Chapter Twenty

Lila’s pure dedication to knuckling down and finalising her assessments to the best of her ability over the weekend surprised even herself. Though she was prone to losing motivation, she resolved that easily by remembering the fact that her own classmates were wandering through life entirely convinced that she was prostituting herself out to Asher, and channelling the anger that surfaced into dogged determination.

Several times over the weekend, Clare tried to bring Lila back to Earth through friendly conversation. Lila shut down each of her attempts with the insistence that she be left alone to finish her work. Every time Clare left, however, Lila felt pangs of guilt and anxiety course through her. It wasn’t as though she didn’t want to tell Clare what was happening, but she couldn’t. The rumours before now were just child’s play. The current string of rumours was absolutely vile and malicious – and potentially rumours Lila would never be able to shake. Lila’s reputation was at stake, along with Asher’s, not to mention how Holly would feel if she heard that her boyfriend was allegedly paying his classmate for sex because Holly lacked in some way or another.

And it wasn’t as though Clare could do anything about the rumours anyway. All that would happen was that Clare would freak out, get upset on behalf of Lila, and then pity her for the rest of time – none of which was helpful. No matter which way Lila sliced it, the pros of venting to Clare wouldn’t outweigh the cons of her sister’s reaction.

It also wasn’t as though Lila could posit her theories as to who was spreading these rumours and their motivations to Clare either – Lila still wanted to keep the identity of her prime suspect close to her chest for a number of reasons. If she was wrong about Piper, then she was no better than the culprit behind this mess if she went around telling people it was Piper. If she was right about Piper, Lila wanted to deal with her without anyone interfering. It was absolutely personal now.

As Sunday night faded to Monday morning, Lila found that her determination hadn’t wavered a single bit. She’d handed in her assessments that were due that week, and her mind was clearer than it had been for days. Lila followed her normal Monday morning routine closely, deviating only slightly to pack her own lunch today. Checking her watch after zipping up her lunchbox with a smug grin, Lila noted that leaving in a couple of minutes meant she had the best chance of catching the same bus as Piper. She also ensured that she took the time to annoy Daniel, who was grumpily chewing some cereal in the kitchen, on her way out the door. Daniel normally hopped on the next bus, owing to the fact that he was exceedingly slow and grumpy in the mornings, and Lila had long run out of the patience she once held in waiting for him so they could go to school together.

As Lila waited by the bus stop, she briefly wondered when she started catching the earlier bus. Before she could muse any further, it rolled to a squeaky stop before her, throwing open its doors to welcome her aboard. Upon climbing up the bus’s steep stairs, Lila involuntarily sucked her breath in as hard as she could – Piper was sitting at the back of the bus, staring directly at her with a distinctly bored expression.

‘Act normal…’ Lila urged herself as she hurried to her usual seat, exhaling as slowly as she could. ‘She can’t figure out that I’m following her…’

Lila held her breath almost the entire way to school, her phone games doing nothing to distract from her nervousness. They somehow only made the passage of time plod along. When the bus finally reached the bus station outside the school, Lila walked some ways to one of the hedges lining the footpath before tapping on her phone rhythmically in an effort to look as though she was texting while waiting for someone. From this distance, she could see in her peripheral vision when and where Piper would head off to.

Piper exited the bus last and Lila immediately put her phone to her ear. She pretended to be on a phone call with Daniel, turning partially away from Piper as she spoke.

“I forgot it at home, dude, just bring it,” Lila said, sighing in frustration. She paused for a few moments to allow for a non-existent response.

“Daniel, I swear to God, I will hide all the jui-” Lila said, cutting herself off before pausing again. Lila let a little bit of the anger she had been stewing over the weekend seep into her face as she turned around, looking scornfully at the ground. Piper seemed to have been standing still, a few metres away before Lila saw her feet begin to walk hurriedly up the path towards the school.

“If you bring it, I’ll ask Mum to get us Maccas for dinner,” Lila said, finally looking up. She could see the back of Piper’s school bag disappearing around the corner, her bright pink love-heart-shaped keychain swaying like a fishing lure, towards the locker room. Lila shakily slipped her phone back into her pocket and surreptitiously rounded the corner herself at a slow pace. Lila could still see her despite the distance between them and kept an eye on who she mingled with.

As soon as Piper reached the threshold of the locker area, she was accosted by Mia and Ayla, who were certainly cheery for a Monday morning.

