“What are you doing up this end of the street?” he asked, and I let out a small, relieved breath to know he hadn’t seen me at his letterbox.
“Just thought I’d stretch my legs a little before school,” I answered. I’d known Kean since we were kids, but we’d never really been friends. It was odd to stand here talking to him, especially since he was much taller than he was as a boy, his voice a lot deeper. I thought of our eyes connecting outside the school that time, the way he’d smiled at me.
“Do you ever jog?” Kean asked. “Me and Dad run five miles along the beach every Sunday. You’re welcome to join us if you like.”
“Oh, no, I just like to walk,” I said, struck simultaneously by two opposing urges, one to flee, the other to stay.
“Are you walking to school now? Mind if I join you?”
“Um, actually, I have to go stop by my friend’s house first,” I lied.
“Maybe next time,” Kean said. He looked a little disappointed.
“Sure. I better get going.” I took a few steps backward, and he nodded.
“See you around, Estella.”
On my way to the next address, Mayor McBride’s house, I thought about Kean offering to walk me to school and felt a little thrill in my belly. I’d never had much interest from boys, mainly because I went to an all-girls school and rarely had cause to interact with them. But I found I quite liked the way Kean had looked at me.
Of course, it was nothing compared to the way Noah made me feel like I was burning from the inside out, but it was nice all the same.
I managed to drop the letters off at Mayor McBride and Matt O’Hare’s houses unseen, thank goodness! Bumping into Sally or Claire would’ve been unfortunate. When I reached Principal Hawkins’s house, I ran into trouble though. I was shoving the envelope through his letter box as he opened his front door.
Nerves flooded me while his eyebrows did a little jump. Obviously, he was surprised to see me there.
“Estella Shannon? What are you doing here?” he questioned, his expression curious.
I held out the letter. “I was, um, just delivering this.” I thrust it into his hand and tried to leave when he called me back.
“Wait just a moment. What is this?” He turned the letter over in his hand, examining the handwritten address before he carefully tore open the seal. My pulse raced. Noah hadn’t wanted me to be seen delivering the letters, which meant they might contain something untoward.
I watched as he pulled out a small card. It looked like an invitation. Principal Hawkins was busy staring at the card, allowing me a chance to surreptitiously crane my neck to see what it said. All I managed was a very quick scan.
You are cordially invited to the 40th birthday celebration of Veronica Shannon.
Oh. Noah was organising a birthday party for Vee? That was … unexpected. And why was he only sending invitations to four people? It struck me as odd.
Principal Hawkins slotted the invitation back into the envelope and handed it to me. He didn’t look very enthused. In fact, he looked a little on edge, his lips a firm, straight line.
“Please let your stepmother know I’m unfortunately busy this weekend and won’t be able to attend,” he said brusquely.
“Um ...” I was about tell him it wasn’t Vee who sent out the invitations, but then for some reason I thought better of it. “Okay.”
I turned to leave. Principal Hawkins cleared his throat. “How is Sylvia these days?”
I turned back. “She’s doing all right. As well as can be expected.”
There was a strange, sentimental look on his face for a moment. Then he nodded soberly, “Good. Tell her I was asking for her.”
“I will,” I said, finding something curious about the wistful gleam in his eyes.
“Now, you better hurry to school if you don’t want to miss your first period. I’ve to get to the office myself.
“Bye,” I said and made my way out of his front driveway.
All day I could barely concentrate on my classes. I was too curious about Noah’s invitations. He didn’t seem like the party throwing type, nor did Vee strike me as someone who would appreciate such an event.
After school, I walked home along the beach and climbed the stone steps up to the house. Irene was feeding Sylvia when I entered the kitchen.
“Hello, Estella,” she greeted.
“Hi, Irene. Hi Sylvia,” I said, as I grabbed a glass of water before heading to my room. It didn’t look like Vee was around, and I was glad. I hadn’t seen her since she’d fled to her room yesterday evening.
I entered my bedroom and put my water down on my dresser. I went to grab the packet of biscuits I’d hidden under my bed for a snack when something caught my eye. Someone had left a stack of books on my shelf. They definitely hadn’t been there when I left for school this morning, and they certainly didn’t belong to me.