Chapter One Hundred and Forty-One

Lila’s sleep wasn’t restful in the slightest. Every so often, she would wake up, her eyes staring at the wall closest to her. Once or twice, she could have sworn that she heard someone leave the tent, but, as she didn’t want to alert them that she’d woken up, she remained as still as possible.

Finally, she couldn’t take it anymore. Her eyes opened once more – however, instead of seeing pitch-blackness, she saw that sunlight had begun to stream through the windows of the tent. What time was it?

She strained her arm to reach for her phone – 6.45am. Elise and Grace still seemed to be sleeping, but Lila could hear some girls in other tents had started to wake up, given all the giggling.

As quietly as she could, Lila crawled to her bag and assembled what she wanted to bring to the shower. Neither Elise nor Grace stirred by the time she was done and she slipped out of the tent, carefully zipping it behind her.

The walk to the shower was a lonely experience, though there was a slight line this morning for them despite how many showers there were at this particular site.

“… girl crying really hard last night in the bathroom.”

Lila’s attention snapped to who had spoken – a red-haired girl named Larissa Avery from 11C who was waiting just ahead of Lila.

“Seriously?” was the incredulous reply from an Asian girl named Dorothy Ng. “Who?”

“No idea. I tried to ask if she was okay, but she stopped as soon as I spoke. I waited for a couple of minutes, to see if she would come out, but she didn’t.”

“Poor thing. Must be homesick.”

“Must be. I came back about ten minutes later and it had started again – and the same thing happened. I wonder if she stayed there all night.”

Had… that been Grace? After all, someone had left their tent during the night. It worried Lila greatly – but what could she do? Grace had told Lila to leave her alone.

Besides, maybe it was a coincidence. Larissa didn’t know who had been crying – so it could’ve been someone else. There were four classes on this campsite now, after all.

The lingering feeling that it had been Grace stuck with Lila as she went through her morning routine and she found herself wishing to talk to Grace much more now. Was she okay?

Lila had known, logically, that this was a possible – no, probable – outcome; that Grace would be incredibly upset. But to face it in reality was a different story.

She left the shower in a cloud of steam before quickly brushing her teeth at the sink and squeezing past those in the line – one of whom was Ayla. As soon as Lila registered this, she looked away, her heart pounding from the sudden spike of anxiety in her chest. Of course. Ayla was in 11D.

With that realisation in her mind, Lila hurried back to her tent. Hopefully, they wouldn’t have any activities together. She wasn’t quite sure whether she could handle being around two girls who were clearly unhappy with her.

Lila rested her hand on the zipper, bracing herself for the possibility that Elise or Grace, or both, were awake now. With a deep breath, she opened it as silently as she could.

“Morning,” Elise greeted upon seeing Lila.

Lila nodded. “Morning. Uh, there’s a line for the showers. You might want to head over before it gets too long,” she said, focusing her gaze on her hiking bag, in which she shoved her things.

“Thanks for the tip. Let’s go, Grace.”

Lila immediately left into the brisk cold, her hand clutching the necklace Asher had given her for comfort. She hoped he was up.

Her hope was answered almost immediately after she emerged into the common area of the campsite. He was standing to the side of the pathway leading to the tents, gazing off into the distance. It appeared that he’d had better luck dressing himself today than yesterday, with the careful placement of his clothes now.

“Morning,” she smiled. His eyes snapped to hers and he returned her smile.

“Morning. How’d you sleep?”

“Terribly,” she replied candidly. “You?”

“Well… there wasn’t any more tent unpicking, at least.”

She laughed and his smile grew wider.

“I reckon Fin’s happier with me today, too. He spent a bit of time teasing Isaac about Elise, but Isaac turned around in a huff. Somehow, it feels like he’s even more stubborn now that more people are pointing out that they should date.”

Lila sighed. “Elise told me that he told her that he likes some Anika girl at Maccas.”

Asher groaned. “What a dumbass. Of course she’s not going to want to say anything to him now.”

“Yup.”

Asher shook his head in disappointment. “Man, not like I can’t understand why he did that, though. Probably panicked, since he doesn’t think she likes him.”

“Did he say anything last night? Since I said that Elise likes him.”

Asher paused, looking thoughtful. “… He didn’t. Like I said, he got teased a bit by Fin, but he didn’t really say much about it. Just kinda… pouted.”

“Maybe he was upset ‘cause he realised he messed up, by lying to her like that.”

“Probably…” Asher trailed off as he scanned the entrance to this campsite, puzzlement etched into his expression. “Why’s Mr Morrison here?”

“Mr Morrison?” Lila looked behind her, seeing that Mr Morrison had indeed arrived, his demeanour harried. He hardly stopped to greet any students, though some did attempt one.

“Okay, second question, why’s he charging towards us?” Asher asked, straightening up in alarm.

Lila had no idea – until one plunged her heart into a sudden iciness, far beyond the weather.

“Did something happen to Daniel?” she whispered, feeling the cold spread throughout her torso. Asher looked even more alarmed, seeming about to say something when Mr Morrison addressed him directly. Mr Morrison’s expression was devoid of the friendliness Lila had come to expect from her Head of Year, which didn’t help her anxiety.

“Morning, Asher. Since it looks like you’re close to the sleeping area, can you take me to Mr Vanderbilt and Mr Singh’s tents, please?”

Asher blinked, pointing at his chest. “Me?”

“Yes, please. I’m sure the tents are around here somewhere.”

“Okay, sir.”

“And Lila, can you please get Ms Wang and Mrs O’Leary? I need to speak with them urgently.”

“Y-Yes, sir.”

Bemused, they split off, with Lila taking the path to the female teachers’ tents at a half-jog. Mr Morrison wanted to speak with the teachers urgently? About what? He didn’t mention anything about Daniel and had spoken to Asher first, so she figured that Daniel was holding up okay. Besides, even if something had happened to Daniel, surely Mr Morrison wouldn’t need to talk to the other teachers about it…

Mrs O’Leary’s tent was near the front, so Lila called out to her first. It didn’t take long for Mrs O’Leary to pop her head out of her tent, her massive, brown glasses and wiry bob giving her an owl-like impression.

“Yes, Lila?”

“Uh, Mr Morrison wants to urgently speak with the teachers. He went with Asher to collect Mr Vanderbilt and Mr Singh.”

“Mr Morrison?” Mrs O’Leary looked taken aback before nodding. “Alright. I’ll head out to the main area now.”

“Thank you, ma’am.”

Lila swiftly made her way to Ms Wang’s tent, which was towards the middle. Ms Wang had a similar reaction, with a touch bit more wariness than Mrs O’Leary. With her messages delivered, Lila hurried back to where she had split from Asher and Mr Morrison.

Asher was waiting for her at the same spot as he had been earlier. Mr Morrison was standing a few metres away, speaking in hushed tones with Mr Vanderbilt and Mr Singh.

“Did he say anything?” Lila asked quietly, trying to settle the frown forming on her face.

“No. But I think something’s happened back at school. That’s why he had to come up here in person, since signal’s really shit around here,” Asher gave her a meaningful glance before gesturing towards a more secluded spot amongst the trees, away from the ears of teachers and fellow students.

