. That must have been ages ago.
Mrs Chayton nodded.
"Always getting into trouble, he was. He was best friends with Embry and Jacob, and you know what the three of them did?" She paused dramatically.
I watched in anticipation. Jacob, Embry, and Quil put together, it was already sounding like a recipe for distaster.
"Well, it all started when they found a mouse in the cupboard. The little girls were so scared of it that they ran around screaming for a good 15 minutes," she began.
How did Quil come into the story though? Quil was trying not to laugh at this point, barely succeeding.
"I was really sick of all the noise so that afternoon I showed them how to build a mouse trap. It caught the mouse while keeping it alive," she said. I wonder if she was going to teach us how to make a mouse trap. We needed some in our house, one had chewed up my wheat bag the other day.
"So we caught the mouse and a few weeks passed. I thought that, that was the end of it. No more screaming and I would be able to get back to teaching. But that was not the case. Anyway, one morning the three of them came in carrying all these ice cream containers. They told me they were full of insects to feed our pet frogs, looking up at me innocently like little cherubs. And just as I was taking the role... they opened the containers and mice ran everywhere! There must have been at least 50 of the smelly little things and they ran all over the classroom. They got into the cupboards and under the tables. We were finding them all around the classroom for weeks! And everytime one was discovered there would be more screaming and yelling and a huge carry on."
"One little girl was so upset that she decided to go a different school." Mrs Chayton finished with a chuckle.
Quil and I were both laughing by this point. That must have been hilarious! I would have to ask him later for his side of the story.
Just then the bell rung. What did that mean?
"In you come then Claire. We're mainly going to be settling in today. We'll do painting and I'll read everyone a story," Mrs Chayton said.
That didn't sound too bad. Quil picked me up and gave me a hug.
"Would you like me to stand outside for a while, just until you get settled in?" I shook my head, silly old Quil. I would be fine. "See you later," he sat me down on the ground and turned to leave, glancing back at me when he got to the gate.
"Bye," I whispered, knowing that he would hear. Mrs Chayton watched us curiously but shook her head and led me inside.
The classroom was fairly small, and it had lots of tables scattered around it. There were tiny chairs gathered the tables, just my size. Quil wouldn't have been able to sit on them, they would probably break. At the front of the room there was a larger table and desk, as well as a fluffy purple mat. Towards the back of the room there was a sink and a brown, wooden door.
"The desks have name tags on them," Mrs Chayton explained, "but for now you can just sit on the rug, okay?"
I nodded and sat down on the rug, it was really soft. There was another old woman sitting at the side of the classroom. Maybe we had 2 teachers?
Mrs Chayton went outside and called the other children.
They all came in and sat down on the rug. Mrs Chayton followed them inside.
"Hello everyone, My name is Mrs Chayton and I'm going to be your teacher for this year. Mrs Marlina is going to be helping out today," she announced kindly, gesturing towards the other lady.
"Now I know that everybody doesn't like rules but I'm going to have tell you a couple of them. The first rule is that you have to put up your hand if you want to talk. The second is that you cant all be talking at once. Only one person talks at a time, and if I'm talking, then no one else is allowed to.
"We cant have any running inside the classroom, and we have to use our inside voices.
"The last one is that if you hear me play this song," she clicked a button and music turned on, "you all have to come and sit on the rug."
Okay, that didn't sound too hard.
"Right, now we're going to go around the room and say our name and our favourite colour. Mara, you can start us off," Mrs Chayton said, nodding to a girl at the front.
"My name is Mara and my favourite colour is purple," she said loudly.
"My name is Adsila and my favourite colour is pink," another girl said.
I was next, "My name is Claire and my favourite colour is brown," I said quietly.
The rest of the day went past really quickly. We sang songs, did paintings, played with playdough and played chasey on the oval.
I played with a girl called Tadita, she was really fun.
After lunch Mrs Chayton let everyone play on the playground while she called us into the classroom seperately. I was one of the last people to go in.
When I entered the room Mrs Chayton was sitting on her chair with a piece of paper and a pen.
"Hey Claire, so how are you going with school so far?" She asked me.
I shrugged, "I'm having fun," I told her, feeling slightly awkward.
She nodded and handed me a basket of books.
"Pick a book," she told me. I grabbed the one that was closest to the top and sat it in my lap.
"Do you want me to read it?" I asked her. She nodded. Okay, I could do that.
I looked at the cover, it had a picture of a sneezing wolf. "The true story of the three little pigs," I said clearly.
"Everybody knows the story of the three little pigs. Or at least they think they do. But I'll let you in on a little secret. Nobody knows the real story, because nobody has ever heard my side of the story."