“Piper! We thought something happened!” Mia exclaimed, wrapping Piper in a hug, which she returned stiffly. Lila took this as her chance to slip past and go to her own locker, pulling out the materials she needed for English.

“You said yesterday that you’d be, like, super prompt,” Ayla’s voice echoed across the locker room with a slight whine. “We need to get changed for Dance! Our performance is coming up soon.”

“Sorry,” Piper’s monotone voice replied. Lila opened her locker and adjusted her hair as she half-looked in the mirror affixed to the door. She took a small glance over the edge of the door at the trio. She saw Piper squeeze her school bag into her locker, opening it only a crack as usual, before pulling out a smaller bag.

“Let’s go,” Piper said, smiling at Mia and Ayla as she snapped her locker door shut. Lila looked into the mirror, swiping at several stray baby hairs. The voices of Mia, Ayla and Piper drifted off into the distance. It seemed like they were discussing the latest episode of Married at First Sight.

Lila glanced around to ensure they were definitely gone before hoisting her laptop bag on her shoulder. She double-checked that her English and Maths materials were in the bookbag slung on her other shoulder before locking her locker shut.

Unfortunately for Lila, Dance was in the complete opposite direction of her English class. Now that her target had escaped to a different class, Lila’s mind began to fret. She hoped that Asher hadn’t yet heard the latest…

Upon reaching the English building, however, Lila’s hopes in that regard were immediately dashed. Asher was furiously pacing outside the doors. He looked as though he’d just escaped a wrestling match between himself and the dryer with how crinkled and unkempt he looked. The bags under his eyes were the darkest that Lila remembered seeing over the past couple of weeks.

He didn’t seem to notice Lila and now that she had gotten closer, she could see he was muttering indistinctly to himself. Lila surveyed the area near them – no one else from English had arrived just yet. Should she take her chance to check in on Asher?

‘Idiot,’ Lila admonished herself. ‘That’s exactly how things go from a shit sandwich to a shitstorm.’

Before Lila could retreat around the corner of the Language Block, however, Asher’s eyes had finally come to rest on her. She attempted an awkward wave whilst backing away, but he strode quickly towards her.

“Lila,” he said stiffly, his golden-brown eyes brimming with uncertainty.

“That’s my name,” Lila said, taking a small step backwards. The corners of Asher’s lips lifted for a split second before settling into a grimace.

“I know we shouldn’t be speaking,” he said in a measured tone, looking away from Lila. “But I heard what’s being said. This is absolutely fucked.”

“I couldn’t agree more,” Lila said simply, her eyes darting towards both sides of the Language Block that she could see. No one seemed to be coming just yet, so in a hushed tone she added, “On all fronts. I’ve started work on ascertaining what is happening, why and who's behind it. Naturally, once I figure all that out, it should lead me to a resolution.”

Asher blinked at her in surprise. “Your language is oddly-”

“Don’t worry about it,” Lila said quickly. “Leave it to me, okay? If I need help, I’ll ask.”

Asher looked deeply into Lila’s eyes as if trying to uncover secrets within. But there were none – Lila was being entirely open and honest with Asher. Hopefully, he could understand that, but Lila wasn’t entirely sure after he dropped his gaze and turned away from her.

“I’ll come running as soon as you say the word,” he said, interlocking his hands and placing them on his head before drifting away.

“Good,” Lila replied to his back, “I’ll hold you to that.”

----------------------------------------

Morning tea meant Lila needed to find Piper quickly. Thus far, her intel had narrowed down that Piper would be doing either Physics or Chemistry before morning tea. Being released from Maths meant that Lila was at least located in the STEM area of campus. Reaching the science labs in time to discover Piper’s next steps wasn’t an impossible feat.

Lila hurried alongside the Science Building, hoping to figure out which science class it was before she found herself standing outside the labs where she didn’t belong like an amnesiac. But she didn’t need to.

Jostled within the crowd of students just ahead of Lila was Piper. Lila’s stomach flipped as her eyes roved over the crowd and noticed Asher a few steps ahead of Piper, talking freely with Isaac, waving his Chem textbook in the air as though it was a stack of money. What were they talking about?

‘Stick to the plan, dummy,’ Lila thought, shaking her head furiously, locking her sights on Piper again. Piper didn’t seem interested in engaging with any of her classmates as the Grade Eleven students marched towards the lockers in unison, boisterously laughing and talking amongst themselves as they did so. In fact, if Lila wasn’t so determined to keep track of Piper today, Lila could easily lose her within this crowd, being as short and unassuming as she was.