Lila followed him, her mind racing – back to her Dad’s investigation. Had his promise been actualised?

“I reckon they’re freaked out, trying to figure out what to tell us, or what to do generally,” Asher finally said once they were a fair distance away from anyone else, leaning against a gum tree.

“I’m guessing you think they’ve suspended Jason and his group?”

“Of course – if not just straight up expelled. Even though he’s the Head Boy, there’s only so much the school can do to protect him in that situation.”

“I guess so. Especially since it’s spread to so many schools. If it gets out that it started with ours, our school’s reputation will be dragged through the mud.”

“So soon after Piper, too.”

There was a heavy pause between them, with the weight of Asher’s words pressing in on Lila. It felt like it had been an age since Piper’s murder, but in reality, it hadn’t been that long at all – just over a month since her discovery.

“… I saw Ayla this morning,” Lila said quietly, scuffing her toes along the ground.

“That’s right,” Asher replied, a slight frown wrinkling his brow. “She’s in 11D.”

“I hope I don’t run into her again,” Lila shuddered.

“You probably won’t,” Asher nodded as he gave her an encouraging smile. “I’m pretty sure that we’re still separated into the classes we’ve been in thus far for our activities.”

Lila sighed before folding her arms across her chest. “I’m kinda regretting telling Grace that we know about her secret.”

“I see. Is there a reason behind that, besides it being awkward now?”

“I dunno. I mean, I think Elise keeps wanting to talk to me, but I’ve been avoiding her too. I just… I wish Grace… I dunno.” Lila’s view of the collection of leaves, dirt and twigs beneath her feet swam before her. “I dunno what I was hoping for – that Grace would just magically see the issue, break up with her partner and then be happy? Stupid, but… I don’t know how to fix this. She doesn’t want to talk to me, and I want to hear… I guess if she’s doing okay. I heard some girls mention that someone was crying in the bathroom last night and I know either Grace or Elise left the tent last night. I keep worrying that it was Grace.”

Asher remained silent for a few moments. Eventually, he said, “It’s not stupid. It was a hard thing to do, to bring this up. You could’ve just pretended everything was fine, and ignored… well, that you knew. You’ve told her, more or less, what you think. It’s out of your hands now, which makes it terrifying, but I think… you should trust that Grace makes a decision that’s right for her – about your friendship, and her relationship. Those things are two-way streets, and I know you want to still be friends with her, but she has to want that too. It’s… it sucks. And I’m sorry that it’s turned out like that. Is there anything I can do in the meantime?”

Lila exhaled deeply before shaking her head. “No… but knowing that you understand helps. It makes me feel less crazy, at least.”

“You’re not crazy for feeling like this,” he said firmly. “It shows that you care, at least.”

Lila almost replied that she did care a lot before her eyes landed on Elise and Grace walking towards the showers. Grace looked incredibly pale – much more so than usual – and Elise seemed to be trying to act cheery. The giveaway that it was forced was in the stiff way Elise walked – something she always did in moments like this. Lila was tempted to call out to them for the briefest of seconds before remembering that it was a bad idea. So, instead, she gently pressed her lips together. It didn’t look like either of them noticed her and Asher, which was probably fortunate. She touched her necklace once more, lightly pulling the A across the chain.

Asher glanced behind him before turning around again.

“Shall we sit by the fire?” he suggested, tugging at her sleeve and pointing. Just as Lila was about to heed his suggestion, Mr Morrison caught her attention once more. He’d begun to hurry off the campsite, ignoring the greetings from students that he received again. The glimpse Lila saw of his face troubled her – he seemed incredibly stressed. Asher’s eyes followed Mr Morrison until he was well out of view. Then, Asher tugged at her sleeve again.

“C’mon. I’m sure the teachers will tell us what happened after breakfast,” he said, leading her towards the fire.

The rest of the morning passed by without an explanation, however. Neither Elise nor Grace joined them, though Isaac did. He appeared much more refreshed and ready to take on the day than he was yesterday, his humour returning in full force over breakfast, as well as his offer to eat all of her barely-touched food.

Lila contemplated telling Isaac about their encounter with Mr Morrison as she half-heartedly swatted his hands away from her cereal, but decided against it. She trusted that their teachers would relay the contents of their urgent meeting soon – perhaps they were just waiting for the right time.

Once breakfast was over, the campsite began to thrum with the hum of student chatter, laughter and otherwise good mood. Within a few minutes though, a hush befell them as their six counsellors called for attention.

This morning’s agenda, it seemed, was a mountain biking activity, which dampened Lila’s spirits even further. It seemed that she’d be separated from Asher for now until they reached their secret destination. They were assured that it would be a nice destination – one that required towels and clothing that could accommodate the need for a towel. They’d have lunch there and participate in some more activities before coming back to the campsite for dinner and free time.

With that, they were sent off to prepare themselves prior to heading to where the bikes were stationed.

Lila glanced at her outfit, determining that it seemed to be fine if she needed to wade in some water or similar, before reluctantly heading to her tent for a towel. She hoped that she wouldn’t bump into Elise or Grace on this journey.

Unfortunately, yet also predictably, she did bump into both of them on the way to their tent. Elise opened her mouth as if to say something, but Lila quickened her pace, hurriedly unzipping the tent and pulling out her towel before exiting the tent again. They both looked sullen when Lila passed them by again, though she pressed on.

She knew that being avoidant was cowardly, particularly since Elise obviously wanted to talk to her. But Lila wanted a little more time. For what… she wasn’t sure. So, avoidance it was. For now. Hopefully.

Asher met her at the edge of the pathway to the female tents, his face worried.

“You okay? You seem a bit frazzled,” he observed in a low voice. She contemplated lying by saying she was fine for a moment – before remembering how easily he saw through that particular lie, and how upset it made him when he realised she was hiding her feelings.

“I guess you could say that I am,” Lila admitted. “I just can’t bring myself to talk to Elise. I don’t know what I could even say – like, I doubt Grace has let her secret out. Knowing Elise, she probably wants to confront me about… I guess you could say fighting with Grace, but about what? I definitely don’t want to tell Elise about Grace’s gi-… partner if Grace hasn’t.”

“Well, I can’t deny that I can be a bit avoidant too,” Asher replied with a small smile. “The thing about it, though, is that it tends to breed overthinking.”

“I know.”

He pressed his lips together before opening his backpack. “Avoid them as much as you want today – but see if you can push through your feelings for tomorrow. Elise is probably worried about you, too. She’d be able to tell that you’re off, even if Grace hasn’t said anything about you guys fighting.” He gently took her towel from her hands and shoved it into his backpack before putting it on his shoulders.

“… Okay. I’ll try.”

“That’s all you can ask for,” he responded with a nod. “Let’s go stand with everyone else.”

They moved towards the middle of the common area, which grew in number by the second. Eventually, headcounts were made between all the teachers and the counsellors began to organise the students into haphazard groups so that walking to the mountain bikes wouldn’t be a pandemonium.

As they filed out of the campsite, they collected their morning tea offerings from Rachael and another female camp counsellor that Lila hadn’t caught the name of who was evidently part of 11C and 11D’s group.

