Though perhaps not as hard as he’d originally thought, given that Andrew had argued vehemently with his parents about the very trip he was wishing wouldn’t end.
He hadn’t told Poppy or Fred about the argument; they’d only worry. But Andrew’s parents had been completely against him going on the trip – they didn’t even know he’d woken up at five in the morning and sneaked out of the house in order to go on said trip.
Well I suppose my parents have probably worked that out by now, Andrew thought, laughing a little despite himself.
Fred looked at him in surprise. The two of them were currently tackling the indoor climbing wall using only the blue hand and foot holds – the most difficult course on the wall.
“Did you just laugh, Andrew?”
“Maybe.”
“What’s so funny?”
“Nothing.”
“You’re a terrible liar.”
“That doesn’t mean I have to tell you why I was laughing.”
Fred paused as he considered this. “True.”
They completed the rest of the course in silence, dropping back down to the floor once they were done. Andrew had beaten him to the top; it had been precisely three months since Fred had last managed to best him. Andrew was proud of that. Though Poppy had gotten him into the club, Fred had been the one who had truly stuck with Andrew when it came to learning the ins and outs of climbing. That was because Poppy’s style of climbing was ultimately far too haphazard for Andrew, who preferred the rules and safety of Fred’s way.
He only wished both Fred and Poppy would get on well together. They were Andrew’s two closest friends; he didn’t understand why they disliked each other so much.
Poppy had tried to explain it to him, once, but that ultimately resulted in her saying that Fred ‘just fucking pissed her off’.
Andrew didn’t get it.
He avoided the spot on the floor where Poppy had fallen ten days prior. He could still see her accident in his head; the way her arm had sickeningly crunched as she collapsed on top of it; the way Poppy’s face was ashen and lifeless for a few, horrifying seconds; the way Andrew couldn’t even see what exactly was wrong from all the blood covering everything.
And yet Poppy was fine. Somehow, against all odds, she was okay. Andrew didn’t know how it was possible. In any other circumstance he’d have argued and reasoned through what happened until he understood it. But for this one, solitary case, he didn’t.
Poppy was alive, and that was all he cared about.
She was bickering at a table with the owner of the facility, Dorian Kapros. Though Poppy seemed to have actively avoided the man after her accident, over the past few days Andrew had noticed them spending more and more time together. He didn’t like it at all.
Neither did Nate or Casey. Andrew was usually pretty oblivious about what Poppy affectionately referred to as ‘non-PG social interactions’. For his benefit, of course. But Casey had made it very clear that she liked the look of Dorian Kapros, which confused Andrew because she also liked the look of Patrick, the nice man with the old boat whose surname he later found out was Jones. He didn’t have a Kelvin engine in his boat, it had turned out, but the fact he had a boat at all automatically made him a person Andrew liked.
The reason he was confused by this was that Andrew couldn’t fathom ever liking more than one person in a ‘non-PG’ way.
For him that person was, of course, Poppy, which was also why he knew Nate didn’t like Poppy talking with Dorian so much, because Nate liked Poppy too.
Nate was nice. He didn’t speak too loudly or too quickly to Andrew, and he and his best friend Rich played chess and other games with Andrew when he was being especially quiet at club socials. This was why he was okay with the fact Nate liked Poppy, and that the two of them were kind of dating.
But now it seemed like they weren’t anymore, though Nate clearly still liked Poppy a lot.
But Poppy was distant with everyone now. It was obvious, even to Andrew, though she spent more time talking to him than to anyone else by comparison since her fall. It wasn’t like her. Andrew thought it was because she fell, because she never fell, but now he was beginning to think that something else was going on.
He thought it might have to do with Dorian, since he was a new variable to factor in. Andrew didn’t understand if Poppy actually liked Dorian or not. It always seemed like she was arguing with him, and she never looked happy when she walked away from their conversations. Andrew hadn’t asked her about it because he didn’t want to find out that she actually did like Dorian and all of their arguing was just another social interaction he didn’t understand.
