Someone screamed. This was followed by a heavy 'thump' from the floor side of the roof above, resulting in another scream. Dan looked up from his book momentarily, adjusting his glasses and breathing out in exasperation. His mother's daily routine had already begun, and it was only an hour before midday. Roughly two and a half hours earlier than usual, an uncommon ocurrance in their house.

Dan slid his legs backwards automatically as his mum charged past in a flurry of anxiety and unbrushed hair. He watched her search around for her bottle, not caring when she absent-mindedly knocked over bottles and cups in her quest to find the alchohol. He took one glance at his book, then back at his mother, then put the book down on the coffee table. Getting up, he lumbered over to the kitchen table and sat down over there instead.

"Why..didn't...you tell me...it was this late!?" His mother asked furiously between gasps.

"Why do you suddenly care about what time it is? Did you miss an appointment or something?"

"No...thats not the poin-"

"Then its ok then, right?" He wasn't in the mood for having a morning argument today. His mother frowned in slight confusion, then spotted her bottle from the corner of her eye and pounced over to the counter.

Dan ground his teeth and reached for his jacket. Time for a walk.

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In a super, no-detail basic description: -Dan's mum is an alchoholic. (Just so you know) This is because she is depressed because of family matters (Dad leaving). -Dan meets a strange girl on his walk. -She's very pretty and cute, but looks quite lost. -The girl is wearing full clothes apart from shoes, which she apparently hates wearing. -Dan finds out her name is Cassie, But just as he is about to ask more questions she runs off. The only base setting I could think of was a village, inhabited by about 280 people. It's usually quite foggy there, and Dan prefers it this way. He likes to go walking on the railway tracks that run almost parallell (sp?) to his house. His mum likes to walk there also. There's a few shops, maybe a co-op and a newsagents among them. Dan's house is an average detached in a long row of houses. -------------------------------------- So I decided to change the author guidance! I like how all the mystery has come about, and I thought I better keep tabs on which unsolved mysteries we have left!: -Who the man who smacked Cassie is/Why was she stealing? =D Please comment if we have any more! I also thought up a few ideas people may want to weave into their chapter if I don't: -Cassie waiting for him at the school gates one day. I thought up a kind of domestic violence scene for her as well, but I don't know if anyone would agree to putting that in, or if it fits with the tide of the story... Thanks for reading!

updated Aug 27 '08 by SoundsFishy