ANATOMY OF A GIRL

part twenty

Hana's funeral was beautiful. It was the beginning of Autumn – the leaves were becoming golden, littering the grass like a midday sunset. Sapphire was sure the speeches were beautiful too, if she'd been able to hear them. From the back row, she could barely see the podium, let alone hear the speeches. She knew she didn't really have the right to sit any further forward. She didn't know Hana – she'd seen her in the halls, in a few classes, but she hadn't even spoken to the girl. And now she was gone.

The wind carried a chill through the hall's open doors, raising the hair on her arms despite the cloak on her shoulders. This room, the flowers, the casket – it was all too close to reliving Arlo's funeral. The grief of his loss, and the emotional tidal wave that was his return.

In the front row of the hall, Hana's best friends and family sat, ugly tears and crumpled tissues. Her, Flair and the boys had been that position just a few weeks ago. Weeks had passed since Arlo's death, and they were no closer to learning what had happened to him.

After Hana's funeral, Leo and Ayden returned to the dorm they shared. Leo lay on his bed, staring up at the whiteness of the ceiling as if the answers to their questions would appear -- letters arranging and rearranging themselves into the words they so craved.

He turned to face Ayden, who sketched at his desk idly.

"I just don't understand how there were no witnesses. In a school of hundreds, how could no one have seen Arlo's drowning? It makes no fucking sense," he muttered, grabbing a pillow and throwing it at the opposite wall. It fell to the floor with a quiet thud.

Ayden turned to him, dropping his pencil. "I don't get it either. But no one's coming forward, and we can't do anything." He paused, then smiled in that irritating way. "If only the fish could talk, huh."

Leo rolled his eyes, throwing a second pillow at Ayden's head, who ducked and cursed in a manner that was not becoming of a Belreistkov student. If only the fish could talk—Leo thought once more.

A silence uncharacteristic of Leo caused Ayden to turn to him once more. Leo grinned, a dimple appearing on his right cheek. "Maybe they can."

The therapist's office felt like a morgue. Cold and a little musty. Sapphire thought she could've been the corpse, too. Dead and empty. Okay, maybe not. But she did hate being in here – hated feeling like a "problematic" and "troubled" teenage girl.

Mrs King, the school's new therapist, was a nice lady. Too nice. Maybe that was the problem. It was easy to open up to her, and that was why Sapphire didn't trust her. It didn't make sense to her, either, but she'd already made up her mind about Mrs King.

"Hi, Sapphire. We haven't met yet, but I believe you used to see Mr Robertson? Is that right?"

Sapphire tried a smile. "Yes, a few years ago."

'Don't ask why' became her mantra. But Sapphire feared Mrs King had already read Mr Robertson's notes on her, that they'd already shared notes on her trauma.

Sapphire's phone vibrated in her pocket, and, ignoring the look she got from Mrs King, or perhaps in spite of it, she reached for it.

Leo "Dickface" Carter, 15.02: Have an idea. A good one, too. Meet in my dorm at 5.

Ayden Wright <3, 15.03: It's my dorm, too, dumbass.

Ayden Wright <3, 15.03: It was also MY idea

Leo "Dickface" Carter, 15.03: Not reeeally

Leo "Dickface" Carter, 15.03: Besides, I'm the one with the skills to pull it off