This walk was far more pleasant than the walk from the canoes and far shorter. They reached a large clearing that overlooked a cul-de-sac and was filled with mountain bikes and helmets. Two Utes were parked at the top of the cul-de-sac, the image of which incited a sigh from Lila. Her humble ride to wherever they were going awaited her.

Instructions were given to put on helmets and choose a bike for those who knew how to ride one, and for those who didn’t – they had the joy of waiting to the side next to Mick.

Lila shuffled that way, almost wishing that she’d asked Asher to teach her how to ride a bike properly. Then, when she realised who else was lining up next to Mick, she definitely wished so.

Ayla looked rather solemn as her eyes were turned to their classmates, who seemed to be having some measure of fun picking bikes. Lila tore her eyes away from Ayla, folding her arms across her chest. With two Utes, there was a 50/50 chance that she wouldn’t be sitting in one with Ayla.

Well, that’s what she assumed – until it was clear that everyone except Lila, Ayla and Dorothy knew how to ride a bike.

“Well, this is a good turnout,” Mick grinned as he turned to the three girls. “I was hoping we’d only need one Ute. Here, you can get in while I chat to your teachers and the other counsellors for a moment.”

He unlocked one of the Utes with his key before briskly marching towards the adults.

Lila couldn’t help but notice Ayla stiffen when she looked at Lila. Nothing was said between the three of them before Dorothy spoke up.

“So… you guys don’t know how to ride a bike?”

Lila shook her head. “Not at all. I was never really interested, and my parents never had bikes at home.”

“Have you ever tried riding a bike?” Dorothy continued, edging towards the Ute. Lila found her feet following Dorothy’s lead as she responded.

“I… have. With my boyfriend, on one of those tandem bikes.”

“Ooh, you have a boyfriend? Who?” Dorothy asked, her tone excited. Lila held her surprise in. She’d almost assumed that everyone knew at this point that she and Asher were dating. At the same time, though, she hardly knew Dorothy at all – neither travelled in similar circles nor did they have any classes together.

“Asher.”

“Wait, no, really? The Dux?”

Lila’s eyes subconsciously flickered to Ayla, whose expression was evidently unimpressed. Lila looked back at Dorothy just as quickly. “Yeah.”

“How’d that even happen?” Dorothy questioned, opening one of the back passenger doors of the Ute. She patiently waited, as if inviting Lila to climb in first. Lila did so as she tried to think of a response, briefly noticing that Ayla had made her way to the other side of the car.

“Well… uh, we were partners for our English project,” Lila began as she clipped herself into the middle seat. Then, she stopped. If she was in the middle-

Ayla opened the door on the other side and silently got in. Now that Lila was in the middle, buckled up already, it’d be far too awkward and obvious to ask Dorothy to swap with her. Ayla seemed to be sitting as far away from Lila as possible, her head turned to the window.

‘At least she’s not telling me off for sitting near her this time,’ Lila thought drily, turning to face Dorothy who had climbed in and closed the door behind her.

“And then what?” Dorothy pressed after putting her seatbelt on, her eyes full of rapt attention.

“We ended up becoming really close,” Lila said quietly. “It’s kinda weird to think about, but… we work really well together. After the project was over, he really became my best friend. Then, after… we kept hanging out, I realised that I liked him and… I was really scared to tell him, in case it ruined everything. But then he said he liked me too and had for a really long time. Like, years. He wasn’t ready to date me then, though.”

“Huh? Why?”

Lila wasn’t exactly sure why she was telling Dorothy so much. Perhaps it was because the alternative was sitting in insufferable silence while they waited for Mick to come back. Either way, she couldn’t help herself. “His ex cheated on him and got pregnant by someone else.”

Dorothy gave a horrified gasp. “You’re joking.”

“Definitely not. He… was a mess. So, for a little bit after I told him I liked him, he worked on being okay with getting into another relationship, I guess. He went on a trip to Vanuatu over the school holidays, and when he came back he planned this whole thing to ask me to be his girlfriend,” Lila explained, feeling a smile form on her face. Reminiscing on the picnic, even though it hadn’t been that long ago, spread warmth within her.

“That’s so cute,” Dorothy grinned. Then, she sighed. “Wish I had a boyfriend. What about you, Ayla? Are you dating anyone?”

Ayla jumped, as if surprised someone was talking to her. She turned to face Dorothy, her skin an interesting shade of pale.

“No,” Ayla murmured, looking back out of her window.

“Do you like anyone, Dorothy?” Lila swiftly asked, whipping her head to look at Dorothy again.

“Kinda,” Dorothy replied coyly. “You know Michael Wallis?”

Lila adjusted herself in her seat. “Know of him.”

“He’s in 11F. And he’s really cute.”

“You should tell him.”

“No way,” Dorothy shook her head vehemently. “I’m definitely not brave like you.”

“Not sure if brave is the right word for what I did,” Lila responded frankly. “I just couldn’t really keep it in anymore, since we were so close. It was kinda killing me.”

“I would’ve just died.”

“Are you friends with Michael?”

“Not really. I mean, we sit in the same section of the bus every day, and sometimes we talk.”

“Maybe try getting closer to him. One thing that I’ve learned is that dating someone that you’re friends with first is actually really nice. I dated someone I hardly knew a couple years ago and it was just so awkward. But… with Asher, it feels like-” Lila felt her face burning as she cut herself off. Dorothy was staring wide-eyed at Lila, and she felt as though Ayla was looking at her, too.

“Feels like what?” Dorothy questioned.

“Feels like… I’m myself. And he’s himself. We started off with no real pressure to pretend to be anyone else, and it just feels right. Comfortable, but exciting, now that we have a new phase of us to explore. I can’t imagine being with anyone else.”

“Wow. That’s goals right there.”

Lila paused. Was that really what others would think about her relationship with Asher? A part of her still felt as though… well, that those who believed the rumours would assume that they had been true – that Lila was a homewrecker, or prostituting herself to Asher, or whatever else the rumour mill had come up with in Term One, which wouldn’t really be ‘goals’.

“Girl to girl, though,” Dorothy added with a sly smile, “I heard he’s, like, mega loaded ‘cause of his family, plus he’s the smartest guy in our grade. You totally singled him out ‘cause of that, right?”

Lila hadn’t felt so offended so quickly in a long while.

“Definitely not,” she bristled. “I couldn’t care less if he wasn’t either of those things. What’s important to me is that he’s who he is. Sure, he’s smart, but he’s so much more than that. He’s really caring and sweet, and I can’t help but smile around him. Even though I’m nowhere near as smart as him, he’s always respected me and my opinions, and he understands me. He remembers all the little things, too, plus he’s also really responsible-”

“Alright, I’m sorry,” Dorothy said defensively, raising her hands in surrender. “It’s just that I hardly know him. He… seemed like this quiet goody two-shoes, whose only interest was studying. I didn’t know what the appeal was.”

“He’s also really attractive.”

“Well, yeah,” Dorothy replied, lowering her hands. “But there’s plenty of attractive guys around.”

Lila was about to respond when Mick opened the driver’s side door and buckled himself in. There was no way that Lila was going to continue the conversation now.

