Free Falling (41 page)

“Hi. How are you?” she chirped, turning in her seat and
beaming at me.

My mouth popped open, but nothing came out. I flicked my
eyes to the front of the classroom, seeing that the teacher hadn’t arrived yet.
“Um… I’m fine thanks,” I muttered awkwardly, picking up my notebook and
thumbing through the pages just for a distraction. The way she was looking at
me so intently made me shift in my seat self-consciously.

She propped her chin on her hand and leant in closer to me,
smiling as if we’d been best friends all our lives and were swapping intimate
secrets. “So, what was Zach Anderson arrested for on Thursday? Neither of you
were in on Friday. Everyone was going crazy. Was he arrested for Sandy’s
murder? Did he get charged? Is he in jail right now?” she asked, looking at me
with wide, excited eyes.

I narrowed my eyes angrily.
So that’s what she’s sitting
there for? Gossip!
“Look, just go away. Zach didn’t do anything wrong so
just stop all this gossipy talk,” I scolded.

She seemed a little taken aback by my outburst as she pushed
her glasses up her nose. “Well everyone was only wondering because of what
happened with him and Sandy on Wednesday when you were fighting. That would explain
his reason for killing her. To, you know, keep her quiet,” she muttered,
nodding along with herself as she spoke.

I frowned, confused. “What do you mean by that?”

She sighed, rolling her eyes as if I was asking something
stupid. “Sandy said she knew stuff about him from his other school, stuff that
he wouldn’t want common knowledge. He killed her to keep his secrets safe.” Her
voice was so matter-of-fact, so preachy, that I stared at her in disbelief.

How can one person be so deluded?
What is wrong
with society today?
“Seriously? Zach didn’t kill Sandy! Jeez, you lot that
stand there gossiping are pathetic. Let the police do their jobs and leave
innocent people alone. Last Thursday morning people were looking at me like I’d
done it because of what I said to her. Just get your facts straight before you
go around accusing innocent people, you can ruin lives that way you know,” I
snapped. “And you can quote me on that if you want,” I added acidly. I
shouldered my bag, deliberately swinging it so that it bumped her as I stood
up. I grabbed the couple of books that I’d already gotten out and moved to a
spare desk that was off to the side. I kept my head held high, refusing to look
in her direction as I sat down and slammed my bag onto the table noisily.

I’m sick of this place and the rumour mill of immature,
bored people. I can’t wait to leave and go to college. Just three weeks and
then school is done.
That thought made me feel a little better as I sat there,
waiting for the teacher to arrive, staring at the blackboard, ignoring people
that were obviously trying to catch my attention and ask me if I knew what was
going on.

I willed the end of the day to come quickly. If my day was
already this bad, I dreaded to think what Zach’s would be like. People would be
staring and gossiping about him all day no doubt. I silently wished I hadn’t
skipped school on Friday. If I had come to school then I could have quashed the
rumours and told people that Zach was innocent. That news would have sunken in
over the weekend and then he wouldn’t be facing this kind of thing today. I
made a mental note to find him at lunchtime and show my support.

By the time lunch came around I was in the worst mood I had
ever been in. Everything made me angry, even the smallest thing like breaking
the lead on my pencil made me growl in frustration. It was all because everyone
was asking me about Zach. It seemed that everyone was eager to tear strips off
of him and assume things about him. It was so unfair that even my jaw was
hurting because I’d been grinding my teeth trying to keep calm.

I hadn’t seen Zach at all, so I didn’t know how he was
coping. I’d tried to call him during the break between classes, but he had
rejected my call. Luke met me outside my last morning class. His face fell as
he looked at me; obviously I wasn’t hiding my angry expression very well. “You
okay? Has something happened?” he asked, reaching for my hand.

I shook my head, blowing out a big breath, willing myself to
calm down. “I’m fine. Have you seen Zach?” I asked, looking down the hallway in
the hopes that I’d catch a glimpse of him.

Luke made a distasteful scoffing noise in the back of his
throat and shook his head. “I don’t have any classes with him,” he muttered,
somewhat angrily.

