by S. B. Hayes
After a few minutes I plucked up the courage to look up again. People were still staring and throwing embarrassed smiles my way. Everyone except one person – Genevieve. She was perfectly focused and engrossed in her own work, appearing oblivious to anything else. The hairs on the back of my neck began to rise again one by one and the first beginnings of suspicion filtered through. She surely couldn’t have got to my folder, could she? I always kept it close to me, although on Friday I did leave class for five minutes to go to the office and hand in my sheet of contact numbers. There were plenty of materials lying around, and if she was really clever no one would have noticed.
Why was I so shocked? It was so completely like her to be this underhand and vindictive. She’d already declared war and made it clear that she wanted to destroy my life. But Luke was right. I had to resist the urge to retaliate because it would only rebound on me.
It wasn’t that easy. I was so incensed by the injustice of it all that my hands shook and I could barely hold a pencil. I tried to work, but no matter how much I warned myself to stay calm, the anger inside me bubbled away until it reached boiling point. My hair was sticky and I pushed it off my face and used my book as a fan. It felt as if I was suffocating from within, my breathing growing shallower and my throat constricting.
I could stand it no more. I stood up and moved forward like a sleepwalker, my vision cloudy and the room no longer familiar. Genevieve knew what was happening and she was feeding my anger. It felt as if she was inside my mind, fanning this blaze within me, all the time goading me to make a scene. Suddenly I was determined to resist. But I couldn’t completely contain my rage. With a tiny cry I ran outside to the corridor and banged my head against the cold of the white and blue wall tiles.
At lunchtime my mouth was so dry that I couldn’t swallow. My tuna-melt sandwich had turned to sawdust and even a moist, gooey muffin stuck in my throat. I took huge gulps of scalding coffee, which only made my heart race more. Genevieve arrived in the cafeteria with Nat and Hannah.
‘We heard what’s happened,’ Nat began. ‘It’s awful.’
‘Is there anything we can do to help?’ Hannah offered.
I wrinkled my nose and blinked, terrified of blubbing again. ‘No, but thanks anyway. I’ll just muddle through.’
‘I can help you finish on time,’ Genevieve announced, and I was forced to look directly at her. There was no emotion in her cold green eyes.
‘I’ll just be accused of copying then,’ I told her bluntly, wondering if this was another one of her ploys. ‘That would be worse than handing in nothing.’
She shrugged regretfully. ‘Suppose.’
‘Thanks so much for the offer, Genevieve,’ I made a point of saying through gritted teeth. ‘It’s so thoughtful of you and really appreciated.’
When lessons ended I took the long way home, away from the main roads, even though Mum would disapprove. The weather came out in sympathy with me – a persistent drizzle fuelled by low-lying grey and black clouds. I didn’t even lift my feet going through the puddles and my shoes squelched horribly. My route took me down a narrow road that ran beside a row of Georgian terraces with long gardens, each painted a different period colour, from palest pink to dove grey. It was peaceful here, away from the noise of the cars and the traffic fumes. The road wasn’t even properly surfaced, just a track which was formerly used for coaches and horses.
My mind went over and over what had happened. I even resorted to talking to myself because there was no one around, except for an annoying crow which followed me, squawking loudly and bobbing up and down. I looked at it suspiciously, trying to work out if it had a tail feather missing and then laughed because this was so ridiculous. I didn’t hear any footsteps, but a vague feeling of unease made me spin around quickly and catch my breath. Without any indicator of where she’d come from, I was confronted by Genevieve, who must have moved as softly as a panther. She didn’t even have the grace to look guilty at creeping up on me like this.
‘You live in the opposite direction,’ I told her rudely.
‘Yes, but I wanted to commiserate with you.’
‘How nice. Why’s that?’
‘I know how it feels for your life to be ruined.’ She took one step closer and her nose nearly touched mine. ‘Don’t imagine your little game with Luke will work. You both think you’re so clever …’
My body began to tremble. ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about … Luke’s my oldest friend …’
‘I’ll always be one step ahead of you … just remember that, Katy.’