“Rightio,” Mick said cheerily, turning the key in the ignition. It roared to a start and he turned in his seat to face the three of them in the back. “We’ll be doing some four-wheel driving to get to our destination. Hope you’re all strapped in and ready to go.”

Without waiting for a response, he set off, following the cul-de-sac and venturing along the road. Lila strained to look out of the windows to see where their classmates were whilst trying to ignore how awkward it felt in the car now. It looked like they were receiving a debriefing back in the clearing, helmets on and bikes selected. She caught one last glimpse of Asher standing next to Isaac before the entire clearing disappeared altogether.

The entrance to the four-wheel driving trail wasn’t far from the cul-de-sac, and Mick carefully drove onto it. The sound of the engine intermingled with the crunching of gravel and branches drowned out any hope of any kind of conversation, so Lila sat in silence, glancing out of Dorothy’s window every so often to see the scenery flashing by.

The Ute climbed up the mountainside, with Mick artfully navigating potholes and tight turns. Though it was thus far a nice experience, albeit with forceful headbanging and jostling, Lila couldn’t help but wonder if Asher was enjoying his mountain biking activity. She really should’ve asked him to teach her so they could’ve biked together…

Occasionally, Lila bumped into Ayla with the force of the car, and each time she’d mumble an apology. She still didn’t really want to interact with Ayla at all, but she also didn’t want to seem rude just in case that would’ve annoyed Ayla more.

Eventually, the journey was over – they’d survived the descent from the mountain and were now parked on the road alongside a small, secluded beach ringed with grass.

“We’re here,” Mick announced exuberantly. “We’ll have lunch, then break into groups for beach volleyball, beach flags, and sand art, have a little bit of free time after and then head back to the campsite. Sound good to you three?”

It wasn’t as though protesting would make him change the plan, so Lila audibly agreed. Besides, it did sound like a good plan.

They hopped out of the Ute, taking a look around at the beach. It was rather small – more akin to a very sandy riverside or lake than a beach, though the sand was incredibly fine and almost white.

Mick requested their assistance in setting up the gazebo under which lunch would be served and the activities while they waited for their classmates to arrive. It gave Lila an opportunity to avoid simply standing around with Ayla and Dorothy, so she eagerly pitched in.

Henry arrived first just as Lila was tying the tablecloths onto the tables underneath the gazebo, a tall, red flag clipped onto the back of his bike.

“You’re all very efficient,” Henry said as he unclipped his helmet and dragged his bike to where the grass met the road.

“Mate, we’ve been here for hours,” Mick replied with a cheeky grin. “We’re actually packing up.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Henry replied, unclipping his helmet. “Righto.”

Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

The first group of students arrived mere seconds later, which consisted of mostly males. None of them were Asher, so Lila moved on to setting up the beach flags activity with Dorothy who looked rather lost at the idea.

“Thanks,” Dorothy said gratefully as Lila grabbed a bundle of flags. They worked in silence for a few moments before Dorothy glanced at Lila, her face a bright red.

“Don’t look now, but Michael’s coming this way,” she whispered dramatically, stabbing a flag slightly too deep into the sand. She pulled it back out with shaking hands.

Lila pressed her lips together to hide her smirk. It seemed that ‘kinda’ admission from before was just scratching the surface.

“You guys need any help?” Michael’s voice, one far deeper than Lila had suspected him to have, carried over to them. They both turned towards him.

“Su-”

“No thanks,” Dorothy squeaked, cutting Lila off and turning back to where she was facing. Lila gave her a sideways glance before standing up and dusting her hands on her pants.

“Actually, I’ll go check on how Ayla’s doing with the volleyball nets,” she announced, passing Michael the remaining flags in her hands. She heard a small whisper-scream from Dorothy, who had placed her head in her hands. Michael nodded at Lila before squatting next to Dorothy, diligently placing flags into the sand without a word shared between them.

As Lila backed away, she couldn’t tell from Michael’s body language whether he liked Dorothy as well, or whether he was just being helpful. Over this camping trip, she had seen Michael help out at various intervals on a variety of tasks – so… perhaps it wasn’t out of character for him to get stuck into something like this to help out.

Now that she’d said that she’d check on Ayla, though, Lila slowed her pace. She didn’t really want to, but she could see from here that Ayla was struggling as the wind began to pick up around her. It didn’t seem like anyone else noticed this so, with a reluctant sigh, she headed over.

Ayla jumped, as if startled by Lila’s appearance, before continuing on with her attempts to secure the volleyball net on the right side. Lila secured the left, shaking it slightly to test its sturdiness before beginning to walk back to where students were generally hanging around.

“Lila,” Ayla’s voice was small, almost imperceptible, over the wind. Lila stopped, unsettled by the fact that Ayla spoke to her.

“… Yeah?”

Their eyes met. Ayla shook her head.

“Never mind. Sorry.”

“… All good.”

Lila continued on her way, the confusion settling on her face. Had she been about to tell Lila off again?

More students were rolling in, parking their bikes in a neat line on the grass and bundling their helmets in a pile. The counsellors were handing out chilled bottles of water to the new arrivals. Plenty of students were lying down under the shade of the gazebo or nearby trees, with others sitting on the grass and talking.

She took another sweeping glance at the students who were arriving, absently touching her necklace. Another wave of students arrived and she breathed a sigh of relief – there was Asher, looking incredibly puffed but at the very least like he’d enjoyed the mountain biking.

She hurried over to him, taking the bike out of his hands. He looked surprised before smiling broadly at her and unclipping his helmet. She wheeled it over to the rest, took a moment to park it, and returned to him. He was standing under the shade of the gazebo, his eyes bright with amusement.

“How was that?” she asked as he drank some water. He wiped his mouth before responding.

“It was alright,” he grinned. “Isaac stacked it at the end there. I tried to help him but he waved me off. He should be coming up soon.”

As though his words summoned Isaac, Isaac walked his bike towards the other bikes, his face flushed and visible scrapes along his arms. He looked rather sheepish when he headed to them after parking his bike along the grass.

“Hey, Isaac,” Asher chuckled. He grabbed a bottle from the table behind him and passed it to Isaac, who placed it against a particularly deep scrape.

“Hey,” Isaac replied with a sigh. “I seriously thought it was a snake. You can stop laughing.”

“I wasn’t laughing,” Asher responded, his eyes briefly resting on Lila’s before he looked away and sipped more water.

Isaac frowned, though he sipped his own water in silence. Lila looked behind them both to see if Elise or Grace had made it, but they hadn’t just yet.

“Should you get some antiseptic?” Lila asked after Isaac capped his bottle again.

“Don’t make me feel worse,” Isaac complained. “I’m fine.”

“Should’ve seen what he did to that tree he collided with though,” Asher added. Isaac attempted a half-hearted kick at Asher’s shins, which he easily dodged with a laugh.

“You know, you seem really grumpy about it,” Lila said, a smile creeping up on her face. “Did you stack it in front of Elise?”

Isaac’s face immediately grew pink and he turned away from Lila and Asher, looking towards the road that yet more students were traversing. “No.”

“He did,” Asher nodded.