I turned the page, "I'm the wolf. Alexander T. Wolf. You can call me Al. I don't know how the whole big bad wolf thing got started, but its all wrong. Maybe it's because of our diet. Hey, its not my fault wolves eat cute little animals like bunnies and sheep and pigs. Thats just the way we are. If cheeseburgers were cute, folks would probably think you're big and bad too." I continued, stumbling slightly on the words Alexander and folks.
"But like I was saying, the big bad wolf thing is all wrong. The real story is about a sneeze and a cup of sugar," I was smiling by now. Everyone had heard the story of the three little pigs, Embry liked to joke about it quite a lot.
"Okay, you can stop now," Mrs Chayton said. I nodded and closed the book.
"Did your Mum teach you how to read Claire?" She asked kindly. I shook my head.
"Quil taught me and Aunty Emily and Kim helped whenever he was busy," I told her truthfully. Mrs Chayton looked kind of surprised but nodded anyway.
"Do you mean Kim Conweller?" She asked.
"Yeah," I replied with a nod. She must have taught Kim too, I wouldn't be too surprised if she had.
"How do you know her?" She asked kindly, probably trying to make conversation.
"She's always with Jared, and he's friends with Quil so I see her quite a bit," I replied quietly. Mrs Chayton nodded and looked thoughtful.
"And Quils your friend?" I nodded.
"Do you have any other friends?" I shrugged.
"Uh huh, Nessie is my friend as well," I told her. I didn't feel like saying anything else.
"Okay, you can go back to the playground now. Could you please ask Peta to come in here?" I nodded again and left the room.
Peta. Now, which one was she? I went up to a large group of girls.
"Mrs Chayton said that Peta had to go in and see her," I announced.
"I'm Peta," one of them said, skipping over to the door. I memorised which one that was before going and playing on the monkey bars with Tadita. It was really fun.
Mrs Chayton played the music a few minutes later and I ran back into the classroom. I was the first person to be sitting on the mat.
"Okay everyone, its nearly time to go home now. Tomorrow we will be learning a bit more, today was mainly for fun. You can all talk quietly while I hand out these notes. You need to make sure they get back to your parents straight away, alright." Mrs Chayton said.
Everyone began to talk among themselves, I just stared at the floor in silence. Mrs Chayton gave me three different pieces of paper.
I looked at them carefully. One was explaining what we would be learning this year, another was just saying 'welcome' and such. The third one was a 'medical form' according to the heading. It sounded important.
I didn't really need the first 2, but I would have to get Quil to fill out the third.
A loud bell rang from outside. Could we go home now?
"Okay everyone, most days you will be allowed to leave on your own, but just for today you have to wait for someone to pick you up," she called.
She opened the door and let the parents in. Quil was one of the first people inside. He quickly glanced around the group, gliding up to the mat and picking me up.
I gave him a hug. I had missed him, not that I was going to say so. I was older now, I should be able to go for a few hours without seeing Quil. Shouldn't I?
"How did it go?" He asked, squeezing me tight.
"Good," I replied happily. He sat me back on the floor and glanced down at the chairs. I heard his deep chuckle, probably realising how small they were.
Mrs Chayton had everyone stand in a line, and was collecting peoples phone numbers as well as ticking them off on her list.
Quil looked over the papers, finding the medical form. He found a spare pen on a desk and knelt on the floor, still towering over the desks.
I giggled slightly. Quil was way too big for the furniture. He glared at me playfully, before beginning to fill in the form.
I heard him snort at one of the questions. I looked around his shoulder at the paper, there wasn't anything funny about it, but I couldn't understand a lot of the words.
When was the students last rabies vaccine?
"Quil, what's rabies?" I asked. He chuckled again.
"Its a disease that you can get from being bitten by a sick dog," he explained. Oh, that explained it then. He finished the form and signed it, getting into the long line for the door. I went and collected my bag, handing it to Quil. We waited in line for about 10 minutes before it came to our turn.
"Thanks Quil," Mrs Chayton said, adding the medical form to her stack.
"Brooklyn, surely you aren't going to let the poor girl leave with him. Has he filled out the necessary forms?" Mrs Marlina asked rather rudely.
Mrs Chayton sighed. "I don't think that is really necessary Mrs Marlina, I'm sure Quil will make sure she gets home okay," she said.
"It is a school rule, Brooklyn. One that we must abide by," Mrs Marlina said angrily.
I officially decided that I didn't like Mrs Marlina. And it had nothing to do with what she called Tadita at lunch.
Mrs Chayton took a deep breath, as if trying to keep calm.
"I know its a rather silly little rule, but you need to get permission from her parents before you can take her home," she said apologetically. "Do you know their phone numbers?" Quil didn't bother to tell her that I only really had one parent. I leaned up against his arm, waiting patiently. She pulled out her phone and dialled the numbers as Quil said them.
"Hello? Yes, this is Mrs Chayton, I'm calling from the La Push primary school," she said. I couldn't hear Mum's response, though Quil probably could.
