Sleepless Mistakes

I was walking out from under the bed with my bronze hair waving about my face, wishing I'd never dropped my necklace. I'd been cleaning out my drawers, looking through all my possessions. Some things, like my necklace, I hadn't seen since I was seven. And considering that I'm now 17, I'd say it was surprising that I still had it.

‘Chloe,’ I heard my mother calling from the kitchen downstairs. She sounded happy, just as usual.

‘Coming,’ I answered automatically and placed my necklace down on my bed. I stood up and casually walked out of my room, hopped down the stairs, and turned a corner, into the kitchen. There my mother stood her back to me, while drying the cutlery.

‘Jamie just called. I told him you were cleaning your room and he said he’d call later. I was going to give him to you, though,’ my mum turned around to face me. It was only then that I realized the change in her eyes. She seemed thoughtful, adoring. It wasn’t something common for her.

‘I’ll call him now,’ I announced, turning towards the phone. I dialed the familiar number. Jamie was my best friend’s boyfriend. He was sort of like a big brother to me!

‘Hello?’ I heard Jamie’s deep voice on the other end of the phone.

‘Jamie. Why did you call?’ I wondered while heading up to my room with the cordless phone.

‘Just gonna ask if you know where Missy is, but I’m sure it’s nothing. She’s probably rummaging around in the shops or something,’ I could tell from his voice that he was smiling.

Missy is my best friend. She has dark, wavy hair and golden hazel eyes. It was in kindergarten that we first met, and although having a few tiffs, we love each other to bits!

‘Um, sorry Jamie, I haven’t seen her. I last heard of her on Friday,’ I felt a frown shaping my facial expressions, ‘But anyway..... Why did you want her anyway?’

‘I just got something to show her – a little pressie,’ his voice implied another smile,’ tell me when you see her,’

‘I promise. Well I better go. Bye,’ I hung up after him.

I walked back downstairs to put the phone back in its place and then made my way back to my room, continuing on with my cleaning.

But, as I cleaned out my drawers, I was completely oblivious that the promise in which I’d just made, I wouldn’t be able to keep; mistake number 1.

The next day; Monday, I wake to the increasing noise coming from my alarm clock. After cleaning out my drawers yesterday, I managed to clear a large space for it to sit on my bedside table.

My eyes opened unwillingly and my hand instantly felt around the table next to me, for the button that discontinues the alarm. After a second or two, my fingers came across the smallish lump above the screen and pushed down on it, letting out a tiny click sound that could hardly be heard.

I pulled the blanket off from the side of the bed and heard a small hissing sort of sound. Instinctively I pulled the blanket from where I just lay it and found my old, grumpy, adorable cat. Elvis. Elvis is a female cat who has been a part of my family since I was three years old, with a white coat. Even though she is a girl, mum – because of her obsession with Elvis Presley; the king of rock ‘n roll, - named her Elvis.

I squeezed myself to the edge of the bed, as not to get Elvis, and managed to get out of bed without falling out, or irritating Elvis.

I grabbed my school uniform; a white top and blue and green skirt, and hurried into the bathroom, quickly turning the knobs of the shower and getting in. I dried, dressed, and brushed my hair while I was in there, not wanting to waste time and become late for school. While looking in the mirror, brushing my hair, I’d caught attention of my blue eyes; they were the same color as my mum’s. I squinted my eyes, narrowed them, and made them look big, by opening my eyelids. And then I remembered that I was going to be late for school and so I returned to brushing my hair.

It didn’t take me long to decide on breakfast, like it did my mother. I got out some bread from the freezer, and placed a slice into the toaster. I didn’t like butter, or vegemite, and because we were out of honey, I ended up eating the toast on its own.

I sculled a cup of orange juice and went to the bathroom to brush my teeth hastily.
I heard the faint sound of an alarm going off; must be time for mum to get up. She got up just a moment later, and when the sound disappeared, I knew she’d want the shower.

I moved from the bathroom to my bedroom and found my black, leather school shoes and a pair of white socks to put on my usually red feet; usually, for about an hour after a shower, my feet would swell up and go red. My mum walked past my bedroom and smiled at me while I was tying up my shoes. Her smile was soft, and her blonde-brown hair was frizzy from last night. Her blue eyes had rings under them and just now she stifled a yawn.

‘Morning,’ I smiled, ‘doesn’t look like you had much sleep last night,’

‘Well I didn’t. The dogs next door were barking too loud. Didn’t you hear it?’ se sounded doubtful.

‘Nope; must’ve started after I fell asleep. Or maybe you were just too aware,’ I got up and grabbed my school bag hanging from the corner of the chair. I put in it my two English books; one a text book, the other an exercise book, one mathematics book, and a history book. Boring day ahead, I thought.

‘Well, has a good day at school if I don’t get out before you leave,’ she smiled.

‘Will do,’ I agreed and pulled my school bag over my shoulder after doing up the zipper.

I headed down the stairs and was about to sit on the lounge while I waited for the bus to appear from the corner of the street – which was a long street – when the phone rang. I picked it up hesitantly; what if I missed my bus?

‘Hello?’ I answered, and immediately knew the voice. Jamie was yelling on the other end, chanting me to hurry up.

‘Chloe, have you seen Missy? Her mum hasn’t and now she’s getting the police involved,’ his voice was stressed and it broke at the last word.

‘Calm down.... What’s happening?’ I asked, worried. My voice broke too.

‘Missy is missing. Her mum hasn’t seen her either...’ there wasn’t any change in his voice; if anything, it sounded even more stressed out than before.

‘No, I haven’t. But I’m sure she wouldn’t do this. No. She isn’t missing. I promise. She isn’t missing. She isn’t,’ I told myself, not just Jamie.

‘I have to go,’ Jamie announced, and hung up.

While telling myself that she wasn’t missing, I hadn’t realized that I’d promised, but I had. Again, a promise that could easily turn bad; mistake number 2.