The Courage Within (Riley Bennett)

by Andy Coltart

  ‘And Casey too!’ insisted Riley.

  ‘Yes, of course,’ said her mum.

  ‘Okay, can you hop up on the bed and take your top off for me please,’ said the doctor as she shut the door.

  Riley did as she was asked. Casey, who hadn’t seen the bruises put her hand over her mouth to hide a gasp. Riley took her hand.

  ‘It’s okay,’ she said. ‘It doesn’t hurt too much.’

  ‘Right,’ said Jen, ‘I need to touch the ribs to check for any breaks. Let me know if this hurts too much.’

  She placed her hands on Riley’s ribs and moved them around, checking each rib. Her hands were cold and felt like icicles being dragged across Riley’s skin.

  ‘Ouch,’ said Riley as she reached the lowest rib.

  ‘Okay,’ said the doctor, ‘there is a small chance this rib is fractured. I’ll need to have an X-ray done. Once I’m finished I’d like you to go to the hospital,’ she said.

  Riley sighed. This is not what she needed the day before the White House tour. Jen called the female officer back in and handed her a report.

  ‘She has extensive bruising, possibly a broken rib. There doesn’t appear to be any other internal damage but these injuries are consistent with being crushed,’ said the doctor.

  ‘Thank you,’ said the officer. Riley, Casey and Mrs Bennett followed the police officer to an interview room, where Riley had to retell her story yet again for the benefit of a police tape. They were then asked to go to the hospital.

  ‘Mum,’ said Riley, on the way to the hospital, ‘I’m still going to be allowed to go to Alex’s later, aren’t I?’

  ‘Let’s just wait and see what the hospital say, shall we?’ said her mum. Riley looked anxiously at Casey. Neither of them spoke but knew exactly what the other was thinking.

  The hospital had been expecting them and Riley was able to bypass the queues in the waiting rooms and go straight in. The radiographer asked Riley to stand in front of a screen while the X-ray machine took a picture of her back. She was then asked to hold a screen while the machine took a picture of her front. It took less than five minutes and the results were available after a short wait.

  ‘So,’ said Mrs Bennett, ‘has she broken anything?’

  ‘There is a fracture across her lowest rib on her righthand side’ said the radiologist. ‘It’s a clean break and therefore will heal on its own. I’d recommend no contact sports for about four weeks.’

  As they left the hospital Riley said to Casey, ‘At least there’s one good thing about this – no PE for a month!’ Casey smiled,

  ‘I’m glad you’re seeing the bright side,’ she said. The girls got in the car and Mrs Bennett drove them back to the police station. Taking the radiologist’s report, the three of them went to the front desk in the station. The female officer came through and took them to an interview room. They sat while she read the report.

  ‘Okay, I think we are done for now. We have your statement and the medical evidence. We will interview the girls and be in touch, most likely after the weekend now,’ she said.

  ‘Can we go home now?’ said Riley.

  ‘Yes of course,’ said the police officer.

  Back in school, parents were arriving to see the Head Teacher. The three girls were collected from their lesson by the administrator and escorted to the Head’s office. As they walked in they were surprised to see their parents waiting for them.

  ‘Please sit down everyone,’ said the Head. He turned to the girls and asked them,

  ‘Do you know why you’re here?’

  They’d seen Riley arrive as school with her mum and the police and put two and two together.

  ‘Is it because of Crazy Curls, I mean, Riley?’ one of them said.

  ‘Correct,’ said the Head.

  Speaking to their parents the Head said, ‘We’ve had a complaint against your children following an assault in school yesterday. I’ve met with the girl and her mother and I’ve seen the bruises caused by the assault,’ he said. ‘I’m waiting to hear from the police doctor as to how these bruises were caused but if they are consistent with the girl’s story I’ll have no choice but suspend your children while a police investigation takes place.’

  ‘Are you accusing my daughter of a crime?’ asked one of the parents.

  ‘No, I’m not,’ said the Head, ‘another student has done that. I’m giving your children the opportunity right now to tell me what happened yesterday and I’d recommend to them to be truthful about this as they will be questioned under caution if the police decide to pursue the complaint.’

