Chapter 1
His alarm's shrill cry woke him, and Theodore Carsens jolted awake and struggled to pull himself out of bed. He ate breakfast, his mind on autopilot, brushed his teeth and changed into his black uniform for another long day at school.
He heard the floorboards by the stairs creak, and his mum appeared. โAre you leaving now?โ She asked, bleary-eyed. He nodded and said goodbye. He shut the door to his mum already cracking open her first bottle of Smirnoff at 8 in the morning. A new record, but not by much. He shut the door behind him and walked to school as slowly as he could.
At the school gates, the head teacher, Mr Jensen, greeted everyone with a cheery (albeit awkward) comment about the weather. โOh, how lovely it is that the sun is appearing once more!โ He said as Theodore trudged past. โYes, sir, it is.โ He mumbled.
He made his way through the rowdy crowds of teenagers to his locker. Oh great. His tormentor, Tyler, was on time today. Searching furiously for something in his locker, Tyler glanced up at Theodore as he made his way to the one next to his. Theodore watched Tyler quickly register who he was and saw the slow sneer that crept onto his face. โHey itโs Teddy Carsens, everyone!โ Tyler announced to the quickly emptying corridor. โMorning, Ty. What have you lost?โ Tyler scowled at him with passion.
In his first lesson, Biology, Theodore managed to avoid getting picked on for the whole lesson. That was how he spent his day. Trying not to stand out without slacking. Finally, lunch rolled around, and Theodore found Timothy, Mo and Alex sat where they usually sat, near the bins. โHey.โ Mo grunted as he approached the table and sat. Alex nodded at him, and Timothy just said, โIs band practice still on at yourโs after school?โ
โYeah. Yeah, it isโ Theo responded.
โGood. Weโll need energy. Weโll stop off at the corner shop on the way.โ Everyone nodded, because it was Timothy, and nobody says no to Timothy Piers. And he was the bandโs lead singer.
The day dragged on. Finally, it was last period. Mrs. Romanoff was droning on about how โgravitational potential energy is mass times gravity times height.โ But Theo couldnโt care less. Because next to him sat Jennifer Ryans. She was the prettiest girl in the school, her pure blue eyes, shiny blonde hair and forever smiling lips. She was also one of the smartest girls he-
โTheodore, are you with us or are you out in space?โ Mrs. Romanoff asked sharply. People around him smirked and turned heads. โUm... Iโm here, Miss...โ He muttered.
โThen answer the question on the board, Theodore.โ. The board read โWhat is kinetic energy?โ Theo took a moment to collect his thoughts as Mrs. Romanoffโs glare seared into him. โItโs in anything that- that moves, Miss.โ She seemed satisfied with that. Jennifer looked around and made eye contact with him for the briefest of seconds. She wasnโt laughing at him. She just looked... curious.
He broke away from her gaze, blushing, and suddenly found his shoes very interesting. Then he counted down the minutes until the end of the day. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1... The shrill bell rang, and he pulled his bag onto his shoulder and hurried out of the classroom, relieved.
Outside, he found the rest of the band waiting for him. Heโd known most of them from his childhood. But Timothy was recruited by Alex last year, and he didnโt know him that well. They saw him and started walking towards Theoโs house. He joined them and all of them exchanged information about their day except Timothy, who apparently wasnโt into small talk. They crossed the road, walked 2 minutes down the road and found themselves at the corner shop they always went to for snacks.
They stepped inside and each went on their own route around the store. Once they had everything they needed (2 packets of Hariboโs, strawberry laces and a sharing pack of Doritos) they all went to the till. It was Moโs turn to pay. The bell rang as someone else entered the shop in a black coat, hood up. In his hand was a duffel bag. Nobody paid him any attention, as Mo was still counting the last of his coins. โThere, ยฃ4.60.โ He finally announced. The shopkeeper collected the coins, and something caught Theoโs eye. The man in the coat was rushing from shelf to shelf, pushing items into his bag with gloved hands. Impulsively, Theo yelled, โHey!โ And everyone turned to look at the man, who had now frozen.
Nobody moved for a second. And then the man suddenly sprinted to the door and left. Theo chased him, the rest of the boys trailing behind. The shopkeeper was still having trouble getting out of the till. The man sped down lanes, jerked his way through traffic and all the while, Theo kept following. Realizing that he couldnโt lose him, Mystery Man reached into his coat pocket and time stood still. Theoโs heart was pounding. A gun. The man had a gun. He ran into an alleyway, and Theo heard sirens approaching. Theo dumped his schoolbag on the floor so he could run faster if he needed to. Someone was in the alleyway. A homeless man slumped on the floor. Before the homeless man could scream, he was shot.
The shot rang in his ears, and the man with the gun turned, dropped his bag and gun and left, melting into the shadows. Theo wasnโt sure where he was. Had he left? Was he waiting to spring a trap on him? Theodore ran to the homeless man lying on the floor, his blood staining his clothes. Shaking, he tried to cover the wound, do something. The man drew in a breath and didnโt draw it out again.
The sirens were here now, the blinding carโs headlights fixed on him like a spotlight. They also lit up the bag and gun, which were lying on the ground next to him. Another car came, blocked his exit, and shone on the homeless man, now dead. Blood poured out of his torso onto the grimy floor. No, Theo thought. It wasnโt me. But Theo couldnโt speak, he needed water, and the armed police got out of the cars.