Piper didn’t appear to do anything of note along this journey, though occasionally she lifted her phone as if to take a selfie. Although, Lila was too far away to say with any amount of certainty that it was indeed a selfie.

Following the crowd meant that it didn’t take Lila long to arrive outside her own locker. Opening it with a sigh, Lila employed her trick from this morning to keep an eye on Piper. In a matter of moments, Mia, Ayla, Belle, Scarlett and Jackson appeared to surround Piper at her locker, talking animatedly about something or other. Given the amount of students clanging about the locker room, Lila couldn’t hear a word of what the topic was, but the gestures the group were making suggested that it was likely some form of interesting gossip.

Lila swapped out her heavy Maths and English materials with her Modern History notebook and took out a banana from her lunchbox. Piper’s group eventually moved away from the lockers, and Lila took her chance to follow them at a distance. Lila didn’t get very far before Grace and Elise simultaneously sidled up next to her.

“Hello,” Grace smiled casually, taking a bite of an apple.

“What’s up,” Elise grinned, throwing her right arm across Lila’s shoulders. Lila stiffened, but then quickly relaxed. Their appearance actually made following Piper’s group less suspicious.

“I’m thinking we could go somewhere new for morning tea,” Lila said in a low voice, leading Grace and Elise towards Piper’s group whilst still maintaining a safe distance.

“Oh?” Grace asked, cocking her head. Elise elbowed her in the side and pointedly looked at Piper’s group.

“Ow- ohhh,” Grace whispered, rubbing her side, nodding in seeming understanding.

“Let’s just act like we usually do,” Lila suggested softly, peeling her banana. Elise and Grace nodded, with Elise diving into a tale of the latest clownery that she had witnessed in her Manufacturing class that morning.

A group as large and gabby as Piper’s seemed to have sufficiently masked the trio’s presence as not a single one looked behind them. Lila noticed, however, that whilst Ayla and Mia were clearly the drivers of the group’s conversation, Piper seemed to be the only one who had a distinct idea of where they were going. Through subtle gentle tugs and nudges, Piper was plainly driving the group’s direction from the centre. Was Piper a natural leader in terms of making these kinds of group decisions? Or was it the nature of Piper’s unnoticeable character that allowed her to do that without raising an eyebrow from the others?

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“Do they not have a regular morning tea spot?” Lila whispered to Grace and Elise, pointing out Piper's behaviour with exaggerated eye movements, who both shrugged.

“Maybe they switch it up every day?” Elise suggested.

“Perhaps…” Lila murmured, more to herself than for the benefit of Elise and Grace. They were now outside the Home Economics (aka Home Ec) building which was surrounded by a plethora of students who were seated on the surrounding grass, or just underneath the roofing connecting the four kitchens, enjoying the brief reprieve of morning tea under the gentle morning rays of the sun.

Lila had never thought to come here for morning tea or lunch, but it seemed to be a decent enough spot to enjoy either. To Lila’s unpleasant surprise, Isaac and Asher were leaning against one of the Home Ec walls under the roofed area, their legs casually splayed before them. They seemed absorbed in their conversation, just as they had been outside of the Chem Lab and didn’t appear to notice the arrival of either Piper’s group or Lila’s group to the general vicinity.

‘So this is where Asher and Isaac hide away to…’ Lila thought, surveying the area. It seemed like most of the students here were from either Grade Eleven or Twelve, and though Lila recognised a few people, she wasn’t close enough (or brave enough) to sit with anyone.

Piper’s group carefully waded their way through the groups of students who had already established a seating arrangement on the grass and found a spot towards the Home Ec building. Luckily, Piper’s back was facing Lila’s direction.

“Shall we sit down?” Grace asked brightly. Both Elise and Lila nodded in unison and they picked a small empty spot beside some Grade Twelve students.

“… hear? … underclassman… paid for sex!”

“No way!”

“Apparently… Dux…”

“… sounds legit…”

“And get this… CEO… Hospital…”

“I’d do it…”

“… stupid…”

“… slut…”

“… taken?”

“Yeah… homewrecker too…”

It seemed that the rumours had reached the ears of the Grade Twelve students, but they didn’t appear to know the identity of the pair the rumours centred around well enough to realise one of them was sitting right there. Lila accidentally squished the end of her banana hard enough to sever half of what was left of it but caught it in her mouth in time to avoid it from toppling to the ground.

