Chapter 9

The next morning, I went to school as usual. My first class was English class and it had gone well. My second class was math. Nothing had gone into my brain in the class. I had spent the entire period thinking. It would not take a genius to figure out that I was thinking about Riley. I kept wondering how it had happened. How on earth had I fallen in love with Riley? He was nothing like I had pictured my boyfriend to be, yet to love him felt so right.

While I was walking to the guy's room, I nearly bumped into Abby Monroe. She was pacing up and down.

"Watch where you are going", she snarled.

I had nothing to say to that so I merely walked past her.

"Just the person I want to see", she said behind me.

I stopped and looked behind me, "me?"

"Yes, you. Tell your friend to stay away from my boyfriend", she said.

"Which friend?" I asked.

"Don't act like you don't know. The new girl", she said.

"Why don't you tell her yourself?" I asked.

Abby fazed a lot of students, not me. She was a spoilt brat and was used to ordering people around. If she thought I was going to act like one of the servants in her mansion home, she had another thought coming.

"Stop asking questions and tell her!" she barked.

"I'll do no such thing. If you have a problem, talk to Matt", I said.

She gave me a dirty look before she walked away.

It was really funny how she behaved. It was almost like Mandy had asked Matt out. Did Abby think so highly of herself she wanted to threaten Mandy because of Matt's misdeeds? That was so low. If Matt didn't love her anymore, she should have moved on and left Mandy the hell alone.

I found myself chuckling. When had I allowed myself to think like that? The entire situation was not mine to analyze, I was not part of it. There was however a situation I was part of that I really despised. Taking a decision not to think about it, I walked into the guy's room. When I walked out, company was what I needed and I got it. Mandy walked towards me.

"Hey. I haven't seen you all day", she said as she arrived.

"Hey. That's because you didn't come to class", I said.

"I had a little accident", she said as she showed me her bandaged arm.

"What happened?" I asked.

"A fan blade cut me, long story. Anyway, mom forced me to go to the hospital. Guess who I saw?"

There was no guessing really. I knew the answer.

"Dr Michaels?" I asked.

Mandy pouted, and then said, "...Riley, dummy, although...I did see Dr Michaels too. Riley is looking good. We talked. I didn't really know him that much before the coma, so I did not really see the difference that you would see. He kept saying I was his girlfriend and I was not telling him the truth".

I almost rolled my eyes. I stopped myself.

"That's good, at least he is getting better", I mumbled.

"Anyway, I am going to see him after school, are you coming with?" Mandy asked.

"No, I have some things to do", I said as we walked to our next class, physics.

We walked into class. It was not yet full. Matt however was in class. Mandy and I took our usual seats. Matt walked towards us.

"Just the girl I want to see", he said to Mandy.

"Hi Matt", Mandy said sweetly.

"Hi. So, what do you want to do on Saturday night?" he asked.

"Oh, I don't know; maybe watch a film..."Mandy said.

Matthew seemed baffled. "What's a film?"

"It's a movie, you idiot", I butted in.

"Oh, we could do that", he said smiling.

His expression changed when he saw Abby enter the room.

"We'll talk later", he said, walking away.

That was so pathetic! Mandy did not see Abby though so she did not seem fazed by what happened. I doubt she would be even if she did; she was taking Matt for a ride. Her heart was somewhere else. The very same place mine seemed to be.

"You said film, that's a British term", I remarked.

"Oh, must be all the British...movies I watch. I'm in love with the accent", Mandy said.

That's not the only thing you are in love with, I mentally commented.

I almost let it go, but then I remembered that film was not the first British term she had used. She had definitely said "snogging" at one time, which I had found odd, but had not commented on.

"Mandy, can you borrow me your biology notes book? I need to check something", I said.

"Sure".

She opened her bag, took out the book and handed it to me. I was not sure I would find what I was looking for, but it was worth a try. I was looking for something in particular. Mandy didn't just use British terms, she used British spelling as well.

I returned the book and said nothing. After school, I drove home. I found my dad in his study. He was working on the case from home. Luckily Calvin was not home. I was still avoiding him. I had nothing to do so I decided to get some start on dinner. The beef stroganoff did not take a long time to do.

It helped me to not think of what Mandy and Riley were doing at that moment. When I was done however, there was nothing to do. Was she telling him how she felt? What would he say? I could slap myself silly for thinking that. Of course she would not tell him how she felt, it would scare him. She was visiting him often, getting him closer to her. What did I do? I stayed away! He did not know anyone; he was like a newborn baby. Weren't most babies' first word "mama" because they spent so much time with their mothers? Mandy spent much time with Riley; he was bound to get attached to her.

Busy with my thoughts, I did not see dad walk in.

"Mm, smells nice", he said stretching.

"As only food cooked by me can", I said.

He gave me the "Really?" look.

I pouted. "Are you done with work?"

"Not really, I have some files to go through, like a psychologist report and a research on the psychologist herself", he said.

"Rather you than me", I said.

"You can help?" dad said, hopeful.

"How will I do that? I know nothing more than you do about law", I said.

"Come with", he said.

I followed dad to his study. As soon as we entered, I knew what my job would be. His desk was so messy. It had papers, files, newspaper cuttings and pencils everywhere.

"Ta-Da", dad said.

My mouth hung open.

"Am I supposed to clean all that up?" I asked.

"No...you just need to pack up the stuff. Pencils in there, files together, newspaper cuttings together and so on..."

"Ag", I groaned.

I started working. It was not really a lot of work. I started with the pencils, and then the files. When I got to the newspaper cuttings however, I stopped.

"What's wrong?" dad asked, taking a seat.

"I know this girl", I said pointing to a picture on one of the newspaper clippings.

"Oh, yeah, she is Harry... my client's daughter. It's possible you have met her. The mother moved from Silica town with the children. A move Harry says was her way of avoiding him".

"So, she lied to me?" I asked no one in particular.

"What do you mean she lied to you? Are you close?" dad asked.

"Yeah, sort of. She goes to our school. We hang out. She told me her father was dead, said she was born in Silica Town. No wonder she uses British terms. Why would she lie?"

"Okay, that's not good at all. She seems to hate her father. She probably did not want anyone to know about him. Under our law, being 18 years, she has a say on who she wants to stay with, although the judge's decision is not solely based on her preference".

"Can't they just go for joint custody?" I asked.

"That's what my client wanted. His ex-wife would not hear of it", dad said.

I shrugged as I finished packing the desk. Dad thanked me and I went to my room. Sitting in my room, I thought about what I had discovered. The British terms and the spelling made sense! Her mother had done a good research though; no one in Aqua Town seemed to know the famous Harry Cornwall who had grabbed many headlines in England. I decided not to confront her with the information I had acquired yet, hoping she would talk soon.