  The girls looked at each other, completely terrified. They’d had no time to come up with a story so didn’t know what the others might say. The Head asked two of the girls to wait outside with their parents and interviewed the third. He then questioned the others individually to see if their stories matched.

  Once they got home Mrs Bennett made Riley and Casey a coffee and they all sat down on the sofa. Riley and Casey had originally planned to go straight from school to the train station and were both wondering how they were going to manage that now. Casey had been texting Alex so he knew their situation. The first thing they needed to do was convince Riley’s mum that Riley was well enough to stay over at Alex’s house.

  ‘So, Mom,’ said Riley, ‘can we go to Alex’s tonight?’

  ‘I’m not sure that’s a great idea,’ said Mrs Bennett. Riley looked really upset. She knew she’d have to pull some heart strings to win this one.

  ‘But Mom, I feel fine. I’ll take it easy, no contact sports I promise. Besides we’ve had this planned all week and now the bullies are going to spoil life outside school as well as in it.’

  ‘Okay, okay,’ said Mrs Bennett, ‘no need to make me feel guilty. You can go. I’ll take you in a bit.’ Riley looked at Casey with panic in her eyes.

  ‘No need, Alex’s dad has sent a car to collect him from college. It was going to get us from school but it’s coming here instead. He’s just texted me,’ said Casey. Riley looked at her phone, there was no text!

  ‘Can we go upstairs, Mom?’ asked Riley.

  ‘Of course, you don’t need to ask,’ said Mrs Bennett.

  The girls went to Riley’s room.

  ‘What’s going on?’ asked Riley.

  ‘We can’t let her take us to Alex’s, he won’t be there and we’d never make it to the station on time. I’m gonna text him now and tell him to come here. It’s on the way to the station,’ said Casey.

  Riley knew she was right so let her sort out the plan with Alex. A short time later Alex arrived at the house.

  ‘Oh, hello Alex,’ said Mrs Bennett. ‘Thank your dad for me sorting out a lift for you all.’

  ‘I will,’ said Alex.

  ‘Okay, Mom,’ said Riley, ‘see you tomorrow.’

  ‘Please make sure she takes it easy,’ said Riley’s mum to Alex.

  ‘I will,’ said Alex again.

  The three of them got into the taxi Alex had arrived in.

  ‘Where to?’ asked the driver.

  ‘The train station please,’ said Alex.

  Riley and Casey sat together in the back of the taxi holding hands. Today had been a crazy manic day and it was only just getting started. They soon arrived at the station. They made their way through to the platform. The train was already waiting. Alex took out the tickets to check which carriage they should be in.

  ‘This way,’ he said. The girls followed him carrying their backpacks. Once on board they found their seats. They had their own cabin and no one else was in it.

  ‘This is perfect,’ said Casey. ‘We can talk freely in here with no one overhearing.’

  Alex placed their small backpacks on the racks above and everyone made themselves comfortable for the long journey.

  ‘How are you two doing, especially you, Riley? Casey told me a little of what’s gone on by text,’ said Alex.

  ‘I’m okay,’ said Riley, ‘just glad to be away from it all and with you both.�
��

  ‘I guess we wait and see what the police and school do now,’ said Casey.

  Earlier that day the Head Teacher had interviewed the three mean girls involved in the assault. They had all given different stories. Blaming each other for what had happened. The consistency in their stories was the door being held shut, someone sitting on Riley and someone pouring loo water in her face. The girl who had held the door closed had given the most accurate version of events and it pretty much matched Riley’s. The other two, who had been more directly involved in the assault had tried to push the blame onto their two friends. They had at least all confessed to being there and being involved. The Head had discussed the situation with parents and the three had been suspended from school.

  The train ploughed on down the track. Outside the sky was beginning to darken.

  ‘Shall we find the buffet car and get some food?’ said Alex.

  ‘Good idea,’ said Riley. ‘I’m really hungry. In fact, I can’t remember eating today.’

  The three of them got up and left their cabin. As they wandered through the train they passed families going away for the weekend and business men and women returning after busy days in the office. There was a mixture of excitement and tiredness in the carriages. They made their way along in single file, grabbing tops of seats as they went to stop themselves from losing balance.

