The New Girl

by Cathy Cole

  “Three,” Lila confessed. She gave Polly the note she’d got two days earlier. “I’m sorry I didn’t show you the second one. My head’s been in a funny place this week, but I’m feeling better now. Things are clearer. What do you think?”

  She waited as Polly read the notes.

  “You’re not going to meet him,” Polly said disbelievingly, looking up. “Are you?”

  Lila felt defiant. These notes were the best thing that had happened to her since she’d got to Heartside Bay. “Why not?” she challenged.

  “Lila, that’s not a good idea,” said Polly in alarm. “In fact, it’s a really BAD idea. You can’t go out at midnight to meet a total stranger!”

  “After Santiago called me yesterday, I was a mess,” Lila groaned, throwing herself down on the bed. “It’s as if the person writing these letters knew how I was feeling, and how to make me feel better. I feel sure I can trust him, Polly.”

  “Whoa, rewind,” said Polly. “Who’s Santiago?”

  “My ex. The guy who’s been texting me.” Lila shot a cautious glance at her bedroom door. She didn’t want her parents hearing this. “I spoke to him yesterday. He wants us to get back together. I said no. I got into a lot of trouble with him, back in London.”

  “Wow,” said Polly. She laughed in amazement. “When you fell into class on the first day, you didn’t look like a girl with secrets.”

  “Believe me, I have plenty,” said Lila. “I have been bursting to tell you everything since I got the last note. Tell me honestly, Polly. Do you think it could be Ollie?”

  Polly scoffed. “He’s not the kind of guy who writes letters. He’s more likely to sign a football.”

  “Maybe he’s got a romantic side,” Lila giggled.

  “Unlikely,” said Polly.

  She was looking serious again. Lila wondered if she’d made her friend angry. Then she remembered that they still hadn’t talked about what had happened on Wednesday.

  “I’m sorry I kind of dumped you at the Heartbeat Café,” she said awkwardly. “It’s just – I was feeling bad, and you were ages in the queue, and when Ollie signalled that he wanted to meet me. . .”

  “Don’t worry about it,” Polly said. “Just promise you won’t go and meet the letter guy tonight. It could be anyone. It could even be one of Eve’s tricks.”

  Lila gnawed her lip. She hadn’t considered the Eve angle. Meeting on the beach had felt like such a good idea when she first read the note. Now that Polly was pointing out the problems, she could see that maybe it was a little crazy.

  Polly was right. She shouldn’t go.

  “I can’t believe we’re doing this,” whispered Polly, unhappily.

  Lila felt a rush of gratitude. “Thanks for coming with me.” If she was honest, she felt a lot safer knowing Polly would be there too – particularly if this was one of Eve’s traps. If it wasn’t, well . . . the kissing would have to wait. Lila hugged herself as a thrill of anticipation ran through her.

  They stepped out of the front door. A figure suddenly emerged from the shadows. Lila gasped. She would have known that silhouette anywhere. This wasn’t happening. Not now!

  Polly opened her mouth to scream.

  “It’s OK,” Lila said quickly, before Polly woke up the entire street. She gazed at the tall, dark-haired boy in front of her with a mixture of pleasure and annoyance. “I know him.”

  Looking wide-eyed and frightened, Polly closed her mouth again.

  Santiago was shivering in his thin coat, but his eyes sparkled with pleasure in the moonlight. “Hello, baby,” he said in delight. “You don’t know how good it is to see you.”

  “What are you doing here, Santiago?” Lila groaned.

  “I needed to see you so badly. I caught a train as soon as you hung up this afternoon,” he said. “I’m here to win you back, Lil. I will beg if I have to.”

  He was just as gorgeous as Lila remembered. A long dark lock of hair hung over one eye, and his teeth gleamed in the moonlight. For a moment, she forgot about her secret admirer, and her midnight rendezvous, and every single reason why she had left the house.

  Upstairs, a light flicked on. Lila was shocked back to reality. If her mother looked out of the window now and saw her with Santiago . . . she would be grounded for life!

