Looking up from the funny cat video playing on her phone, Ellie was too late to move out of the path of the man hurtling towards her.
Followed closely by three pissed off looking coppers, the man, in a state of undress, launched her into the shop shutters, sending her iphone, bag, and half-eaten Kinder Bueno flying across the pavement.
“Oi, Jesus, what was that all about?”
Ellie asked no one in particular. An elderly lady tried in vain to help her up.
“This place has gone to the dogs love, always police about nowadays”.
Another bystander, a teenage girl in uniform handed Ellie her bag.
“Thanks”.
Ellie dusted off her coat and skirt and picked up her iphone, leaving the last of chocolate for the pigeons.
“No worries” the girl replied, “Wonder what he’s been up to?”
“I don’t know but I hope they catch him, knobhead has smashed my screen” Ellie showed
her the shattered glass.
The teen rolled her eyes and flashed her own cracked screen.
“Welcome to the club,” she said as she wandered off in the direction of the library.
Sirens wailed down the high street and came to a screeching halt at the far end, by the post office. Ellie could just make out two police officers manhandling the runaway into the van before slamming the doors and driving off.
“Good” she thought, her elbow throbbing.
The flow of people went back to their day. Traffic noise picked up, buses, taxis, people
returned to the queue in the coffee shop and women pushing buggies went by, en route to the park. Kneeling down to check her bag, Ellie noticed what she thought was a pen, just a foot or two across from where she fell into the shutters. It must have come out of her bag.
Crouching across, she picked it up. It was a flash drive. An old school looking one at that. Anyone could’ve dropped it but there was no way Ellie wasn’t plugging it straight into her laptop to check what was on it. She dropped it into her pocket and joined the queue at the coffee shop.
Kate Reilly James 