Night School: Legacy

When she sighed, her breath puffed out in a visible irritated cloud. But she didn’t want to be a wimp.

‘I’m not saying we shouldn’t do it at all.’ She swung her racquet awkwardly.

As they hooted at her change of tone, Rachel put a loyal arm across her shoulders.

‘It is cold. But that makes it even better,’ she said. ‘Wait and see.’ As she turned to grab some netting though, she seemed to remember something. ‘Oh, one thing. I forgot to tell you that—’

‘Well, are we playing or just standing around?’ Katie Gilmore’s crystalline voice preceded her across the frozen grass. Her long red hair was pulled up in a smooth ponytail, and she wore a ski-style headband that covered her ears.

With betrayal in her eyes, Allie turned to Rachel. ‘You must be joking.’

‘She invited herself.’ Wincing apologetically, Rachel hurried off with her equipment as Allie stared after her.

‘Oh, Allie. You’re not playing too, are you?’ Katie eyed her with mild disdain. ‘Where did you learn to play tennis? Do they even play tennis in Brixton?’

‘Oh piss off, Katie.’ Allie turned to follow Rachel across the lawn, but Katie stuck right on her heels.

‘No need to be vile, although vile does seem to be your speciality.’

Allie glanced at her. Her ponytail was bouncing, the cold had brought colour to her cheeks and she looked quite cheerful.

She loves this.

‘Why are you following me, Katie? Why aren’t you off eating brains with your friends?’

Katie’s perfect lips curved up. ‘Oh, Allie. You’re so adorable. You know, I heard a rumour – probably a lie – that you’re in Night School now. It isn’t true, is it?’

‘I admire your optimism.’ Allie’s reply was as icy as the weather. ‘But if you think for one second I’m going to discuss this with you—’

‘It’s just,’ Katie cut her off, ‘I’m surprised you’d do it. I thought you hated it after what happened last year.’

She sounded almost reasonable – maybe even genuinely curious – and Allie turned to look at her in surprise. ‘I have my reasons,’ she said slowly. ‘Whatever I’ve done, whether I’m in or I’m not in, I did it because I thought it was the right thing to do.’

She could tell from Katie’s face that she knew perfectly well she was in Night School. The redhead arched one eyebrow as if to say she didn’t think it was the right thing to do, but she said nothing more. Allie glanced around – nobody was paying any attention to them and now she was curious.

‘Why didn’t you ever join … you know what? Surely you’d qualify.’

‘Because I’m already rich enough and I don’t like getting dirty.’ Katie started walking again, her expression enigmatic. ‘Let’s go and play some tennis.’

It was a clear, starry night, and even colder than the night before. The wind had stilled, and the air felt frosty. Allie shivered – her thin jacket couldn’t handle these temperatures. The others were much more bundled up. Her parents hadn’t packed a scarf or gloves in her suitcase – maybe they thought the school would provide them.

As they gathered on a flat section of lawn at the edge of the trees, Sylvain walked up, a striped scarf tied jauntily around his throat. ‘Room for one more?’

‘Absolutely not,’ Lucas joked, tossing him a racquet. The French student caught it easily. It looked comfortable in his hand – Allie got the feeling he’d handled a lot of tennis racquets.

In fact, she was certain they all had. They seemed so completely at ease with the rules and equipment. She’d never have admitted it, but Katie was right about Allie’s lack of tennis background – she could only remember playing it as a child in the school gym on a rainy afternoon in PE class.

Others began to join them now that the net was being set up. Zoe showed up at Allie’s side, wearing fluffy white earmuffs and matching gloves. ‘Frozen night tennis. I am so in,’ she said without being invited.

‘I know somebody else who would love to play,’ Sylvain said. ‘I’ll be right back.’

Allie stood alone, watching as Lucas and Rachel strung a net between poles and connected wires to power outlets she hadn’t noticed before. When everything was connected, Lucas flipped a switch.

On the other side of what was now a tennis court Zoe whooped and waved her racquet in the air. ‘We have lights!’

One hand over her mouth, Allie turned around in a circle to take it in. Each thread of the net was strung with tiny fairy lights. It looked like a dew-covered spider-web caught in dawn sunlight. Around the court, all the trees were similarly wrapped in hidden webs of lights that now illuminated each branch with cool white light.

As vivid racquet-shaped lights appeared around her, Allie turned hers over and realised there was a switch at the end of the handle that caused them to light up. Each was a different colour. Zoe’s was green, Jo’s purple, Lucas’ red.