"I just need your permission to let Claire go home with Quil for today, I'll send a form home with her that you can fill out which will allow him to collect her for the rest of the year," she said. I switched between watching Quil and Mrs Chayton, trying to work out what was going on.
Quil winced and glared at the phone. Oh no.
"Yes, I am aware of that, ma'am," she continued.
"Well I'm sorry but its simply school protocol," she answered. The phone cut off and began to beep. Mum had hung up. Brilliant.
Mrs Chayton sighed again and lowered the phone.
"I'll take that as a yes. Could you please sign here?" She asked Quil. He signed the piece of paper and gave it back to her. "Okay, you can go now. I really am sorry about all that," she said. Mrs Marlina simply glared at Quil suspiciously.
"Its fine," Quil replied with a nod, walking out the door. I followed behind him. When we were outside he picked me back up. I cuddled into his shoulder as he walked back to the car.
"Why couldn't you take me home without Mums permission?" I asked Quil quietly.
"They just don't want strangers to kidnap you," he replied. Well that made sense, but Quil wasn't going to kidnap me. Why would he want to anyway? He had practically kidnapped me already. I paused for a second. Did it count as kidnapping if the kid didn't mind being kidnapped?
"So what did you do today Claire?" I shook my head.
"First we just talked for a few minutes. She told us all of the rules and stuff like that. Then we had to tell the class our name and our favourite colour," I told him. He nodded, watching me curiously. Quil always listened to me, even if what I was saying wasn't very interesting.
"After that we played with playdough and some building blocks. I played on the monkey bars, and that was really fun. I had to climb up onto the hand rail so that I could reach them though. I played with a girl called Tadita, and she was really nice. I got to read a really good book to Mrs Chayton about the three little pigs, but it was the wolf telling the story."
I continued to fill him in on my entire day, not sparing any details. The first day of school was really fun, but after that day we did a lot less playing and a lot more learning. I really enjoyed school, I got to learn lots of new things that Quil had never thought to tell me.
By Friday afternoon I was really tired though. Enough to nearly fall asleep while we were sitting on the mat, waiting for the bell to ring. When it finally went, I stayed on the rug and closed my eyes, waiting for Quil.
He had said that he was going to pick me up from the classroom today because he had to give Mrs Chayton a note from Mum. She had finally signed the form that allowed Quil to legally pick me up from school each day.
"Hey Quil, looks like you've got a tired little one over here," Mrs Chayton said with laugh. I heard a familiar chuckle from behind me, and a pair of warm arms picked me up. I opened my eyes and looked up at Quil. He was smiling, but his face was slightly tense. I wondered what was wrong with him. He wasn't just worried about me, was he? I was tired, sure, but that didn't mean I was sick or anything.
"I'd better get her home then, have a good afternoon," Quil said to Mrs Chayton. I waved to my teacher over Quils shoulder. She smiled at me and returned to her paperwork.
"Did you have a good day?"
"Yeah, it was fine. Tadita invited me over to her house for a play. Could you call her mum and arrange it?"
"Sure. When did you want to go?" He looked slightly wary.
"Tadita is really nice, and so is her Mum," I told him indignantly. Why did everyone not like her mother? Jasmin was really nice. She had even made an extra cupcake at lunch. Quil raised his hands in surrender.
"I didn't mean it like that Claire Bear. Her Mum is fine, I'll call her a bit later, okay?" I nodded, dropping my glare and laying my head back down on his shoulder.
"I dont really mind. Oh, and you know what else happened? Mrs Chayton was telling funny stories about Embry. Apparently he covered the principal in green goo," I said with a giggle.
He chuckled at that part, his chest vibrating.
"Yeah, he was aiming for Mrs Marlina I believe." I giggled, that would be a good idea, Mrs Marlina was a real grouch.
Quil still didn't look particularly happy though.
"Are you okay?" I tapped his nose when he didn't respond. He wasn't still upset about me going to Tadita's house, was he?
"Anyone ever told you that you're too observant for your own good?" He replied with his own question.
"Quil," I grumbled. He didn't have to tell me, it might have been something to do with the wolves or something, but I didn't like seeing him unhappy.
"Its not really my place to tell you," he replied. Was it a wolf thing or something else?
"Am I going to hate it?" I asked as he put my in the car. He buckled me in and closed the door, walking around to the drivers seat.
He shut his door and started the engine.
"Possibly."
A lump settled in the bottom of my stomach. He wasn't making any sense.
The rest of the ride home was spent in silence. I watched the scenery fly past the window, Quil drove fairly fast, but nowhere near as fast as Mum.
We pulled into the driveway, but Quil didn't get out, he simply stared at the house. Okay, I'm starting to think that the problem was inside, most likely Mum.
I took off my seatbelt and climbed into the front, settling myself on Quils lap. I looked up at him, studying his worried brown eyes.
