Thursday 18th August
Lucie
I sit bolt upright in bed. There is a clanging noise. My first thought is: burglars or deer? Burglars. Because according to the neighbourhood watch posters, Reedby is the crime capital of the world. Apparently, thieves drive around the village in the middle of the night emptying sheds and garages of bikes, rowing machines and lawn mowers. That’s probably because there are so many posh houses around here. Our chalet bungalow isn’t one of them!
There are herds of muntjac deer living on the edge of the village. Mum says that though the deer look cute wandering around the garden, they are a nuisance. She’s sore because they eat all her tulips. That isn’t the worst problem in my opinion. When my friends from college were over for a barbecue, deer noises started from behind the hedge. The grunts and groans of mating deer are really loud and embarrassing. We cracked up all the way through eating our burgers.
“Just like the Wimbledon final,” said my mate, Sam. “Grunts ‘n’ all!”
“That’s the only entertainment you get around here!” I laughed, though it wasn’t really a joke.
I creep over to the window. Pitch dark. It must be cloudy as there’s no moon and no stars. There is also no revving of engines or grunting of bucks. Only the deafening silence of living in the countryside. The noise must have been a shed door banging. Nothing interesting ever happens here. This is why I want to go to art school in London and live the 24/7 life where buses don’t stop at teatime and bars and cafes are open until the early hours. There is another reason I want to leave too. I’ve never felt that I fit in here; I don’t look the part, not the way Mum, Dad and Maisie do. In a big city there are other people who look just like me.
I check the time. 2.47am, Thursday 18th August. I always think of the colour orange when anyone says Thursday, but today all I can think is:Results Day.
I need to go back to sleep, but I am tempted to check my messages and see if anyone else is awake. I also really want to check my emails to see if the DNA results have come through. I’ve heard that these kinds of automated emails can arrive in the middle of the night. But I am really strict with myself, no phone after midnight, just like when I was doing my exams. I need to go back to sleep, otherwise I’ll never wake up in time to catch the bus into col