I squeezed his hand reassuringly. I didn’t want him feeling
jealous of Zach all the time. There was nothing between us other than
friendship; there was no need for him to worry about that. I still loved Luke
dearly, everyday I was starting to realise that more and more. “I know I said
I’d eat with you but I really need to find him and make sure he’s okay.” I
willed him with my eyes to understand and not somehow think that I was choosing
Zach over him. It wasn’t like that at all.

He clicked his tongue and nodded. “Figured you’d say that.
Everyone’s been talking about him all morning. I guessed you’d be worried about
how he’s coping,” he muttered. “You’re too nice for your own good sometimes,”
he added.

I smiled, stepping closer to him and letting my side brush
against his. “Do you think you could give me a ride home tonight? Alex is
training, he was going to drive me home first, but I’d rather you do it,” I
asked, knowing that would put him in a better mood. I wasn’t just playing him;
I was genuinely planning on asking him for a ride before I cancelled our lunch
plans.

He grinned at me then, nodding eagerly. “Sure! Is your dad
home or is he back to work?”

“He’s working,” I confirmed.

Luke’s eyes lit up at that. “Maybe I should stay at yours
for a little while tonight then, just so you’re not in the house on your own,”
he suggested, grinning slyly.

I chuckled and nodded. “I’d like that.” Now I definitely
couldn’t wait for the end of the day to get here. Another reason to look
forward to the end of the school day!

“I’ll help you find, Zach,” Luke suggested, stepping to the
side so I could start walking.

“I know where he’ll be.”
At least, I think I do anyway.
“I just want to grab a sandwich first,” I added, leading us towards the
lunchroom.

After buying a sandwich for both me and Zach, Luke followed
me out to the school field. Just as I thought he would be, Zach was running
laps. Not just jogging this time though, he seemed to sprint for a hundred
yards then jog again. He obviously had a lot of stress and issues to run away
today. Maybe his ADHD was playing up because of everything that was going on
this morning.

I stepped onto the field and saw Zach’s head turn in my
direction. He didn’t stop though, just carried on right past me with his little
jogging/sprinting task. I turned back to Luke and smiled sweetly. “Thanks for
making sure I got here okay. I’ll be fine now. I’ll meet you at the end of
school.”

He frowned, looking up at Zach again for a few seconds
before he nodded and walked off. I sat down on the grass, sighing contentedly
as I straightened my legs, finally taking the weight off of my ankle. It felt
as though it was swollen again because I’d been walking too much on it.

When Zach didn’t stop next to me a second time I cleared my
throat dramatically. “Are you ignoring me? Kinda rude don’t you think?” I
called to his back as he streaked past. He slowed down, looking at me over his
shoulder, his brows furrowed. I smiled and held up the sandwich that I’d bought
for him. “You know you want to sit with me really,” I called teasingly.

A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth as he slowed down
again before coming to a stop, turning and taking lazy steps towards me, his
breathing ragged. A bead of seat ran down the side of his face and he swiped it
away quickly as he got to me, looking down at me with confused, inquisitive
eyes. I tilted my head up, squinting because the sun was just over his shoulder
and was shining in my eyes.

“Why do you never take the hint and leave me alone?
Seriously, you shouldn’t talk to me, especially not with everyone looking at me
like I’m the devil incarnate,” he huffed.

I chuckled and patted the grass beside me. “Maybe I’m not
too good at taking hints. Or maybe I know you’re not the devil incarnate and
want to be your friend,” I suggested.

He just stared at me for a few seconds, seeming unsure and
confused. I guessed then that he wasn’t used to having friends because he
didn’t seem to understand that I just wanted to hang out with him for no other
reason than to see if he was alright. Finally, he sat down next to me.

I held out the sandwich carton and bumped his shoulder with
mine. “Stressed?” I asked.

He snorted and nodded, taking the packet and tearing it
open. “Hard day, yeah,” he confirmed, taking a humongous bite of his food. “How
about you?” he asked. “How’s the ankle now?”

I wriggled it a little, testing it, and winced. “Sore. It’s
alright though,” I answered. “Want to talk about your morning?”

He blew out a big breath and shook his head, his shoulders
slumped in defeat. “I’ll deal with it in my own way,” he muttered, looking out
across the school field again as he took another bite.

