Theo’s girlfriend seemed a good deal more responsible than he did. A clean cut, bespectacled red-head, she gasped in horror at my multi-coloured face and fussed over me for a good while, then lectured Theo on his (lack of) duty of care. Theo just shrugged it off, got behind the wheel of her car and told us both to get in so that he and Chantel wouldn’t be late to their movie.

They dropped me off at school just as the lunch bell rang. Pretending not to notice the lingering stare that old-lady Agnes from Reception gave me, I signed into the late arrivals book. I definitely looked like a mess. My wiry waves were an unbrushed, tangled mess, my jaw was a mix of red and purple-blue, and I still had a sling keeping my cast-encased left wrist elevated by my neck. If she didn’t know about my family situation, I wouldn’t have been surprised if she called Child Protection to report abuse. 

Hopefully she wouldn’t call to report neglect.

I thanked her and left the lobby, heading down the hall to the area where my year level’s lockers were kept. The familiar buzz of laughter and chatter filled my ears as students streamed out of class and rushed to put away their books.

Right, so I’d gotten myself to school. Now what? My jaw clenched. What could I do?

I pulled my phone out of my skirt pocket, flicking across the cracked screen until I reached my call list. 

Unknown number.

My lips pursed. Something had been up with Gwen when she’d called me at the hospital. I mean, I’d always known she was weird – nice, but weird – but I’d never seen or heard her act like a cat drunk on catnip before. It was almost as if she’d been…

A shiver went through me and my right hand felt cold. I shook it out, and the sensation went away. It was better if that word went unsaid – even if it was just in my head.

At any rate, her dad was in charge of the Andrew case and a bit more loose-lipped than I had initially thought. Chances were that she knew something that the news didn’t. 

Yes. Gwen was my next goal.

I made my way through the human sea, ignoring the funny looks that were being sent my way. For the most part, the tide parted for me, the people in front of me taking a step back when they caught sight of my face. I bit the inside of my cheek. Had rumours started circulating already? Did people know that I was one of the girls on the news? Did they all know that Ryo had been stabbed protecting me?

‘Hey, Evelyn.’

A guy stepped directly in front of me, hand outstretched to tap me on the shoulder. I took an instinctive step back, and he missed. Frowning, he looked down at me. Then his eyes widened and his jaw went slack. ‘Oh shit, what happened to your face?’

I vaguely recognised him as one of Ryo’s friends – the not-quite ginger that had a perpetual man-bun and a shower of stubble on his face. I couldn’t remember his name, and frankly, right now, I didn’t care. 

‘Jesus, what happened?’ He moved to touch my bruise, and I took another step back. His blue eyes narrowed. ‘Has that got anything to do with why Ryo isn’t here?’

‘Sorry, I’m in a hurry.’

I stepped around him and kept going.

Each time we’d met, Gwen had been the one to come to me. I wasn’t exactly hard to find if you knew where the pavilion was, but it was highly unlikely that she’d be there since I’d missed most of school. I, on the other hand, didn’t know Gwen well enough to say who she’d be hanging out with, or where to find her. Gwen’s social network was wide. She was a social chameleon, capable of integrating into any group she wanted – a skill I could never hope to achieve. 

With any luck, I would’ve been able to catch her at our lockers, but by the time I reached the second floor of the senior wing, most of the students were gone – ushered into the courtyards and the cafeteria by the teachers assigned to keep us out of the halls. Back downstairs I went, headed for the area of the school I hated visiting most.

 In the Caf, the usual buzz of noise is always amplified into a roar. Students yelling and throwing things at each other, raucous laughter over stupid jokes, the lunch ladies and students placing orders shouting to be heard over the din, while the two teachers unfortunate to be placed on duty walked between tables and supervised the queue, struggling to maintain some semblence of order.

The points and whispers were inevitable, but I did my best to ignore them and focused on my goal.

