Anastacia Alcroft getting a detention was unheard of. It would be like the queen of England going to a warehouse rave. It was unfathomable. ‘Yep,’ she continued, distracting herself with the mirror so she didn’t have to make eye contact. ‘My book went missing before Mr Trigwell’s calculus class and he thought I was making excuses for not doing my homework.’ Lottie winced, knowing just how difficult the notorious maths teacher could be. ‘The strange thing is, though, I know I put it in my bag. It was almost as if someone stole it, specifically to get me in trouble.’ Once again her sapphire eyes shot up, and this time they stayed on Lottie, honing in like a missile. ‘Perhaps any number of the students are angry about who I choose to be friends with.’ Her voice was shards of glass grating against Ellie’s skin.

‘Don’t be rude,’ Ellie immediately growled, knowing exactly what Anastacia was suggesting.

‘I’m not being rude, Ellie; I’m being realistic.’ Anastacia snapped her mirror shut, and the rest of the room went quiet. ‘People are really angry with Lottie for what they assume is somehow her fault, and we have to assume, with everything we know about how the Hamelin Formula works, that the reporter who broke in and attacked Dom was under its influence, and that, therefore, this is part of a Leviathan plot.’ She gave Saskia, Ellie and Lottie a hard look each, a warning. ‘I think it’s time we told everyone about –’

Ellie could almost hear the words on the tip of Anastacia’s tongue; she was about to tell the others about Haru, and Ellie knew that if she did Jamie would lose it. He’d never forgive her for keeping this secret. A part of her couldn’t help feeling that maybe she deserved his outrage.

From the corner of the room came a sound somewhere between a whimper and a plea that rattled Ellie’s bones. When they turned, they only caught a glimpse of Micky’s crumbling face before he rushed out.

‘Micky!’ Lola called after him. ‘I’ll go and calm him down.’ She was looking directly at Percy, the two of them sharing the same concern. Percy’s head dipped to the side, a question, and Lola appeared to answer a wordless yes before vanishing herself.

The rest of them turned to Percy in unison, knowing he’d be their best bet at understanding what had just happened since he was dating one half of the twins. He was against the wall by the blackboard, looking like a ghost, a thick gloom that was different to the regular shadows he dragged around with him, his black hair resting over his eyes, cutting up his features with thick lines.