Night School

‘Lisa! Oh my God.’ Allie ran over to hug her. ‘When did you get back? How are you?’


‘Hi Allie. I got here a couple of hours ago.’ She smiled wanly. ‘My parents didn’t want me to miss my exams, and I was feeling better so …’

‘That sucks,’ Allie said. ‘Well, welcome back! It’s been all wrong without you. I’m glad you’re here for, like, five whole days.’

‘Thanks.’ Lisa looked around the room, clearly puzzled. ‘What’s going on? Nobody’s at our table. And Jo’s off over there with …’ She gestured at the corner of the room where Jo sat with Ismay and Katie.

Allie nodded. ‘It’s bad. Jo hates me now.’

‘Get out.’ Lisa looked at her doubtfully.

‘No, I’m serious. A lot of stuff happened while you were gone. The group is pretty much over for now. Everybody’s divided. I sit with Rachel Patel and Lucas most days if they’re around, and Carter.’

‘Why? What on earth happened?’

‘Oh God, it’s the longest story in the history of stupid,’ Allie sighed. ‘Just trust me: Jo hates me. But somehow I’m surviving.’

Lisa seemed lost. ‘I have no idea where to sit now,’ she said plaintively.

Allie’s lips curved into a wicked smile. ‘Well, you could sit with Jo and Katie Gilmore. Or you could sit with me and Lucas.’

‘Lead the way,’ Lisa said with a guilty giggle. They walked over to where Rachel and Lucas were already piling sandwiches onto their plates.

Over lunch they took turns filling Lisa in on all that had happened while she’d been home recovering. Allie tried to be fair in telling her side of things, but Lisa seemed to have no trouble believing the worst.

‘Oh, Jo …’ she said, shaking her head. ‘Not this again.’

Lucas sighed. ‘That’s just what I said. It all seems a bit too familiar.’

‘But blaming Allie, when we all know she does this stuff …’ Lisa said. ‘That’s so mean.’

‘Katie’s taking advantage of her,’ Rachel said. ‘She’s using her. And Jo must be pretty broken if she’s falling for it.’

When Carter appeared late, his lips lightly brushed Allie’s head before he slid into the seat next to her. Lisa’s eyes widened, but Allie was smiling at Carter and didn’t care that Lucas elbowed Lisa lightly in the ribs.

Aside from that, though, there were no sparks between Lisa and Lucas. In fact, at one point Allie noticed Lisa watching Lucas and Rachel with concern, and for the first time she realised how close they sat together and how companionable they seemed.

Maybe Rachel was thinking about forgiving him after all.

She didn’t like the idea of finding herself in the middle of a Rachel-Lucas-Lisa triangle but, at the same time, she wanted Rachel to have the guy who made her happy.

A worried frown briefly lined her brow.

Why does love always have to be such a mess?

At eleven that night, Allie raised her head from her books.

‘Sustenance,’ she muttered. ‘I must have sustenance.’

She was studying in the library with Carter, Lisa and Rachel, and had been since dinner ended. Library curfew had been extended to midnight for the week and even at this hour the place was packed.

‘I’m going to get something to drink,’ Allie said. ‘Any takers?’

‘I’m fine,’ Lisa said, barely looking up from her book.

Rachel said, ‘I don’t want to be pedantic about this, but we did just take a break an hour ago.’

‘Allie likes breaks more than she likes studying,’ Carter observed.

‘How is that not normal?’ Allie said, getting to her feet. ‘Fine. You stay here. I shall return when I’ve found food. And when you all faint from hunger later don’t think you can just feed on me.’

Emerging from the room bleary eyed, she headed straight for a table stocked with power bars, bowls of fruit and carafes of tea and coffee outside the library doors. The hallway was lined with students taking study breaks, stretching, sleeping and chatting before diving back into their books.

‘Coffee,’ she mumbled, stumbling over to the table.

As she poured her coffee into a white china cup with the Cimmeria insignia in blue, she surveyed the food with dismay. ‘Why are there no biscuits here?’ she asked nobody in particular. ‘And where is the chocolate? How am I supposed to work under these conditions?’

‘I will bring you chocolate.’

Allie jumped and spun around, barely saving her coffee. ‘Sylvain, bloody hell. You startled me.’

‘Désolé – I didn’t mean to frighten you.’

She wasn’t convinced.

As he poured himself a cup of coffee, Allie turned to leave. ‘Well, it’s been really wonderful talking with you …’

He took a quick step towards her. ‘Allie, wait. Please. I’d like to talk to you … really.’

‘Oh God, do we have to?’ Talking to Sylvain was the last thing she wanted right now.

‘No, of course not,’ he said, looking wounded. ‘But I’d appreciate it if you would give me just a few minutes of your time.’