"What did she do?" He smiled crookedly and slipped his arms around me, leaning down to give me a hug. I rested my head on his shoulder. Quil smelled like the forest, like pine trees, wood and fresh soil all put together.
Was Mum dead or something? He probably would have told me straight away if she was. Pregnant perhaps? I could survive that. It couldn't be too bad, I decided. If it was he would have called up the school.
There was a silver car in the driveway. Okay, so Mum had a friend over.
Quil sat me back down on the porch and opened the door, gesturing for me to enter the living room. Mum was sitting on the couch with a man I had never seen before. He wasn't a native. Light brown hair, blue eyes and relatively tanned skin, though it would still be considered pale on the reservation. He was slightly shorter than Quil.
Mum was dressed in a low cut purple dress, her makeup and hair was done and she was wearing her most expensive jewellery. The man was wearing a grey suit and tie, they had probably just gotten home from a late lunch or something. What was I missing?
They looked up as we entered the room. I couldn't help noticing that they both looked excited, Mum probably slightly more than the guy.
Quil sat down on the couch with a sigh, an expectant expression on his face. I sat down beside him, making sure Quil was between me and the stranger.
"Hey Claire, how was your day?" Mum asked. I was preparing myself to be introduced to another of her 'friends,' even as she spoke.
"It was great. I was invited to a friends house," I replied. Mum liked to put on an act for her friends and unfortunately I had to be a part of it.
"Thats good sweetie," she replied. Sweetie, oh great. "Why don't you sit on Quil's knee so that you can see us properly?"
She was suggesting that I sat in Quil's lap? She usually had a fit if he carried me anywhere, telling me that it wasn't very grown up and blah blah blah. Quil picked me up, making sure I could see Mum.
"Now, I'm not really sure how to tell you this darling."
What was she going to say? I was still betting on the pregnant idea. I wonder what it would be like to have a sister or brother. Would Quil play with the baby as well? I could take care of it, feed it milk from a bottle and stuff like that.
Mum was taking forever to talk, she was now staring into the mans eyes like a lovesick puppy. Would she just say it already?
Quil already knew what was going on. Maybe he would give me a clue? I looked up at him in question, he glanced away, not meeting me eyes.
I glared at him, punching his head as forcefully as I could without hurting my hand. Just tell me already!
He was still ignoring me. I waved my hand infront of his face. I was trying to be patient, really I was. But could someone please just tell me?
"Is she pregnant?" I asked Quil quietly.
Quil sighed and shook his head, holding up his left hand and gesturing to Mum.
Oh no.
I must have made some sort of sound, because I felt Quil give me a hug, also cutting off my escape route.
I was too busy staring at Mum's hand to even attempt to move, or more correctly, staring at the silver ring that was on her finger.
She couldn't get married! She just couldn't!
I wriggled, trying to get away, but Quil held on tight. I felt him gently stroke my arm, trying to make me calm down.
"Quil," I whined, trying again to move my arms out of his iron grip. No such luck.
He mumbled a quiet apology but didn't let go, if anything holding on tighter. I eventually stopped trying, refusing to look at him. I had no chance of getting away if he wasn't going to let me go. Traitor. Quil was supposed to be my best friend, why wasn't he letting me leave?
I took a deep breathe. Quil was older than me, he probably knew what was best. He was usually right about these things.
Mum and the stranger were still staring into each others eyes, not noticing my problem. Quil looked sad, like he really wanted to let me run away, but he couldn't for some reason.
It wasn't his fault that Mum was getting married.
I sighed pitifully, snuggling back up to Quil, and leaning against him. He released his grip on me, probably realising that I had given up.
"It will be okay," he murmured. No, it wouldn't be okay. We might have to move house and, sell this one. We might be moving somewhere far away, somewhere that Quil couldn't visit. The man might turn out to be horrible, he would fight with Mum, probably hate me. The exact meaning of not okay.
"But Quil, what if we have to move to a place really far away? Too far away for you to come and visit me," I whispered.
"You're not moving far away, I'll still see you the same amount," he told me.
"How do you know?"
"Because I may have been sitting outside listening to their conversation before I had to pick you up," he whispered back with a small chuckle. I stifled a giggle. Okay, that was slightly better then, at least I would get to see Quil.
"So where is it?"
"Only about half an hour away. The house is slightly bigger than this one and its surrounded by pine trees. Its really pretty." Quil sounded as if he had already been there, but would he of had time? I wasn't really sure.
"You're going to have a new father," Mum finally announced. They looked at me expectantly, waiting for a reaction that I wasn't going to repeat.
"That's great. When's the wedding going to be?" I asked, trying to sound excited. Quil froze, and tightened his grip on me again.
Oh no.
"Its going to be tomorrow, we've been planning it for months! Now, we had better go shopping for your dress, the shops are open late tonight," Mum said.
Tomorrow? Been planning it for months? Dress shopping?
