Professor Luke and the dream road
Long time no see, Internet! Hope you enjoy this chapter!
I woke up to the feeling of choking.
I coughed and spluttered for about ten seconds before I realized two things:
1, my neck hurt like crazy.
2, if I didn't get up I was going to be late for school.
I got out of bed slowly when I heard Luke cry in the next room. I rushed into the hallway and gasped as the pain in my neck escalated to new heights.
"Aaah!" I groaned, feeling my neck with my fingers. It hurt to touch and was probably bruised, but I did my best to ignore it and ran into Luke's room.
He was lying in bed, freezing cold and wet again, moaning my name. I touched him but he recoiled, shooting across to the other side of the bed. "Luke…" I whispered.
"Flora, what happened to you?" exclaimed the Professor as he walked into Luke's room.
"I, er, a guy with a mask tried to strangle me while we were walking down the road with Kat. It's fine though." The Professor didn't look convinced.
"I'll have to take you for a check-up at the hospital, Flora. Whatever happened could have caused serious damage."
So that was how I ended up in a hospital room, with a doctor looking anxiously at my neck and the Professor spinning an epic tale of a burglar wielding a towel that was all complete rubbish, and the doctor probably suspected him of being an abusive parent or something. She gave me a bandage and some cream and then sent us out.
When we got back it was about ten, and I asked the Professor if I could go to school. It seemed like a better option than staying at home worrying until Luke woke up.
When I got there, I went to the school office to explain my absence and sign in. It was break so I ran to my locker to find my timetable. I had maths again. Great.
I walked into the maths classroom and was stared at by everyone, including the teacher, as I took my seat.
"What the hell happened to you?" smirked the boy next to me. "Did your little brother finally get tired of you?" I was instantly furious.
"Shut your face, Joel." It was Hana. She was at the desk in front of me. She winked at me and an idea formed in my mind…
"Yeah, you might meet the same gory fate as the burglar who tried to beat me up," I replied, pointing at my neck. "Note the word tried."
Joel gulped and didn't say a word for the rest of the lesson.
It was P.E. next, but I was excused on account of my neck. I watched the rest of my class play netball in the rain and thought about the night. Kat had been right when she said I'd be injured, but I had thought she had a different meaning in mind. Hmm.
At lunch, I walked into the dining room and stopped, seeing Kat sitting alone at a table.
It had never occurred to me that Kat wouldn't have any friends, but when I thought about it, it was obvious. She clearly didn't get on with most people-the only person I could think of who liked her was Luke. She also had helped me out with the bully in her year, who had probably told everyone not to talk to her. Even the Professor didn't like her.
I walked over and sat down next to her. "Hey," I said, picking up a fork. "God, the food here really is disgusting. Can't they choose better recipes?"
"It's a school, Flora. They're not going to make gourmet cuisine for a bunch of kids. They make it cheap. It's a tight budget around here."
"A bunch of kids? Is that all we are to them?" I asked, pushing food around on my plate.
"I guess so."
There was an awkward silence. I pushed a forkful of potatoes into my mouth, ignoring the fish on the other side of my tray.
"Flora…have you ever been to school before?" asked Kat.
"I, no, I haven't. How did you know?"
"It's something about the way you are. Are you from St Mystere?"
"I…I am. But how did you know that?"
"Newspapers. My dad reads them every day. It seems that Professor Layton came home from a little village refusing to talk about anything…but he adopted a girl the next day. You. I don't think that was a coincidence."
"That was a Professor Layton worthy deduction. Well done, Kat." I smiled at her and she gave me the tiniest smile back. Kat gave me the impression that she was someone whose life had been shattered and that she was trying to put it back together, which I admired.
Kat got up to put her tray away…with fish still on her plate. "Hey Kat! You can't just waste food like that!"
"Well I'm not eating it. I was never going to eat it, I only got the fish so I could have potatoes." said Kat stubbornly.
I stared down at my plate of fish. "Yeah, they should really let us have potatoes on their own."
"Welcome to my life, Flora. It's just full of rotten fish." I laughed. "See you tonight, I guess."
My laugh vanished. "Um, yeah, I guess so." She stared at me with her head cocked to one side, then turned around. I didn't see her again that lunch.
I trudged out of school at the end of the day. The Professor had told me I might have to walk home, what with the Luke situation. On my way out of the school building, Mrs Calder intercepted me.
"Flora, when are you going to comply with the school rules and wear a uniform? I know you are new, but I will have to issue a detention soon for-And you!" Kat just stopped, like she had expected Mrs Calder to pounce on her. Mrs Calder launched in to the uniform speech and I sneaked off.
When I was about halfway to the school gates, I heard Kat screaming behind me.
"How dare you talk about my mum like that! You're a god-awful teacher and I'm not wearing the $& % uniform!" Kat ran off to the school gates, brushing past me.
"Hey! Kat, wait!" I yelled, running after her.
"Please Flora. Just please don't ask me about it."
"I wasn't going to. I was going to tell you not to listen to Mrs Calder. She's-" Kat interrupted me, a bit more normal.
"She's a bitch. I know. Oh, and Flora?"
"Yeah?"
"Don't tell the Professor I said that." I laughed.
"My lips are sealed." I replied, tapping my nose.
"Kat Royale! Come here!" shrieked Mrs Calder. I grinned at Kat.
"I'm sure you'll outrun her. She's like an obese pigeon." Kat sniggered.
"Thanks for the vote of confidence." She rushed towards the gate. Mrs Calder followed her, shrieking for her to stop and ignoring me. Phew.
Outside the school gates, a pleasant surprise awaited me. The Professor had come in the car…with Luke!
"Luke!" I gasped, hopping in the back seat with him. He looked a bit pale and drawn but he was his usual cheeky smiley self. "How are you?"
"What about you, Flora? I'm sorry that Descole strangled you, I tried to stop him, really-" I cut him off.
"Don't apologise please, Luke." I said firmly.
"Fine. By the way, Mrs Calder just chased Kat out of the school looking like an overweight penguin-"
"Luke, it is not gentlemanly to say such things about ladies!" exclaimed the Professor as we giggled in the back seat. "Flora, do you know why your head teacher was chasing Kat out of the school?"
"Well…she was giving both of us the uniform speech but I got away. Then Mrs Calder must have said something really rude about Kat's parents, I think, because Kat completely lost it and shouted at her. Then Mrs Calder chased her like an obese pigeon." Me and Luke dissolved into more giggles.
"Flora…" said the Professor in a warning tone.
The evening was spent like any other but I had to do some homework. My maths homework mystified me so I made a mental note to ask Miss Marino, my maths teacher about it the next day.
But before that, there was another night of hell to survive.
I got changed into some sturdy clothes. Remembering what Kat had said about Luke, I put on an extra fleece for him to wear when we got there.
I met Luke on the landing after brushing my teeth. He was terrified. "I don't want to go to sleep Flora," he whispered.
"It's okay, Luke. I'll be right with you for as long as I can."
But if I hadn't gone to sleep that night, my mind would be a saner place.
Okay, so the next chapter has a twist! Can anyone guess what it is? Clue: Read the last line and consider what it means. Okay, see yap!