My eyes closed with frustration, and when I opened them, she had disappeared as silently as she arrived.
When I got home I paced around my bedroom, unable to rest until I’d spoken to Luke. As soon as his car turned into our street I was outside on the pavement shouting through his open window.
‘Genevieve must have my house bugged – she says she knows about us and what we’re up to.’
Luke calmly closed his windows and got out of the car. ‘How would she organize something like that, Kat? Is she an electronics expert as well?’
He took me inside and sat me down in his kitchen. He was completely unfazed by my hysterical tone. ‘There has to be an explanation. She didn’t follow us and she doesn’t have psychic powers. So think, Katy.’
‘I can’t. My head’s all fuzzy.’
‘Who knew we were going out together on Saturday?’
‘No one,’ I answered quickly.
‘Your mum?’
‘Well, she did, of course.’
‘Phone her,’ Luke instructed in all seriousness.
I did as he said, and, after less than two minutes, put away my mobile, completely shamefaced. I could hardly look him in the eyes.
‘Nat and Hannah didn’t ring, but a very friendly girl called Genevieve did. She and Mum had a chat together about all sorts of things, including you. Mum forgot to mention it.’
Luke’s voice was gentle. ‘I told you there’d be an explanation … a really boring, simple explanation.’ He sat down beside me and mussed up my hair, which he knew annoyed me. ‘You’ve given this girl supernatural powers and made her into something you can’t defeat. She’s just ordinary and everything she does is ordinary. Don’t build her up into something out of this world.’
I rested my head on his shoulder for a few seconds, wondering what I’d do if Luke wasn’t there to keep me sane.
CHAPTER
SIXTEEN
Merlin texted me to meet somewhere away from the college and suggested La Tasse, which seemed like a good omen – to meet in the cafe where we had our first proper date. I couldn’t wait to see him. The weekend had flown by with hardly any contact between us, and yesterday was so eventful I barely noticed he wasn’t around. The problem was, if I had to devote every minute of my spare time to my extra coursework then our time together would be even more restricted, and I wondered if this was Genevieve’s intention.
For once I’d dressed to look alluring and had to admit that my super-skinny jeans and fitted white shirt were quite sexy, with no hint of the bag lady about them. I swung open the cafe door looking eagerly for Merlin, but he was nowhere to be seen. He arrived late, with a downcast face, and his half-hearted kiss landed on my chin instead of my lips. Instead of sliding into the same bench as me, he sat opposite. After a couple of awkward minutes I turned around, almost expecting to see Genevieve watching me. That’s when I realized that this place was tainted by her as well.
‘Sorry I couldn’t come over on Saturday,’ I gushed.
Merlin seemed distracted as if he hadn’t heard me. The waitress approached and I ordered a jacket potato, salad and milkshake, but Merlin settled for a large cappuccino.
‘How was your weekend?’
He exhaled loudly. ‘Pretty boring.’
‘Did you go anywhere?’
‘Not really … I did some painting, and helped Mum with her class.’
I tried to keep my face composed.
Merlin’s mum’s class meant just one thing to me: Genevieve. ‘Is everything OK?’
‘Fine.’ Merlin didn’t lift his head as he spoke but traced the knots on the table with his long fingers. There it was again, the feeling that he was a million miles from me.
‘Tell me what’s wrong.’
Now he looked at me and his dark eyes were distant, like rain clouds overhead. ‘There’s no easy way to say this …’
He stopped and so did my heart. I waited to hear the words I dreaded.
I’ve fallen for someone else. Don’t know how it happened. We didn’t plan it and I’m sorry to hurt you … it’s Genevieve … but it isn’t her fault, I’m the one to blame. I hope we can still be friends.’
‘Just tell me,’ I demanded mutinously.
‘Is there … I mean … is anything going on between you and Luke?’
I laid my head on the table and broke into relieved laughter. When I finally looked up I had to wipe the corners of my eyes with my sleeve. I reached over to touch his hand.
