Amerie dumped her bag in the corner of her room and flung herself on her bed. She rolled herself onto her back and stared wistfully at the ceiling. When she had woken up this morning, she had been ready for a new life. Where trees spoke and laughed. Where water sang and soothed her. Where the stars breathed life into the woods.
But before it had barely begun, it had ended. Amerie blamed her own optimism. It wasn’t even sadness that overwhelmed her, it was irony. The timing was awful. Amerie almost wished she had never fallen in and in love with the star spot. On the first day of school, Amerie had visited the star realm for the first time and on the last day of summer, Jack Lumber had been seen for the last time. Time had pulled them onto parallel paths.
Then it struck her.
What if it was the same path?
What if Jack had fallen into the star spot, just like she had?
Amerie sat up, the realisation like a spider crawling up her back. If Jack was really in the star realm, the police would never find him. Mr. and Mrs. Lumber would be haunted by worry.
No one would believe her about the star realm. If she said a word, it would make her look even more suspicious in front of the police and school. And then Imogen would be right, remembered Amerie, I would be involved somehow. I would just be proving that I am weird.
Besides, Amerie had a gut feeling that the star spot in Shepherds Forest was meant to be a secret. Amerie thought of how much her mother had complained about Mr. Lumber’s obsession with turning the woods into some type of business venture. If the adults dipped their toes into the star spot, Amerie was sure it wouldn’t end well.
That settled it. She had to go back to the star spot and find Jack.
Amerie rushed to the front door.
The second her hand touched the doorknob, her mother’s kind voice rang out.
“Amerie, where are you going? You should rest, you’re off school sick. And remember, we just told you in the car you can’t go out to the woods.”
Amerie faltered, “I just, uh, I just wanted to go for a walk.”
“A walk? Amerie, I don’t want to scare you, but maybe you shouldn’t go out by yourself anymore. Who knows why Jack and those other children went missing. I don’t want you to be the fifth. It might not be safe.”
“Mum, I’ll be fine! The whole area is swarming with police,” Amerie protested, “Dad, you tell her.”
Her dad looked up from his newspaper, “Well Amerie, do you really need to go on a walk?”
“Yes!” Amerie answered quickly, a little too quickly.
He raised his eyebrows, “What’s so urgent?”
“Um, well...it’s my bike!” said Amerie, in a moment of inspiration.
“Your...bike?” Andin repeated slowly.
“Yes, you see, since you and Mum picked me up, it’s still there! By the bus stop. I can’t just leave it there.”
“Hmm,” her father paused, “But won’t you be tired? You’re still ill.”
Amerie was fighting a losing battle and running out of options. She would have to pull out her trump card - her emotions.
Amerie was guiltily aware of the fact that her parents were concerned about how she felt about being an undeniable (but much loved) oddball. They were worried about whether or not she had friends, whether or not she was being bullied, whether or not she was turning into part-tree. Sometimes all three at the same time. Amerie tended to divide her days by spending time in the forest or reading storybooks. She was a good student, but a dreamer at heart. She was fascinated by science but it had been thrust upon her by her parents and older brother. Amerie’s parents didn’t want to change their starry-eyed daughter, but it was their duty to give her the support so she could find her place in this world. But before they could do that, they needed Amerie to give them a foothold, let them know what was really on her mind so that they could help her.
Amerie didn’t want to use her parent’s kindness against them nor did she want to show her vulnerability, but at the moment it was the easiest way to get out of the front door.
“Well,” Amerie began slowly, “It’s sort of about my feelings…”
Amerie’s mother straightened her back. Amerie’s father put down his newspaper. Both of them nodded encouragingly, prompting Amerie to continue.
“You see, at school, everyone started whispering as soon as they saw me...they thought I might have something to do with Jack’s disappearance. They said I was weird,” said Amerie, trying to stop her voice from cracking.
“Oh, Amerie,” her mother sighed in sympathy.
“And well, it was after I had left the room that the nurse saw me and thought that I was ill. I knew I probably wasn’t sick, I was just upset. So I knew I didn’t have to be picked up from school.”
Amerie’s father glanced at her seriously, “Your mental health is just as important as your physical health.”
“I know, Dad. That’s why I want to go out. The forest really helps me, but I know I can’t go there. So I just wanted to go on a walk to get my bike and clear my head.”
“Aw, okay baby!” cried out Amerie’s mother, her heart already melted, “Just come here and let me give you a hug first.”
Amerie awkwardly waddled between the coffee table and sofa, stooping slightly to grant her mother’s request. Amerie’s father joined in, squishing Amerie into a sandwich between both of her parents.
As she walked to the front door, she couldn’t help but feel so much better now that she had told her parents about what had happened at school, albeit for the sake of deceit.
Her plan was to run as fast as she could to some remote part of the forest where there were no policemen, fall into the star spot, talk to Grandma Lyndzei and find Jack, swear him to secrecy, bring him back, let the policemen find him, run all the way to her bicycle, and then cycle back as fast as she could so her parents wouldn’t suspect she had been gone for longer than expected.
Easy, right?
She swung open the front door, feeling the fresh air rush to her face.
Amerie waited until she was sure her parents were no longer watching. Her heart already racing, she began to run.
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