CHAPTER ONE: THE INVITE
"Oi, someone get the post!"
"Lloyd, you are right by the door. Get it yourself!"
"But Mum! I'm running late and Ian's been waiting for twenty minutes now!"
"Well, whose fault is that?"
Lloyd scowled at his mother, who was framed in the door-way of the kitchen, hands shoved into the front of her apron. He replied sulkily:
"But I wanted to see the end of that film…" Suddenly, he smirked, hollering: "Hey, H! The post's here!"
Mrs Hunter snapped: "Lloyd! You shouldn't get Harvey to do a task that requires him to abandon what he was doing and run down the stairs, when it could have been done at least a minute ago! By YOU!"
Lloyd went to retort, his lack of sleep and bad timekeeping having plunged him into a bad mood, when the sound of stamping erupted onto the stairs. Wincing at the noises that her youngest son was making, Mrs Hunter sighed as Harvey appeared, bounding into the hall-way in excitement.
As his little brother passed him, Lloyd smiled proudly and ruffled his hair. "Good boy."
Directing a glance at his mother, Lloyd shot her a two fingered salute. "Later, Mum." Moving towards the front door, he muttered: "See you later, H."
"See ya, L… Oh, you haven't got anything today."
Lloyd opened the front door, smiling at Harvey. "I don't mind, so I don't see why you should!"
Harvey shook his head as Lloyd left the house, closing the door behind him. "But it's fun receiving post…."
He double checked to make sure that he had all of the post in his hands, before leaving the hall-way.
Harvey ventured into the kitchen, where his mother was finishing off Lunch for the pair of them. Usually, Lunch would have been between four Hunters, but both Lloyd and Dinah had plans for today, something which Harvey was slightly envious of. Lloyd had gone to join Ian at basketball training, which to Harvey's utter misery and mortification, he was too short for. He slipped into a seat at the table, cringing. Upon being told by the coach that his height was an issue, Harvey had fled home in tears. Not his greatest act ever.
And there was no way that Harvey was spending his time shopping at the mall, even if it was with the rest of SPLAT. He just wasn't interested in browsing through rails of clothes like Mandy and Ingrid were. He knew that Dinah had been somewhat dreading it once invited, but had been reassured by Mandy that they could visit as many bookstores as Dinah wanted.
Distributing the post into four separate piles, one for him, one for his sister and the other two for his parents, Harvey sighed dejectedly, causing Mrs Hunter to glance over.
"Sweetie, are you alright?"
"Yeah Mum, it's just that…. Oh, it's nothing."
Mrs Hunter drew closer, sitting on the chair beside Harvey and sliding her arm around him.
"Really? Are you sure you don't want to talk about it?"
Harvey bit his lip in consideration then sighed again, murmuring:
"It's just that Lloyd and Dinah have plans for today and I don't."
Mrs Hunter smiled. "Oh darling, I'm sure you can find plenty of things to do around the house! And I bet when Daddy gets home from work, you can craft some model planes together!"
Harvey perked up at this, chirping: "Oh yeah! I'll do that with Dad, then maybe watch that programme on superheroes later tonight. You've really cheered me up, Mum!"
Mrs Hunter's smile broadened as she hugged her son to her chest. Upon withdrawing, she suddenly chuckled.
"Though as you have no plans, you could always help me with the housework."
Harvey's eyes bulged and he shook his head in horror, whispering: "Please let me be busy outside the house today!"
His mother rolled her eyes and rose to her feet, smiling happily when Dinah entered the kitchen.
"All set, Dinah?"
The girl in question nodded, fingering the bag that held her latest book. "Yes, Mum. I've got some money in case I want to buy anything. Would you like for me to text you when we're finished?"
"Yes please, sweetheart. You have a nice time now."
Smiling slightly, Dinah's gaze flickered onto her new little brother. "See you later, Harvey." She whispered.
He raised his head from his sorting, exclaiming: "Bye Di! Give Ing a kiss for me!" He laughed at Dinah's expression, waving her out of the kitchen. Once the front door had shut, Harvey addressed his mother.
"Mum, I've sorted the post out. You and Dad have lots! And I mean as in, lots of bills!"
Snickering at Mrs Hunter's groan, Harvey handed her the two piles, plus Dinah's one as well, before moving onto his own. On the table in front of him, were three envelopes. The first two contained a book voucher which he had won, and a letter detailing his next appointment at the local doctors, regarding his asthma.
Harvey scowled. Great, another check-up.
However, he faltered when he noticed the last envelope. It was black and sealed with sticky tape on the flap at the back. Flipping the envelope over so that he could scan the front, Harvey could not help shivering.
The cursive writing on the front seemed so….. Familiar.
Gulping, Harvey inhaled a deep breath, fearing the worst. Hastily tearing open the envelope as he usually did with everything that was wrapped up, his eyes widened as a slip of paper fluttered out and onto the table.
After making sure that the envelope was now empty, Harvey tossed it into the bin, then peered at the note. His breathing became more hitched, the further down the page. By the time he had finished reading it, Harvey was close to an asthma attack.
His worst fears had just been confirmed….