by James Dawson
Katie blinked back tears. ‘Answer me one question.’
Ben guessed the question. ‘Did I kill her? No. I swear to you.’ Katie nodded. Ben went on, ‘But we have to do this. I know it’s awful, but we’ve been friends forever and we have to protect each other.’
Alisha saw Katie’s eyes narrow. For a split second, she really thought Katie might slap him, but then all the fight ebbed away, her shoulders sank and she simply said, ‘OK.’
‘You’ll do it?’
Katie batted a tear from her cheek. ‘Ben, how can you ask that? You know I’d do anything for you.’
Alisha shot off the sofa like it had bitten her. Sorry, but this was all a bit much. It was too intense, too intimate, and she couldn’t sit there and listen. There was something curled up at the bottom of her stomach – a hard knot that felt a little like jealousy. It didn’t make sense, and the timing was mightily inappropriate, but it would be nice if there was someone in her life who cared for her the way Ben cared for Katie. ‘I . . . I’m gonna see if Greg needs me.’
She swept out of the lounge and onto the top terrace. A hand over her eyes to shield them from the sun’s fierce glare, Alisha looked on in morbid fascination as Ryan and Greg carried Roxanne up the stone stairs onto the terrace. It was every inch the car crash you slow down to peer at. Greg held her arms, Ryan her legs, and she swung like a hammock between them – butchers carrying meat. They laid her down on the patio.
Ryan stepped over the body. ‘Where’s Roxanne’s bedding? We need to wrap her up or we’ll leave evidence everywhere.’
‘I’ll get it.’ Alisha turned away, dumbstruck. It seemed that wherever she went, she walked into a surreal melodrama. She pulled the door open and cannoned straight into Ben’s broad chest. She couldn’t look him in the eye. God, she might never be able to look anyone in the eye ever again. What was it gonna be like after they’d dumped Rox? Every time she walked past a policeman she’d get cold sweats and palpitations. This feeling was going to get worse and worse, she just knew it.
The lounge was now empty. ‘Where’s Katie?’
‘She went up to her room,’ Ben replied.
She glowered at him. ‘I’ll go see if she’s OK.’
‘Lish!’ Greg called from outside. ‘Where are the sheets?’
With a sigh, she took the neatly folded pile of sheets, which, of course, Roxanne had never used, and flung them in Greg’s direction. Just because she had agreed to this didn’t mean she was happy about it. Not by a long stretch.
‘Hey, Lish.’ Ben took hold of her arm. ‘Greg’s right. This is for the best.’
Oh, who was he trying to convince? ‘Is it? You really think so?’
He nodded, but there was so much pain in his eyes it made Alisha’s chest ache. He had such a beautiful mouth. How had that never occurred to her until now? Why was it occurring to her at all when the corpse of her nemesis festered just behind them? ‘I’m gonna check on Katie,’ she said again and broke away from him, unable to deal with a feeling that she didn’t fully understand. Not looking back, she hurried across the lounge, leaving Ben to deal with the extreme twistedness on the terrace.
When she entered the bedroom, Katie was just sitting on the end of the bed, a hollow, unblinking stare on her face.
‘Hey, hon,’ Alisha said gently.
‘I told Ben I’d go along with whatever Greg and Ryan are cooking up. Right now, I just want to go home,’ Katie told her.
Alisha nodded. In a weird way she was glad Katie wasn’t trying to stop them. She wanted all this over with as fast as possible. It was like a living, breathing nightmare. ‘Who do you think . . .’
‘Don’t.’ Katie blinked back tears. ‘It’s too awful to think about. Why would anyone want to kill Roxanne?’
That drew a wry laugh from Alisha. ‘Who wouldn’t want to kill Roxanne?’ Then she took Katie’s hand and gave it a squeeze. ‘Too soon?’
Katie managed a little laugh in response. ‘Too soon.’ She went on to answer her own question. ‘She knew something about Janey . . . and it got her killed. One of us killed Janey and Rox.’
‘It might be someone else – like someone prowling the beach,’ Alisha pointed out. ‘And maybe Janey did jump . . .’ Alisha was often accused of being naive, but she didn’t care; it was better than being jaded and cynical.
‘Fat chance!’ Katie laughed. ‘Greg’s right. This is all because of Janey. It’s all connected. God, what happened that night? There’s something in there, Alisha. Something we’re missing. It’s probably really obvious and we’re just not seeing it. What happened at the ball?’