“We can leave,” Grace said quietly, “we know where Piper went to after morning tea and next is PC anyway, so it’s not a mystery where she’s going next.”

“Come,” Elise said suddenly, standing up and pulling on Lila’s arm. “Let’s bounce.”

Lila didn’t resist and followed Elise and Grace back to the locker room at a leisurely pace. There wasn’t much time left of morning tea anyway as it was substantially shorter than lunch. They stood around their respective lockers, with Grace talking about the piece she was practising in her private music lessons. Eventually, more students arrived at the locker room, pulling out various items from their lockers with a collective touch of despondence.

Once PC and Modern History were finally over, Lila, Grace and Elise returned to their lockers to put away their materials and grab their lunchboxes.

“It’s rare to see you with a lunchbox,” Elise smirked at Lila as she slammed her locker shut.

“I know,” Lila replied, taking out a Yakult drink and downing it quickly. Grace shivered at the sight.

“I could never have Yakult like you do,” she said, wincing. “It’s just… way out of my comfort zone.”

“Luckily I’m not feeding it to you,” Lila replied in jest, smiling. Grace mock-rolled her eyes but returned Lila’s smile all the same. Elise’s expression suddenly lit up, and she pulled both Lila and Grace closer to her by their shirt sleeves.

“Should we pre-empt their lunch spot?” Elise queried in a low murmur.

“We could,” Lila replied, glancing at where Piper’s locker was. No one was there just yet.

“Let’s,” nodded Grace. “Besides, it would look less suspicious if we keep showing up after they do.”

The trio made their way to the Home Ec building and found a number of students already lazing about on the grass and under the roof. As before, no one seemed to care about their arrival, which Lila was thankful for.

Lila, Grace and Elise settled in towards the edge of the grassy area under the shade of a large paperbark tree. This spot provided an excellent vantage point to be able to see students coming to sit via the direction of the Grade Eleven locker room. The trio engaged in small talk as they ate, checking the path leading to the Home Ec area every so often. After a few minutes, Asher and Isaac arrived, heading straight towards the same spot they were sat in at morning tea. Asher’s face looked sullen as Isaac nattered on about something or other, and Lila felt an almost overwhelming urge to ask him what was on his mind. She instead stayed put, tossing a couple of shrimp crackers into her mouth to prevent herself from talking.

Neither Asher nor Isaac’s heads even turned in the direction of Lila, Grace and Elise which Lila was secretly grateful for. Whilst Asher would surely keep ignoring Lila’s presence for the moment, Isaac himself would probably jog over to greet them, given his friendly disposition this term thus far. They quickly disappeared from Lila’s sight, having crossed the threshold to the roofed area.

Lila shoved her emptied shrimp cracker packet back into her lunchbox and was about to choose what to eat next when she felt an urgent nudge from Elise.

“They’re here,” Elise hissed. Lila moved her head to hide behind Grace, trying to be as unnoticeable as possible. Piper and her friends ambled up the path, laughing amongst themselves. Piper suddenly stopped dead in her tracks as she seemingly caught sight of Lila, Grace and Elise. They all ducked simultaneously as if they were playing hide-and-seek. ‘Well, now we look more suspicious…’ Lila thought to herself with a sigh, looking back up at Piper. A strange expression crossed Piper’s face for a brief second, but she looked back at her friends, joining in their banter. The hairs on the back of Lila’s neck stood up as she continued to observe Piper’s group eventually sit down and crack into their food.

“What the hell was up with that expression?” Elise asked quietly, looking between Grace and Lila with wide eyes.

“I don’t know,” Lila replied just as quietly.

“I’ve got Art with her next,” Grace said, opening a small snack popcorn bag. “I hope she doesn’t try to stab me or something.”

“I highly doubt she’s dangerous,” laughed Elise.

“I wouldn’t if I were you,” Grace countered through a mouthful of popcorn.

“Something about her is definitely spooky,” Lila murmured. Grace nodded emphatically and Elise sighed.

“I’ll give you that,” Elise admitted, jabbing a straw through her juice box.

The rest of lunch passed by without much consequence, though Lila occasionally noticed Piper’s piercing gaze rest on her. About ten minutes before lunch ended, Lila, Grace and Elise wandered back to their lockers to get ready for their afternoon classes. Design and Biology were next on Lila’s agenda, neither of which she shared with Piper.

