Night School

Allie walked over to Carter and slipped her arm around his waist to help but he wrenched himself free.

‘I’m fine,’ he insisted roughly.

Flushing, Allie moved away from him.

‘If this is how you look when you’re fine, I’d hate to see you when you’re bad,’ she muttered.

He snorted derisively but walked alongside her, an arm’s length away.

‘What the hell was that all about, Carter?’ she asked, as soon as they were out of earshot of the others. ‘Why was everybody all Ninja all of a sudden? It was freaky.’

‘It was nothing,’ he said. ‘An accident. It happens.’

‘It happens?’ she asked, her voice disbelieving. ‘An accident in the woods in the pouring rain in which half the student population ends up bleeding to death … happens?’

The dark look he shot her was made even more murderous by the blood streaming down his face.

‘Has anybody ever mentioned you’ve got an exaggeration problem?’ he said.

‘No,’ Allie replied. ‘Anybody ever mention you’ve got a dickhead problem?’

After that, they didn’t speak.

As the rain pounded down on them, she cast a sideways glance at him from underneath lashes so covered in raindrops it was like looking through a waterfall. He was staring ahead, his jaw set.

When they reached the school steps, Isabelle stood at the top in a long white raincoat. The rain made a dull plastic sound as it pounded against the hood.

‘Carter. Allie. Are you OK? Carter, you look horrible.’

‘I’m fine,’ Carter insisted. ‘I just need a couple of stitches.’

Isabelle scrutinised him, then turned to Allie. ‘And you? Are you hurt?’

Allie shook her head and water poured onto her nose.

‘Good. Carter, get to the nursing station. Allie, would you come with me, please?’

Without waiting for a reply, she walked back inside briskly.

As Allie turned to follow her, Carter grabbed her elbow. She thought he looked like a victim in a horror film.

‘Come find me before curfew,’ he said. ‘I’ll be in the great hall.’ Then he sloshed into the school, leaving a trail of water in his wake.

Frowning, Allie’s eyes followed him down the hall.

‘As if,’ she muttered before hurrying after Isabelle.

They walked past the common room and then through a door so neatly hidden in the wood panelling that Allie had never noticed it before. Inside was a spacious, windowless office with a fireplace, its carved mantelpiece topped with unlighted candles. One wall was entirely covered in a tapestry – a knight with a sword, and a damsel by a white horse. Isabelle handed her a soft white towel, and Allie rubbed the water roughly out of her hair and then wrapped it around her shoulders, shivering. Now that she was inside she felt cold.

‘Please sit down.’ Isabelle gestured to two leather chairs across from her desk. She perched on the edge of the desk, watching her. Allie was conscious of the low timbre of classical music playing from hidden speakers.

‘You’re sure you’re OK?’ Isabelle asked. When Allie nodded she continued. ‘Good. I just want to talk to you for a minute, then I’m going to send you off to get some dry clothes. You’re not in any trouble, but I just need to know what happened tonight.’

Allie looked at her, puzzled. ‘I don’t …?’

‘I mean what were you and Jo doing out at the summerhouse? Tell me what happened from the beginning.’

Allie wrapped the towel more tightly around her shoulders and thought quickly. Was someone in trouble?

Am I in trouble?

‘We were just … looking for Gabe,’ she said carefully. ‘Jo wanted to surprise him by sneaking up on him but we couldn’t find him. We went to the summerhouse to get out of the rain, and then we saw the boys coming out of the woods.’

She felt uncomfortable lying to Isabelle but the whole thing felt wrong. When Ruth had come to get them, she’d looked frightened. She’d been white as a sheet. Allie’s instincts told her to cover for Ruth, even though she didn’t know her very well.

Ruth wasn’t supposed to tell us anything.

Isabelle watched her closely. ‘Then what happened?’

‘We knew right away that something was wrong, but nobody would tell us what happened.’ The last bit sounded self-pitying, but really, why was everybody being so secretive?

‘Is that everything?’ The headmistress gave no indication at all that she didn’t believe her, so Allie decided it was time to ask some questions of her own.

‘Do you know what happened?’ she asked. ‘Carter refuses to tell me and everybody else acts like I’ve done something really wrong.’

Isabelle leaned forward. ‘I’m sorry about that, Allie. They shouldn’t behave like that. You’re new, and there’s no way for you to know. I’m not quite clear yet as to what happened or how the boys got hurt, but I intend to find out.’