‘I don’t know. I was drunk, Katie. Really drunk,’ Alisha admitted, feeling ashamed.
‘Please, Lish. What do you remember?’
Alisha took a deep breath and folded her legs. ‘OK. We can do the extended disco remix if you want. It’s not like we’re going anywhere, is it? Remember where we’d got to? We pranked Mrs Finching and then headed for the ball?’
Katie tensed up. ‘Yes. Go on . . .’
FLASHBACK – LAST YEAR (ALISHA)
They were kind of late for the ball; it was already well underway by the time they arrived. Other students were spilling out of the gymnasium, one girl already tossing her dinner onto the netball court while a friend held her hair back. Without Katie there, Alisha couldn’t help wondering who would hold her hair back later. A group of guys from the rugby team had chosen to dress identically in kilts and were busy flashing each other for a group photo.
The friends didn’t care that they were late. They were buzzing. After the pranks, they felt oddly invincible. Maybe it was the cheap, fizzy wine but, as they sauntered into the gym, Alisha felt like she was walking on air. Nothing could touch her tonight.
‘OK! Where’s the bar?’ she demanded.
‘Beyond the line of defence,’ Ryan joked, pointing to the row of teacher chaperones who were sitting in front of the bar, looking thrilled at losing their evening.
Alisha made a beeline for the bar.
Greg’s hand suddenly wrapped around her arm. ‘Don’t you do anything to embarrass me,’ he hissed in her ear so that only she would hear.
‘Isn’t your date waiting?’ Alisha asked and pointed at the bleached blonde blow-up doll her brother was currently dating.
Alisha proceeded to the drinks area, which was manned by the ball committee. Once there, she allowed herself to have a sly look around. No sign of her skanky-boyfriend-stealing-nemesis, Roxanne, yet.
Ben sidled up alongside her. ‘You OK, Lish?’
Busted! ‘Yeah. I was just seeing if she was here yet.’
‘Oh, I see,’ he said. He put a big arm around her shoulders and gave her a squeeze. It was harmless and brotherly, but her skin hummed at his touch. ‘You know what, Cole? You are worth a hundred Roxanne Dents. It’s official. I did a very scientific study.’
She rested her head on his broad shoulder. ‘You’re very sweet, Ben. A massive liar, but very sweet.’
‘I mean it. You have something she doesn’t.’
‘And what’s that? Big boobs?’
He chortled. ‘I was gonna say “a soul”, but them, too!’
Alisha felt her face flush. She could either say something rude and witty, or simply take the compliment. ‘Thank you.’
‘Any time.’ He took two drinks. One for him and one for Janey – his girlfriend. God, she envied them. All these Noah’s Ark couples going two-by-two and she was here alone. Where was her Ben Murdoch?
‘Oi, Cole!’ It was Ryan. He came up from behind and poked her in the ribs. ‘Can you dance in those shoes?’
‘What do you think?’ She took his hand in her left and a drink in her right and led him to the floor.
They danced. They danced a lot. Alisha’s feet felt like they were on fire and sweat ran down her back. The metallic dress could well see her roasted by the end of the night, but it was a perfect evening. Janey had cheered up, thank God, and had hoisted her dress up to dance. Eve
n Ben joined in, although his dancing left a lot to be desired. Greg just stood at the edge of the dance floor, a protective arm around his vapid date.
That was when she saw them. Alisha froze, although no one seemed to notice. It was the music crowd – Callum’s friends – she spotted first. Black eyeliner and skinny jeans with skinnier ties. That was just the guys. The girls were all in black – ripped fishnets and lank hair. Bringing up the rear of their group was Callum, hand in hand with Roxanne. She wore a clingy, flesh-coloured dress. She might as well be nude. Blonde hair fell in carefully messed-up waves down her back. Around their wrists they had matching purple ribbon bands. They must have done a festival together.
Alisha felt it like a kick to her stomach. It was pain. It was hate. She could almost see the darkness blurring the edges of her vision. Someone squeezed her hand. It was Janey.
‘Take a deep breath. She wants a reaction, remember. Don’t give her the satisfaction.’
Alisha exhaled. Janey’s voice guided her down off the ceiling.
