by Andy Coltart
As they arrived home and went into the house Mrs Bennett added, ‘That school is becoming a disaster area. Some new major crisis every week at the moment!’
The girls looked at each other, thinking about what lay ahead for them at the weekend. It made everything from today seem to pale in comparison.
‘You two can go upstairs if you like. I’ll get the tea on,’ said Mrs Bennett. ‘Is spaghetti okay?’ The girls burst out laughing.
‘What is it?’ asked Riley’s mum.
‘Oh, nothing,’ said Riley. ‘It’s just we had that last night at Casey’s house.’
‘Her mom and I must think alike,’ said Mrs Bennett. ‘I’ll see what else I’ve got.’
‘Honestly Mom, it’s okay. If that’s what you’ve prepared we are fine with spaghetti,’ said Riley.
The girls went upstairs to Riley’s room. They’d just sat down on the bed when the twins came bursting into the room.
‘Hello Riley, hello Riley’s friend,’ they said.
‘Beth, Max, this is Casey,’ said Riley.
‘Hi Casey,’ replied the twins.
‘Oh, they’re adorable,’ said Casey.
‘Oh, trust me they’re not!’ said Riley.
‘Hey!’ said Beth. ‘Yes we are.’
‘Go on you two, out you get,’ said Riley throwing a pillow at Max.
‘I guess we should speak to Alex and tell him we are okay,’ said Casey. ‘I didn’t give him much time to talk earlier.’
‘I’ll turn the computer on,’ said Riley, getting up from the bed.
The girls both sat squashed on Riley’s desk chair this time waiting for Alex to answer.
‘Oh there you are, finally!’ said Riley.
‘Sorry I wasn’t in my room when you called,’ he said. ‘How are you both?’
‘We are fine, thanks,’ said Riley.
‘We’ve survived another accident at our school,’ said Casey.
‘Yeah, I believe everyone has you to thank for that, Riley,’ said Alex.
‘Yeah not that anyone knows it’s me,’ said Riley, smiling.
‘How are your eyes?’ asked Casey.
‘Slowly improving,’ said Alex. ‘Dad won’t let me out on my bike yet but I can read some license plates now, so getting there. Anyway,’ he continued, ‘I’m looking forward to seeing you both again tomorrow.’
‘Likewise,’ said Riley.
‘Are we going to go through the plan for Saturday when we meet tomorrow?’ said Casey.
‘Yeah we are,’ said Alex. ‘I’ve just got to work out a few details.’
‘Such as?’ asked Casey.
‘Oh, things like what happens to us, and in particular Riley, after the shot is fired. Right down to which train do we get home afterwards? It’s nuts to be honest when you sit down and think about every aspect of it. Don’t worry though I’ll go through it all tomorrow.’
‘I do have one question. It’s been on my mind a lot,’ said Riley.
‘What’s that?’ asked Alex.
‘What will happen to me if somehow people find out I can turn invisible?’
‘That’s not going to happen,’ said Casey, putting her arm round Riley.
‘But we should think it through anyway,’ said Alex. ‘It’s better if we are prepared for everything, however unlikely we think it is.’
‘I agree,’ said Riley. ‘Okay, let’s talk more tomorrow.’ With that they said their goodbyes and went offline.
‘I guess we’d better go down for more spaghetti!’ said Riley getting up from the chair.
After dinner Riley and Casey played a board game with the twins. Riley refused to let them get the Monopoly board out again as it always resulted in arguments. Casey’s dad rang the doorbell just as they finished the game.
‘Oh, hello,’ said Riley’s mum.
‘Hello, I’m Casey’s dad,’ replied Mr Johnson.
‘Dad, how come you’re here?’ said Casey.
‘Your mom asked me to drop you home on my way to work,’ replied her dad.
‘But doesn’t that mean going back and forth to the house?’ said Casey.
‘Yup, but try telling your mother that!’ he replied, with a frustrated tone. ‘Come on, we’d better go or I’ll be late,’ he added.
‘Okay,’ Casey replied. She said goodbye to Riley and thanked Mrs Bennett for tea.