“Makes sense,” Lila smirked.

“What does?” Isaac immediately turned around again, his expression slightly panicked.

“That you’d be so embarrassed by stacking it in front of Elise.”

“I am not,” Isaac replied shortly. “Not at all.”

“Suuure,” Lila drawled. Isaac huffed but evidently decided against replying to her assertions.

Eventually, all students were accounted for, including Elise and Grace, though they stayed with the bikes rather than approach Lila, Asher and Isaac. Lila briefly wondered whether Isaac found it odd that Elise and Grace were avoiding them today, but he didn’t comment on it.

They were sorted into haphazard groups, with Asher, Lila and Isaac in one group and Elise and Grace in another, before lunch – a beachside barbecue – was served. This relieved Lila since it meant she’d be less likely to be cornered by Eli-

“Lila, can I have a chat?” Elise’s voice broke through Lila’s thoughts as her sausage sizzle was halfway to her mouth. Lila sighed, closing her eyes.

“Sure,” she replied, her tone resigned. She looked up at Elise, who had a concerned expression on her face.

“Let’s go this way,” Elise said, pointing towards a nearby spot under the trees that was surprisingly student-free. Asher quickly grabbed Lila’s hand, giving it a gentle, reassuring squeeze before letting go. She smiled at him, though her anxiety was twisting her stomach. Of course Elise wouldn’t be able to go much longer without talking to Lila.

Lila craned her neck to see where Grace was and spotted her sitting with Amy, delicately eating her sausage sizzle. Her face seemed paler than usual – but, other than that, there was no hint that something was wrong.

Lila walked behind Elise until they reached the spot that she’d pointed out. Lila tried to shovel her food into her mouth as swiftly as possible since she anticipated that she’d lose her appetite entirely as soon as Elise started talking to her.

Elise suddenly swivelled just as Lila took the biggest bite she could, locking eyes with her. Lila began to cough, and it looked as if Elise was suppressing a laugh.

“Sorry, finish eating,” Elise said after a moment, waving a hand at Lila. Lila swallowed roughly before sighing once more.

“What’s up?” Lila asked, her fingers trembling against her paper plate.

Elise’s expression changed into one of seriousness. “I think you know what’s up.”

“There’s… plenty,” Lila replied vaguely, her heartbeat quickening.

Elise looked at her doubtfully. “There’s only one thing that I’d want to talk to you about.”

Lila didn’t respond. Elise placed her hands on her hips before crossing her arms.

“Why are you and Grace fighting?”

Lila still hadn’t managed to think of an excuse. So, in her panic, she asked, “What did Grace say?”

“You can’t answer a question with a question.”

‘Shit.’

“I… wasn’t trying to fight with Grace.”

“She’s really upset.”

“I know. But she told me not to talk to her.”

That seemed to shock Elise. “Really? That’s not like Grace.”

“I know.”

There was an awkward pause between them before Elise sighed. “She… said that you were fed up with not meeting her partner. You said something about wanting to go on double dates?”

Lila sank to the ground, her legs suddenly unable to take her weight. “She said that… did she?”

“Lila, I didn’t think you would be so pushy.”

Lila hesitated as Elise took a seat next to her. Clearly, Grace lied to Elise. It was really Grace’s secret, and it was a big one, so Lila didn’t want to tell Elise the full story. So, she settled on being sufficiently vague enough to fit Grace’s narrative and express some counterpoints. “… Don’t you think it’s weird? We knew about her relationship in, like, early February, and now it’s August.”

“Grace said it’s ‘cause her girlfriend isn’t out yet.”

“So, she doesn’t trust us to meet her partner and keep it a secret?” Lila’s gaze was piercing.

“It’s not about trust-”

“I know. But is she ever going to let us meet? Her gir-… partner is really important to her.”

“In time, maybe.”

Lila exhaled deeply. “I just feel like keeping relationships secret from your best friends is kinda counter-intuitive to the whole best friend thing. Don’t you want to celebrate Grace’s relationship with her?”

Elise looked deeply uncomfortable. “I mean… we do, don’t we? We, like, talk to her about it and stuff.”

“We… support…” Lila paused before sighing again. “Look. I just want to make sure Grace is happy.”

“She says she’s happy.”

“What she says… might not be the truth.”

“What, do you think something’s wrong with her relationship?”

‘Yes! Everything’s wrong with it!’ “Well… she made Grace cry when she invited her to the museum.”

Elise pressed her lips together. “Yeah. I guess.”

“Look, it started as… gentle questioning, you know. About her partner. But… I dunno how it ended up like this. I’m just trying not to push her too far, so I’m giving her space.”

“Alright. I just wanted to check in with you. I think… it’s not that I don’t love you, Lila, but Grace would be alone if I didn’t stick by her.”

“By all means. Grace needs a friend. Asher’s here, so I don’t mind.”

Elise nodded. “Yeah. Okay. Thanks.”

They returned to where everyone was sitting, with Elise splitting off and sitting next to Grace and Amy. Lila carried on to Asher and Isaac, who stopped talking as she approached.

“Everything okay?” Asher asked meaningfully.

“Sure,” Lila replied lightly. Isaac looked between them both but didn’t say anything. Eventually, they began to talk about other things before they were called to the various activities.

For the rest of the day, Lila found herself hardly giving Grace, Elise or Ayla any thought at all as she participated in the activities. Mostly, she was quite entertained by the antics of her cohort – including the increasingly dramatic shouts from each pass during beach volleyball.

The beach art activity was rather strange by contrast. It was led by Rachael, who encouraged meditative breathing alongside the abstract ‘paintings’ made of glue and sand.

Finally, they were allowed some free time, which naturally meant a small walk alongside the waves with Asher. Isaac took the opportunity to sit with Elise and Grace – which made Lila happy for Elise, but slightly worried that Grace would tell Isaac that she and Lila fought.

“Well, I don’t have any cash on me, and my phone is useless, but I bet I could find a sand dollar for your thoughts,” Asher said brightly, an amused smirk on his face.

Lila laughed. “Sorry, but the Bank of Lila doesn’t accept sea creatures as payment.”

“Damn.”

“But… at the moment, looking at that cheeky grin of yours, like you find yourself to be absolutely hilarious, makes me think that I really miss kissing you.”

“What a coincidence,” Asher replied, his smirk broadening into a gleaming grin. “I really miss kissing you, too.”

“Could we-”

“Definitely not. I can feel Isaac’s eyes on us at all times like he’s got laser vision.”

“He really should just hurry up and get with Elise,” Lila grumbled. “Occupy himself with something else.”

“There’s an idea,” Asher chuckled.

They slowed at the edge of a collection of smooth grey and brown rocks at the end of this small beach. Many of their cohort were carefully walking across them, and others were inspecting the rocks and shallow rock pools with great interest. Lila and Asher joined the crowd, pointing out intriguing formations and potential critters to one another whilst letting a couple of jokes filter through here and there.

After a few minutes of this, they circled back towards the gazebo which was now serving as a central hub for lounging students. Asher gently nudged her shoulder, his voice low as he asked, “How was your trip over here?”