I considered asking Quil to put me down, and then running for the beach. I could hide somewhere in the forest, and then come back when they were all asleep. Or maybe I could walk to Aunt Emily's house, that wasn't too far away. She would give me a hug and perhaps a chocolate chip cookie.
Aunt Emily, had she known about the wedding? Was she invited? If the wedding had been planned for months, had everyone known about it without telling me? My chest tightened for a moment, and my breath caught in my throat. Would they all do that? Would Quil?
"Elise, Claire has had a really big week, she was nearly asleep when I came to pick her up. Perhaps you could just find a dress her size and bring it home for her?" Quil suggested. Mum shook her head.
"No," she said, ending the discussion. "But I suppose you can come if you'd like." My soon-to-be-step-father chuckled to himself.
"Now Elise, why would the boy want to come shopping? It's any mans nightmare," he said.
Mum smiled at him sweetly, "In that case, why don't you come as well? You still need a tie, you cant wear that one." He rolled his eyes but agreed to come. The two of them stood up to get changed into casual clothes. I swallowed and looked up at Quil, trying not to look upset.
"What's his name?" I asked.
"I don't know," he chuckled, "worst come to worst we can find out at the wedding," he said. I nodded, assuming someone would say his name during the ceremony.
"Is Aunty Emily invited?"
Quil shrugged, "Its right next to her house so I would assume so." So it was true. Everyone knew except me.
Mum came through the hallway, holding hands with the man. She took her bag off of the kitchen bench and started towards the door.
"Why don't we take my car?" The man suggested, pulling Mum into a hug as they walked.
"Okay," Mum replied with a giggle. She was so weird when she had friends over. He would be in for a surprise trying to live with her. Quil stood up and followed them out, shutting the door behind him. The man opened the car with a click, and held the door open for Mum before getting in.
Quil sat me in the back and climbed in next to me. I put on my seat belt, resting my head on Quils shoulder.
I had to stay awake so that we could go shopping... but I was so tired. Quil gently stroked my back, really not helping me to stay awake.
Mum and the man were busy planning the wedding, talking about flowers and napkins and other stuff that I didn't really care about. If I was listening I would probably find out where the wedding was going to be, and any extra information I should probably know, but Quil was probably already doing that. I could just ask him later.
I forced my eyes open and sat up straight. I will not fall asleep. I will not fall asleep. I will not fall asleep. Don't ask me how, but I somehow managed to stay awake for the entire trip. The man parked in the closest spot to the door, and we all got out. By now it was getting dark, I didn't know where we were, but it was really far away.
Our little group walked through the glass doors, heading up the moving stairs before coming to a line of shops. We went past bakery that had a delicious smell coming out from it, little tarts, donuts and sugary bread rolls filled the display cabinet.
Mum paused to admire some fabric, before entering a store. There were all sorts of clothes on display, bright coloured dresses, stockings, pants, mini skirts and shorts, scarves and jackets. But I didn't see anything that looked like a dress that a person would wear to a wedding.
I didn't talk, though Mum and the man definitly did. Quil just followed behind, making sure that I didn't get lost.
After about 15 minutes of wandering around that shop we left that area and went along another long hallway that was filled with people. We entered another huge shop, that seemed to sell everything.
We went around the checkout area, and through a large gate. My feet were really sore by this point, and we hadn't even started looking for a dress yet. Mum picked up a black shopping basket and headed off down an aisle, the man beside her.
I looked at the large shopping basket wistfully. Whenever Mum made us go shopping with her (she usually needed Quil to lift furniture or something), Quil would carry me around in a shopping basket. It was really fun, but I was too big for that now.
I wish that I was small again. At the moment I was too big to fit in the basket, and too big to be carried around, (though Quil still did it whenever I was tired), but too small to reach the shelf or the light switch.
After we had been walking for about 10 minutes, Mum stopped to look at napkins. I climbed up onto a shelf that was full of large, plastic coolers, pulling myself onto the empty one above it. Once here, I climbed onto the shelf above that. Mum glared at me but didn't say anything, returning her attention to the napkins.
"But we can't have just plain white, it doesn't go with the other colours."
"It will go with the colour of you dress," the man chuckled.
"But seriously, we need either blue or gold and can you see any gold napkins?"
"Could always spray paint them. But if we cant do that then go with the dark blue."
"But the purple really is lovely, and the blue might stain something."
Quil rested against the shelf, looking as bored as I felt.
When it became clear that we weren't going anywhere soon, Quil tested the strength of the shelf, peering at the screws and metal that was holding it together. He obviously found it to his liking because he jumped up, sitting down beside me.
I grumbled a bit to myself. How could he get up so fast? He picked me up, sitting me in his lap so that I could rest.
"You just have to stay awake for a bit longer, the shops will close in a couple of hours anyway," Quil told me.