“Andrew? Hey, Forbes, get out of your harness before walking over to the social area!” Fred called out. Andrew was surprised; he’d totally forgotten about the harness. Feeling thoroughly embarrassed he shook himself out of it, before heading over to sit on the sofa nearest Poppy.
She glanced at him, smiling briefly before returning to her hushed, angry conversation with Dorian.
“You know what you’re saying?” Dorian asked her.
Poppy rolled her eyes. “Of course I do.”
“Yes, but do you actually? Your friends would have me believe you make most of your speeches up on the fly.”
Poppy flinched. “Maybe before. But not today.”
“Then go give your speech.”
Dorian grinned at Andrew when he turned and saw him, whilst Poppy stalked towards the large, glass wall with a face like thunder.
Then she shouted out for everyone to hear, “Come sit down, guys! I have some really exciting news for you all!”
Of course everyone rushed over to listen. It wasn’t just that Poppy had news; it was that she actually sounded like Poppy.
When everyone in the club had gathered to listen, Poppy began, “I know it’s been a bit weird the past few days. After Ross…left –”
“Good riddance!” Casey called out.
When everyone found out about how Ross had been stalking Casey and that both Poppy and Dorian had caught him in the act on separate occasions, causing Dorian to kick him out of the facility and have his friend Patrick take him back to the nearest police station, most of the group had been shocked.
When it transpired that Casey had been worried about it for a while, and that Rachelle and Poppy had been observing Ross’ behaviour on her behalf, the club became less shocked by the decision to kick Ross out. It was clearly for the best. Andrew couldn’t imagine being in Casey’s position, knowing that someone was creeping about her bedroom at night.
Andrew was glad he was gone.
“And I know I haven’t been myself since my fall,” Poppy continued, “but things are about to change for us! I’m sure all of you still can’t believe how great Dorian’s sports facility is.” She flashed the man a smile that actually looked genuine. Andrew didn’t like it. “And I know I speak for many of us when I say we definitely don’t deserve getting to use it.”
Several people laughed. This was the Poppy that Andrew knew and felt so strongly for. He smiled despite himself as Poppy spoke in her easy-going, enthusiastic voice. “But it turns out that maybe we deserve to use it, after all. Dorian is actually a scout looking for the best of the best adrenaline sports enthusiasts in the country.”
The air became abuzz with excitement. Even Andrew was interested, temporarily forgetting that he had decided he wasn’t allowed to like Dorian.
“That’s right, folks,” Dorian said, standing up and taking over from Poppy. “I’ve been watching all of you for the past few days and you have thoroughly impressed me. I have several people very interested in meeting you. The thing is –”
“Ugh, there’s always a catch,” Casey said. Rachelle shushed her with a sharp elbow to her stomach.
Dorian laughed. “I think you might like the catch. The problem is that these people can’t all come and see you at the same time, and some of them want to put you through altogether more rigorous testing. Overall we antici
pate that it might take up to the end of August.”
“But that’s three months away!” someone called out, stating the obvious.
“Thanks for that, John,” Poppy said. “Dorian and the people he’s in contact with are aware of that. So to compensate us – and to convince us into staying in the facility over summer – they’re willing to pay each of us up to two thousand pounds, depending on how long we stay.”
There was a murmur of approval at the figure.
“What do you mean, depending on how long we stay?”
“Thanks again, John,” Poppy said, rolling her eyes. “I was getting to that bit. Dorian’s contacts are going to pull out anyone they like from the program to discuss further work with them. Contracts and stuff. Now I know a couple of you are actually set to graduate in a few weeks –”
“Screw that,” John said, “I was gonna graduate in absentia anyway.”
“I’ll do the same for two grand.”
“Same!”
Andrew nodded along with them in agreement.
