The sun rays stream into my room introducing a new day. It's finally the weekend and so I am going to meet Penny in the park today. I roll of my bed and start my daily morning routine. I splash cool water over my face, eat breakfast and then return upstairs to brush my teeth clean. I yell at my parents, warning them that I am about to leave and then set off towards the park.

Penny and I always go to the park on Saturday mornings. It's been "our thing" ever since I could remember. We started it when we were young and it has continued on even now at high school. It's a place where we go to take a nice walk around, breath in fresh air and just enjoy each other's company. There has rarely been a time when we had to cancel our weekly morning walks.

My eyes dance around the small pond populated with swans and geese. The water shimmers and reflects the autumn sun making it look so clean and pristine. In reality, the pond is full of murky green water but there's something about the early morning which makes everything look innocent and new. I find the bench we meet at and sit down, observing the swans circling the circumference of the pond.

"Hey, Viola!" Penny smiles, pulling her hat over her face.

"Hey, Pen." I smile back, tapping the space next to me on the bench.

"Oh my god it's freezing. It's only a matter of time before my fingers turn blue and drop off." She bursts out.

"Come on, it's not even that cold."

"Are you kidding me? Look, I can see my breath." She then exhales letting out a cloud of white condensation. "See? You see that? Cold."

"Okay, fine but it's not as cold as you make it ou-"

"It's freeezziinngggg." She moans. "So cold so cold so cold." She chants. Her mouth begins to chatter. "I'm gonna go out for a mini run to warm up. Stay here." She commands and with that she's off.

I watch her from afar, laughing as she flings her scarf around her shoulder every time it slips. The little pompom on her bobble hat wiggles with every thumping step she takes. She shoots me a thumbs-up and jogs around a corner so overgrown with plants she disappears from me the moment she turns. I laugh again.

"You look ridiculous!" I shout out behind her. I hear her bubbly laugh fade away. Sighing, I haul my feet up onto the bench and lie there. It seems like I would be here for a little while and I might as well make myself comfortable. The sky is a clear blue, which explains why it is quite chilly however not as cold as Penny makes it out to be.

"HEY VIOLA, LOOK WHO I FOUND!"

"What?" I sit up.

Penny returns from around the corner she disappeared into minutes ago.

"Isn't it cute?" She says, burying her head into the dog.

"Penny, drop the dog." I command staring at the familiar brown, ruffled dog.

"What? He was all alone and cold and so cute." She giggles as the dog licks her face.

"No, Penny, that dog is Todd's dog."

She looks at me in the eye, half smiling. "Haha, funny. The scary, dangerous Todd Hewitt, who is rumoured to carry a knife around, who rarely attends class, who even the teachers fear…owns a small, cute dog."

"I'm being serious." I take the dog out of Penny's arms.

"Hey, no fair." She whines.

Manchee turns his head towards me and instantly barks. He wiggles and starts to lick my face repeatedly.

"The dog never did that to me!" Penny says. "It likes you way more."

"Hey, shh, stop barking." I coax him. But Manchee starts howling in excitement and I accidently drop him. He is a bundle of energy I couldn't control.

"Manchee?" I hear Todd call. Penny flicks her eyes towards me. Her eyes were so wide and white.

"He's here." She whispers loudly. "What do we do?"

"I don't know!" I whisper back frantically waving my arms around. Manchee runs over to the voice around the corner.

"The dogs gone to him!"

"I know that, I saw."

"Run."

And with that she disappears from my side and sprints down the path, one hand holding her bobble hat and the other flicking her scarf over her shoulder. She turns around after a few metres down the path.

"What are you doing? Run!" She mouths to me, making frantic hand gestures. I start jogging but stop as I hear Todd's voice. It's so quiet so I have to venture close to the voice on the overgrown corner. I gesture to Penny to run ahead, she does after shooting me a confused face.

"Viola's here?"

BARK!

"Should I talk to her?"

BARK!

"You stupid dog."

BARK!

"Go check."

Manchee's head peeks around the corner. He jumps at the sight of me standing there and I mirror him, jumping up too in surprise. A gasp escaped my lips. I slap my lips shut with my mouth. Todd appears around the corner.

"Todd." I say so quietly I don't think anyone hears it apart from me.

"Viola." He says.

A silence fills the air.

"Viola. I'm sorry about yesterday." He finally says.

I stare at the ground.

"I'm sorry for kicking Manchee. And I'm sorry for shouting, and scaring you."

I look down at the ground.

"Viola, do you want to take a walk with Manchee?" He looks into my eyes, searching them. His eyes are a dark brown, but not a warm brown as anyone would expect. They are dark, mysterious and have something hidden behind them. Something I fear. And again, I feel the fear I usually have when I am around him. I gave him a chance yesterday and I shouldn't give him a chance today. But it's the fear that takes control, and gives him what he wants.

"Yes." I reply, instantly hating myself for it. He sees it.

"Okay." He walks ahead. I walk behind. Manchee happily yaps ahead.

There were moments in the walk when Todd would lose his temper. I saw it when Manchee barked continuously at nothing in particular, or when he sprinted ahead not knowing where he was going and Todd had to run behind and catch the dog. There were times in the walk when we did actually talk, and when we did it unlocked a little about the mysterious Todd Hewitt. He told me about how Cillian and Ben became his parents. He told me a bit about why he hates school and the people inside the building. He even told me something incredible. Something strange and something unsettling. He said that he sees and hears the thoughts of everyone. He hears what they're thinking, sees what they are saying. He says the mind of a person is busy, messy, ugly, chaotic. He then stopped, probably thinking he said too much. Which I think he did.