"A couple of hours," I whined, opening my eyes.
"Now, what about the decorations? The florist will be setting up the flowers at 3:00, and I've already got the chairs. The pair of you get down from there," Mum ordered, already striding in a diferent direction.
Quil mumbled something that I couldn't hear and dropped down from the shelf. I lifted my arms, allowing him to take me down.
"Quil, you're coming to the wedding, aren't you?" I asked, realising that we hadn't actually spoken about it. I had to do something to keep myself awake, talking would probably do it.
"Yeah, not that I've been invited, but I will come," he said, following Mum to the checkout. She hadn't invited Quil?
"Well, I haven't been invited, but I'm still coming," I told him with a grin. Quil rolled his eyes.
We went into another area of the shop, where Mum picked out at least 20 large, glass bottles. They were tinted blue. We had to use 2 shopping trolleys just to carry them all. Quil pushed one trolley and I sat in the baby seat.
She also bought a really long piece of white lace, a packet of sequins and a tub of golden glitter.
We entered another shop, just a small one this time. This was looking better, it had wedding gowns, formal dresses and mens suits. The man picked out a plain black tie and Mum sorted through a sheld of veils.
What was I going to wear? I lifted my arms and looked up at Quil, who rolled his eyes with a playful smirk.
"Yes Claire?" I glared at him.
"Can you please get me out of the trolley?" I asked icily.
"Of course I can."
He picked me up and sat me back on the floor. There was a rack of childrens dresses on special a few metres away. I found a pretty white one and held it up for Quil to see.
"That looks good," he told me. I took the dress to Mum, she was still looking at veils. Shouldn't she already have one by now? I tapped her arm, ignoring the look she was sending me.
"Is this okay?" I asked her quietly. She looked at the price tag and smiled slightly.
"Yeah, thats fine. Go try it on."
I did as I was told. The dress fitted me, though it was slightly too big around the waist. No one would notice that though. I stepped out of the dressing room and showed Mum. She nodded, which I took as a yes. I changed back and handed her the dress before having a quick look around the shop.
A few minutes later I was back to sitting in the trolley, waiting for Mum. The man purchased his tie and came to stand beside Quil.
"So I take it you're Quil? We didn't really have time for introductions, I'm Darren," He said, holding out his hand. It was a bit late for introductions wasn't it? Quil nodded and shook his hand.
"Yes, that's me. And you've met Claire," Quil replied, gesturing meaningfully in my direction.
"Of course. I'm sure we're going to be great friends," he said with a smile in my direction.
Unlikely. I faked a smile back at him, watching Quil make weird faces behind his back. Something had put him in a good mood. Either that or he was trying to put me in a good mood. That was more likely.
Quil held up a pink toy pig above his head, pretending that it was attacking Darrens ear. I stifled a giggle, trying not to let Darren realise that something was going on behind him.
He must have felt the air rush past him or something because he began to turn around. Luckily, Quil noticed and quickly darted to the side, returning the pig to its shelf before Darren could see.
Darren stared at him suspiciously but didn't say anything.
"So Claire, what sort of things do you like to do?"
Um. I don't know, visit Aunty Emily? Go swimming? Go to the playground with Quil?
Quil was behind him again, this time with a unicorn that was attacking a purple puppy.
"I like going to the beach," I told him after a few seconds. That was an easier one to explain.
The puppy had been eaten now, and the unicorn was circling Darron's head. A monkey entered the scene, riding away on the unicorn. As silly as it was it was still entertaining.
"Oh, that sounds fun," he paused for a few seconds, "so Quil looks after you most of the time?" So we were going to have this conversatiion were we?
"Yes, he does. Mum's at work a lot of the time," I answered carefully. Quil had returned the toys and stood beside me, his arms crossed, waiting for the next question. I think he scared him a bit because Darren quickly changed the subject.
"So what has Elise told you about me so far?"
"Nothing," I cut in before Quil could reply. Darren looked slighty surprised but continuued.
"Okay. Well, my name is Darren McCarthur,"
Darren McCarthur? What a weird last name. I seriously hoped that I wouldn't have to have that last name. I liked Claire Young much better, and if I absulotely had to have it, Trents last name was Stirling, which was fairly good.
"I'm 26 years old and I work in the oil mines," he finished.
"So how long are you usually away for?" Quil asked. I looked up at him quizzically. What did he mean by that?
"I'm usually away for 3 months and then home for 2 weeks," Darren explained.
Quil nodded, not looking very surprised. So he was away for 3 months at a time? That would be awesome! Except for the 2 weeks that he stayed at home, but it would be worth it. Everything would pretty much stay the same. I tried to stop the smile spreading to my face, but wasn't sure if it worked.
"Okay, I'm done," Mum announced as she put the bags in the trolley behind me.