  FIFTEEN

  Lila dragged Santiago back into the shadows. Mistaking the reason for Lila’s actions, Santiago pulled her towards him with his eyes gleaming.

  “You have to leave,” Lila hissed. Her gaze flicked fearfully to the upstairs window, where she could see her mother moving around. “Do you want my parents to kill me?”

  “I don’t care about them,” he murmured, putting his arm around her shoulders again. His eyes smouldered, even in the moonlight. “I only care about you.”

  Lila exchanged an agonized glance with Polly. It was nearly a quarter to midnight. They would never reach the cove in time!

  “Hi, Santiago, I’m Polly,” said Polly. “I’ve heard all about you.”

  Now isn’t the time to try and make friends! Lila thought. They had to get out of this mess. It would break her heart if Ollie stopped writing her letters because she didn’t reach their meeting place in time.

  Santiago looked pleased by Polly’s interest. “I wish I could say the same. But Lil has been . . . incommunicado, shall we say?”

  “Did you know that Heartside is famous for its beaches?” Polly went on.

  We’re running out of time! Lila mouthed frantically.

  Santiago shrugged. “Of course.”

  “So,” Polly went on, “why don’t we continue this at the beach? It’ll be great down there in the moonlight.”

  “Yeah,” Lila agreed, realizing what Polly had in mind, “we can talk properly there.”

  Santiago shrugged. “OK.”

  “We follow the road that way,” said Polly, pointing towards the town.

  “Thanks,” Lila muttered as Santiago nodded and set off down the street with his long, loping stride. He always reminded her of a wolf – and not only when he walked. Her legs felt wobbly with relief. “I owe you.”

  “Just call me your guardian angel,” Polly answered. “What are you going to do if we get to the beach and the letter-writer’s there? He won’t be expecting three of us.”

  “Let’s worry about that later.”

  They caught up with Santiago, who smiled at Lila and put his arm around her shoulders again. Lila tensed up.

  “You are just as lovely as ever, Lil,” Santiago murmured as they walked. “Your eyes are even bluer than I remember. Like sapphires.”

  You can’t see the colour of someone’s eyes by moonlight, Lila thought.

  Glancing at Polly, Lila saw her friend was gazing steadfastly at the ground. Lila thought uncomfortably about how she had behaved with Ollie at the Heartbeat Café, and what she was doing now with Santiago, and the hundred or more rules she was breaking by being out so late. What did Polly really think of her? It was so hard to tell.

  All these thoughts were pushed aside as they reached the beach. It did look incredible in the moonlight. The tide was out; the sand was a pearly grey and the tops of the waves hissed and broke in glittering bars across the dark horizon. Several wooden boats were moored on the beach, lying on the sand. Lila’s eyes flicked wistfully towards Kissing Island. It would be wonderful to be standing on the shore of that little rocky outcrop, gazing into Ollie’s eyes.

  She sneaked a glance at her phone. Ten past midnight. Her heart plummeted like a stone. What if they were too late?

  The feeling of loss was crushing. Tears of frustration blurred her eyes. What if the letter-writer had left the cove already, and appeared right now on the beach, and saw her with Santiago? He would never write her one of his wonderful notes again. She didn’t think she could bear it.

  Her eyes caught a flash of move
ment beside the rocks. She tensed. Was it just her imagination, or was someone there?

  “I can see why this place is so famous,” Santiago said, kissing her lightly beside her ear. “It’s beautiful. But not as beautiful as you. You are my lucky star, Lil. I am nothing without you.”

  He moved closer, blocking her view of the rocks and whoever or whatever had been there. She felt irritated. “I love you, Lil,” Santiago whispered.

  His head dropped swiftly towards her, his lips seeking hers. And in that moment, she knew she felt nothing for him any more. Not a flicker, nor a spark. He was still romantic, and handsome, and impulsive – all the things that she had loved him for when they were in London. But it wasn’t enough. Not any more. She didn’t want to start lying to her parents again, ruining everything she was trying to achieve in Heartside Bay, just for him, particularly after what had happened. Her family had already given up so much because of her.

