WIP Extract - Three Magic Trees

“Do you honestly believe what we just witnessed was not real?” Josey shrugged. Jared checked in his pocket. The whistle was still there. “I’d rather believe. How awesome would it be to have a magic wood on our land?”

“It’s your land,” replied Josey. “Not mine.”

“True.” Jared pictured the sniffing shadow. “Maybe it would be best if we forgot about it. A bit too weird.”

Josey smiled, as if he had made a joke. “Yeah.”

Jared turned the key and opened the front door. He thrust his head inside, listening for Mum. Contented, he ushered Josey in and quietly locked up.

As he watched Josey creep up to the stairs, he couldn’t help opening his mouth. “You’re always welcome to come round.” Josey stopped and half turned to face him. “Er, you know, if your mum is ever away again.”

To Jared’s surprise, Josey let out a short, bitter laugh. “She’s never away.”

Without a goodbye, Josey took the first step. Jared stared at her. God, why did she have to be so arrogant? He liked her less and less every minute.

“Wait!” For some reason, he found himself grabbing a post-it note from the hall table, along with a pen. He rushed after Josey, his legs on autopilot. “Just in case we wake up tomorrow and find it wasn’t a dream.” Josey turned to face him, brow furrowed. Jared lowered his voice to a whisper. “You can have my mobile number. You know, we would share a pretty awesome secret.” He leant on the banister and scribbled down his number. What was he doing? He looked up into Josey’s face before his courage shrivelled away. To his surprise, she smiled. “There you go. Just in case.”