Sunday, July 23rd

Daddy rang me today. (On the house phone, Mum bought a new one last week, and I'm not telling them about the phone Justin gave me.) He's going to take me out tomorrow. Hopefully we'll get some ice cream if the weather is nice. It should be, it's always nice in summer here.

I texted Justin when I first got up today, seeing if he wanted to go out somewhere, but he hadn't replied by the time Mum wanted to go to the store, so I went with her shopping.

We were wandering around the aisles, picking stuff off the shelves and joking around like we always do when we're shopping. Shopping for food can be boring, so we always find something to make it more entertaining. Anyway, so suddenly Mum taps me on the shoulder and points to the end of the aisle. Justin! He was carrying a basket past, heading to another aisle, and I ran up and tapped him, making him jump.

"Oh! Hi, April." He looked uncomfortable. Like he'd been doing something he shouldn't have, even though he was just shopping like us.
"Hi!" I grinned. "Where's your Mum? I want to meet her." I asked. A sudden look of desperation or worry or guilt or something flash across his face before he could hide it.
"Oh, she's... Somewhere..." He answered quickly. "What are you doing here?" I could tell he was just trying to change the subject, but I went with it anyway. I don't know much about his Mum, but I know he doesn't get on with her that well.
"Shopping, silly! Same as you! This is the only place in town to buy food, so where else would I be?" I smiled at him, and he looked like he was trying to smile back, but he didn't look that happy.

"Ok." He replied, looking around us for something else to say. "Well, I have to go find my Mum, I guess." He said after a while as he started to bend down to pick up his basket.
"Ok. Do you want to hang out later?"
"I dunno, I'll see if I can." Just then, Mum came up behind me.

"Justin, would you like to come for dinner tonight?" I beamed at the suggestion. Justin has only been inside my house once, and I'd love for him to come over more.
"Uh..." He looked really uncomfortable. "Maybe another time. Thanks for the offer though, Mrs. Matthews." And with that he walked off.

"Is he ok?" Mum asked me.
"I don't know." I shrugged. He's never been lost for words, never looked so uncomfortable the whole two weeks I've known him. And we've spent pretty much every waking minute together. "I don't think he gets on with his Mum. Maybe they just had an argument?" I suggested as we moved on to the next aisle.

We carried on shopping as normal. We tried to laugh and joke like normal, but I couldn't help being worried about Justin. We got to the end of one aisle, nearly finished with our weekly shop, when I turned to the checkouts.

I saw Justin. Alone. Paying for a few bags of shopping before carrying them out the shop. They looked heavy, and I couldn't work out why he was alone.
"Mummy?" I asked in a small voice. Mum turned to where I was looking and saw him too. "Where's his Mum?" I asked, know she'd have no idea either, but hoped she could say something comforting. She couldn't.
"Honey, lets finish this shopping then you can ask him where she was?" She suggested. I knew he wouldn't tell me though. I know he was alone at the supermarket, but I don't know why.

He wouldn't tell me, either. He still hadn't replied to the text I'd sent when I got home, and I tried ringing him but he didn't pick up.

I played outside on my own all afternoon, and when I got up to bed then he'd text me back finally.
Sorry abt 2day. May B C U 2moro?
I stared at the message for a while, wondering what to reply.
I'm seeing my dad tomorrow. I'll tell you when i'm back.
He didn't reply, and I don't know whether to ask about his Mum or not. If he wanted me to know, he would have told me, wouldn't he?






Thank you to Valpre for sending me the supermarket. It arrived decorated as if it were a house... (See here and here) But I didn't have to build anything :p