THE STORY OF ME AND MY LIFE ENTRY TWELVE

10TH MARCH, 1999,

Dear Abi,

I arrived at Nanna and Grandad's house a couple of hours after I gave the train conductor my ticket.
I was just about to knock on their door when I decided that it was Chantelle I'd ran away to see, so I headed off to her house instead.
She loked surprised when I knocked on the door and she answered.
"Ali! What are you doing here?! I thought you'd gone home?"
"I did, but I came back."
"Are you on your own, then?"
"Yes."
"You'd better come in, then. I don't want you out there on your own? Do your grandparents know you're here?"
"No."
I followed Chantelle up to her room, she asked me why I'd come back, and so I told her.
"If your mum told you to get that stupid idea out of your head, it must be true," Chantelle told me. "Parents always say those words when something's true."
"What do I do, Chants?"
Chantelle chewed her lip. "We-ell, I showed that photo to my dad last night, but he told me to get the idea out of my head as well."
I thought for a minute. "If we both go down and tell him together, then he'll see it isn't a stupid idea."
"I don't know, Ali. I think he's willing to think it's all a coincidence."
"And I think that maybe my mum wants me to forget I ever had a dad. But I really want to find my dad."
Chantelle got up. "Come on," she said. "We'll ask him together."
I followed her out of her room, and downstairs. She went into the kitchen, where her dad was making a cheese sandwich for himself.
"Hi, Ali," he said, when he saw me. "How are you?"
"I'm fine."
"Listen, Dad, we both want to talk about that photo," Chantelle said.
Her dad looked angey. "Now, Chantelle, I told you last night..."
"I know, Dad, but see the thing is, I was being
serious when I said that I think Ali's the baby in the photo."
Her dad looked confused.
"You see. We're were talking about our families the other day, and Ali mentioned that her dad left her mum when she was born, because she found out he was already married with a one-year-old daughter. She mentioned that his daughter's birthday was two days before her's. Now, my birthday is on the 7th of February, and Ali's is the 9th. Now, tell me that's a coincidence."
Chantelle's dad had been eating his sandwich while she was talking, but now she'd finished, he put his sandwich down on the table, even though it was half eaten.
"Okay, Chantelle, you got me there. Yes, okay, I had an affair when you were a baby."
"Does Mum know?"
"Yes, your mum knows, but she decided to forget it ever happened for your sake."
"So, if you were already married, how did you meet my mum?" I asked.
"Well, Chantelle's mother and I had just had an arguement, and I went down the pub to cool off. Your mother, Ali, was in there, because she'd just split up with her boyfriend, who was a pig. We got chatting, and she invited me back to her flat. Then, just after you were born, your mum found out I was already married with a daughter - Chantelle - and she finished with me."
"Can't really blame her," I said. "So how did she find out?"
But Chantelle's dad never answered. There was a knock at the door.

I must go, Abi, we're going out for McDonald's, yum, yum.

Find out what happens next in Entry Thirteen...