‘Nice to meet you,’ said Casey’s dad to Mrs Bennett as they left to get in the car.
Riley gave her mum a hand in the kitchen tidying up from dinner before going back to her room. She got into her pyjama shorts and vest top and went to check the twins were doing their teeth. She wasn’t at all surprised to find them arguing over the toothpaste once again.
‘Come on you two, it’s late and I want to get to bed as well,’ she said.
The twins settled down and went to their rooms. Riley finished in the bathroom, said goodnight to her mum and went to her room. Getting into bed she pulled the covers right up tight. She lay there for a few minutes staring up at the ceiling in her room, thinking about the roof of the hall and how she’d saved the lives of a lot of the girls in her class.
The following morning came far too fast. But, much to Riley, Casey and Alex’s relief the day seemed to pass just as quickly. As the final bell went the girls met up at their lockers. They stayed put for a few minutes while the frenzy of kids around them died away.
‘Let’s go,’ said Casey. ‘Alex will be waiting outside.’ They slammed their lockers shut, as it was the only way to close them properly, and walked down the corridor together towards the main entrance.
As they opened the door Alex was stood at the bottom of the steps leaning against the wall.
‘Hey you,’ said Casey in her usual way.
‘Hi,’ said Alex, ‘you ready to go?’
‘Yeah,’ said Riley, as she and Casey reached the bottom step. The three of them walked down the school path and along the sidewalk together.
‘So, what’s happening with the gym?’ asked Alex.
‘It’s going to be shut for months,’ said Casey, ‘while they make repairs.’
‘Yeah it means we’re stuck doing sports on the field for the rest of the year,’ said Riley, sounding less than impressed.
They turned a corner and reached the cafe next to the library.
‘Shall we?’ said Alex, as he held the door open for the girls to go in.
‘Oh, what a gentleman,’ said Casey, in a joking way.
‘Don’t be so cheeky, you,’ said Alex.
‘Thank you, Alex,’ said Riley as she walked in. They found a couple of sofas in the corner and sat down.
‘What do you want to drink?’ asked Alex. They both replied ‘coffee, please,’ and Alex went to the counter and ordered three.
Sitting down opposite the two girls he noticed the lack of a gap between them on the sofa.
‘Are you two going out now?’ he asked
‘Yeah,’ said Casey, taking hold of Riley’s hand.
‘Well we are seeing if it’s right for us,’ said Riley. ‘As neither of us have been in a relationship like this before.’
Casey let go of Riley’s hand, sensing her hesitation. She really did have to give Riley the space and time to make her own mind up about this.
‘Okay, cool,’ said Alex, ‘as long as it’s not going to be a distraction when we are in the White House.’
‘It won’t,’ said Casey.
Riley, keen to move the conversation on, asked Alex, ‘So, what is the plan for Friday and Saturday?’
‘Well,’ said Alex, ‘we’ve overcome the Friday night issue as parents think you are staying at mine.’
‘What about your dad?’ said Riley.
‘He’s been asked to play a round of golf after work so won’t be in until late. As far as he’s concerned we will all be asleep when he gets in.’
‘What about the Saturday morning?’ said Casey.
‘Ah, yeah, not a lot I can do about that,’ said Alex, ‘but by the
time he knows we’re gone we’ll be in the White House.’
‘I have an idea about that,’ said Riley.
‘Go on,’ said Alex.
‘Depending on what time your dad gets up on a Saturday you could text him and say we all got up early and went downtown.’
‘That’s brilliant,’ said Casey, ‘if timing worked in our favour we could even arrive back at yours at the end of the day and he’d be none the wiser!’
‘It’s worth a shot,’ said Alex.
‘Talking of which, are you still going to the gun club today?’ asked Riley.
‘Yeah, don’t worry, I’ll make sure I have the correct size vest for you,’ he said.
‘Good, because I can’t do this without it,’ she said.
‘No, you can’t,’ added Casey.
‘So, we’ve got the travel, the tour tickets, our parents for Friday and Saturday and the bulletproof vest sorted,’ said Riley. ‘What next?’
