10

Dawn

When I got home after spending the day with Hayden and Dylan, I collapsed on my bed, sifting through my thoughts. I felt bad that mine and Sid's arrival had forced Dylan and Jason to leave, but it puzzled me about how protective Ash had been over Sid. Sure, Sid and he were friends, but he didn't have to push his best friend away to stay close to her. Poor Sid had come home, despite having a nice time with Ash, and pouted in her room ever since. It probably frightened her to see Jason and Ash so angry at each other— especially since they'd been fighting over her.

Then there was Dylan, who had been a little bit too nice to me at some points in the day. Like when we'd been messing around in the garden he'd thrown me over his shoulder and skipped around the garden, laughing maniacally. It was fun, don't get me wrong, but I'd seen the angry glares Hayden had been shooting his best friend. I kind of felt like piece of meat with Dylan constantly looking at me.

It was five-thirty and I was bored out of my mind. Although I had spent the day laughing a giggling— with a minor mishap —I now had a few long, boring hours to kill.

"Dawn!" Mum called from downstairs. I shot up, eager to be distracted, and ran downstairs to where she was in the living room, obviously searching for something.

"What are you looking for?" I asked, making her jump and spin around to face me.

"Have you seen that small, wooden box that Grandma gave me?" she asked, showing me the rough size of it with her hands.

I shrugged and frowned. "No, I don't think so."

"I can't find it anywhere! I'm supposed to give it back to her when she gets back from Italy next month, but I just realised that I have no idea where I put it," she groaned, looking stressed.

"Well, you have a month to look for it," I pointed out.

She sighed and ran a hand through her hair, "But what if Ryan or Sid took it? Your grandma told me not to open it under any circumstances."

"What's she keeping in there, cocaine?" I scoffed, flopping onto the sofa lazily.

"I wouldn't be surprised," Mum told me, amused. "She's always been a little bit crazy."

"Really? She's never come across that way," I mused. I didn't see Grandma much: she was almost always abroad— she had a passion for travelling to places with legends. She's spent time in Scotland, Tibet— even the Himalayas. I had no idea what she was doing in Italy, though.

Mum plopped on the sofa beside me and rested her arm over my shoulders. "When I was little she used to tell me crazy things about my dad. That he was a long lost prince, that he had a hidden palace in a 'land with a secret' that she'd been to once, but she couldn't remember where it was. I think that's why she's out travelling the world, trying to find this 'palace'. She's adamant that it's real. I've tried talking her into coming home permanently, but your grandma has always been stubborn."

"I didn't know that," I said, shocked.

Mum shrugged, "Yeah, well... I suppose I never really bothered to tell you. You adored her when you were younger, though. She used to tell you stories about a called Dawn who felt like she was invisible, until her prince turned up out of nowhere one day and whisked her off to an entirely different life, one where she ruled by his side. I'm pretty sure she based it off Cinderella."

"I don't remember," I frowned.

"You were only little. And she left soon after, when you were six, flying off to who-knows-where. There are some things Mum was right about, though. I'll tell you about them one day," Mum stood up, and slapped her thighs as she let her arms hang loose. "Well, I've got to get looking for that box. Oh, ask your brother and sister if they've seen it, will you?"

I nodded and wandered upstairs, my mind whirling around Grandma. I hadn't seen her in ten years, but I remembered her as a wise person, an influential figure who taught me to find the bright side in everything and look forward to the future. I remembered that she always wore a rusted bronze key around her neck— maybe it unlocked the front door of the 'hidden palace'?

I had never met my Grandpa; he died when Mum was four. Apparently he left on a visit abroad one day, and he never came home. He was found dead on the side of the road; supposedly it was a hit-and-run accident.

Sometimes I wished he was still alive. Maybe then my Grandma would be in my life more.

"Hey, Sid?" I asked as I pushed open the door to her room.

She poked her head out of her 'magic tent' and frowned. "Yeah?"

