As the bus chugged along, Elliott looked out the window. Lucy Mayweather slipped into the seat behind him. Elliott didn’t like Lucy. Sometimes when Miss Grogan wasn’t looking, Lucy stuck out her tongue. Lucy Mayweather and Tommy Young were best friends. Elliott hunched in his seat, feeling the thump, thump, thump of Lucy Mayweather’s shoes as she kicked from behind. Tommy Young was laughing, but Elliott just sat forward in his seat, pretending she wasn’t there. As the bus trundled along, his heart lifted at the sight of the small red car parked up outside his house. He wondered if Jahmelia had been found. Everybody was talking about her. They said a prayer in assembly and later they made new yellow ribbons to be tied around town. He wasn’t sure how the ribbons were supposed to help but Miss Grogan said they would ‘keep her in people’s minds’.

Jahmelia was in Elliott’s mind every hour of the day. Sarah had already phoned to ask if Elliott knew anything, but Elliott didn’t like speaking on the phone. He wasn’t sure if other people could listen in. He rose from his seat, taking care not to forget his schoolbag. Lucy Mayweather took the gum from her mouth and stuck it to the side of his bag. But all Elliott could think about was Jahmelia, as he felt her in the air. She was somewhere as black as night in a place that smelled like the school toilets the time they broke and wouldn’t flush. He reached into his bag and took a sip of water from his refillable bottle. But the thirst he felt was Jahmelia’s thirst, and not easily quenched.

He walked down his short driveway, his stomach clenched as he remembered Libby’s words. ‘If you tell, you’ll go to hell.’

Maggie opened the door to let him in, taking his schoolbag as he kicked off his shoes. ‘There’s chewing gum on your bag,’ she said, tutting as she raised it in the air. ‘How did that get there?’ Elliott shrugged as Maggie pulled some tissue from beneath her sleeve and took it off.

‘Did you learn anything new in school today?’ She asked him that every day.