"Would you like me to take Claire for a while? You must be getting worn out by now," Darren said to Quil. I glared at Darren when he wasn't looking. I was staying with Quil.
"No, I'm fine," Quil replied. We left the shopping centre, walking out into the cold night air.
I shivered and held my arms out. Quil let go of the trolley for a second and picked me up, pushing the trolley with one arm and carrying me with the other. I sighed and cuddled into his warm shoulder.
I was nearly 6 years old, one of these days he was going to tell me that I was too big for him to carry around. That was going to be horrible.
Quil opened the door and put me in the car while he put the shopping in the back. I rubbed my arms, trying to keep warm as I waited for them to finish. Quil left to put both of the trolleys away while Mum and Darren got in the car.
"I've already chosen the entertainment, the man is supposed to be really good. Well he'd better be anyway, he was really expensive," Mum grumbled.
"What did you end up deciding on the cake?" Such a boy. Only thinking about food.
"I ordered the black and white one, you're going to have to pick it up at 10:00."
"Me? Why do I have to pick it up?" Darren exclaimed.
"Because I have too many other things to do."
"Like what?"
"Like planning an entire wedding." Darren snorted loudly. The door opened and Quil got inside, closing the door behind him. Darren started up the car and pulled out of the carpark, he stopped at Mc Donalds.
"I want the garden salad with the italian dressing," Mum called out as we sat down, Darren heading off to order.
"Do you want to go on the playground?" Quil asked me, "there's no one else in there." I thought about it for a few seconds, we wouldn't be coming back to the playground for another couple of months, but I was really, really tired.
But we wouldn't be back here for who knows how long, and by then the playground would probably be full of kids. With a small sigh I nodded. Quil chuckled at my expression and sat me down on the slide. The room was really dark, but fairly warm. They obviously didn't think that anyone would be playing on the playground at this time of night. I took off my sandals and climbed up barefoot. It was really easy to climb up when you didn't have any shoes on.
I really liked the playgrounds, they were bright and colourful, even if they were ocassionally dirty. Once I had reached the top of the slide I turned left, climbing up several levels until I got to the top. From here I could see through the glass into building, though it was probably too dark for them to see me. I could see Mum sitting at the table, typing on her phone. Maybe she was still planning the wedding.
Darren was standing next to the bench, watching a thin girl in a black apron make his coffee. She had nearly purple hair that made her look really weird. The rest of the shop was empty, apart from a dark haired man that looked slightly older than Darren. He was eating a piece of cheesecake while reading a newspaper. I looked back to the ground but couldn't see Quil.
Where was he?
I heard a faint thump come from the ceiling.
"Quil?" His head hung down on the other side of the wall. How did he get up there?
"Yes?" He asked with a chuckle.
"Can I come up there?" That looked really fun. He hesitated but nodded.
"I'll meet you at the bottom." I nodded and crawled back to the slide, slipping down it quickly. Quil was already there when I arrived. I looked up at the tall, dark fence. How had he gotten up there? It was too dark to see anything else.
"Just don't tell your Mum, okay?" As if I would.
I nodded and allowed him to pick me up. Quil stepped up onto the sign and climbed up the fence, holding me firmly to his chest with one hand. I forced myself to close my eyes, not wanting to look down.
"You can open your eyes now Claire," he told me gently. I did as I was told, trying not to look at the ground. Quil shifted me into his lap so that I could see properly. We were sitting on the very top of the playground, probably on the roof of the tunnel I was just in. I could still see inside the building, Darren was still standing at the bench. They were taking a long time with his food.
Mum was still on her phone, though now she also had a magazine open. Planning a wedding was a lot of work.
"Quil, what time does the wedding start?" I asked quietly, turning to look up at him. Quil looked slightly unhappy, though he was doing his best to hide it. He looked down at the ground and gave me a hug.
"5:00." A few seconds later he looked back up, a bright smile on his face.
"I wonder where they're going on their honeymoon?"Honey moon? What in the world was a honey moon?
"What's a honeymoon?" I asked Quil. He smiled back at me.
"It's a holiday that you go on after you get married," he told me. That made sense, but why was it called a honeymoon? I decided not to ask. Well, that was good, I wouldn't have to see Mum or Darren for a while.
"So where am I going to stay?" Quil smiled happily, maybe I was staying with him? That would be really exciting. I knew that Quil had started renting an apartment somewhere a couple of months ago, but I had never actually been there. But who would look after me when he had to leave for the night? Perhaps I would just go to Aunt Emily's house. Quil spent a lot of time there anyway, and the spare room had a bunk bed in it.
"I don't know, they haven't said anything about it. Anyway, close your eyes again, the foods ready," he told me. I decided not to even wonder how he knew that the food was ready and closed my eyes. I felt us drop to the ground, though I didn't feel the landing.
I opened my eyes again as Quil walked through the door. Just as he had said, there were 4 burgers and fries on the table, as well as a chocolate ice cream sundae that Darren was digging into.