‘Oh, crap, I have to be on stage.’ Ben broke away from the group and Alisha realised it must be time for the speeches. He pushed through the crowd to join an annoyed-looking Rosalyn Chung, the Head Girl, on stage. Alisha could almost see her lips mouth the words Where the eff have you been all night?
‘Good evening, Longview!’ Rosalyn began. ‘Welcome to the Leavers’ Ball!’
A girl from Alisha’s photography group came up next to her. ‘Psst, Lish, do you want a vodka jelly? We snuck them in.’
‘Sure.’ She took the shot and knocked it back, chasing it with beer. Wow, that was cider, wine, beer and vodka all in one evening. The room spun a little, but she needed the drink. How else would she cope with the Callum and Roxanne show?
One of the techie geek crew fiddled with Ben’s collar, attaching a mic to the lapel of his tux. Ben took his place behind the lectern with Rosalyn. ‘Can you hear me OK?’ he said. The crowd roared agreement. ‘This is a momentous night. We’ve been in this gym on many occasions, but this is the very last time we’ll set foot in this school.’
‘Except for Results Day,’ Rosalyn put in.
‘Exactly. This is our last chance to have some fun before we all go our separate ways. A chance to say goodbye.’ There was a chorus of awwws from the audience. ‘But we can’t go without sharing a drink, a dance and our Longview memories.’
‘With that in mind,’ said Rosalyn, ‘the Ball Committee, led by Roxanne Dent, have put together a video montage. Can we have a round of applause, please?’
As the hall clapped, Roxanne made a cute curtsey. Alisha mimed gagging onto Ryan’s tux. A projector screen behind Ben and Rosalyn lit up, revealing a banner heading, LONGVIEW HIGH SCHOOL – FRIENDS TO THE END, along with the school insignia of a seagull flying over the cliffs. There followed a pretty standard array of photos from the last seven years: school shows, sports days, Science and Literature awards. Alisha briefly glimpsed herself in a photo of a sculpture day they’d hosted with a visiting artist a few years back. Ryan and Janey cheered as an image of them as Sally Bowles and Emcee in last year’s Cabaret flashed up.
The film changed pace with an animation of a yearbook opening up.
‘Urgh, how American!’ laughed Ryan.
The Ball Committee had kindly assigned roles to people. Ben and Janey were awarded the honour of ‘Prom King and Queen’ – and a couply photo appeared on the display.
‘Oh, that’s so sweet!’ Janey grinned. Her face soon fell. The first photo (Janey and Ben on the pier) changed to a second (Janey and Ben sitting on the grass verge outside the science block) but then it changed a third time. The new picture showed Ben in a tight embrace on the clifftop, but the girl he had his arms around wasn’t Janey. It was Katie.
A gasp and a giggle ran around the room. It was tradition – the yearly photo montage had to be a little risqué – it was just one of those things. Janey looked far from impressed. From the stage, Ben mouthed ‘sorry’. Alisha whirled to glare at Rox, who stifled a giggle with the rest of the Ball Committee.
‘Is that an old picture?’ Janey demanded, her jaw clenched.
‘Of course it is,’ Ryan assured her. ‘It must be.’
Alisha wasn’t sure, but the offending image had vanished now, replaced by the next part of the montage, so she couldn’t scrutinise the clothes or hairstyles.
Janey reached into her purse and took out her phone. ‘What are you doing?’ Alisha shouted as the crowd laughed at whatever was on the screen.
‘Nothing.’ Janey frantically tapped away on the touchscreen.
Alisha turned back to the montage. Next up was ‘Class Clown’. An image of Kyle Norton flashed up – his pants around his ankles. That was the thing – the montage was meant to be a piss-take. Janey didn’t seem to appreciate the joke. Kyle, however, made a wild wolf-call at his new title.
‘Let’s see how funny he is when he gets home and steps in shit,’ Ryan whispered.
Some more classmates were honoured. ‘Brainiac of the Year’ (Olivia Hewitt) was first, then ‘Sickeningly Cute Couple’ (Tori Holmes and Lucie Slade) and finally ‘The Matt Fisher Award for Supreme Cool’ was awarded to Matt Fisher. Next up was ‘Superstar’ – who else could it be but Greg? A montage of his early days with the Brighton Youth Team appeared on screen. The auditorium rewarded him with a mighty cheer. He was their golden boy – a claim to fame for everyone. The people in this room would forever be able to say they went to school with footballer Greg Cole.
