The Trees Smell Like Lemons

30. There is no death

On Monday morning, Bea talked to her Mum for the first time in days to ask if she could borrow her car to drive somewhere after school. Connie agreed. As she placed the keys in Bea's outstretched palm she said, "Isabelle I know you're angry and you have a lot of questions. I just want you to know, when you're ready, I'm here. I think once I've explained, you might find it easier to understand."

"Can I have the keys?" Bea said coldly.

Connie released the keys and watched Bea leave with sad eyes.

The drive to Fairview Secondary School took a little under half an hour. Even though she was technically skipping school, Bea had two free periods before lunch, so she hoped to have plenty of time to make it back.

She parked in the school car park. It was still early, kids mingled outside, their breath forming white clouds as they chatted about the Christmas holidays. With a start, Bea realised there was only a week left until the Christmas Eve ball, and the Christmas holidays. Her first Christmas without Sara. Bea made her way through the front doors, trying to act causal. At Bea's school, sixth formers didn't wear school uniform. She saw a mixture of younger students wearing grey skirts and red blazers and older teenagers in casual clothes. Bea knew Fairview had the same rule about school uniform, but it was still a relief to be able to blend in. She walked through the school corridors aimlessly. Now that she was here, her plan to find out who the blonde girl was didn't seem so simple. Where would she start? She had thought that knowing this girl played hockey would give her an advantage but how was she supposed to tell which students played hockey? Maybe if she found the office she could ask where to find the sports teacher. Bea remembered passing a reception. She retraced her steps, passing by a glass cabinet filled with trophies, cups and medals. Out of curiosity, she stopped to look at the display. There was a giant gold trophy in the middle. The plaque underneath read: 'Fairview Secondary School 2017 Hockey Championship. First place.' Next to the trophy was a framed picture of a group of girls all holding hockey sticks. Bea leaned forward, in the middle was a blonde-haired girl. She was smiling widely; in her other head she held a trophy high in the air. Underneath each girl's name and position was listed. Bea read along until she found the right name: Hannah Williams, Team Captain. It was a long shot. Hannah wasn't the only girl with blonde hair in the picture.

"Hey," a voice said at her shoulder. Bea jumped back from the trophy case. She turned to find Sam standing beside her. Bea noted he was not wearing a suit. He seemed to dress more causal for school in jeans and a sweater.

"Sam? I didn't know you went to this school!" Bea exclaimed.

"Small world right? That's partly how Tom and I became friends at camp," Sam smiled. "I'm sorry I haven't been able to get the phone back to you. It's taking longer to fix than I thought."

"Don't worry about it, I'm just grateful you even agreed to try."

"Isabelle, can I ask what you're doing here?"

"Oh," Bea scrambled for an excuse, "I had a free period and I decided to come and meet a friend. She goes to this school. I'm waiting for her. Can I ask you something?"

Sam looked slightly baffled but accepted her explanation. "Of course."

"Do you know that girl?" Bea pointed to Hannah in the photograph.

"Everyone knows Hannah Williams. She went to school here. She was popular, pretty and the girls' hockey team captain. They won the championship game last summer."

"She went to school here? What happened, did she move schools?"

"She died," Sam said sadly.

"What? How?" Bea sputtered.

"It was a car accident, like your sister."

Bea leaned forwards and put her head in her hands. She felt dizzy. She felt a hand on her shoulder. Someone was saying her name.

"Isabelle? Isabelle can you hear me? Are you alright?" Sam asked worriedly.

Bea straightened up, "I'm fine. Sorry I just wasn't expecting that. In a car accident, are you sure? Do you know when?"

Sam thought for a minute, "I don't know the exact date, it was recently though."

"Was it on Halloween?"

Sam tilted his head as the thought, "Yes. I think it was."

"I've got to go. Sorry Sam. Please let me know if you manage to fix the phone," Bea said, pushing past him.

"Isabelle!" Sam called after her, but she was already gone.

Bea ran to her car, she unlocked the doors and got it. She sat, trying to breathe evenly as she grabbed her phone from her bag and anxiously typed in the name Hannah Williams. She pressed search and waited nervously for the results. At first she couldn't find anything. As she scrolled down the page she saw an article titled 'Teen Dies In Tragic Accident, Family Heartbroken'. Bea clicked on the article, as she read the knot in her stomach grew larger.

Hannah Williams, an eighteen-year-old school student from Richmond was killed when her car collided with another on the evening of October 31st. The crash happened on a quiet road just before midnight. It was believed Hannah was driving home from a Halloween party. There were no witnesses to the crash as it happened, but one source says they were awoken just after midnight by the sound of tyres screeching followed by a loud crash.

"It was horrible. I ran to the window and saw two cars down the road, one was on its roof. Smoke was coming from both cars. I couldn't see anyone moving. I called the police immediately. We have always said that cars drive too dangerously along our road. We have petitioned the council to lower the speed limit. It's so sad that it takes something like this for people to take us seriously."

Although it is not yet known what exactly caused the crash, officials are investigating. Hannah's family released a statement saying they were heartbroken over losing their beautiful, funny daughter and she would be missed terribly. Another passenger was taken to hospital to be treated for their injuries. They are not thought to be seriously injured. It was revealed that the driver of the other car was seventeen-year-old Sara Elliot. Her family were unavailable for comment.

Bea stopped reading. Tears silently rolled down her cheeks and she let them. The news article matched details from the police report, except the report hadn't mentioned Hannah's name. It seemed every time she thought she was about to find answers, she wound up with even more questions. There was one person she needed to talk to. He would be able to answer her questions.