  “Stop,” she said, pushing him away.

  “Didn’t you hear me?” he said passionately. He pushed back his coat sleeve so she could see her initials on his wrist. “I did this because I love you. I want to be with you. I’ve come all the way from London for you, Lil. . .”

  He wrapped his arms more tightly around her. For the first time, Lila felt worried.

  “It’s over, Santiago,” she said. Her mouth felt dry.

  “You don’t know what you’re saying.” His face looked ghostly in the moonlight. “You can’t deny the way we feel about each other!”

  The hissing sounds of the moonlit sea gave her strength, encouraging her onwards.

  “Go home, Santiago. There’s nothing here for you any more,” she said as gently as she could.

  “I don’t believe you,” he said furiously. “Why are you saying this?”

  He tried to kiss her for the second time. Lila pushed him backwards. Polly ran protectively towards her as Santiago tripped over a plastic float, almost losing his balance.

  “I love you, Lil!” he shouted as he staggered upright again. “You can’t reject me! I’ll . . . I’ll. . .”

  He spun around, seized the hard plastic float he had stumbled against, whirled it around his head and brought it smashing to the ground. The float groaned and splintered at the force of the impact. Polly screamed.

  “Santiago, stop!” Lila pleaded.

  Ignoring her cries, he smashed a second float. Fragments of hard plastic rained around Lila and Polly as they cowered on the sand. Lila realized that he was crying.

  Santiago suddenly ran at full speed towards the wooden boat moored nearby. He kicked the side of the boat so hard that his foot went through the boards.

  “Stop. Please stop!”

  Somewhere up towards the town centre, Lila heard sirens. The moonlit sky was suddenly striped with flashing blue lights as two police cars raced on to the beach, spraying sand through the air. Lila felt like she was waking from some terrible dream as her father climbed out of the first car. He saw Lila standing frozen amid a wreckage of floats and splintered planks, and she trembled at the shock and pain in his eyes.

  “Dad. . .” she began falteringly. But what could she say?

  Two officers had seized Santiago by the arms and were pushing him, still struggling, into the back seat of the second car. Lila’s dad tore his eyes from Lila and fixed them coldly on Polly, who was standing in Lila’s shadow.

  “None of this is Polly’s fault, Dad,” Lila said in desperation. “I had arranged to meet someone on the beach tonight, I admit it – but I swear I didn’t arrange to meet Santiago!”

  “You promised us you wouldn’t see that boy again,” said her father.

  “I didn’t—”

  “You swore,” her dad repeated. “And yet here you are, with him, causing trouble!”

  “She’s telling the truth, Chief Murray,” said Polly tentatively. “Santiago surprised her tonight. None of this was Lila’s fault.”

  Lila watched her father run his hands through his hair. “I want to believe you,” he said wearily, “but I’m afraid I can’t. Whether you arranged to meet that boy or not, Lila, you still sneaked out tonight without telling us where you were going – not to mention how you have embarrassed me tonight. This will go on record – my own daughter, mixing with troublemakers and disturbing the peace, all in the first week of my new job. What will my officers think? How am I supposed to deal with this?”

  Tears stung Lila’s eyes. She bowed her head.

  “Your mother and I trusted you,” he said harshly. “And you have broken our trust after everything we’ve done for you. You’re grounded. You will hand over your phone, and you will come home straight after school every single day. Is that clear?”

  Polly slipped her hand into Lila’s and gave it a silent squeeze. Sniffing, Lila passed her phone to her dad. Her heart was in pieces. She had tried so hard to make a fresh start but she had ruined it.

  “We will give your friend a lift back to her house,” said her dad, regarding Polly with hard eyes. “And we will return her belongings in the morning. When we get home, you will go to bed. We will discuss this with your mother tomorrow. I won’t have you waking her up and worrying her at this time of night.”

  The second car squealed away, carrying Santiago to the police station. Polly and Lila slid silently into the back of Lila’s dad’s car. With the grille dividing them from her father and the driver, Lila felt more like a criminal than ever.