By the time Lila trudged to Biology after Design was over, most of her classmates were already seated inside. A hush fell over the students as Lila opened the door and warily made her way to her usual seat. Cecelia and Lucas were already seated, looking distinctly glum.

“Hey,” Cecelia said softly once Lila sat down and pulled out her notebook and pencil case.

“Hi,” Lila replied, slightly unnerved by how down Cecelia and Lucas seemed. The noise in the Biology Lab gradually rose again as the class waited for Mr Johnson to arrive.

“Why do you guys look so sad?” Lila asked as she flipped to a blank page in her notebook.

“It’s absolutely awful,” Cecelia whispered. “Everyone was just talking about you before you came in.”

“Someone said there’s pictures, proving…” Lucas trailed off, swallowing hard.

“Well, I’m not doing anything with Asher,” Lila said firmly.

“We know,” Cecelia replied. “I’ve tried telling people, but they say you’re lying to me so you can keep up a good image.”

“I’m not lying,” Lila said hotly, her temper rising in her throat.

“We know,” Lucas cut in, holding a hand up in surrender. “Have you done anything about Piper yet?”

“Nope,” Lila sighed, popping the ‘p’ particularly hard.

“Do you want a hand with anything?” Lucas asked.

“I… should be fine for now,” Lila said, clicking the tip of her pen. “I do have a plan.”

“What is it?” Cecelia asked, perking up immediately and leaning in.

“I can’t say,” Lila said with a grimace, looking down at the table.

“Aw,” Cecelia whined, pouting.

“Cecelia, let her do her thing,” Lucas warned, nudging her.

“Fiiiiine,” Cecelia drawled. “But let me know what happens when you’ve finished your plan, okay?”

“Thanks, Lucas,” Lila said, giving him a soft smile. “I’ll let you guys know.”

Mr Johnson burst into the room, red-faced and puffing slightly.

“Sorry I’m late, class,” he wheezed, placing his computer bag and a stack of papers down on the desk. “I had something to attend to.”

He immediately dove into the agenda for today’s class, and Lila didn’t get a chance to speak to Cecelia or Lucas about anything non-work related for the rest of the lesson.

Once Mr Johnson released them, Lila bid Cecelia and Lucas goodbye and beelined to the locker room, hoping to get there early enough to see Piper go to her locker. There weren’t many students just yet, so Lila slowly packed her materials into her bag. Due to the fact that she’d handed in some of her assessments early, she didn’t actually need to pack much. Normally, this would be a cause for celebration, but there was only so much standing around she could do at her locker before she looked like she’d lost her marbles.

After what felt like an age passed, Lila spied Piper unlocking her locker, pressing up against it oddly yet again. What was she trying to hide? Piper looked around as if checking whether the coast was clear before she pulled out her school bag. Piper then quickly shoved some books and things into it before slamming the door shut and walking off towards the bus station.

Lila carefully placed her hat on her head and followed at a reasonable distance, pretending to be engrossed in her phone again until they arrived at the bus station. They didn’t have to wait too long for the bus to pull to a stop before them.

Piper climbed onto the bus and sat in her usual seat at the back, and Lila took her own usual seat in the front. Flashes of trees and shrubbery flew past Lila’s window as the bus went deeper into the suburbs. All was fairly standard – routine, even. Even the harsh braking of the bus lurching the students forward around tight roundabouts was usual.

What was unusual, however, was that Piper suddenly exited at an unfamiliar stop, far earlier than Lila’s own stop. Lila gaped as Piper confidently strode off the bus with a few other students, tapping her travel card at the terminal by the bus driver. Lila pressed up against the window as she watched Piper follow the footpath into a side street. Heart thumping in her chest, Lila tossed up whether she should get off as well. The bus’s door clattered shut and the bus inched forward a couple of metres, the driver craning his neck to the right, indicator ticking away before Lila leapt up.

“I’m sorry! Sorry, sorry, I need to get off,” she cried, throwing her school and laptop bags across her shoulder. She hurried to the terminal as the bus driver shook his head.

“Kids,” she heard him grumble as the door opened again.

“Thank you!” Lila shouted, almost tumbling off the steps onto the footpath. The door snapped shut behind her, and the bus sped off, cutting across a grey Mazda, which honked angrily.

Lila couldn't see where Piper was now that she was a couple metres past the bus stop but started walking in the direction of the side street Piper had gone down regardless. Hopefully, she hadn’t gotten too far.