I sat down beside Quil and took the food that Mum shoved before me, munching away at the fries before starting my burger. When I had finshed, I looked up at Mum. She was staring at Darren, having already finished her salad.
"Mum, who am I going to stay with while you're on your honeymoon?" I asked. She looked up at me in surprise, as if the thought had never occured to her. It probably hadn't. I tried not to feel upset, it didn't matter, I had Quil and he was even better.
"I dont know, Quil?" Mum asked, looking at him in question. Yes! Darren choked on his sundae, and Mum looked at him with a frown.
"Sure. When will you be getting back?" Quil asked. Yay! I get to stay with Quil!
"You can't be serious Elise, leaving her with a teenage boy!" Darren exclaimed. Why? What was wrong?
Mum rolled her eyes. "I think that I know what is best for my own daughter," she said before looking at Quil. "We're only going for three days, Darren has to be at work on Wednesday." Quil nodded, though he looked slightly surprised.
"You realise that you're asking for trouble, right? The girl will be dead by Tuesday," Darren continued.
Dead!
He did realise that Quil was sitting right next to me, didn't he? I glanced over at Quil, he looked angry, and was shaking slightly, but didn't say anything. I shuffled closer to him and rested my head on his arm. The shaking immediately stopped, it was a trick I had learnt ages ago.
"Oh shut up," Mum ordered, standing up. They were already arguing and they weren't even married yet. I sighed, imagine what it was going to be like for the 2 weeks that he was home. Maybe I could just stay with Quil for those weeks. He wouldn't mind, would he?
Darren and Quil stood up, and I climbed onto the chair so that Quil could pick me up.
"I'll take her," Darren said sternly, glaring up at Quil. Quil glared back, making me shiver slightly. He looked dangerous when he did that. As if he could kill someone with his bare hands, really quickly.
Darren looked scared for a minute before his eyes hardened again. He moved around the table and picked me up. His cold hands wobbled slightly, yep I was getting too big to be carried around. I tensed up, it felt like he was going to drop me any second now.
Mum watched him with a shake of her head. Darren grunted, storming back to the car. Quil followed right behind, ready to catch me if I was dropped. When Darren arrived back at the car he climbed into the back seat with me.
"You're up front," he ordered Quil. "Elise, you can drive." Quil didn't look very happy about it but climbed into the front seat. Mum just snorted and took the keys, getting into the drivers seat.
Darren tried to start a conversation with me, but I ignored him, not caring when he started to get cross. Quil glanced back at me every couple of minutes. There was no chance of me falling asleep next to Darren, I no longer felt tired enough.
Mum eventually pulled into the driveway and we all got out, slowly unpacking the things and making our way into the house. Darren stayed next to me the whole time.
"Quil, could I speak to you for a minute?" Darren asked icily once we were inside.
"Of course."
The two of them went into the living room, Darren slamming the door behind himself. Mum handed me my dress and went into her room, shutting the door behind her. I considered listening to the conversation, but decided against it. Quil always managed to work out when I was listening, and he might be cross if I did it this time.
With another small sigh I went into my room, putting the dress in my top draw and slipping on a jacket. This done I went into the kitchen, making myself a hot chocolate. Mum came out of her room a few minutes later.
"Make me one as well," she told me, gesturing to the steaming cup. I nodded and handed her my untouched cup, making myself a new one. Mum sat down at the table and began flicking through her magazine again.
Roughly 10 minutes later Darren stormed out of the kitchen, Quil nowhere in sight.
"Where is he?" Mum asked skeptically. Darren snorted.
"He went home."Mum nodded and went back to her magazine.
I wonder what had happened, maybe I should have listened in. He obviously wasn't staying the night, but that was fairly common since he got his apartment. Quil wouldn't have left without saying good night though.
"Make one for me," Darren ordered, looking at the drink. I gave him mine, that I hadn't drank yet and left the room. Maybe Darren had yelled at him? Poor Quil. Though it was more likely that Quil won the argument.
I quickly had a shower and brushed my teeth before going back to my room. There was a couple of extra blankets on my bed but I didn't think anything of it. I stared out the window, into the darkness. I wonder where Quil is right now.
"Miss me?" The voice was quiet, but came from right behind me. I jumped in fright and turned around. Quil looked angry, but gave me small smile when I looked at him. He picked me up in a tight hug, nearly crushing me in the process.
"Yep," I answered, "what did Darren say?"
"Oh nothing much," Quil replied, tucking me into bed, "I'll see you in the morning, I've got the key to the window." I suddenly realised how tired I was, sinking into the blanets and closing my eyes. Why did he have to leave?
"Goodnight Claire," he whispered.
"Night Quil," I murmured back. I heard the window click shut and the house was silent once more.
Just as I was drifting off I heard a wolf howl in the distance.