Page 30 of Spearcrest Knight

He shrugs. “That’s fine. We didn’t say we were going to get presents, but I saw it when my sister dragged me with her when she was shopping, and I thought you might like it.”

I did like it. I liked it so much I wore it every day after that.

Every day—until the last day I trusted Evan.

It was after assembly one time, and I’d received an award for an essay I wrote. It was a humiliating ordeal as ever, to stand in front of the entire year group to receive a certificate, with everyone looking at me and whispering about my parents being cleaners.

But by that time I was getting pretty good at disassociating. I went to the front, watching myself from afar, and left myself vacant for the rest of the assembly.

After the assembly, I hastened away from the crowd of students pouring out of the assembly hall.

But before I could get away, a hand caught my elbow. I turned to see Evan’s face once more. Blue eyes, sunshiney hair, wide smile.

“Congrats on your award, Sophie. Can’t believe your essay is gonna get published.”

I waved a hand. “It’s nothing. It’s stupid.”

“It’s not stupid.” His grin was like a little campfire, bathing me with light and warmth. “It’s cool. Well done, Sophie.”

I sighed and finally relaxed, a chuckle melting from me. “Thanks.”

We looked at each other, and the moment became strange, different. Soft. He opened his arms and raised an eyebrow at me. I laughed, and stepped into the bracket of his arms. We hugged: he was warm, and he smelled good: deodorant and shampoo. Heat flushed through me, radiating from my heart and from his body.

We pulled apart. His cheeks were flushed, as flushed as mine felt. We laughed and set off to our English classroom—even though we no longer shared a class.

The day after, everything changed, and my friendship with Evan ended as suddenly and unexpectedly as it began.

10

Capitulation

Sophie

BytheendofNovember, life has become a blur of work, the stress of Evan replaced by the stress of academia. Despite my organisational skill, schoolwork piles up. Maths is easy enough if I put in the practice work, but History and Lit are back-to-back essays. Every teacher behaves as if theirs is the only subject you’re studying. And since I’m not willing to accept anything less than top marks, it means more reading, researching and writing.

It quickly becomes obvious that there are only so many plates I can juggle. So I’ve handed the reins of the book club to one of the Year 12 girls who’s been running it with me. I still run every morning, but my night-time swims have been cut in half. I've not even had time for chess club, which now clashes with the days I'm working.

When I’m not at the café or in classes, I’m in the study hall or the library.

The last thing I need is a full-blown fight, but this is basically what I get when the taxi drops me off outside Evan’s house on the last Tuesday of November.

The incessant rain has finally relented, giving way to a frosty cold that encases every blade of grass on the manicured lawn. Even though it’s cold and the ground is slippery, it’s still better than having to rely on Evan for a lift.

Alas, think of the devil and he shall appear.

Or, to be exact, he shall jog up the drive, in shorts and a hoodie, his sandy hair dark with sweat. The devil’s been running, and his cheeks and nose are red from the cold.

When he sees me, he pops out his earphones and greets me with a bright grin, his friendliness a glass mask for the tension thrumming through him.

“Well,heySutton. Just the person I was hoping to run into.”

He is up for a fight today. I can tell. His thinly-disguised aggression radiates from his strut, the crooked tilt of his grin, the directness of his gaze. His eyes are violently blue, challenging the colour of the sky.

I should have been ready for this. It was obvious last time we spoke that he’s been having second thoughts about our so-called alliance. I should have seen it coming, really. And since I got away from him last time, I doubt he’s going to drop the matter this time.

Still, evasive manoeuvres are worth a try.

“As always, it’s been a pleasure,” I say drily, “but I have somewhere to be. So unless you have some work you need me to do, I’ll be off.”

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