Andrew is wandering aimlessly. He doesn’t want to go home yet and feels completely foolish about it. It will be a while before his parents get home and he doesn’t want to be alone in the house right now. He can’t put the thought of that noise he heard in the house out of his head.
“There’s nowhere to go and no one to hang out with, except Dylan, and that isn’t an option.
Dylan was my best friend for years and probably would have understood my fear of being alone in the house for hours. The focus is on the was. We don’t hang out anymore, not since Dylan became withdrawn for a while and wouldn’t talk to anyone. Not even to me.”
Andrew feels a pang of regret and hurt at that.
“Dylan is back to going to a babysitter’s instead of going home anyway, and he has no interest in being friends anymore.”
When he first found out about the babysitter, he didn’t believe it. He had to ask. Dylan reacted angrily and has avoided him ever since. He knew Dylan would be embarrassed and wouldn’t want anyone to find out, so he kept the secret. Dylan is close enough to hang out after school if his sitter lets him, but Dylan doesn’t seem to want to anymore. Andrew is fine with that.
“Dylan changed. He became a bully, picking on anyone smaller and weaker than himself. I don’t like him much anymore. I don’t think he’d bully me, but he’s just a jerk now and I don’t want anything to do with that.”
Despite his thoughts, he has doubts. He is not so sure Dylan wouldn’t beat up and bully him too. Dylan is bigger than most of the boys his age and so far everyone has been fair game, except him.
The cold is getting to him. His feet, hands, and face are freezing; his ears, too, despite his hat.
“I’ve got to figure out something now.” Andrew stomps his feet, putting his hands over his ears, trying to warm up.
“I’ll go to the store. It’s not far. At least I can go inside and warm up.”
He walks fast, alternating between a fast walk and a jog until he gets to the store. He’s hanging around there for a while, staying outside and trying to find a sheltered spot where it might be less cold. He stays out as long as he can stand it, the cold biting his fingers and toes until they hurt. His ears feel like they are on fire and the cold air stings his nose painfully when he breathes in.
The cold is too much for him, driving him inside to find warmth. He looks at the inviting warmth through the window.
“They won’t like me just hanging around and will kick me out, probably accusing me of shoplifting or something. People always seem to be suspicious for no good reason of kids on their own without parents. I have to do it. I’m going in.”
He glances at the store clerk nervously as he enters the store and starts wandering up and down aisles, pretending he’s looking for something.
THE LATCHKEY KIDS IS AVAILABLE ON KINDLE AND IN PAPERBACK ON AMAZON
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