  Arriving in the buffet car they found racks of crisps and sandwiches, chocolate bars and drinks.

  ‘I wonder if they have anything hot,’ said Riley. The steward overheard her.

  ‘We do, miss, there’s a list here,’ he said, pointing to a menu on the wall. Riley, Casey and Alex scanned over the items on the list.

  ‘What do you fancy?’ asked Casey.

  ‘A burger I think,’ said Riley. ‘What about you two?’

  ‘Burgers sound good to me,’ said Alex.

  ‘Yeah me too,’ said Casey.

  ‘Can we have three burgers please?’ asked Riley.

  ‘Any drinks?’ said the steward.

  Riley looked at the others. ‘Coffee?’ she said. They both nodded.

  ‘Three coffees please. Oh, and three chocolate bars too!’ she added.

  Once they were back in their cabin they unwrapped their feast and tucked in. Riley took an enormous bite, which didn’t all fit into her mouth. She let out a satisfied groan.

  ‘Enjoying that, are we?’ said Alex, smiling. Riley just nodded back as her mouth was still full of food.

  ‘Boy, I needed that!’ said Riley as she swallowed the last bit of her burger. The others were still eating theirs. Everyone was relaxed and enjoying the food and the journey. No one had mentioned the mission that lay ahead. It was as if they each knew the others needed this time to chill out and just be three teenagers on an adventure.

  Chapter 30

  Washington DC

  After their food they settled down to get some rest. They discovered the seats unlocked and slid into the centre of the cabin. This turned the six seats into three beds that meant they could all lie down. They all took off their shoes and dropped them to the floor before releasing the last chair. Fortunately it was warm on the train as no one had bedding with them. Casey and Riley were both in their crop tops they had purchased the previous weekend. As Riley lay down Alex could see the bruising from her assault. He looked at Casey with a sad expression on his face. Casey felt the same. The three had become close friends and when one was hurting they all were.

  It didn’t take long for the three of them to fall asleep with the motion of the train. Although Union Station was the end of the line, Alex had set his alarm to wake them at 2.00 a.m., an hour before arrival. It would be easier to go over things in the privacy of the cabin than in a cafe or on the streets of the capital. As 2.00 a.m. arrived Alex’s alarm started beeping. He woke and switched it off. There was very little light in the cabin. He could make out the girls curled up together, Casey with her arm wrapped around Riley.

  ‘Hey, you two, wake up,’ he said as he turned the main light back on.

  ‘Oh, way too bright,’ said Casey sitting up and covering her eyes.

  Alex had already turned his bed back into two seats and as the girls woke he did the same to theirs. Once everyone was awake and shoes were being put back on, Alex said, ‘We need to go through the plan.’ The girls sat ready to hear what Alex would say.

  ‘Okay,’ he said, ‘when we arrive let’s see if there’s a cafe open in the station.’

  ‘That’s a good idea as it’ll be dark out,’ said Casey.

  ‘Once we leave the station we can head towards the Capitol Building through Lower Senate Park. From there we can walk along the Mall to the Washington Monument. We should be able to see the White House from there,’ said Alex.

  ‘That’s a long walk,’ said Riley.

  ‘It is but we have six hours so we can take our time,’ said Casey.

  ‘Shame the museums will be closed,’ said Alex. ‘I’ve always wanted to go round the Air and Space one!’

  ‘If we make it through the next twelve hours let’s agree to visit it together sometime,’ said Riley. The others agreed.

  ‘Okay, so what next?’ said Casey.

  ‘Well, Riley needs to put on the bulletproof vest before we get to the White House,’ said Alex.

  ‘I’ve been thinking about this,’ said Riley, ‘and I think it’s too risky. What if the scanners detect it on our way in or the Secret Service frisks me?’

  ‘What are you suggesting?’ asked Casey, ‘coz you’re not going in without it!’

  ‘I’m suggesting I put it on in the loos at Union Station and I enter the White House already invisible!’ said Riley.

  ‘Of course,’ said Alex, ‘that makes perfect sense. It saves you separating from us to turn invisible and means once we find the gang we can follow their every move.’

