The imaginary friend- Chapter 4

                 

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At six o clock the next morning Claudia heard some kind of racket going on in David's bedroom. She had no clue what he was doing but it was clear that he was awake. She was still half asleep but it was time to get up anyways. She had to take David to school just after seven and she wanted to make a turn at her new office.

She was just about to open the door to his bedroom when the door opened and he came out. He closed the door behind him. 

"Hey cupcake, what are you doing in there?" she asked sounding a bit curious. 

"We were just playing. I'm hungry. Can we have breakfast now?"

David took a seat at the kitchen table while she prepared some cereal in a bowl. 

"Are you excited about going to school today?" she asked, trying to have a conversation with him. 

"I guess...I just wish Damian could come with me."

"I'm sure Damian will be right here when we come back." she said, sounding confident. 

"Come, you need to get dressed and then we're off to school."

She took a quick shower and put on some light make-up. She tied her hair in a ponytail, and when she looked at her reflection in the mirror, she looked way too young to be a mother of a six year old. She dressed in a pair of old jeans and a sweater, and put on a pair of sneakers. She looked like a twenty year old. 

Claudia grabbed her handbag and the keys to the apartment and then called David to come so that they could leave. She didn't want them to be late on their first day. 

He didn't look very excited when he came out of his room, but nevertheless they had no choice. She checked his clothes and tied his shoelaces properly.

"Did you brush your teeth?" He nodded.

When she was sure that he looked perfect, she grabbed his hand and locked the apartment door behind them. 

Everyone at the school was very friendly and made David feel very welcome on his first day. He seemed quite happy and relaxed and once the excitement settled down, she waved goodbye.  

Claudia felt glad that David seemed happy. She originally stressed about the move, and knew that it was going to be a very big adjustment for him, but she was glad that things worked out so well for them. Six months ago, this was only a dream, and now they were living it. 

She took a brisk walk to her new office, and took a few files to work through that evening. She really felt right at home there. Once she was done, she went to buy some ingredients to bake cupcakes for David, so that they could take it with on a picnic that afternoon. 

It seemed like a good way to celebrate his first day of school and she thought that it would make him feel special. She arrived back at the apartment an hour later and when she entered everything seemed dead quiet. 

She switched on the radio in the kitchen and soft music played while she mixed the ingredients in a bowl. She was humming along and quite enjoying herself, when she heard a noise coming from David's bedroom. It was a thumping noise as if someone was bouncing a ball on the floor. 

She couldn't ignore it and walked over to his room. The door was still closed, but she could clearly hear the thumping sound of a ball bouncing.  She felt a shiver down her spine and was scared that someone had broken in, but being on the third floor made it unlikely. She grabbed a baseball bat in the corner and slowly opened the door with her left hand. She was ready for whatever was inside. 

There was no one in sight, and the only thing moving was the ball rolling on the floor. For some reason the window was open again, and she quickly walked over to close it. Perhaps it was the window that she heard? The room felt a bit awkward but she brushed it off as paranoia, and closed the door behind her again. 

She was just in time to take the cupcakes out of the oven and switched off the stove. She suddenly felt as if someone was watching her, but when she turned around there was no one. She felt silly for even thinking that there was someone with her. 

It was nearly time for her to pick up David from school, and she quickly iced the cupcakes before packing it in a container. She cleaned the kitchen and packed all the food into a basket. She was all excited for the picnic, and she hoped David would be too.  

She just couldn't shake the eerie feeling, and looked back across the apartment while she locked the door. It was dead silent but she could have sworn she heard the ball bouncing again.   

- To be continued -

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