Ready for a new chapter? I hope so. A little fun fact, this genre is completely out of my regular story writing experience. I’m very excited to see how it turns out and what you think of it at the end. But first, let’s get through Chapter 3 – Doubt.
Doubt
“Adam, are you with us today?” Adam snapped out of his thoughts to see the teacher and the whole class staring at him. Some of the other students were laughing. The girl from yesterday looked concerned.
“Sorry Mr. Buhler. What was the question?” Mr. Buhler seemed like a nice guy, for a teacher. He was in his fifties, his hair dark hair starting to grey at the temples. His blue eyes showed concern for a second before he repeated his question.
“Would you like to share the poem you wrote with the class?” Adam mentally kicked himself. With everything that had happened last night, he had totally forgotten that he was supposed to write a poem for English class.
“Sorry, but I completely forgot about it. I’ll have it ready for tomorrow.” His teacher nodded before targeting one of the snickering boys to share his poem next. Adam sighed and tried to stay present with the class. When he had woken up that morning, there had still been no word from his mom. His dad had dropped him off before heading to the garage to go back to work. Neither of them spoke to each other all morning. Adam couldn’t shake the feeling that his dad was hiding something, but what?
*
The bell rang and Adam got up to leave. Mr Buhler had other ideas.
“Adam, can you please stay behind? I wish to speak with you.” Adam sighed and sat back down. Once the last student was out, the teacher closed the door and walked over to Adam, pulling out one of the chairs and sitting across from him. “You seemed to have been lost in thought a lot today. Is everything alright?” Adam stared at his desk. He didn’t know this man, so why would he tell him anything? “Adam?”
“Everything is fine. I just forgot. It won’t happen again.” He could see the doubt on Mr Buhler’s face, but didn’t add anything. Sighing, the older man nodded and dismissed him. Adam left the class, bumping into the girl from the other day.
“Hey, did you find your mom?” Adam shook his head as she fell into step with him. “Maybe I can help. I know this town pretty well. What did your dad say?” Adam looked over at her. She appeared genuine.
“He said mom is working at a diner in a town five miles away. I’m sorry, what was your name again?” She smiled.
“I guess we never introduced ourselves. I’m Avery.” Adam shook her hand as they stopped outside his next class. “Let’s talk after school. Meet me by the old oak. We’ll get to the bottom of this together.” Before Adam could respond, she walked away. Sighing, he walked into the class, grabbing a seat as other students poured in. He really needed to focus this time. Math was not one of his best subjects, and his father would be pissed if he flunked. Forcing thoughts of his mom and the mystery surrounding her out of his head, he tried to focus on the lesson. This was going to be a really long day.
*
“Adam, over here.” Avery waved him down and pointed to a map she was looking at. “Look, the nearest town is twenty miles away, not five. Do you think your dad just made a mistake?” Adam eyed the map, worry setting in again.
“My dad is great with directions. I can’t see him making that kind of mistake. I also don’t see why we would move to a town where mom couldn’t get any work. Nothing is adding up. Dad’s not worried, mom’s not answering any of my messages, and now this.” Avery folded up the map and tucked it back into her backpack.
“Do you think your dad did something to your mom?” Adam slowly shook his head, doubt starting to rear its ugly head. His mom and dad loved each other, and they would never hurt each other. But, why was his dad not worried about her? “Okay, let’s not freak out just yet. The public library is a ten minute walk from here. Why don’t we look up that town on the internet and contact the diners there?” Adam glanced at his phone. His dad wouldn’t be done work for another two hours.
“Okay, let’s go. I have to ask. Why are you so determined to help me?” They started walking and she shrugged, tucking a strand of brown hair behind her ear.
“I guess I like a good mystery.”
*
Daniel picked up his phone as it rang, smiling as he answered.
“Hey hun. How are things going?” He listened, his smile fading. “Well, that doesn’t sound good. Hopefully the situation can be resolved. Also, you should send Adam a text. He’s asking too many questions and getting suspicious. We need to put his mind at ease, for all our sakes. If you don’t, I doubt he will let it go.”
End of Doubt
Oh man. The plot thickens. What are Adam’s parents up to? What secret are they hiding from their son and why? I hope you enjoyed Doubt – Chapter 3 and we will hopefully see you next Saturday with Chapter 4.
