Night School

‘It was dark. I could just … hear screaming, and the smoke was really bad. I think the door was locked or something, because suddenly there was a crashing sound and then there was fresh air, but that made the fire worse. Then people started putting the fire out with water and fire extinguishers, and people could get out, and then you walked in.’


Jo sighed and took another bite of her sandwich, but Allie could see she was now forcing herself to eat.

‘Have you seen Gabe since?’

Jo shook her head and a tear traced down her cheek. ‘I’m trying not to be stupid. Eloise says everyone’s fine, so he’s fine. He just … left me there. In a fire.’

She hid her face in her hands, and Allie could tell that she was crying.

‘Oh babe.’ Allie reached out to squeeze her arm and tried to think of something to say. ‘He made sure you were safe first, right? That was the very first thing he did. And, you know what? He has faith that you’re tough, and you can take care of yourself. And that’s kind of cool.’

Jo nodded, although she was clearly still unconvinced, then she closed her eyes and leaned on her elbow. ‘I’m so tired.’

Allie scooted her chair closer and pulled Jo’s head onto her shoulder. ‘Me too.’

In a few moments, they were both asleep, their arms wrapped around each other.

*

The sound of movement woke them a short while later. The Night School group had returned.

Gabe was the first one through the door. The second she saw him, Jo flew across the room and flung herself into his arms. They disappeared out the door talking in whispers.

Sylvain wasn’t far behind Gabe. Allie, who felt that she hadn’t had time yet to process what had happened between them last night, wasn’t ready to see him yet. She slid down low in her seat and stared into her empty teacup and hoped he wouldn’t notice her.

She hadn’t had a second to think about what had happened between them last night. And how she’d got so drunk so fast.

As she thought about last night, she ran her fingers absently across the lump on the back of her head. It was smaller now, but it still hurt.

When Carter and Lucas walked through the door a few minutes later she felt a surge of relief. They both looked tired and filthy – dirt smeared their faces and their hair matted with sweat.

She was still keeping her head down, so Carter didn’t notice her as he filled his plate and grabbed a coffee. But Lucas saw her immediately.

‘Any word about Lisa?’ he asked.

She shook her head. ‘Nothing yet.’

His lips tightened. ‘I feel so awful about … I just wish I’d been with her.’

Seeing how worn out and defeated he looked, Allie hugged him. ‘Isabelle says she’s going to be OK, and I believe her.’ He nodded against her shoulder. ‘I think you should go and crash, Lucas. You look awful.’

He managed a smile. ‘Thanks Allie. You sound like Carter – he was just telling me the same thing.’

As Lucas walked off, Allie looked around for Carter. He was sitting alone at one of the furthest tables – with his legs sprawled out. He was eating with mechanical thoroughness; his eyes were fixed on his plate as if he really didn’t want to see anything else.

She waited until he’d eaten before walking over to him. Weariness made his face so vulnerable that her breath caught – he looked like a little boy. But the guarded look returned almost immediately. Pulling out a chair, she didn’t wait for him to invite her to join him.

‘Hey,’ she said.

‘Hey back.’ His voice was distant.

She studied his face. ‘Are you OK?’

‘I’m good.’ He looked up at her. ‘You OK?’

She shrugged. ‘I’m alive.’

‘I heard about Ruth …’

She held up her hand reflexively. ‘I don’t want to talk about that.’

‘Sorry,’ he said.

‘It’s not your fault.’ She willed dark images of Ruth’s body out of her mind. ‘I just … can’t talk about it right now. I’m not ready.’

‘OK.’ He sipped his coffee.

Silence fell between them.

She waited three breaths.

‘Carter?’

‘What?’

‘Have you seen Phil? Is he OK?’

He shook his head. ‘Not OK. He’s devastated. He blames himself for not being with her when it happened, the poor bastard. He’s going home for a while.’

Allie absorbed this information, before speaking again. ‘About last night …’

‘Allie …’ He shot her a warning look, but she ignored him.

‘Was I drunk? Or, I don’t know … drugged? I mean, I’ve been drunk before, and I know how you get drunk, obviously. But I just had three glasses. And I was … Well, I don’t really know what I was.’

‘I don’t know what you were either, Allie.’

His tone was accusing, and she leaned away from him, stung. ‘Hey. That’s not fair.’

‘You want to know what I think?’ His dark eyes flashed with repressed anger. ‘I think you drank too much and you trusted Sylvain. I tried to warn you.’