Lila sighed, folding her arms across her chest. “It was alright. I somehow sat in the middle, between Ayla and Dorothy. I’ve never really spoken to Dorothy before, but she seems nice. Maybe a little bit nosy, but she means well. She kinda implied that we were couple goals or something.”

“Really?” Asher seemed chuffed. “What did you even say, though?”

Lila blushed, pressing her crossed arms closer together. “… Just… talked about you. Why I like you, and why I think us being best friends first… was a really good thing.”

“Oh,” Asher murmured, his own face turning slightly pink. “Why do you like me?”

“You don’t know?”

Asher shook his head. “Honestly.”

Lila fell quiet, trying to think of the best way to answer him.

“There’s… a lot of reasons,” Lila began, letting her arms fall to her sides. “It’s hard to think of which to say first.”

“Oh,” Asher repeated, his eyes wide with shock. “Seriously?”

“Deadly.”

His lips twitched for a moment, the movement of which made Lila’s stomach flutter, before they split into a genuine smile.

“I’d like to know one day,” he said softly, glancing behind her towards the gazebo.

“Well, what about me?”

“What do you mean?”

“What do you like about me?”

He looked thoughtful for a moment before shaking his head. “It’s like what you said. There are a lot of reasons, so it’s hard to think of what to say first. But… well, one of the reasons boils down to how I’ve always felt around you. Somehow, you’ve always captivated me and made me feel lighter when I’m around you. It’s difficult to explain, but it’s… similar to happiness, I guess, but also different.”

“Oh,” Lila uttered. Then, she tilted her head as she tried to think why he would feel that way – especially since he’d said ‘always’.

“Plus, it seems like your mind is always going – either because you’re curious, or you’re thinking deeply about something,” he smiled. “You ever look at someone and think there’s nothing in there but air?”

Lila snorted. “Sometimes.”

A whistle caught their attention and they both looked over at the gazebo from where it had sounded. All of the counsellors and teachers were waving their arms, beckoning the students to return. It seemed like they’d be setting off back to the main campsite shortly.

Her prediction came true, and it wasn’t long before the activities and gazebo were packed up and she was once more sitting in the Ute. She allowed Dorothy to get in before her so that she was sandwiched next to the door this time.

“I can’t believe you ditched me with Michael,” Dorothy huffed once Lila closed the door behind her. Lila smirked.

“I can’t believe he approached you first,” she countered, watching as Dorothy’s cheeks reddened.

“W-Well, he’s just a helpful guy.”

“He didn’t ask to help me,” Ayla piped up. Lila held back her surprise that Ayla voluntarily joined in this conversation. “And I was struggling. Just ask Lila.”

Dorothy whipped her head to Lila, who shrugged and said, “It’s not a lie. We managed, though.”

Dorothy sat back, leaning her head against the headrest. “He’s too cute. I almost drowned myself in the ocean once he left.”

“It looks like you’d easily get his attention by constantly struggling,” Lila replied plainly.

“But constantly struggling is a struggle,” Dorothy whined. “I just… I’d rather not have these feelings.”

“Why?” Lila questioned.

“Why? Because it’s torture.”

“Sure, but isn’t it kind of fun, too? Knowing that he can affect you like that, I mean. Not everyone can do that.”

Dorothy sighed before placing her head in her hands. “… Yeah. I… guess I like the butterflies.”

“I mean, you don’t need to do anything about your crush,” Lila added. “It might go away on its own.”

“… Maybe.”

It was at that moment that Mick threw open the driver’s side door and jumped in.

“How was that, ladies?” he asked cheerily as he turned the key into the ignition.

“Fun,” Lila replied simply.

“That’s all we ask for,” Mick responded, beginning to head back towards the trail that they’d taken to get here. It was far more relaxing this time around, despite all the bumps and jiggling, since she wasn’t knocking against Ayla.

Her legs felt much like jelly as she got out of the Ute, making sure to leave the door open for Dorothy. Looking around, her eyes squinting to protect against the glare of the sun, she was surprised to see that they were at the campsite already, rather than the spot where her cohort had picked up the bikes from.

“Thought it didn’t make sense to have you all wait until everyone reaches the other spot,” Mick explained, as though he had read Lila’s enquiring mind. “It’s free time until dinner, same time as yesterday.”

He began attacking the fire again, though it was nowhere near cold enough to really need it.

The three girls exchanged a glance before Dorothy shrugged and headed towards the bathroom. Lila was about to make her way to her tent to rescue a book when Ayla called for her again.

“… Yeah?”

“Can I talk to you? Please?”

It wasn’t as though Lila’s curiosity about why Ayla wanted to talk to her before had disappeared. She tried to keep her face neutral as she said, “Sure.”

Ayla’s expression changed, as though she was regretting her request. Now that Lila had an excuse to look intently at Ayla, she could see that she looked much the same as she had at PE – pallid, thin and frail, her jumper dwarfing her frame. The circles under her eyes hadn’t improved, either.

“Maybe… we should go over there,” Ayla suggested quietly, pointing towards the pathway to the boys’ tents. It was far enough away that Mick wouldn’t be able to overhear them at the very least.

With no other alternative coming to her, Lila nodded. There were a few boulders at the beginning of the path and they both sat on one each, facing each other. Suddenly, Lila was feeling rather nervous. Ayla’s quietness was certainly odd, particularly for being one of the Gossip Queens, and Lila had absolutely no idea what Ayla would want to talk to her about. They’d barely talked until this year, and the times that they had were hardly conversations.

Lila patiently waited as Ayla took a slow, steadying breath.

“I… wanted to apologise,” Ayla said meekly, staring at her hands. “For PE.”

“You don’t need to,” Lila replied seriously. “I’d… kinda assumed that you didn’t want anyone around you, but pushed it anyway.”

Ayla grimaced. “You’re not wrong, but you’re not right, either. Um, this… might sound really weird, but… I… kinda thought you had something to do with…”

She stopped, taking another breath – this time, it was much shakier.

“S-Sorry. Um. P-Piper.”

“I… see. Is there any particular reason?”

Ayla sighed. “When I found out you and Asher started dating after she… died… I thought you’d gotten rid of her so you could have him.”

Lila blinked. “Wh-”

“Irrational. But…” Ayla hesitated, picking at her fingernails. “It felt logical, at the time.”

“Grief can do strange things,” Lila responded, her tone gentle.

“Yeah.” Ayla swallowed, a fleeting expression of guilt mingled with incredible sadness passing so quickly that Lila wasn’t quite sure whether she’d imagined it entirely. “Except… it’s more than that.”

Lila chose not to respond, instead waiting for Ayla to continue.

“I loved Piper. Not just as a friend. I… spent so much time, by her side, as she raved on and on about Asher. About how rich he was, and how smart he was. About how… she would just live a life of luxury if she got with him. And it seemed like… a silly fantasy, or crush. Something temporary that I could sit through, despite the pain. But I started to realise that it was dangerous. And, truthfully, I was relieved when she got expelled. I thought… it could mean that she would let go of him. When she got expelled though, it seemed to get worse – and she blamed you a lot. Then, I heard what she did, with those photos, and everything else, and then she died. It felt too convenient that you got with Asher so soon afterwards.”

