Everything We Keep, Di Walker [best pdf reader for ebooks txt] 📗

‘What? Now?’ said Morgan, ‘During lunch?’

‘It’s cooler in the library than out here. What do you think?’ Tully was looking at Agatha.

‘Sure,’ she responded.

A short time later the two found a quiet place in the library and began to write up their notes. ‘I think,’ said Tully, ‘if I work on the procedure and equipment and you work on the results then I can type it up over the weekend and we can hand it in next week. What do you think?’

‘Sure.’

‘Agatha, you have hardly said a word since Science and that’s your second ‘sure’. Is something wrong?’ Tully put the end of her pen in her mouth and looked at Agatha.

‘I just don’t want you to get into trouble with your mum.’

‘Don’t worry about that. I’ll type it up, without our names on it and then just before we hand it in, we can hand write our names on it. Easy.’

‘Everything’s easy for you, Tully, isn’t it?’

‘What do you mean?’

Agatha shrugged. ‘Nothing.’

‘No tell me, what do you mean everything’s easy for me?’ Tully took the pen out of her mouth and turned fully on the chair, facing Agatha.

Don’t mess this up, she’s your only friend, don’t mess this up!

‘Nothing. Really.’

Tully eyes narrowed. She stared at Agatha for what seemed like ages. ‘Not everything is easy for me. It might look like that, but it’s not really like that. I have stuff going on, but I try not to let it get to me. But I have my dad to talk to – he gets it, he gets me.’

Agatha stayed quiet. She hadn’t had a friendship like this before, she didn’t know what the right thing was to say or do.

Tully turned back in her chair, picked up her pen and began to write some notes. Agatha did the same.

‘You know,’ Tully said, not looking up from her notes, ‘whatever it is, you can tell me.’

Agatha’s pen stopped but she kept her eyes on her page. If she tells Tully the truth, then she might lose her only friend. If she keeps telling her lies and she finds out, then she will definitely lose her. Once again, Agatha was going to lose.

She began to write, her pen moving in a slow rhythmic motion across the page. Mid-sentence, she stopped and turned her head slightly, glancing at Tully, who had busied herself ruling up boxes on her page.

‘If I tell you, you won’t understand,’ she said.

Tully kept ruling and without looking up said, ‘I think I would.’

‘No. It’s not something you can understand if I just tell you.’

‘Don’t you trust me?’

‘Yes, Tully, I do.’

‘Then tell me.’ Tully stopped ruling and turned to Agatha.

‘Tell me.’

Agatha shook her head. ‘I can’t tell you. I need to show you.’

Tully’s face changed; a puzzled expression replaced her smile. ‘What do you mean?’

‘I have to show you, so you really understand.’

Tully remained silent. Agatha continued. ‘It’s two trains and a bus. I know how to get there and back now.’

As if it was just becoming apparent to Tully what Agatha was saying, her eyes widened, and she nodded her head very slowly. ‘Two trains and a bus.’

‘Yep. But I don’t know how we do that, you know, with your mum and everything.’

Tully continued nodding slowly, her eyes lowered and then she turned back to her notes, picked up her pen and ruler and continued ruling boxes. Agatha looked at her, waiting for a response. Maybe this is it, she thought to herself, the end, already. She began to grow impatient.

‘Well?’ she asked Tully.

Tully finished ruling the last line she needed. She turned the page in her notebook and tapped her chin with the end of the pen.

‘Easy.’

‘What?’

‘Two trains and a bus? Easy.’

Agatha took in a deep breath. ‘And when are we going to do that?’

‘Saturday. We’ll go Saturday. In the morning.’

Agatha let out a laugh and then remembering she was in the library, quickly covered it with her hand.

‘How are we going to go on Saturday?’

‘Well, that part I haven’t quite figured out, but I bet Cora and Morgan will help cover for us. They’ve done it before. We cover for each other all the time.’ Agatha saw a sparkle in Tully’s eyes.

‘Really? I can’t imagine . . . ’

‘I have some secrets too Agatha.’ Tully smiled. ‘We have two days to plan it out and two days to get this assignment finished so we can hand it on Tuesday.’

They got back to work, pens writing quickly, but Agatha’s mind was not on the balloon race. She pictured herself and Tully on the bus, the trains and then the bus. Already her chest was beginning to tighten, just thinking about opening the front door and stepping inside.

She pictured, in her mind, Tully’s reaction, like everyone else’s, seeing it all over her face. Agatha was regretting what she had said, starting this plan, but it was too late now.

The lunch bell rang to signal its end. Tully and Agatha packed up their books and headed to their lockers. Cora and Morgan were already there, getting out what they needed for the final two classes.

Standing at her locker, Agatha looked over and saw Tully in a tight circle with Cora and Morgan. Cora, occasionally glanced over at Agatha while nodding her head, listening to every word Tully was saying. Agatha desperately wanted to know what Tully was saying to them. Maybe she was wrong to trust Tully?

Closing her locker door slowly and turning the combination lock, Agatha waited.

‘All organised.’ Tully said, with Cora and Morgan standing each side of her. ‘We’re going to go with the same plan we used last time when we had to cover for Cora, so she could go to the city to see some weirdo movie.’

‘It wasn’t a weirdo movie!’ Cora said, her face looking as if she had been offended. ‘I like short films, and there was a festival on at Fed Square and I just had to see it. I can’t help it if you too like the