Poppy smiled, though she didn’t meet Andrew’s eyes. “Well if John, Mateusz, Chloe and Andrew are all okay with graduating in absentia, and I know I certainly am, then that leaves…Fred?”
She stared at him. Fred’s face was blank; Andrew had no idea whether he was happy or worried about the prospect. But eventually he nodded.
The room only grew more excited now that the graduands had agreed to stay.
“Count me in!”
“That’s way better money than my crappy waitress gig, anyway.”
“I don’t even care that there’s no Wi-Fi here.”
“Think my girlfriend will get the idea that I want to break up with her if she doesn’t hear from me for two months?”
That was John again. Lily, who was sitting beside him and had a fiancé, punched him in the arm.
“Don’t be such a dick, John! Jesus Christ.”
“Well it’s true,” he protested. “How am I supposed to contact her?”
“Just give me the contacts details of everyone you want to be notified,” Dorian said. “The centre will blanket contact them all. What you’ll be doing over summer involves a Non-Disclosure Agreement for the privacy and protection of the people coming to see you, so your family and partners can only be told that you’re taking part in a paid study. Now is there anyone who doesn’t want to participate?”
Nobody said anything. Of course they wanted to stay; they were getting paid to do something they loved with a group full of their best friends.
Andrew couldn’t believe his luck; he had only just been wishing that the trip wouldn’t end. Now it was going to last for another three months. Three months!
Once the club began to dissipate in order to get together the contact information they needed to give Dorian, Poppy sidled up to Andrew.
“I need to speak to you in private, Andrew,” she said quietly. Andrew didn’t like the sound of that but he followed Poppy outside nonetheless. Out of the corner of his eye he saw that Fred was watching them, until Rachelle distracted him.
“What is it, Poppy?” he asked.
Poppy sighed. “Go home, Andrew.”
“…what?”
“In four days when the original trip ends,” she elaborated. “Go home. There’s no way in hell your parents will let you stay out here for three months.”
“No.”
Poppy seemed shocked by Andrew’s immediate response. She looked at him with a face full of genuine concern. “Andrew, please. Think about this seriously. Can you handle being here for potentially fifteen weeks?”
Andrew bristled at the question. “You were the one who encouraged me to come on the trip in the first place, Poppy.”
“Two weeks and three months are completely different, Andrew!”
“I know that. But you know I’m enjoying being here. It’s relaxing. I don’t have to worry about what to do after graduating or about my parents or anything.”
She frowned. “Why would you worry about your parents?”
“Because they didn’t want me to come, so I left home without telling them.”
Poppy stared at Andrew in horror. “Please tell me that’s not true. Andrew, please tell me that’s not true.”
But Andrew stood his ground. “It was my choice to come here. And it’s my choice to stay. I’m an adult, Poppy. And so are you, whether you like the fact that you are or not. So let me make my own decisions.”
Andrew didn’t wait for Poppy’s response. He walked away, through the central building and into the east wing.
“Andrew, wait!” Poppy called out as she followed him. He turned to say something to her, but Poppy’s attention was already elsewhere. She’d paused in front of the communal shower room, her expression grave as she peered inside.
Andrew looked at her in confusion. Poppy continued to watch whatever she was watching for a few seconds, then stalked towards Andrew.
“Angelica is bullying the younger girls again. I think it was Jenny this time. I warned her – I fucking warned her. This isn’t high school, for fuck’s sake.”
Andrew was taken aback. Poppy only swore when she was truly upset. Not just angry; upset. She wasn’t close to Jenny Adams, the youngest member of the club, nor was she close to Angelica. But instead of stopping what was going on in the shower room, Poppy pulled out her phone as she walked past Andrew towards her own bedroom, clearly having forgotten about why she’d ran after him in the first place.
He peered over Poppy’s shoulder to see what she was looking at on her phone for the split second before she closed her door.
It was the club’s register of members: Rachelle and Andrew’s names were highlighted; Poppy’s name was scored out.