  ‘It also means you could have saved some money on Riley’s tour ticket!’ said Casey laughing.

  ‘Very funny,’ said Alex! ‘But seriously, once we are in the plan is to join the tour and then watch the gang. They’re not going to make their move until the announcement by the President. This is at a public press conference so the tour will be there to watch,’ said Alex.

  ‘So how do we stop them?’ asked Casey.

  ‘We need to be between them and the President, as close to him as the Secret Service will allow,’ said Alex.

  ‘Then what?’ said Casey.

  ‘Then it’s down to me!’ said Riley. She sounded strangely confident and scared at the same time. That was understandable, considering what she would do in the next few hours.

  There was an announcement on the train’s tannoy system saying the train was approaching Union Station and to make sure everyone took their belongings with them.

  ‘Here we go,’ said Riley as they left the cabin and joined other passengers in the narrow corridor to the end of the carriage. As they left the train and walked along the platform Alex got the tickets ready to show the conductor. Moments later they were standing in Union Station with its high arched roof.

  They looked around, everything seemed to be closed. Then much to their relief they saw a light on in a cafe in the corner of the station. As they walked in the woman behind the counter said, ‘Hey kids, we’re not open yet.’

  ‘What time do you open please?’ asked Riley.

  ‘Not until 7.00 a.m., I’m here cleaning,’ said the woman.

  ‘Would you mind if we sat here for a bit? We’ve come for the 9.00 a.m. White House tour but it was the only train we could get,’ said Riley. She took pity on the three of them, especially Riley who look drained of energy.

  ‘Go on then,’ she said.

  ‘Thank you,’ they all replied sitting at a table near the door.

  When the woman had finished her cleaning she brought them over some coffee and toast.

  ‘Oh, thanks,’ said Alex. ‘What do we owe you?’

  ‘Nothing,’ she replied, ‘take it as a welcome to Washingt
on treat.’

  ‘That’s very kind of you,’ said Riley.

  ‘Well it’s not every day we get special visitors to Washington now, is it?’ she replied smiling. As she walked away Riley, Casey and Alex looked at each other.

  ‘Surely she can’t know something?’ whispered Casey.

  ‘Not possible,’ said Alex.

  At around six o’clock daylight had started to appear.

  ‘Time for me to go to the loo,’ Riley.

  ‘I’ll help you,’ said Casey. Alex handed Riley his bag.

  ‘It’s in the top section,’ he said. They all left the cafe and Alex waited on the concourse while the girls went to the loos.

  ‘I can’t see any cameras,’ said Casey.

  ‘Okay, saves squashing in a cubicle,’ said Riley as she took off her hoodie. Her crop lifted as she did so revealing the bruised ribs again.

  ‘Are they not hurting?’ said Casey.

  ‘A bit,’ said Riley, ‘but I’ll survive.’ She took the bulletproof vest from Alex’s bag and put it on. She looked at herself in the mirror.

  ‘You look totally bad ass with that on!’ said Casey.

  ‘Shame no one will see me, eh,’ said Riley. Riley pulled her hoodie on over the vest.

  ‘It hides the vest quite well,’ she said.

  ‘Okay, are you ready to go invisible?’ said Casey.

  ‘I am,’ replied Riley.

  ‘Oh, hold on one second,’ said Casey.

  ‘What for?’ asked Riley. Casey pulled Riley close and kissed her.

  ‘For that,’ she said, letting go. ‘Ready?’ said Casey again. Riley nodded and started to spin. She went round and round as fast as she could. As her body matched the speed of the electrical current in her brain, the brain began to burn. Riley lost her balance but Casey caught her and held her tight.

  ‘I’m okay,’ said Riley moments later. The girls looked at Riley’s hands, they were shimmering.

  ‘You’re invisible!’ said Casey.

  ‘Great, let’s get back to Alex,’ said Riley.

  As they started to walk towards the station exit the cleaner from the cafe passed them.

  ‘Leaving without your friend?’ she asked.

  ‘Oh no,’ said Casey, ‘she went to Lower Senate Park a few minutes ago. We’re off to join her.’