  Would her dad ever forgive her for this latest catastrophe? And had she ruined her chances with the letter-writer for ever?

  SIXTEEN

  On Monday, Lila was convinced everyone was staring at her, whispering about her. There was something about the way they glanced at her as she put her belongings in her locker, and how they gawped in the toilets, and laughed behind their hands in the classroom. Did they know everything?

  “You’re being paranoid,” insisted Polly.

  “I swear I’m not,” said Lila unhappily. “Someone saw us in the squad car on Saturday night – or heard about it. This is a small town. Are you telling me kids get arrested on the beach every weekend?”

  Polly wouldn’t meet her eyes. “You’re being paranoid,” she repeated.

  Lila rested her head on the cool surface of her desk. If only she was. Maybe if she wished hard enough, she could turn back time and undo the whole of Saturday night. Santiago’s anger had scared her. He had always been passionate, but he had never been violent. She could still hear the crunching sound of his foot going through the wooden side of that boat. For the first time, she understood how dangerous love could be and how it could make you do crazy things. Santiago was living proof. Would she ever be ready for that kind of responsibility again?

  The feeling that she was being talked about carried on through English and maths. Conversations stopped as she hurried past people on her way to the next class. There was a burst of mocking laughter as she turned the corner. She was so desperate to find her seat in history without catching anyone’s eye that she accidentally stumbled over a chair leg. Josh caught her by the elbow.

  “Steady,” he said.

  “Thanks,” Lila muttered. She sat down, her ears burning as she imagined the conversations everyone would be having today. A police car, and her dad the chief of police! Yeah, she was meeting a guy . . . he kicked a massive hole in the side of a boat. . .

  “Lila?”

  Ms Andrews was looking enquiringly at her.

  “Uh, yes?” Lila stuttered.

  “Any ideas?”

  Lila had no clue what the history teacher had asked her. She felt like a rabbit in the headlights of a large truck. As she floundered, Josh silently pushed a piece of paper towards her.

  “The . . . blockade resulted in the creation of two states, West and East Germany,” Lila read, barely taking in the meaning of the block letters neatly printed beneath her
nose.

  “Correct,” said Ms Andrews. “The Federal Republic of Germany remained connected with the West, while the German Democratic Republic allied itself with the Soviet Union.”

  “Keep breathing,” Josh advised in a low voice as Ms Andrews asked someone else a question. “All mammals require oxygen.”

  Underneath his quiet demeanour, Josh was kind of funny, Lila realized.

  “Thank you,” she mumbled.

  “Any time.”

  He pushed his glasses up his nose and bent over his work. Lila wanted to keep talking to him. As a fellow outsider, Josh might understand a little of how she felt. “Not drawing today?” she fished, glancing at the closed sketchbook beside him.

  “I need a new book; I finished that one earlier. You look terrible, by the way,” he added, looking at her properly. “It’s probably the sea air. People say it’s good for you, but it actually gives you skin like a fish.”

  Lila snorted with laughter. A couple of heads turned towards her in surprise.

  “You say the strangest things,” she said, trying to straighten out her face.

  He spread his hands. “What can I say? I’m weird.”

  This was her chance, Lila knew it.

  “Josh,” she said, seizing her courage with both hands. “What are people saying about me?”

  He flushed. “Why are you asking me? No one tells me anything.”

  She noticed he hadn’t answered her question. “You can tell me, it’s OK. Is it about this weekend?”

  The frown on his face was genuinely puzzled. “What happened this weekend?”

  The blood drained from Lila’s face. The whispering wasn’t about this weekend? Then what. . .

  “It’s about why you moved to Heartside,” Josh said.

  Her stomach clenched in shock. She should have expected this, but after all the drama at the beach. . .

  She grasped Josh’s arm. “What are they saying?”

  He looked so serious that she braced herself for the worst.

  “Well, among other things, that you’re a cat burglar who tried to rip off a footballer’s house in Chelsea.”