Alisha rolled her eyes. She had enough of this at home. She took another vodka jelly.
‘Longview’s Got Talent’ was up next. It was Ryan. He made a giddy bleating noise. There was a selection of pictures of his lead roles, along with a note to say that he’d been accepted into performing arts college. The room applauded and Ryan took a bow.
And that’s when the picture changed. Alisha’s mouth fell open. She clutched Ryan’s arm. It was her. She was crawling out of a bush, her skirt up around her waist. One shoe had fallen off and there was make-up smudged down her cheeks. The caption read, ‘Most Likely to Need Rehab’.
Year Thirteen burst into rapturous claps and cheers – by far the biggest of the night. They laughed so hard tears ran down their faces. Look at Alisha Cole – such a hot mess! Thank God we’re not like her. At least, that’s how Alisha interpreted the mirth. To her, this was definitely a laughing at, not with, moment.
She saw Roxanne laughing and her stomach clenched. Taking Callum from her wasn’t enough for Rox, was it? She wanted to ruin Alisha. The room turned red. Reason and logic burned to nothing, leaving only rage. Her feet moved like they were possessed and Alisha careered across the dance floor, shoving aside anyone who stood in her way.
Roxanne didn’t see her coming until it was too late. ‘Alisha, can’t you take a jo—’ she began.
Alisha grasped her blonde hair and swung her, head first, into the fire-escape door. With a satisfying rip, she felt the hair come away in her hands. Roxanne screamed and slumped to the floor. Alisha couldn’t stop now, though. She delivered a precise toe to Roxanne’s stomach and Rox choked.
‘Get up, you bitch!’ Alisha yelled.
Hands wrapped themselves around her. Many hands. She didn’t know whose. She was dragged away from the sobbing blonde wreck on the floor.
A strong hand yanked at her wrist. ‘Alisha! What are you doing?’ It was Mr Kemp, the physics teacher. Alisha looked around, realising that the auditorium was now silent. All eyes were on her. Greg had never looked more angry.
‘She’s dead! Dead!’ Alisha screeched.
Callum helped his girlfriend off the floor.
Mr Kemp pulled Alisha towards the main exit. ‘Alisha, how much have you had to drink? You need to go home and sober up.’
‘Let go of me!’ she wailed. The fight poured out of her body and she felt herself go limp: a deflated balloon girl.
‘YOU AND KATIE?’ The voice boomed around the auditorium like the voice
of God, freezing everyone in their tracks. Alisha recognised that voice. It wasn’t God, it was Janey. She scanned the room, looking for a glimpse of the crimson dress. Janey was nowhere to be seen, and neither, for that matter, was Ben. He’d gone from the stage and Rosalyn now stood there alone, fuming at her ruined moment.
‘You went through my phone?’ Ben’s disembodied voice echoed. He sounded outraged, although Alisha knew that that was the piss-poor defence used in only one type of argument. But where were they? Every single word they said was loud and clear but they were nowhere to be seen. Then it dawned on her – their conversation was being picked up by Ben’s microphone.
‘How long has it been going on? Tell me!’ Janey cried.
As realisation set in, there were gasps and giggles from the audience. Alisha’s head was spinning – and not just from the drink or the fight. Ben and Katie? When? Now? But that would mean . . . Oh God. Ben had cheated on Janey with his ex.
‘Janey, it’s not what you think . . .’ Ben’s words rang out, amplified.
The room erupted: more gasps, but mostly laughter. Half the crowd covered their mouths in shock, half couldn’t conceal their glee at the unexpected interval show. Even Ryan couldn’t keep his delight at the scandal out of his eyes.
‘Don’t lie! How could you?’ Janey screamed. The door to the boys’ changing room at the left of the stage burst open and Janey tumbled back into the hall with Ben close behind. As they entered applause greeted them.
‘Nice one, Ben!’ Kyle Norton whooped. ‘Take the mic off next time, you dick!’
The colour seeped from both of their faces. Alisha tried to rush to her friend’s side, but a new hand held her back – Greg’s.
‘Don’t you dare. You’ve done enough for one night,’ he said in her ear.
‘But Janey . . .’ Alisha saw a thick tear roll down Janey’s face. This would kill her. Janey was the proudest person she knew. The humiliation – she’d be broken by it.