Alice dreaded the thought of seeing Riley in class. It felt as though she were two different people living two separate lives that were now overlapping. On the one hand, she was Alice: the professional and adult Design Assistant. But now she was also Alice—the newest member of a teenage gang of criminals.
Was it going to be weird seeing him in the classroom?
'A better question is... is he going to make it weird?' Alice thought. Her eyes met his as soon as she entered the classroom. He gave a slight nod as either Lex or TK shouted, "Yo!" She still couldn't tell them apart.
Alice gave them an awkward wave as she passed through the classroom, feeling like every pair of eyes was upon her. Luckily, she had some cleaning to do in the back, as well as folders filled with protocols to read through.
It was dull work, but at least it was easy.
"I assure you,
"Time to see what you're made of Miss Alice." Riley turned back to her, flashing an insane grin. "Wh—what?" Alice stammered, running after him. It was much easier to run in her sneakers, but it was still hard to keep up with the much taller boys. 'Like a bloody herd of giraffe,'she thought, panting as she finally caught up. "What do you mean? Where are we going?" she asked. "One of the lads we beat up yesterday reckons he's getting his brothers to deck us," Riley revealed, eyes flashing with crazed excitement. "I'm going to enjoying seeing the look on his face when I destroy his older brothers." Alice's eyes widened as she nodded. The guy seemed genuinely buzzed about the idea of not only fighting but beating someone to a bloody pulp. 'I really have to make sure this psycho stays away from Adam,'she though
Ste turned the corner of Eastwell Crescent. It meant taking the longer route home but also meant avoiding the walk past Adam's house. Even though Adam had forgiven him, he didn't like the way Mike eyeballed him every time he caught sight of him. That guy gave him the creeps, always had.He took a left down the alley and walked straight into Gary."Sorry," Gary cried, throwing his giant arms up as a reflex. He dropped them as he saw who he was talking to. "Oh. It's you."Ste thought he might have something more to say to him than that, but Gary was a man of few words. He turned and carried on his way without so much as a dirty look."Wait," Ste said, chasing after him. "H—how have things been since—""Since you tried to kill Adam?" Gary finished."I didn't want Adam to get hurt. I swear, man. I just... I dunno..."A
As Ste walked home, he couldn't stop thinking about Felix. He'd pushed his memories of Felix so far down in his subconscious they hadn't surfaced in years. Now, floating atop the murky depths of mind like a bloated corpse, he was forced to confront them.As he'd spent a lot of time watching Jamie during school, he remembered Felix and Jamie had crossed paths a few times. He recalled how jealous he'd been, seeing the pair together.'Maybe Jamie knows something about Felix's motives,'Ste thought. In his heart, he knew this was a sad and desperate excuse to engage with the boy who'd crushed his world. Still, if it helped Adam in any way, it was worth it.He found himself standing outside the front of Jamie's house but couldn't make himself ring the doorbell. His hand quivered as he raised it."Ste?" Alice said. She put down the newspaper recycling bin and walked down the side
As they gathered outside Adam's house, Alice prayed that Mike would take Riley up on his offer. Whatever was written inside the note he'd left on their table three days ago had to be better than the alternative. "Riley, can I ask you something?" Alice said, taking his arm and pulling him to one side. It was a diversionary and delaying tactic, but there was something she genuinely needed to know. Something that had been gnawing at her. "How did you about Adam threatening to gang-rape me?" "A little birdy told me," Riley said, tapping his nose with his finger. When Alice stared blankly, not happy with this level of explanation, he added, "Felix. It was Felix who told me about that. He pretty much knows everything. The guy's both a genius and a major snoop." 'Felix,' she thought. 'But did he get that information from my little brother?' The idea that her little brother mi
"Adam... don't go inside," Alice whispered.The look on her face and the tremble in her voice made him nervous, but he swallowed his fear. "It's my fucking house, Alice."She made a low-pitched whining sound as he barged past her."Don't look. Don't look," Mike cried. He was bent over, holding a bundle of towels.'Is that blood?'he thought, seeing the growing patches of red seeping through the fabric. The wall and mirror also featured a streak of red drips, as well as the new cushion. He remembered standing in the store with Zoe as she'd helped him pick out new furnishings. She'd insisted the mustard yellow cushion was stylish despite it being so damn ugly and bought it for him with a shit-eating grin on her face. Now it sat plastered in blood.He felt hypnotized as Mike lifted the bundle and a brown and furry leg fell out from beneath the folds.
"Oh, you look different today," Hannah said, frowning as Alice arrived to help set up the lesson. They were doing crafting since there was little else to do, and the materials had to split between the tables to stop the kids from wondering. Not that it would work. Half the school was already at home isolating, including most of the teachers."I wanted a more casual look," Alice said. Instead of straightening her hair and putting on a dress and heels, she'd gone the opposite way. A glow-down, some might call it. With her hair in a messy bun, flat shoes, and an old pair of her mother's work trousers she would draw less attention."Well, you look pretty either way," Hannah said, smiling. Alice got the feeling Hannah might be a lesbian but didn't feel she was hitting on her. She was simply being sweet."Thank you." Alice blushed, tucking a stray hair behind her ear."Do you mind picking up some more card
After internet stalking Felix for hours and coming up with very little, Jamie decided to bite the bullet and send him a message saying hello. He didn't expect a reply at all, let alone an immediate one. He was shocked when Felix hit him up after only a couple of minutes."Remember all those fun times in the showers?" Felix replied with a winking emoji. "Did you miss those days?""Not particularly," Jamie replied. He had to be very careful about how he spoke to this guy. Being his true self wasn't an option if he wanted to gather any information on Felix. He'd have to pick a persona. "Your name came up in conversation and I wondered what you were doing these days.""I’m doing 6th form at Rowshill School," he replied curtly. "Will that be all?"Jamie's teeth ground together as his left hand curled into a fist so tight he had to type one-handed.'You arrogant prick,'
When Alice saw Riley and the others waiting at the gate, she panicked and almost turned back. Unfortunately, he'd already spotted her."I have something really important I need to do today," she said, pressing her palms together."More important than me?" Riley asked."Well... yes," Alice admitted with an apologetic wince. "Please may I be excused?"When his only response was to stare blankly at her, she bent her knees and bowed her head. "Pleeeease, please, please?"She heard Riley tut and sigh. "Fine. Whatever. It's not like you're even useful.""Wow," Felix commented. "You're so soft on her. Whatever will people say?"There was a definite shift in the mood as a dank quiet fell over the group—you could almost cut the tension with a blade.It was Riley who broke the awkward silence with a yawn that seemed to re