Ayla’s eyes glistened as she took another deep breath before speaking. “I wanted to see her, the day she disappeared. I asked if we could go to the movies or something, and I was… finally going to tell her. I thought maybe since she was expelled, she might seriously think about moving on… with me. But she said no, she couldn’t. She had to do something, apparently. And so I never told her. And I’ll never know what she would’ve thought, or said, or done once I confessed.”

Silent tears had now begun to fall down Ayla’s face, though she continued without addressing them at all. “I think I was projecting my guilt onto you. I mean, if she’d said yes to hanging out with me, then she might not have been murdered, right? I… could’ve saved her. And maybe… maybe we might’ve started something. Something that sounds like what you and Asher have.”

“I think it’s natural for you to feel that way,” Lila said softly. “For all of it. I don’t blame you at all… but I have to ask. Why tell me all this?”

Ayla gave a half-hearted shrug. “I’d kinda assumed that you were dating Asher for the same reasons that Piper wanted to. And it made me mad, for some reason – like, why was Piper not good enough when you were doing the same thing? But hearing you say that you couldn’t care less if he wasn’t rich or smart, and then listing out some of his qualities that I had no idea about – well, it seemed like you were genuine. It made me feel like… at least Asher was with someone who wasn’t using him. A-As much as I loved Piper, I couldn’t agree with her about her chasing him for such superficial reasons. I wanted her to be happy, and it seemed like her happiness was tied to this obsession, but it also wouldn’t have been fair on him to be dating someone who just wanted him for his potential, and didn’t care at all about who he was. So… I wanted to apologise, for PE, and explain myself, I guess.”

Ayla wiped away her residual tears before sighing yet again. “I had a mental breakdown after her Mum said she was missing. I spent as long as I could, looking for her with her family. We even went to that park… but she wasn’t there then.” A pained expression lingered on her face as she added, “I sat on the same bench as the one where she was found. Calling her phone, calling for her. I feel like… I might’ve jinxed it. And… that feeling, after she was found, sent me to the hospital.”

Instinctively, so that the girl before her didn’t crumble right there into nothing, Lila reached out and pulled Ayla into a hug.

“I know it’s easier said than done, but you can’t blame yourself for the decisions some psycho made. Have you talked about any of this with your friends? Brittany, Scarlett and all them?”

“No,” came Ayla’s subdued reply. She seemed to be melting into Lila’s hug as she uttered, “They don’t even know I’m a lesbian.”

Now Lila had no idea what to do. The floodgates to the hole in Ayla’s heart seemed to have broken entirely as she cried in earnest. Lila glanced around and saw Mick looking their way with an unsure expression. Lila gave him an awkward thumbs up and he promptly turned back to the fire.

“I m-miss her,” Ayla sniffled into Lila’s jumper.

‘Can’t relate,’ Lila thought as she tightened her grasp on Ayla. With how fragile she felt, almost skin and bone, the detrimental effects of Piper’s passing on Ayla was undeniable. Lila would never know the version of Piper that Ayla had seen, loved and was still mourning. For a moment, she wondered who that had been.

Somehow, the visage of Piper’s deranged face and abhorrent behaviour softened just a little as Ayla’s shoulders shook. It’d been hard not to villainise Piper, given everything she’d done to both Lila and Asher, but to think that in a moment like this, with someone so devastated by her loss, felt villainous in itself. Lila continued to hold Ayla, letting her tears soak into her clothes for as long as Ayla needed. While it wasn’t the same, being unable to express to her friends tightly held secrets was a feeling Lila could relate to – at the very least, the suffocation and absence of support for something so heavy was almost always crushing.

“Are you going to tell your friends?” Lila murmured as Ayla’s sobs finally subsided and she stepped out of Lila’s embrace.

“I… don’t know. They’re… well, they’re incredibly straight. I don’t know if they’d get it,” Ayla replied, wiping her eyes with the cuffs of her own jumper. “I’ve ruined your clothes, I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Lila smiled. “Nothing a washing machine can’t fix.”

Ayla gave her a fleeting smile in return.

“Sorry I just dumped that all on you,” Ayla added, pushing the wrists of her jumper over her hands. “I’m not sure why I said all that.”

Lila’s mind flashed to the time Asher had said something similar, way back in the beginning of the year when Lila said she wanted to keep helping him.

“Let’s just say I have that effect on people,” Lila replied kindly. “But you looked like you needed to let it out anyway. I just happened to be here.”

“Thanks,” Ayla replied with a small smile. She exhaled deeply, folding her arms across her body as if to comfort herself.

A niggling question tugged at the corners of Lila’s lips, now that Ayla seemed to have calmed down. Ayla had said that the day Piper disappeared, she had declined to hang out with Ayla to ‘do something’. Was that something related to why Piper had looked so dirty and dishevelled when she called out for Asher at the shops?

“I’m… sorry to bring it up,” Lila said slowly, knotting her hands before her. “But you mentioned that the day she disappeared, she said she had to do something?”

Lila’s heart raced as she waited for Ayla to respond. She hoped she hadn’t pushed Ayla with this line of questioning, but her desire to know more was beginning to overwhelm her. What had it been?

Ayla looked surprised that Lila asked before her posture softened. “Yeah. She just said she had to go somewhere that day. It sounded important – until she sent me this selfie.”

Ayla’s hands hunted around in her pockets before she pulled out her phone. With visibly quivering fingers, Ayla tapped on it before handing her phone to Lila.

It took all of Lila’s willpower to not drop Ayla’s phone. Piper – looking alive, well and dirt-free – had taken a selfie next to Mr Snugglebutt the Third, with an unmistakably familiar collar around his neck. Instead of red, like the one Asher had taken off him, it was a bright blue colour with a bottle attached to it – empty, this time.

But it was what was behind both Piper and Mr Snugglebutt that was really disturbing. It looked as though Piper was sitting on the instantly recognisable porch of the farmhouse by Asher’s place. And, not only that, but the same silhouette that they had seen through the front farmhouse window was in this photo.

The hairs along Lila’s arms stood despite her jumper. Was… this one of the only photos left of the farmhouse?

She zoomed in on the silhouette – its hulking shape unforgettable through the worn curtains. But, now that she had a picture in her hands, she could make out a slight detail that she’d been too terrified to take note of when she’d seen it in person.

The shape of the body – it looked feminine.

Ayla peered over at her phone before looking up at Lila.

“Yeah, I noticed that creepy-ass thing too. I don’t know if Piper did, but she was really excited that she’d found a cat. She… always loved cats, ever since I’ve known her. I… I’ve looked at that picture so many times, I think I could draw it from memory. I’ve… wondered whether Piper took a photo with her…” Ayla’s eyes glistened again before she whispered, “killer.”

The implication made Lila nauseous. She passed Ayla’s phone back to her, hesitating for just a second. She almost asked Ayla if she’d told the Police – but at the same time, Lila didn’t want to put the idea in Ayla’s head. If Ayla told the Police, then they’d probably suspect Asher and his family again…

Asking for a copy of the selfie was out of the question, too. She’d just have to relay what she saw to Asher verbally and hope it was accurate.