“By running?” I asked. He nodded in confirmation, and we
fell into silence. I didn’t really know what to say, he obviously didn’t want
to talk about it, and I didn’t want to make it worse by forcing the issue. I
was hoping that just by being here I was showing support. I hoped he took it
that way at least.

After we’d finished eating in silence, he pulled one leg up,
leaning over and stretching out his thigh and back. “I got a show this weekend,”
he said suddenly.

A show?
“Yeah? A freerunning show?”

He grinned then, his body seeming to loosen and be more like
the free and easy Zach that I was fast becoming used to. “Well it’s hardly
going to be a strip show, is it?” he teased.

I giggled, chewing on my lip as I hit him on the arm. “Shut
up,” I scolded. “So am I invited?”

“Er…” He seemed a little shocked by my question. “If you
want to go, sure, I guess.”

I grinned excitedly, clasping my hands together as I nodded
eagerly. “Heck yeah I want to! Where is it? Do I need to buy tickets?” I asked,
already planning to ask Charlotte and Beth to come with me so that I wasn’t
alone. I figured that my dad would insist that Alex come along too, but I
didn’t mind that actually.

Zach grinned, his whole face lighting up as if he hadn’t
expected me to want to watch him perform. “It’s at the fairground. You know
they sometimes book acts to perform at the back arena, well this Saturday
afternoon that’s me and my team,” he boasted proudly.

The fairground, this sounded even better by the second! I
knew the place he was talking about too. They often booked live bands or
demonstrations and stuff to entertain the crowds. If it was a fairground then I
could probably get a group of people to go and watch Zach too. Everyone loved
to go there and we hadn’t been for ages.

“I’m definitely coming!” I chirped excitedly. “I can’t wait
to see you actually perform properly.”

Zach grinned, pulling up a few strands of grass and
launching into a spiel about their routine and what they were trying to include
in it. When the bell rang half an hour later his face fell. The easy smile that
was there seconds before, was now gone, replaced by a resigned frown.

I gripped his knee, squeezing gently. “Just ignore everyone
and what they’re saying. I know you didn’t do anything wrong, and they’ll all
feel stupid when they catch the murderer and have to apologise for doubting
you. Rise above it. Don’t give them a reaction, because that’s what they’re
looking for,” I advised, looking at him sympathetically.

He sighed and nodded, pushing himself up and then holding
down both hands to help me up. “You’re full of this kind of encouraging crap,
huh? Don’t you ever think that it would just be easier for you to ignore me and
not draw attention to yourself like this?” he asked curiously.

I shrugged, placing my hands in his. “Sure. But then I’d
miss your sparkling wit and dumbass teasing comments,” I joked, laughing and
letting him pull me to my feet. He burst out laughing, shaking his head in
amusement.

Chapter 26

By the time the day of the fair came around, I was more than
excited to see Zach perform. I hadn’t seen him do his thing since the last time
I went to watch him with his group. A whole load of us were going to the fair,
watching his performance, and then spending a little time on the rides before I
was heading back to Charlotte’s place for sleepover. It was going to be a
fantastic day, and made even better because of the fact that this was the first
time I had been allowed out of the house without having either my dad or
brother escort me. Though, of course, I was with Luke, so he was in sole charge
of protecting me and delivering me to Charlotte’s place in one piece. I
actually liked the fact that my dad had started trusting Luke again.

In the last week Luke and I had grown closer again. Several
times over the last few days I was close to just throwing my arms around him
and letting everything else disappear. The tension between us had been hotting
up everyday. I wasn’t used to hanging around with him and not kissing him and
cuddling him. I missed him so much that it hurt.

We’d been at the fair for almost two hours already, just
wandering around and going on the odd ride. Luke had already won me a stuffed
crocodile from one of the stalls and a cheap plastic beaded necklace that he
insisted that I wear because he’d tried so hard to win it for me. When the
loudspeaker announced that the traceur spectacular would be starting in ten
minutes, Beth looped her arm through mine. “Let’s go get a spot near the
front,” she suggested, guiding us towards the back of the fairground where they
said it would take place.