1'That was a long nap, thought Renee, I must have been really tired...'
It was a lucky thing that her school was only 15 minutes from where she lived. Renee hurriedly got readied and drove off. When she reached her parking spot, she jumped out of her car and headed towards her class.
'Oh no, I'm already 10 minutes late!' she thought frantically, as she pushed past the old, double oak doors.
She stopped in front of her class and shifted her purse to her right arm, then opened the door. She composedly strode into the psychology class, brushing off the teacher's cold glare for interrupting her. Renee took a seat in the back, nodding to the people she usually sat with in that class. Mrs. Shanna was talking about the 'big' test they were going to take, that counted for 35% of their grade. Renee watched Mrs. Shanna with a blasé look, waiting for her to give out the tests. She noticed that her purse was glowing, so she reached into it and pulled out her cell phone, which was vibrating. She looked at the caller I.D and saw that 'Uncle John' popped up in bright blue.
"Hello?" she answered.
"Hi, Renee, are you busy?" her uncle asked, sounding a little distressed.
Renee glanced at her teacher and replied, "Not really, I'm in class though."
"Oh, well, I was just wondering if you saw your cousin, Maddie, today."
Mrs. Shanna cleared her throat loudly, handing out the tests, her annoyance etched onto her features.
"I'm sorry, but I haven't seen her today. Why, isn't she home yet?"
"I don't know where she is! She didn't come home from school and it's already nearing 5:00. "
"Don't worry; I'm sure she'll show up."
"I hope you're right Renee, I really hope you're right."
Her uncle hung up, leaving her to decide whether or not she was going to stay in class.
'I have to take this test to pass,' she thought angrily, 'but I also have to help my family.' She stared off to space for a split second, drumming her fingers on the desk, before she gathered her things and stood up.
"Hey, Mrs. Shanna," started Renee", can I make up this test later? Something important just came up and I have to leave."
Mrs. Shanna didn't truly believe Renee and thought she was just trying to get out of class to get some more time to study for the test.
"Ha, what makes you think you're better than everyone else? No, you cannot, unless you want to fail."
"But this is an emergency! I have to search for my missing cousin! Seriously, I'm not just trying to ditch class!" fumed Renee.
"That's not my problem. Like I said, if you leave this classroom, you won't be able to take the test. It's your choice; I hope you make the right decision."
Some of her classmates tittered, causing heat to come to Renee's cheeks.
"Fine!" retorted Renee, her voice full of spite and frustration; she turned on her heel and stormed out of the building.
She pulled into her uncle's driveway and went up to his house to help search for her cousin. She rang the doorbell and as she waited, she silently mused on how this day just seemed upside down. Her uncle immediately opened the door, looking pale with worry. This kind of startled her, since her uncle John was always so calm and collected. Her uncle filled her in on the details and Renee willed for the best. They decided that Renee should drive around the school and that area to see if she was there and her uncle was to drive in the opposite direction and do the same thing. After an hour or so of searching, Renee started imagining the worst things possible that could happen to a 13 year old girl.
'No, she's not hurt. She can't be hurt. I'm sure we'll find her.'
Renee tried to assure herself as she headed back to her uncle's place to tell him that she didn't have any luck finding her.
'If only this was like a regular day.'
Renee dialed the last of Maddie's friends' numbers, in hope of finding some information but didn't get any.
'Where can she be?' Renee wondered.
She tried calling everybody that knew Maddie except Maddie's mom since she was at work and Renee didn't want her aunt to flip out about this incident. She finally called the police, Missing Persons Department, for help. It was getting late and she was getting more and more anxious. Renee went back home and told her uncle to call her when the cops came. She didn't want her grandmother to worry about her whereabouts and she was really hungry.
At home, she filled her grandmother in, who was shocked, and sat down to think over what could've happened. She was weary and felt herself drifting off to sleep when, suddenly, she heard the doorbell ring. Surprised, she jumped up to get the door. It seemed that instead of calling her to go to their house, her uncle sent the police to her house and lead the way. If it wasn't for the situation, Renee would've laughed out loud to see that her uncle brought the cops to her house. The detective questioned them about the clothing Maddie was wearing, what she looked like, and when they last saw her. Nobody knew what Maddie was wearing, since she always left for school the earliest, except for Maddie's mother, who woke up to give her breakfast. Since there was no point in not calling Maddie's mom anymore, Renee quickly dialed her work number. Her aunt picked up and when Renee asked her what Maddie was wearing the morning, she replied,
"Hello Renee, dear. How are you today? Well, today, she was wearing a pair of jeans, with an emerald green shirt. Why do you ask?"
Renee told her that Maddie was missing, but her aunt's reply was not one she expected.
"Really? Didn't she come home from her friend's, Emily was it, place yet?"
"What? Wait, how do you know that she's at her friend's house?"
"Oh, I forgot to call and tell you guys. Maddie stayed after school and missed her late bus, so she went on her friend's bus. She said she couldn't reach anybody at home and her dad's cell phone was turned off.I'll give you her friend's number, if you want." Her aunt finished, apologetically.