work than I was used to. You could see why Maybrick High was so far up the league tables.
In the steady rush towards the main road, I found myself a couple of metres away from Emma Greenhill. She was chattering away with a girl from my class.
I wanted to talk to her, if only to help clarify some of my own thoughts. Speeding up a little, I managed to get ahead of them. Emma’s friend said her goodbyes and walked over to a waiting car. Timing it just right, I accidentally-on-purpose nearly collided with Emma’s school bag.
“Hello, Sam Hunter,” she said cheerily, beaming at me. “How are you?”
“I’m, er, I’m fine,” I said, desperately trying tothink of something to say. “I met your mum earlier.”
“Did you? Oh, yes, she said she might go over and say hello. Isn’t that weird, you’re our new neighbours! I didn’t know until this morning. Shall we walk home together?”
“Sure.”
My conversation had dried up. Luckily, Emma was keen to have a moan about her physics class. I kept glancing at her profile as she spoke. How many glances would add up to a stare?
“Do you mind if I ask you something?” I said, once her physics class had been firmly put in its place.
“Uh-oh!” she giggled.
“Do you have a dog?”
“A dog?” she said. “No. Why?”
“I just wondered.”
“I’ve never wanted pets, to be honest,” she said. “My parents won’t have dogs in the house, anyway. Did you know they carry lots of diseases? People don’t generally know that. Mum told me she’s had a couple of patients who died from things they caught off their dog. Cats are bad, too.”
“No, I’ve never had a pet, either. We, er, never had room. Before.”
“Where have you moved here from?” she said. The warmth of her voice made me feel as if I was the only living soul in her world.
“Oh, miles away,” I said. “Near Birmingham. Er, can I ask you something else?”
“Uh-oh again.”
“This might sound like a funny question.”
“Like ‘what colour is a kilo of noise’? That’s a funny question.”
I laughed. “No, like ‘do you have an elderly relative staying in your house?’”
“An elderly relative?” she repeated, turning her blue-grey eyes on me. “What makes you ask that?”
“Oh, er, just something someone said.”
“My grandpop lives with us.”
“Nobody else? Your grandmother?”
It was her turn to laugh now. “My last grandmother died, er, thirty years ago. My oldest relative after Grandpop would be my Auntie Cass, and she lives in London. And she’s not old, as such. Of course, my mother’s way past forty, so she’s pretty old. But whatever you do, don’t say that to her, because she’ll sulk. Seriously. And Grandpop never likes to be reminded of his age either. Hah! Speak of the devil!”
She waved at a man standing out on Maybrick Road. He raised his walking stick to her.
Emma’s words made me feel… What? Confused? Intrigued? I wanted to believe the best of her, I really did. She was either a truly brilliant liar, or she really
didn’t
have any pets or elderly relatives. Which supported the idea of the face as a fear-fuelled illusion, but put the rest of the day’s thoughts and theories back to square one.
She had to be covering up about the dog, just like her mother. She just had to be. I suppose I was being pathetically naïve, but I simply couldn’t reconcile this funny, beautiful girl with today’s theories and discussions about the previous night.
It actually went through my mind that perhaps I should keep that appointment at her mother’s surgery after all. For a few moments, I genuinely wondered if I was in need of help and advice. That’s how quickly and easily the Emma Greenhill effect had entered my bloodstream.
Emma hurried forward and flung her arms around the man. “What are you doing here, Pops? Are you spying on me?”
“I was out for a walk, my love, when I saw allthese youngsters coming out of school. I thought I might as
In the steady rush towards the main road, I found myself a couple of metres away from Emma Greenhill. She was chattering away with a girl from my class.
I wanted to talk to her, if only to help clarify some of my own thoughts. Speeding up a little, I managed to get ahead of them. Emma’s friend said her goodbyes and walked over to a waiting car. Timing it just right, I accidentally-on-purpose nearly collided with Emma’s school bag.
“Hello, Sam Hunter,” she said cheerily, beaming at me. “How are you?”
“I’m, er, I’m fine,” I said, desperately trying tothink of something to say. “I met your mum earlier.”
“Did you? Oh, yes, she said she might go over and say hello. Isn’t that weird, you’re our new neighbours! I didn’t know until this morning. Shall we walk home together?”
“Sure.”
My conversation had dried up. Luckily, Emma was keen to have a moan about her physics class. I kept glancing at her profile as she spoke. How many glances would add up to a stare?
“Do you mind if I ask you something?” I said, once her physics class had been firmly put in its place.
“Uh-oh!” she giggled.
“Do you have a dog?”
“A dog?” she said. “No. Why?”
“I just wondered.”
“I’ve never wanted pets, to be honest,” she said. “My parents won’t have dogs in the house, anyway. Did you know they carry lots of diseases? People don’t generally know that. Mum told me she’s had a couple of patients who died from things they caught off their dog. Cats are bad, too.”
“No, I’ve never had a pet, either. We, er, never had room. Before.”
“Where have you moved here from?” she said. The warmth of her voice made me feel as if I was the only living soul in her world.
“Oh, miles away,” I said. “Near Birmingham. Er, can I ask you something else?”
“Uh-oh again.”
“This might sound like a funny question.”
“Like ‘what colour is a kilo of noise’? That’s a funny question.”
I laughed. “No, like ‘do you have an elderly relative staying in your house?’”
“An elderly relative?” she repeated, turning her blue-grey eyes on me. “What makes you ask that?”
“Oh, er, just something someone said.”
“My grandpop lives with us.”
“Nobody else? Your grandmother?”
It was her turn to laugh now. “My last grandmother died, er, thirty years ago. My oldest relative after Grandpop would be my Auntie Cass, and she lives in London. And she’s not old, as such. Of course, my mother’s way past forty, so she’s pretty old. But whatever you do, don’t say that to her, because she’ll sulk. Seriously. And Grandpop never likes to be reminded of his age either. Hah! Speak of the devil!”
She waved at a man standing out on Maybrick Road. He raised his walking stick to her.
Emma’s words made me feel… What? Confused? Intrigued? I wanted to believe the best of her, I really did. She was either a truly brilliant liar, or she really
didn’t
have any pets or elderly relatives. Which supported the idea of the face as a fear-fuelled illusion, but put the rest of the day’s thoughts and theories back to square one.
She had to be covering up about the dog, just like her mother. She just had to be. I suppose I was being pathetically naïve, but I simply couldn’t reconcile this funny, beautiful girl with today’s theories and discussions about the previous night.
It actually went through my mind that perhaps I should keep that appointment at her mother’s surgery after all. For a few moments, I genuinely wondered if I was in need of help and advice. That’s how quickly and easily the Emma Greenhill effect had entered my bloodstream.
Emma hurried forward and flung her arms around the man. “What are you doing here, Pops? Are you spying on me?”
“I was out for a walk, my love, when I saw allthese youngsters coming out of school. I thought I might as
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