Alex thought for a moment. ‘We still need to decide what we are going to do when we arrive in Washington. Also, when we get to the White House we need to find the gang and stay close but not too close,’ he said.
‘We also need to find time to make me invisible,’ said Riley.
‘There’s bound to be public loos there,’ said Casey.
‘What about the security cameras, though?’ said Riley.
‘Do you think you could spin round in a toilet cubicle?’ said Alex. ‘There won’t be a camera in there.’
‘I’ll try in school tomorrow,’ replied Riley.
‘So what are we going to do when we arrive?’ said Casey.
‘Find an all-night cafe and lay low would be my choice,’ said Alex.
‘Yeah it’s not really a sightseeing trip, is it?’ added Riley.
‘One thing still bothers me,’ said Casey.
‘What?’ said the others.
‘What if something goes wrong?’
‘It’s a risk,’ said Riley, ‘but someone taught me recently that you miss out on life if you don’t take some risks.’ Casey looked at her and raised her eyebrows.
‘It is a risk,’ said Alex, ‘but if we don’t take it the President could die.’
‘And if we do, Riley could die,’ said Casey.
‘This is my choice,’ said Riley. ‘We’re taking precautions so I’m prepared to do this.’ Casey decided to keep quiet, to avoid an argument.
‘Let’s just deal with what happens, when it does,’ said Alex. ‘There’s no way to predict every possible outcome.’ The others agreed and sat drinking their coffees.
‘On a completely different subject,’ said Alex, ‘Will and I got a distinction for our fossil project!’
‘Oh, well done,’ said Riley.
‘Thanks, we were amazed, seeing as the lightning strike happened right in the middle of it,’ said Alex.
‘Guys, I’m gonna go,’ said Casey, ‘I’ve got some homework to get done. See you in school tomorrow?’
‘See you then,’ said Riley, giving her a hug before she got up to leave.
Alex put his empty coffee cup down and looked at Riley. ‘You okay?’ he said.
‘Yeah I’m okay,’ she replied but her voice gave away her true feelings.
‘What is it?’ asked Alex. ‘Are you worried about Saturday?’ Riley paused and put her cup down.
‘No, that I’m unusually confident about,’ she said. ‘It’s Casey.’
‘Ah,’ said Alex, in an all knowing, but sympathetic tone. ‘Do you wanna talk about it?’
‘Yeah, I guess,’ she replied. ‘I’ve never been in a relationship before and wasn’t expecting my first one to be with a girl,’ she said.
‘How does that make you feel?’ asked Alex.
‘Confused,’ replied Riley.
‘Perhaps you should take some time to work out who you are first,’ said Alex. ‘Any relationship is a big step and you don’t want to get hurt or hurt the other person if you can avoid it.’
‘Yeah, I guess you’re right,’ she said. ‘Casey’s friendship is the most important thing to me. I’d hate to lose that.’
‘Listen, leave all this until after the weekend, if you can,’ said Alex. ‘The last thing we need is the two of you feeling emotionally distracted. I know that sounds harsh.’
‘It does but you’re quite right,’ said Riley.
The two of them said their goodbyes and left the cafe to head home. That evening everyone just kept themselves to themselves. Alex went with his father to the gun club and was successful in getting the bulletproof vest. Riley spent some time playing with the twins. It was a perfect distraction from her life as they needed a referee at times to keep the peace.
Chapter 27
A Stark Reminder
Riley arrived at school the following morning and was disappointed not to find Casey waiting for her. She started to wonder if she’d upset her. I can’t start second guessing her, she thought to herself. There could be a hundred reasons why she’s not here first today. Riley decided to wait and be the one to greet Casey, but Casey never showed. Minutes before the bell rang Riley headed into school, grabbing books from her locker on the way to the class room.
‘Just in time,’ said Mr Willis as Riley sat down at her desk.
‘Yeah, Crazy Curls. Where were you, electrifying your hair or something!’ shouted one of the girls.
‘That’s enough from you, Donna,’ said Mr Willis. Riley’s heart sank. Nothing ever changes, she thought to herself.