The imagery of the stain on the floor of the farmhouse made Lila shudder and she quickly shook her head, as if to throw it out of her memories.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to freak you out,” Ayla said softly, pocketing her phone again.

“No, it’s fine,” Lila replied reassuringly. “You, um, said Piper liked cats?”

Ayla nodded, pulling her jumper tighter still against her body. “Yeah. There was this one time in Grade 6 or 7 when we had a sleepover and she cried because she was thinking about all the cats that didn’t have a home to come back to.”

It was the first smile that Lila had seen Ayla have that day which felt real. Ayla laughed as she said, “She cried so hard her Mum had to come check on her. She ended up staying the whole night, but she couldn’t sleep by herself. So she shared my bed. I told her she was a big baby about five times, and she said she knew each time, but that didn’t make the sadness about the kitties any less.”

Ayla’s mouth trembled and she stared at the ground instead.

“Remembering the good can help,” Lila said, reaching out to touch Ayla’s shoulder. “Better than thinking about the sad. What else did you guys get up to?”

For the next ten minutes or so, Ayla spoke about her antics with Piper. It was through these glimmers that Lila began to build a picture of who Piper had been – someone who was prone to giving in to her emotions, good and bad, and someone who was always there for her friends. A lover of more animals than just cats, who wanted to build a shelter after school and spend her days tending to the homeless animals. Ayla, with a faint smirk, said that it’d never work since the idea of most shelters was to rehome the animals, and Piper would never have been able to part with any she’d received. To Lila, before this, Piper had been a social chameleon. But, to Ayla, it was clear that Piper had been the opposite – the first person she always searched for as a source of light.

It also turned out that Piper had some family in Germany, which was part of her motivation for going on exchange if it hadn’t been cancelled and she hadn’t been expelled. Ayla, with a dreamy expression, conveyed some of the plans they’d made for adventures in Germany, and her wish that she could have seen the Christmas lights adorning the gingerbread house-like structures with snow for frosting arm-in-arm with Piper.

Talking about Piper in this context seemed to give Ayla a bittersweet energy, as she finished her latest explanation about some of their Dance mishaps, including Piper’s accidental splits that resulted in hysterical bouts of laughter which were followed immediately by just as hysterical shouts of pain, with her head slightly bowed.

“Thanks for listening, Lila. I think… I’ll go lie down in my tent for now. I hadn’t really talked about her for a while. I thought it would be too painful – but you’re right. Remembering the good helps. I know you probably didn’t like her, and I don’t blame you, so I appreciate you still sticking around. I’ll… see you later.”

She smiled once more at Lila, looking exhausted, before heading off towards the girls’ tents. Lila didn’t follow her, even though she was still bookless, her mind going over what Ayla had said and the picture she’d seen, her index finger gently touching her lips.

It was to the point that she hadn’t realised that the rest of her cohort had returned, she was that engrossed in her own thoughts. Two sturdy hands tenderly took her by the shoulders whilst she tried to ingrain the details of the silhouette into her mind’s eye and she nearly swung out a fist in response.

With a furiously beating heart, she turned around and saw Asher’s red, sweaty face.

“I’m back,” he said, his voice as warm as the hands that still held onto her. “Whoa, why is your front all wet?”

Lila glanced down and saw that Ayla’s tears hadn’t fully dried as she’d expected.

“Oh, this is just tears.”

“Were you crying?” Asher sounded concerned as he took a seat on the boulder that Ayla had been sitting on mere minutes ago.

“Definitely not,” Lila replied. “Ayla was.”

“You talked to Ayla?”

“Yeah.” Lila glanced around. There were far too many people around for Lila to tell Asher what had transpired. “I’ll tell you about it later. When we get a moment.”

“We’ve got a moment now, don’t we?”

“I meant… away from everyone else. It was a much heavier conversation than I’d thought.”

“I see.”

Unfortunately for Lila, it didn’t seem like they’d get the chance that day. Since there were so many classes here, finding a secluded enough spot was next to impossible. Instead, Lila asked Asher about the journey back, which he discussed with great detail, before talking about far lower-stakes matters.

The afternoon carried on in a similar manner, with dinner not being much different, though Lila noticed that Elise, Grace and Isaac seemed to have consciously separated themselves from Lila and Asher for the time being. Eventually, the counsellors called everyone to attention.

They announced that all the students would be packing up their tents tomorrow morning and split off into two different groups. It looked like 11C and 11D would be canoeing over to the campsite that Lila’s class had left yesterday, and 11E and 11F would move along on another hike, featuring some abseiling and waterfall spotting, followed by some survival skills over at the base camp – which felt a bit late to Lila, but apparently this campsite was the only one that could support it.

Asher gave a long yawn, stretching his arms above his head. They were sitting side-by-side a little ways back from the bonfire, their knees constantly drifting together.

“Are you tired?” Lila queried with a twinge of sadness. He glanced at her before nodding.

“Exhausted. Whoever said that mountain bike trail was a fantastic idea is a certified maniac. Or sadist. Likely both.”

Lila laughed, gently resting her head on his shoulder. “Okay. You should get to bed, then.”

“I don’t have to,” Asher frowned. “I can stay up.”

“No, no. I’ll just head to bed and go straight to sleep, I think.”

“Are you sure? If you’re not tired-”

“I think you should sleep,” she smiled, though her tone was firm. She shook his arm slightly as she stated, “Sooner we sleep, the sooner we can wake up. Last full day of camp tomorrow, after all.”

“Well, you’ve got me there,” he sighed before covering another yawn with his hands. “Let’s go.”

They slowly slogged their way to the paths leading to the tents, pausing just at the fork.

“Hey, I know we haven’t talked about what to do after camp,” Asher suddenly said, as though an idea had struck him just now. “But what do you reckon about going to mine? On Friday. After we get dropped off.”

Lila’s eyes darted around him before she smirked at him. “To do what, exactly?”

He gave her an odd look before his cheeks reddened. He quickly responded, “Hang out.”

She’d hoped that he’d suggest kissing. Though she’d been enjoying her time at camp with him, she had been craving his touch. Just as she thought this, though, she recalled the selfie of Piper – and the figure in the window. A feminine figure in the window of the farmhouse connected to Asher’s property – could that have been… Marlene? Especially since she’d clearly taken the photos they’d printed of the farmhouse – she definitely knew about it.

“Let’s go to yours, and then go to a café.”

“A café?” He looked perplexed before his face settled into a smile. “As long as it’s a date.”

She returned his smile with an edge of seriousness. “Sure. As long as you’re ready to pay attention.”

“Pay… attention?”

She glanced around again – there were more people heading this way, clearly ready for bed. She lifted herself onto the tips of her toes and whispered in his ear, “There’s a cute café called ‘Beans & Biscuits’, after all.”

He stretched his neck, as though fighting against a rush of goosebumps, which made Lila smirk once more.

“You’re being mysterious. I’m not sure whether I can go to sleep anymore,” he murmured, taking a step back from her.

“I’m sure you’ll lie down and immediately figure it out,” Lila replied loftily. “Goodnight, Asher.”

“Goodnight, Lila.”