‘Where is she going?’ Lila wondered. Lila passed several other Forestglade College students who were shuffling towards various houses. The houses lining the street Lila was traipsing through looked rather large, but still relatively modest. Each of their front lawns were clearly meticulously cared for, owing to the light green colour the grass still held despite the March heat. Many of the feature garden beds had large flowering plants that stood proud, stretching towards the sky. Stone pathways wound their way up to a few heavy-set front doors, and Lila spied several garden statues hiding outside some houses.

Lila continued to follow the footpath at a brisk pace, keeping an eye out for Piper. It didn't take long to spot her in the distance, and Lila slowed down. Piper didn't look behind her, nor did she seem lost as she led the way down several more side streets, each one boasting incrementally more impressive houses. Eventually, Lila realised that the street she was on was familiar, though she normally travelled here from a different direction.

Confused, Lila slowed her pace even further as Piper passed a sign for the ‘Gilded Estate’. The houses here were easily the most impressive out of all the others they had passed. Frowning, Lila carried on, hiding behind various cars and hedges as Piper wove her way down the road. Did she have a secret boyfriend in this estate?

Gradually, Piper slowed her own pace and took to hiding behind various cars and hedges as well, which perplexed Lila even further.

‘If Piper has a boyfriend around here, surely she wouldn’t be hiding from him,’ she thought. Both girls continued to inch down the street before Piper suddenly stopped. Lila immediately ducked behind a car, her heart racing a mile a minute. Had Piper spotted her?

Lila couldn’t hear Piper coming closer to her and chanced a glance around the corner of the car. Piper was edging her way up the driveway of the house diagonally across from... Asher’s house? Lila's brow furrowed as she observed Piper seemingly take coverage from foliage that lined the left side fence. She was unmistakably facing Asher's house, looking intently at it.

Lila stopped a gasp from escaping her lips and pressed her back up against the car. Should she move closer? What should she do? Should she message Asher, telling him that some girl from school was staring at his house?

Lila carefully took another look at where Piper was standing now. She didn't seem to want to go any closer to Asher’s house, squatting behind a particularly dense hedge. Piper’s face was turned upward, still staring at it. As Lila watched, Piper pulled out her phone and held it above her head. While Lila couldn’t see for certain from this angle, she was sure that Piper was either taking pictures of Asher’s house or zooming in on the camera.

From Lila’s mental map of Asher’s house, it seemed as though Piper might be looking towards Asher’s wing. Did his bedroom look out this way? Lila wasn’t too sure as she hadn’t actually been inside his bedroom, but it was a distinct possibility.

As Lila remained behind the car, it felt as though cold, invisible fingers ran along the back of her spine, sweat dripping from her brow. Her breathing was choppy as she tried to think of what the best course of action would be for the moment. Biting her lip, Lila carefully took her phone out of her pocket with trembling hands and quietly took a photo of Piper in the hedge. She took another photo, this time landscape, capturing both Piper and Asher’s house in the shot.

‘For now, I should get back on the bus…’ Lila thought to herself, slipping away from her hiding spot and back down the street, checking every so often that Piper wasn’t following behind. Her whole body was tense, anxiety tingling through her muscles, though she reached the bus stop without a fuss. She was somewhat surprised that she found it so easily, and waited a few minutes for the next school bus to arrive, contemplating Piper’s motives deeply.

‘Is Piper trying to sabotage Asher?’ Lila thought, narrowing her eyes at her shoes, a finger to her chin. She recalled what Cecelia had said about Piper’s grades suddenly increasing. Was she trying her shot at being the Dux this year? Was she trying to beat Asher down so that he’d mess up his assignments and exams?

The air brakes of the school bus pulled Lila’s attention away from her thoughts. She watched more students from Forestglade College descend from the bus and boarded, much to the surprise of the bus driver. She tapped her travel card on the terminal and found an empty seat, casting a quick look at the remaining students.

To her surprise, Daniel was sitting on this bus towards the back. Their eyes met and he raised an eyebrow, his arms folded. Lila shook her head and turned back towards the front of the bus, which rolled away from the stop unceremoniously. She opened her phone’s Gallery and zoomed in on the pictures she’d taken of Piper outside Asher’s house, a knot forming in her stomach.

Exhaustion suddenly washed over Lila, and she put her phone back in her pocket, rubbing her forehead. She didn’t have enough capacity in her brain to try and explain what she saw. She couldn’t wait to crawl into bed.