Gwen’s table was surprisingly easy to find – a bubble of calm amongst the chaos. She sat with her profile towards me, her usual smile on her face as she talked to a group of girls about some matter or other. I approached, and like a parliament of owls interrupted, their heads all turned towards me. From the look in their eyes you’d think I was some kind of rodent.

‘Gross,’ said one of the girls in the middle – Isa Something. ‘What do you want?’

A friend beside her frowned and elbowed the next girl over. ‘Isn’t that the chick who went crazy in Year 7 and…?’

‘Yeah, don’t think about it.’

Gwen shot them all a look, and they quickly shut their mouths. She smiled up at me, the corners of her eyes crinkling behind the rounded red frames of her glasses. A thought niggled at me: had she always had those?

‘What’s up, Evelyn?’ she asked.

‘I need to talk to you.’

She blinked. ‘What about?’

I bit my lip. Was I supposed to just come out and say it? My eyes darted around the table, noting every mutter and greasy look the rest of them were giving me. No, blurting my questions outright was a terrible idea. 

I hesitated and opted for something vague. ‘Um, I’d really appreciate it if you’d come with me for a sec.’

Isa pursed her lips. ‘Don’t do it, Gwen. You know what she’s like. She’s a fre—’ 

Gwen threw her another look. ‘Isa, we’ve talked about this before.’

The glare the other girl gave her in return could have killed. Nevertheless Isa, pursed her lips.

The obvious victor, Gwen smiled at me. ‘I can spare a few minutes.’ She looked at her friends. ‘I’ll be back in a bit.’

‘Don’t die, Gwen,’ whispered someone.

‘Shut up, Haley,’ hissed someone else. ‘You’ll jinx her.’

Gwen looked at Isa, clearly expecting a response.

‘Sure,’ said Isa. ‘Go talk to the freak. That’s what you do best after all.’

Gwen grinned and vacated her chair. ‘I’m glad we understand each other.’

***

‘Sorry about them,’ said Gwen, leading the way out of the Caf and into the central courtyard. ‘They're just a little… superstitious.’ Finding an unoccupied corner near one of the planters, she turned towards me with her ever-present smile. ‘How can I help?’

I looked around, double-checking that no one else was in the earshot. How was I going to approach this? 

I swallowed. ‘Uh, I just want to see if you were feeling okay.’

Her head tilted. ‘How I’m feel—? Oh.’ Gwen cleared her throat. ‘Right. Yes. I’m feeling much better now, thank you.’

‘Well… you do sound more like yourself. You sounded kind of high last night – ’ I paused. That sounded like I was accusing her of doing drugs. ‘ – I mean, not high. You just sounded kind of… out of it, or… something…’

She blinked. ‘Last night?’

‘Yes. The phone call?’

‘What phone call?’

We stared at each other. 

‘You called me last night,’ I said.

‘No, I didn’t.’ She hesitated, green eyes studying my face. ‘Forgive me, if this is rude, but are you okay? I don’t mean to be tactless, but your face looks very much not okay. What happened?’

What happened? There was a funny feeling in the pit of my stomach. ‘Didn’t your dad tell you?’

‘No, I haven’t spoken to him all week. My brother and I were at our mum’s place. Why would he tell me?’ She frowned. ‘What should he have told me? Was it related to a case?’

My hands were shaking. There was a hollow feeling in my chest. ‘He didn’t tell you what happened to Ai?’

‘Ai? The transfer student?’

‘Yes, her.’ My voice was shaky. We’d been talking about Ai everyday. Why did Gwen look so confused? 

‘Dad doesn’t talk to us about on-going cases. Why? Did something happen to her?’

‘Andrew.’ My breath hitched as I forced out his name. 

‘Andrew?’ Gwen’s brow furrowed. ‘Who’s Andrew?’

I was on the verge of hyperventilating. My heartbeat was thudding loudly in my ears. I gripped the side of my skirt in a futile attempt to calm myself down and stop the shaking. ‘Andrew. The guy from the news. Ai’s boyfriend. The guy you looked into. The guy with the bad reputation – the one who beat up a bunch of women. The guy we’ve been talking about for the last three days!’ My voice cracked, becoming louder and more frantic with each and every word.