She went looking for Casey at break time as they were in different lessons first thing. As she wandered round the yard she tried to keep to the shadows, not wanting to be noticed. The trouble was however much she tried, kids just kept having a go at her.
‘Quick, get away,’ shouted one kid, ‘before Crazy Curls electrifies us all.’
She couldn’t see Casey outside and decided she wasn’t going on the yard again on her own.
Heading back into the building she went to the girls’ bathroom. It seemed the best place to hide away from the crowds. At least she could be alone in there. As she opened the door and walked in her heart sank again. Stood in front of the mirrors were some of the mean girls.
‘Look what the cat dragged in,’ said one of them. Riley turned to leave, but another girl had blocked the door.
‘Where do you think you’re going?’ she said. The first girl walked right up to Riley’s face and spat in it. Riley wiped the spit from her eyes.
‘That lightning should have killed you,’ she said. Riley said nothing, she felt helpless. There were three of them and just one of her.
‘Perhaps we need to finish the job off,’ said the girl at the door.
Suddenly, before she could react, the three girls had grabbed Riley and kicked her legs from under her. She was now lying on her back on the toilet floor. One of the mean girls was straddled across her stomach, her knees digging in Riley’s ribs. She was holding Riley’s wrists to the ground.
‘Leave me alone!’ said Riley in a panicked voice.
‘Leave me alone,’ repeated the girl holding shut the door.
‘We need to clean this one up,’ said the girl sitting on Riley. ‘Get me some water.’
The other girl went into a cubicle and scooped some water into a cup from the toilet bowl. She came back and stood over Riley’s face.
‘What are you waiting for?’ said the girl holding Riley down. ‘Tip it on her!’
Riley closed her eyes and mouth as water from the toilet landed on her face and in her hair. It was cold and smelly. She could hear the girls laughing loudly. Then, to add insult to injury, she felt a slap across her face from the girl sitting on her.
‘Bitch!’ said the girl as she got up. Riley lay there, crying on the toilet floor as the three mean girls left the loos. What had she ever done to deserve this?
She gave it a moment or two to make sure they weren’t coming back and then got up. Going to the sink she filled it with clean water. There wasn’t much soap in
the dispenser, but she managed to get enough to wash with. She heard the bell go for the next lesson but decided to stay and get the smell of the loo out of her hair. It took her nearly forty minutes using the cold water of the sink, the hand wash and the hand dryer to clean herself up.
I can’t go into a lesson this late, she thought to herself. She was right, she’d be in more trouble for that. Then she remembered Alex had wanted her to test going invisible in a cubicle. Now seemed like the perfect time. No one was about and she felt the need to be invisible more than ever before. Locking herself in a cubicle and shutting the lid down on the loo she put her hands by her side and started to spin on the spot. It wasn’t easy as she kept bumping into the walls and the toilet roll holder. But, to her own amazement she picked up enough speed to bring on a brain burn. Falling she landed on her bum on the closed toilet. Sitting there for a minute, she let the pain of the brain burn pass.
Still feeling really shaken from her experience Riley left the bathroom and walked along the deserted corridor. Relieved to be invisible and that no one was around she went to her locker to put her entire bag away. There was no need to carry it if she wasn’t going to be visible in the lessons. She was wondering what had happened to Casey. She wished Casey had met her that morning. She wouldn’t have been alone and the likelihood was she wouldn’t have been attacked either. She didn’t blame Casey for this, she just really wanted her friend right now.
Going out into the empty school yard she found a bench not covered in gum, and sat down. Taking out her phone she called Casey. The phone just rang out and eventually went to voicemail. Riley hung up without leaving a message. She decided she was still too shaken and tearful to leave a message and would try and catch up with Casey later. Riley got up from her bench and walked around in the sunshine. She wandered over to the sports field and watched the grade 7 kids playing hockey. The muscular sports teacher was yelling at them just the same way she yelled at Riley’s class. This gave her some comfort that it wasn’t personal.
Feeling a little more relaxed and composed she decided to call Alex. Making her way back to the bench she sat down again and took out her phone. She sat there waiting as his phone rang. Is he going to be out of reach as well? she thought to herself. She was about to hang up when she heard,
