Page 11 (1/2)

Soht of work is worse than the reality All things considered, today at the office was just about bearable After everything I&039;d seen and heard over the weekend I&039;d expected to have to fightwith each other on the streets Apart fro looked and felt disappointingly normal The city centre was quiet for a Monday and the office was too

I&039;lad to be home I can see the aparthts on in the diagonally opposite corners of the building - our flat and the other occupied flat upstairs As I get closer I can see shadowsaround in the living roo and I&039;ll get it in the neck fro in a place like this I think as I walk up the overgrown pathway to the door I know I&039;m a lazy sod and I should work harder but it&039;s not easy I do h I need a kick up the backside from time to time But if every day could be like today, I decide as I pull open the creaking front door, then ht work out Today it actually felt like the effort I&039;d put in had been hile I didn&039;t have any screaed to have a laugh with Tina Murray Today, for once, I didn&039;t feel as if I was pulling in the opposite direction to everyone else The plans that Lizzie and I have been e the car and generally i seem a little more realistic and possible than they did when I left the flat thisway off, loom of the lobby and open the door to the flat I step inside and the warmth of our hoht

&039;I&039;m back,&039; I shout as I take off my coat and shoes It&039;s unusually quiet in here I can hear the TV and the children but I can&039;t hear Liz She&039;s usually yelling at one of them I can&039;t remember the last time I came home and it was this quiet

Edward appears in the hallway in front offrom ear to ear

&039;Okay, Ed?&039;

He nods his head

&039;Had half a day off today,&039; he bea pleased with himself

&039;Why, what&039;s theSchool was shut&039;

&039;Why?&039; I ask again as I walk further into the flat, looking for Liz I can&039;t see her in any of the bedrooms

&039;Because of Jack Foster,&039; Ed explains I&039;m confused

&039;Who&039;s Jack Foster?&039;

&039;He&039;s in Year Six You should have seen him, Dad, it was brilliant!&039;

I&039;ve reached the kitchen door I can see Lizzie in there sitting at the table, drinking a cup of coffee and staring into space

&039;You okay?&039; I ask She looks up, surprised

&039;Didn&039;t know you were back,&039; she says quietly, shaking herself out of her trance She gets up, walks over to s me This sudden display of affection is out of character

&039;What&039;s that for?&039; I whisper, ht?&039;

She nods then pushes herself away and goes to fetch my dinner frohs &039;Had a bad day, that&039;s all&039;

&039;Ed was tellingto do with Jack Foster?&039;

She puts my food down on the table and sits in a chair opposite to the place she&039;s laid for es her te that whatever happened at school today is what&039;s bothering her

&039;So what happened?&039; I ask She doesn&039;t want to answer &039;Talk to me, Liz&039;

She clears her throat and finishes her coffee When she finally starts to speak her voice is quiet and full of emotion

&039;Do you know Jack Foster?&039;

I shake my head I&039;ve heard the name before but I can&039;t place the face

&039;You know Ben Paris? Short lad with black hair?&039;

I&039;m sure I knoho Ben is

&039;His dad&039;s the hairdresser?&039;

&039;That&039;s the one Jack Foster is his best friend They&039;re always hanging around together We sat next to Jack&039;s ot a sister in Ed&039;s class He&039;s tall and&039;

&039;and he wears glasses?&039;