"Have you seen that box Grandma gave Mum two months ago?" I hadn't seen Grandma in a decade, but Mum made sure that Grandma came home, even if it was for just a day, every so often to catch up with her. She never came round— I don't think she and Dad had the best relationship, but she always sent her love.

Sid wrinkled her nose, a sure sign of guilt. "No."

I stepped further into the room and put my hands on my hips. "No?" She shook her head innocently. Raising my eyebrows, I maintained eye contact until she broke.

"Mushroom needed something to sit on!" she defended.

"Mushroom?"

She looked at the ground. "My panda."

"Sid," I said calmly, "come on. Give it back."

She sighed dramatically before disappearing into her tent. "Here," she said grumpily, holding out the box. I took it.

"You didn't open it, did you?" I asked worriedly.

Her face crumpled, like she'd missed out on a huge opportunity. "It opens?"

I grinned and turned around, and pulling the door shut, I called, "Thank you!" A muffled grumble came in response.

Skipping downstairs, I found Mum in the living room, rifling through a drawer. I tapped her on the shoulder and watched as she faced me in confusion, then beamed when she saw what I was holding.

"Sydney or Ryan?"

"Sid," I replied, rolling my eyes affectionately.

Mum laughed, "That girl. Honestly, she drives me up the wall."

"Don't worry, she didn't open it. She didn't even know it opened— she just needed a chair for her panda. She probably just thought it was pretty."

Mum pushed the box into the back of the cupboard beside the sofa. "I'll have to tell her and Ryan not to touch it."

"Dinner!" Dad suddenly called, and the smell of spaghetti hit my nose, making my mouth water. Both Mum and I forgot our conversation as we drifted into the kitchen, hungry for Italian.

>>

"Morning," Hayden grinned as I sat down next to him at Break. Since we were in different year groups, we wouldn't see each other until Break and Lunch.

"Morning," I yawned. For some reason I hadn't really woken up yet, despite the great night's sleep I'd had.

"Long night?" he asked, smirking.

"I found out my Grandma is loony and I watched a movie," I responded sleepily.

"Oh. Just an ordinary evening, then," he commented. "By the way, why does Sydney call you Danny?"

I rubbed my eyes tiredly. "Because I call her Sid, and she said that was a boy's name, but I said it was a nickname, but she said if I wanted to call her Sid then she wanted to call me Danny, but I said that wasn't fair, but she said it was that or a nicer nickname, so I was torn, but it all worked out in the end and we both got out way."

Hayden laughed loudly. "A lot of buts there," he said. I admit my conversation was quite repetitive, but hey, I was still waking up.

"Figures," I replied, resting my heavy head in my hands, "I tell you something and all you can think about are butts."

"What do you expect? I'm a man," he defended, playing along.

"Boy," I corrected. "A little, baby boy."

"Then you are a little, hairless, newborn baby, and all of those big, scary sumo wrestlers out there are just toddlers," he shot back.

I shrugged, "Well they do walk around in diapers."

"Diapers?" he teased. "American much?"

"I'll have you know that the Americans are awesome. And I told you, I watched a movie last night. Life As We Know It."

"Never seen it."

I chuckled quietly and shut my eyes briefly. "Of course you haven't. Well it's American, about a baby."

"Hey, guys," Indie interrupted and I my eyes snapped open as all the girls sat down at our table.

"Hello," I muttered groggily.

"Whoa, somebody didn't sleep well last night," Caitlyn teased.

I licked my dry lips and fought to keep my eyes open. "Actually, I slept great. I just didn't get enough..." My eyelids started to drift shut and I trailed off.

"Enough what?" Sheila asked in confusion as I started to snore a little.

"Sleep, Sheila. Our little baby Dawn didn't get enough nap time."

"See, you are a baby, Danny," Hayden chimed.

"Don't call me that," I managed to grumble.

The bell suddenly rang, making me jump out of my doze. "Come on then, sleepyhead, we have P.E. now, remember? We're doing that mile run for charity," Hayden reminded me.

"No, I don't want to," I whinged as he dragged me away from the canteen, towards the gym and the changing rooms.