Gwen stared at me, eyes wide with bewilderment. ‘Evelyn… I – I haven’t been at school since Monday. I haven’t seen you or Ai since we showed her around town.’

‘Liar! You met me at the pavilion on Tuesday! You invited yourself over to my house!.’

‘No, I didn’t!’ Gwen’s jaw clenched, exasperation flashing across her features. ‘Evelyn, I don’t even know where you live.’

‘You were there! You said you’d heard that my dad was away and because I’d broken my wrist, you made some inedible Welsh stew.’

Gwen opened her mouth to retort, then blinked and closed it. ‘Well, that does sound like something I would do.’ Her eyes narrowed at my cast. ‘How did that happen by the way?’

It was a struggle to breathe. ‘You know how.’

Gwen sighed. ‘I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t.’ Her brow furrowed and her bottom lip protruded as she studied my face. ‘How do I prove this to you?’ she muttered. She pushed up her glasses and tapped her nose with a finger as she thought. After a moment, she pulled out her phone and began to dial. 

‘Who are you calling?’ I asked.

‘My dad.’ The line rang twice, then connected. She put it on speaker.

‘Gwen?’ The familiar rumble of Mr Leganne’s voice came loud and clear through the phone.

She looked at me and put a finger to her lips before answering. ‘Hi Dad! Just needed to talk to you real quick.’

‘Are you alright? Don’t tell me there was a complication with Gwaine’s—’

She cleared her throat loudly. ‘No, Gwaine’s fine. I’m at school. Everyone’s feeling a lot better. Just wanted to ask if you knew about an incident involving a girl called Ai Miyakawa.’

There was a pause. ‘You know I can’t talk about on-going investigations, Gwen.’

‘So something did happen to her. Did it involve a guy called…’ She frowned, trying to remember the name. ‘...Andrew?’

Another lengthy pause. ‘Why are you asking when you’ve clearly been watching the news?’

‘I haven’t, but this conversation has been very helpful. Thanks, Dad! See you on Sunday.’

‘Right… See ya, kid.’

The line went dead.

Contrary to her cheerful phone voice, Gwen’s expression was grim. ‘Do you believe me now?’ she asked. 

I… I didn’t know.

My chest heaved as I hyperventilated. I could feel the blood draining from my face. White noise was buzzing in my ears. My vision tunnelled, like the world was fading away. If Gwen hadn’t been at school these last few days, then who the hell had I been talking to? Who had I let into my house? Who was that voice on the – 

Voice.

The Voice.

‘Save her.’

‘You saved him. You saved Ai. ’

The one that had possessed me.

Had it been watching me? Stalking me? Since when?

‘You’re almost out of the hospital, right?’

No… that wasn’t the first time. 

‘You saved that little boy down at the train station too.’

Since the train incident on Monday.

And it hadn’t just been stalking me...

‘I-was-just-wondering-if-it-would-be-okay-for-me-to-come-over-to-your-place!’

Gwen. The expression on her face – brow furrowed, bottom lip protruding – her imposter had mimicked it perfectly.

But who… Why – ? Wait. Train station...

‘Did you see this person at all tonight?’ 

The boy in the black hoodie. I knew who he was.

‘Are you alright?’

He was at the train station on the day that I saved that kid.

‘Where did he go?’

‘Where did who go?’

He was there the first time the Voice had whispered in my ear.

‘Save them.’

He was the one who had picked me up off my feet when we’d all collided.

‘You’re welcome!’

He was the one that had been glaring at me when the kid had made it out alive – with blue and brown mismatched eyes.

That was why Edri’s photograph had looked wrong. 

Everything about him was wrong.

‘Evelyn?’ said Gwen’s voice. She started towards me – and stopped, protecting her face from grit and leaves as a gust of ice-cold wind blew through the courtyard.

I ran.