‘Don’t be silly. He’s like a big brother. I’ve known him forever, and he has a girlfriend … fiancée almost.’ Merlin’s face stayed immobile and I had to keep on gabbling. ‘He doesn’t even think of me as a proper girl, and he’s seen me at my absolute worst. Once I sneezed on him when I had a bad cold and … you can imagine what went all over his T-shirt. He still teases me about it.’
Merlin still didn’t smile. He reached into his pocket and deliberately laid a photograph on the table as if he was setting up a card trick. Even upside down I could make out the identities of the two figures. Something inside my chest seemed to expand and fill me with trepidation.
‘What is it?’
‘Look,’ he urged.
I reached across and pulled the photograph towards me. It wasn’t quite in focus, but it was clear enough to see Luke and me, locked in an embrace. It did take me by surprise – not the fact that we were hugging, but how intimate we looked.
I immediately tried to defend myself. ‘It’s not what it looks … I hug Luke all the time. Where did you get it?’
‘It was posted on the college noticeboard this morning. Lucky I was one of the first in.’
My mind was whirring and jumbled, trying to keep pace with Genevieve. On Friday she’d played the trick on Nat, on Monday my art folder was ruined and now Merlin thought I was two-timing him, plus the news of my deceit would be around the college. Genevieve told me yesterday that she hadn’t even started yet, and it looked as if her threat was sincere. How could she wield such power over me?
‘There’s something else, Katy,’ Merlin continued gravely. ‘You and Luke were together all day Saturday, but you said you had to stay in with your mum.’
To play for time I tucked into my jacket potato, but I hadn’t realized how hot it was and had to drink the milkshake all at once to cool my mouth. I hadn’t mentioned my day with Luke, and there was only one way he could have found out. I licked the strawberry cream from my lips, wishing we could go back a few weeks when everything was so bright and new.
‘You know when I said people might … imply things about me, things that aren’t true. Well, that’s the sort of stuff I meant.’
Merlin nodded, but without approval. ‘What’s so secret?’ he asked. ‘Why didn’t you talk about it?’
I couldn’t tell him the truth. Being evasive was the only solution, a sort of damage-limitation exercise.
‘I’m helping Luke with something and that’s why I didn’t tell you. You know he’s a journalist … well … he’s investigating someone. It’s not exactly undercover work, but it’s not something to shout about.’
‘Maybe someone’s investigating you,’ he commented drily.
I grimaced. ‘Can’t imagine who.’
Merlin didn’t know about my ruined art folder, so I filled him in on the details and how it couldn’t have been an accident. He sat chewing this over, making sympathetic noises, but he still hadn’t touched me. I knew how awful it would feel if he had spent a whole day with another girl and lied to me, so I couldn’t blame him for being like this, and in a way his jealousy was flattering. I stood up, leaned across the table and kissed him full on the lips, breathing in paint and something unique that was indefinably Merlin.
‘I would never do anything to hurt you, and I’d never be unfaithful … that’s despicable.’
Merlin leaned back on the leather bench and the tension visibly drained from him. ‘Sorry for the interrogation, but it’s been eating me up.’ He placed one hand in the middle of the table, fingers apart, and I placed mine on top.
The ice was broken between us and I plucked up the courage to ask, ‘Who told you about Luke and me going out for the day?’
For just a couple of seconds guilt crossed Merlin’s face and he rubbed his nose awkwardly. In the end he had to come clean.
‘It was just an innocent remark,’ he murmured. ‘No harm intended. Genevieve wanted to go shopping to buy Nat’s present, but she couldn’t reach you. Your mum must’ve mentioned where you were.’
No harm intended! Genevieve had malice coursing through every vein in her body, but I was the only one who could see it. I couldn’t blame Mum either. The only solution was to lead the double life and turn into a kind of split personality. I forced myself to talk and act normally with Merlin.
We walked back via the canal. There were a couple of brightly coloured barges passing and I thought how great it would be to travel all year long, never in the same place, sleeping above deck when the weather was hot. Merlin must have seen the wistful look on my face and put both arms tightly around me.
‘We could live like that … be gypsies.’
