Forget Me Never

wouldn’t.
    ‘Patience, young man. Now, listen, I know you’ve been working hard all week, doing filing and other jobs we never get around to, and I hope you’ve found it informative. We usually give the work-experience students a cash gesture, but I thought this might be more appropriate.’
    He reached into his briefcase and took out an envelope. I opened it.
    ‘Tickets for the test match at the Oval? No way! Thank you.’
    ‘I know someone who works at the ground – got a good deal. It’s not for a couple of weeks, but it’s something to look forward to, eh?’
    All thoughts of Cherie and her threats were wiped from my mind. ‘Chuffed’ did not begin to describe how I felt.
    ‘It’s amazing,’ I said. To my embarrassment I felt slightly emotional, which McIntyre evidently picked up on, as he made an awkward ‘ahem’ sound. ‘Best thing you could’ve given me. Thank you so much.
    I didn’t see Cherie until lunchtime. When I spotted her behind me in the queue I felt myself go cold. There was no way I could avoid her seeing me. Sure enough, as I was carrying my tray to a table, Cherie looked straight at me. I froze, fighting to stay composed. She raised her eyebrows – and that was it. When she’d collected her lunch she breezed past as though I wasn’t there. Somehow that was scarier than being confronted. A few chairs away I saw Aiden watching, an odd look on his face.
    I wasn’t really sure what had made me so reckless. When I’d woken up, I planned on staying home. But then I’d thought of Cherie’s supremely irritating confidence and pictured the smug look that would no doubt cross her face when she realized she’d won. I bet no one had ever said no to her. I’d show her I wasn’t some kid she could intimidate.
    And I didn’t want Sophie to think I was a wuss. That was hugely important – though going by how pissed off she was when I met her at McDonald’s after work, I needn’t have bothered.
    ‘Fine. It’s brave, but going in today achieved nothing ,’ she kept saying. In the end I left, though I had intended to ask if she wanted to go bowling. When I got home Mum and Neve were doing a puzzle on the living-room floor, right as rain. Later, when it got dark, I got a little paranoid and went to the window several times in the night to check no one was outside. Nothing happened though, and on Saturday morning I was feeling on top of the world again.

SOPHIE
    Cherie’s threats worried me enough to call Reece on Saturday morning. He was usually up earlier than me – he preferred doing things to lying in – but I waited until ten, just to show I wasn’t that concerned. He picked up on the fourth ring, sounding irritatingly perky.
    ‘Hey – newsflash! I’m still alive! So are Mum and Neve. Told you it’d be OK.’
    If he’d been in front of me, I’d have smacked him. ‘Not funny.’
    I heard a mumble in the background; Reece wasn’t alone. It was probably the cricket guys; he usually had practice on Saturday mornings. Suddenly I felt like I was intruding – I’d just assumed he’d be on hand to hang out today.
    ‘So . . .’ Reece said. I heard scuffling and the volume of voices lessened, as though he was walking away. ‘Fancy that barbecue tonight?’
    I sighed. ‘Are you trying to prove how unscared and macho you are? Give over!’
    ‘It’ll be fine ! Mr McIntyre all but said there’d be cricketers coming. I’m not missing that. Cherie and Aiden might not show. Even if they do, they won’t try anything on in a crowded place. Stop being such a worry-guts.’
    Reece went on at me until I agreed to go with him – sometimes with Reece it was easiest to just do as he said. And I had to admit I was curious to see the people Dani had worked with. Only a few had showed at her funeral. Maybe someone would be able to tell me something, especially if they’d had a bit to drink.
    We met at seven outside Hampstead tube station. When the lift doors opened and Reece stepped out I did a bit of a double take. I’d never seen him looking this smart before – he was generally a jeans, T-shirt and trainers person. As he came through the barriers I said, ‘Since when do you do waistcoats and trendy shirts?’
    Reece made a face at me. He’d done something to his hair too – sort of slicked parts of it up. It made him look very different – and actually pretty cool. ‘Goodness sake, Soph! I told you this was a smart do. Couldn’t you have made an effort? Like, even a