As was Ross Bridges.
Poppy had been beginning to score out Angelica’s name as Andrew looked on. He was thoroughly confused. What did it mean, to have his and Rachelle’s names highlighted whilst others were crossed out?
There was no connection between the crossed off names. Andrew had no clue what it meant.
Frustrated that he couldn’t work it out, he was also aware, somehow, that it wasn’t something he could ask Poppy about. If he did then she would lie. Andrew was certain of it.
Which meant he could only come to one conclusion – the same one he had been fighting with ever since she fell.
Something was wrong with Poppy King.
Andrew was going to find out what it was.
JENNY ADAMS
Poppy
“Ahahahahaha!”
“Shut up, Dorian.”
He didn’t stop laughing, the sound infuriatingly full of mirth and lovely to hear. But Dorian was laughing at Poppy, not with her.
“I can’t believe you fought so hard for Andrew to leave and he didn’t want to. You couldn’t convince that one person to leave! I –”
“Stop it. It’s not funny.”
“Not to you it isn’t. To me, on the other hand...”
Dorian and Poppy were sitting in one of the staff rooms attached to the infirmary. Some of his ‘instructors’ were due any minute now to accompany the entire club on a white-water rafting trip. The route they’d be taking was littered with targets for those in the group who wanted to try their hand at archery from the back of the rafts. Poppy knew of only three people in her club who would be any good at this – Mateusz Kowalski, a final year politics student who got on well with Nate and his best friend Richard Deacon; Paul Tobin, a third year student whom Poppy got on reasonably well with…and Angelica Fisher.
After Poppy had discovered Angelica bullying one of the first year students, Jenny, the day before, she knew that she’d have to be the next sacrifice. Angelica had been caught bullying the younger students before; Poppy had thought she’d stopped after Fred and Poppy had caught her in the act and told her they’d kick her out of the club if she kept it up.
Clearly Angelica hadn’t listened.
And yet Poppy didn’t want to condemn her for something so
…ordinary. It was callous and wrong, yes, but Angelica might still see the error of her ways, given time. But Poppy didn’t have time – she only had three days. Nevertheless, she knew she had to speak to Jenny privately to see how severe Angelica’s bullying was, at the very least, before she condemned her to the same fate that had befallen Ross Bridges.
Poppy glanced at Dorian as she tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to know if Ross was still alive or not, or what state he might be in if he was alive.
Dorian caught her looking. “What’s on your mind?”
“Nothing.”
“Doesn’t look like nothing to me.”
“As if I’d tell you, anyway,” Poppy scowled. “And stop pulling me away from my club to talk. I hate it. And I keep having to fob off stupid questions.”
Dorian leaned forward from where he sat on a table, immediately interested. “Stupid questions? Like what?”
“…never mind.”
“See, now I want to know even more. Don’t leave me hanging.”
“You do realise that only makes me want to tell you even less, right? And like I said; I don’t want to talk to you in the first place, anyway.”
Dorian feigned hurt as he said, “But you’re going to spend the rest of your life with me. Aren’t you the least bit interested in getting to know one another?”
Poppy merely stared at him. She stood up with every intention of leaving just as the door to the staff room opened, letting four people in. One of them was Patrick, which wasn’t surprising. He always helped with the water-based activities. It was clear he was friends with Dorian, though Poppy still wasn’t sure if he knew what was going on. She liked to think he was human, but…
That almost makes it worse, Poppy thought. A human unknowingly helping Dorian out with his human farm is all kinds of fucked up.
The other three Poppy only recognised in passing since she was yet to actually participate in any strenuous outdoor activity. One of them was a very attractive, dark-haired woman who looked to be the same age as Dorian. She barely glanced at Poppy as she swept into the room. The two people behind her – a big, burly ox of a man and a smaller, slighter man gave Poppy a smile when he saw her.
Invisible Monsters Page 7