For a minute I blocked Genevieve and everything else out, imagining Merlin and me alone, with no one to cause any misunderstandings.
‘We wouldn’t need much money,’ I agreed. ‘You could paint and I could make clothes or do alterations or … anything really. No one would bother us.’
He pulled me down on to the nearest bench and pressed his face to mine, our noses touching, like Eskimos. He squeezed my arm so hard I knew there’d be bruises tomorrow, but I didn’t care. Neither of us spoke for ages. I wanted time to stop, right then, and keep this moment. But it was tinged with sadness because I was treasuring time with Merlin as if it had already ended.
‘I see you everywhere,’ he whispered. ‘In the street, around every corner, when you aren’t really there. You’ve bewitched me, Katy. I’ve never felt this way about any girl before.’
For a second his words conjured a horrible image in my mind – Genevieve with her beguiling beauty and strange ability to be everywhere. I screwed up my eyes, eager to banish it from my thoughts. I’ve never felt this way about any girl before. This was me Merlin was talking about. He wasn’t comparing me to Genevieve at all.
‘Me neither,’ I answered shyly, and then realized what I’d said. ‘I mean, I’ve never felt this way about any guy.’
‘You know I said you had a glow when I first met you – I think it was love at first sight.’
I wound my arms around his neck. ‘I felt it too.’
‘Say it then,’ he pressed.
‘You say it first,’ I squealed, overcome with nerves.
He blew out slowly, looked around and swallowed hard. ‘Katy … I love you.’
I was too shy to look at his face. My head burrowed somewhere into his armpit as I whispered, ‘I love you too.’
Merlin moved his lips to my ear. ‘But will you love me forever?’
‘Of course,’ I answered straight away.
‘Even when I’m as old as Luke?’
I tickled his ribs. ‘He’s only twenty-one.’
‘That’s ancient,’ he mocked, unfastening his jacket and enfolding me inside.
Merlin loves me, Merlin loves me, Merlin loves me.
A voice inside my head chanted with insane happiness and then I pinched myself to make sure this was real. I was suddenly consumed by the realiz
ation that it could have been so different and how close I’d come to losing him.
I took a deep breath. ‘Merlin, we should plan our night away and not put it off any more.’
‘What about this Friday?’ he said immediately. ‘Maybe … you could arrange an alibi for then.’
My stomach lurched. ‘This weekend? But … my coursework needs attention.’
I felt rather than saw his disappointment and could have kicked myself. My arms circled his waist as my heart beat faster. ‘Maybe … if I can … I mean yes … yes, I will.’
‘Really?’
‘Really.’
‘You can arrange it?’
‘Sure,’ I answered impulsively. ‘We should live for the day and just … go for it.’
‘Live for the day,’ he repeated, and almost crushed the life out of me.
‘I’ve already set the scene with Mum … told her Hannah’s parents are going away soon and she doesn’t want to be alone.’
‘I’ll arrange the booking,’ Merlin replied eagerly. ‘I’ll have to pretend to be eighteen, but that’s no problem. Are you OK, Katy? You’re trembling.’
He reached for my hand, and our fingers threaded together. ‘Promise me you won’t stop believing in me,’ I whispered, so faintly that he didn’t even hear.
Genevieve was the first thing I saw in class that afternoon, sitting with her self-satisfied smile and rearranging her curls. I strode over, unable to stop myself from taunting her.
‘Sorry I wasn’t home when you called,’ I announced with feigned regret. ‘You wanted to go into town with me to look for Nat’s present. What about after college today?’
I wanted Genevieve to know that I was on to her and force her to invent reasons why she couldn’t go, but incredibly she turned her iridescent eyes on me and said lazily, ‘OK Why not?’
This was awful. I opened my mouth to retract the offer, but Hannah was already behind us and had heard my suggestion. I quickly asked if she was free to come with us, but she had to pick her little brother up from school. What had I done? After spending every moment trying to avoid Genevieve, I’d invited her to go shopping with me. For once I couldn’t blame her; I’d walked right into this one.