Losing the Plot by Annie Dalton

Author:Annie Dalton [Dalton, Annie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Lazy Chair Press
Published: 2013-06-20T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seven

On the way back, Reuben kept closing his eyes as if he felt dizzy. When I asked if he was OK, he snapped, “Why shouldn’t I be?”

I know now that I should have checked it out, but I had worries of my own. I had a bad feeling we hadn’t found Michael’s glitch after all. And lurking beneath that worry was a worse fear. I was scared our humans might be in danger.

I tried telling Lola, but she didn’t want to know.

“Could you drop it, Mel?” she pleaded. “I want to get home, have a couple of hours’ sleep, then grab my dancing shoes! Hey, I can’t wait to go to that new place, The Babylon Cafe.”

When Lollie starts babbling, like a girl who’s had too many mochaccinos, it’s her way of saying, “I’m freaking out inside, but I can’t talk about it yet, OK?”

So it was a big relief when the door slid open and rays of lovely celestial light flooded in.

“I can’t wait to tell Michael,” Lola bubbled. Then her face crumpled with dismay.

Our welcome party consisted of one person, Al, the maintenance guy.

“Mike’s sorry, but something came up,” he mumbled shyly.

Lola stared around the deserted Arrivals area in bewilderment. “But Michael always comes to meet us!”

I didn’t feel too cheerful myself. I always look forward to that moment when I see Michael hurrying towards us, like he can’t wait to hear every detail of our trip. Him not being there made everything feel unreal. As if part of me was still out there, adrift in time.

Al shrugged. “Mike was archangel on call, so what can you do?” He gave a bashful glance in my direction. “You’ll never guess where he’s gone.” (Al and I have this little running joke.)

“Don’t tell me,” I sighed. “He had to bale out my century again.”

Al faked amazement. “Incredible! How’d you know?”

I grinned. “Just a wild hunch!”

“Is it me, or was Al acting strange just now?” Reuben asked in his new tired voice, as we headed home in the limo.

Lola gave him her party-girl smile. “It’s you, Sweetpea. He was trying to make up for Michael not being there, that’s all.”

I didn’t have the energy to talk, so I just gazed out of the limo, watching familiar landmarks flow past.

Suddenly Reuben tapped on the glass between us and the driver. “Can you drop me off at the dojo?”

Lola looked astonished. “Are you sure? You look like you need some rest.”

“Pure angels don’t need to rest,” he said huffily. “A complete work-out, that’s all I need.”

I didn’t think Reuben looked up to a martial arts work-out either. But you can’t tell boys anything, so we promised to meet him at Guru next morning. Guru is our favourite hang-out and serves the best breakfasts in the universe.

“My treat,” I reminded him. “I’ve got ID now, remember.”

On the way back to our dorm, I caught sight of myself in the driver’s mirror and hastily fluffed out my hair. Then I began to brush down my jacket.

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