His heart pounding, Ethan ran back to the supermarket. He was almost certain his laptop had been stolen, but maybe, just maybe...
The manager told him, however, that nothing had been handed in - before adding, infuriatingly, that the shop's CCTV system was currently out of action. With no chance of identifying the thief, Ethan's trip to the police station to report the crime seemed a pointless formality.
Grandad was already home when Ethan eventually got back.
'So when should we buy that equipment you need?' he asked.
Ethan felt the emptiness inside him fill with anger. If Grandad hadn't been so flaky, Ethan would have had the hardware to back up his laptop. 'It's too late for that,' he snapped.
Grandad was taken aback. 'What do you mean? What's wrong?'
Yet once again, Ethan chose to swallow his own troubles. 'I'm sorry, gung gung. It's just I've got a lot of schoolwork on at the moment.'
