• I couldn't sleep that night. I tossed, I turned, I thrashed, I wiggled.. In the end I just lay sliently staring up at the ceiling. Questions drifted into my head. Stuff like " I wonder what Adrian's like? " and " Why won't Mum pay much attention to me? " and " How can I shake off Jamie Walton? " My thoughts ended up in a right mess and I eventually fell into an uneasy slumber. I woke the next morning feeling groggy. I dragged myself out of bed and pulled on my Abbrook High School uniform. Then I went through my usual morning routine of having breakfast, brushing my teeth, blah blah blah. You don't want to know the details. Seriously. Let me get to the better part. After Mum dropped me off, I stood outside the dark green iron gates, waiting for Casey. In a little while I saw her mum's gold Range Rover pull up and Casey hop out, beautiful red hair swishing in the breeze. She ran up to me and bear hugged me, as she normally did, while her mum drove off. I hugged her back, but not as powerfully as on an ordinary morning. What do you mean, it's like any other morning? How would you feel if you hadn't heard from your dad in your whole life and he suddenly wrote to you? Exactly, so shut up. Anyway, as we walked into school, Casey chatted away to me, but her words barely registered. I was still thinking of Adrian, or Dad, or whatever. I didn't know what to call him. We were walking down a corridor when Casey grabbed my arm and pulled me to one side. "Lucy," she whispered, "Something's up, I know it is. Tell me."
    "Not here," I replied. She sighed and linked arms with me, walking in a familiar direction. We were heading for our Secret Space, a little cranny behind Principal Harlow's office that only we knew about. When we arrived, she looked right at me, her gorgeous brown eyes locking onto my blue ones. "Tell me now," she breathed. So I did. I told her everything. She grimaced when I mentioned the being sick part. I did say I told her everything, didn't I? Afterwards, my vioce cracked and tears sprang once more to my eyes. "I feel so messed up," I whispered finally. Then my eyes overfilled, tears spilling down my face. Suddenly I was in hysterics, weeping and wailing as if my soul was being ripped in two. Casey pulled me close, holding my head on her shoulder, stroking my hair as I sobbed. "There there," she reassured me, as if I was some little kid, and she was my mum. My mum. Why couldn't she help me through this? It seemed as if I was of no importance to her. I wept harder. It took a while before I calmed down and my tears dried up. I spent the rest of the school day in a kind of fog. When I got home, I sat on my bed and read Adrian's letter again. Breathing deeply, I sat at my desk and got out my writing set. I began to pen a response. It started like this:
    Dear Adrian,
    Thankyou for your letter. I must admit it shocked me a lot. I don't really know what to say -

    But then I gave up. It was no use. I really couldn't think of the words. I threw down my fancy fountain pen in frustration. Then I folded up my dumb reply and put it in my drawer with Adrian's original letter. I sighed. I just didn't know what to do...........

    PART THREE COMING SOON!!!