The Mute and the Liar (28 page)

Until then,
it's
crucial
that
I
act
the part
of
'Jayce's
friend.'
He has
to
believe
that
I
won't
try
to
run
away.

That
plan will have
to
do
for
now.

Having
finished
my
cereal,
I
pick
up
my
bowl,
walk
to
the
sink
and
begin
to
wash it.

Footsteps
shuffle into
the
room.

“
We're
starting
to
paint
in
a
few
minutes. Make
sure
you-
”
It's
Jayce.

He
appears
to
have
been
heading
inside
the
room,
but
is
now
frozen
in
the
doorway.
He
has
reapplied
gel
to
his
hair,
so
it
stands
on
all
ends
like
a
giant
hedgehog.
'Save
the
trees!'
is
printed
across
his
white
t-shirt,
and
I'm
surprised
he
hasn't
fallen
over
from
his
incredibly
oversized,
baggy
jeans.

He is
staring at
me.
Well,
not
really me. He's
staring at
my
legs.
He doesn't
have the
decency
to
look
away.

Feeling
my
cheeks
burn,
I
tug
down
my
nightdress,
although
it
has
almost
no effect.
It
just
bounces
back.

“
Wear
something
decent,
”
he
finishes.

He
coughs
and
shakes
his
head,
his
hair
flickering
over
his
eyes,
and
he
drags
his
feet
out
of
the
room.

Great. And now it's
become
awkward.

That's
just
made our
'friendship'
even
more difficult.

*****

10:12 AM

I
wince
as
Kit
tugs
another
strand
of
my
hair.
She
has
been
fiddling
with
my
hair
for
about
an
hour
now.
I
have
no
idea
what
she
is
doing
to
it.
She
seems
to
be
plaiting
random
strands
and
pulling
the
rest
into
a
bun.
I'm
a
bit
worried...

“
You're
very
quiet.
I'm
not
saying
it
as
a
bad
thing.
I
really
like
it.
It's
just
strange.
You
know
Jaycie
never
stops
talking
usually.
It's
great
that
he
has
a
friend like you.
”

She
pulls
another
strand,
and
wraps
a
red
ribbon
around
it,
probably
to
match
my
outfit.
I
am
wearing
a
red
baggy
t-shirt
splattered
with
paint
which
almost
reaches
my
knees
and
a
pencil
skirt
so
short
it
looks
like
I
am
only
wearing
the
t-shirt.
It
seems
Kit
harbours
a
strong
animosity
towards
trousers.
And
skirts
with
a
decent
length.

“
He
seems
so
happy
now.
I'm
overjoyed;
I
couldn't
bear
to
see
him
miserable,
back
when
I
used
to
teach
him
piano.
That
seems
so
long
ago
now.
”

What
is
she
talking
about?
Kit
taught
him
piano?
And
why
was
Jayce
'miserable?'

Apparently the
confusion
shows
on
my face.

“
Oh,
you
didn't
know?
”
I
shake
my
head.
“
He
used
to
live
here
in
Bath.
Our
mothers
were
close
friends.
I
had
just
come
back
from
studying
music
at
Manchester
University
and
my
mother
told
me
he
wanted
some
piano
lessons,
so
he
was
coming
here
three
times
a
week.
It
was
good
just
to
get
him
out
of
his
house
as
well,
you
know,
what
with
everything
that
was
happening.
I'm
sure
you
know
all
about
that.
We
shouldn't
be
gossiping.
It's
no good
resurrecting
ghosts,
right?
”

I
get
the
feeling
that
although
she
says
she
'
shouldn’t
be
gossiping
'
she’s
exactly
the scandal-loving
busybody
who
lives
for
it.

So
that
explains
how
they
know
each
other.
But
I
don’t
understand
what
she
meant
when
she
was
talking
about
‘everything
that
was
happening.’
I thought
Jayce
was
a
delinquent,
or
one
of
those
teens
that
just
left
school
at
sixteen
with
no
ambitions,
only
to
find
which
drink
got
them
drunk
the
fastest.
Maybe
he’s
way
more
complicated
than
that.

“
I
wanted
to
look
after
him.
But
you
know
how
he
is.
How
he
pushes
everyone
away.
He
didn't
want
me
to
help
him.
”
She
finishes
tying
another
ribbon
and
looks
at
me,
breaking
into
a
smile.
“
It
looks
lovely!
What
do
you
think?
”

I
turn
to
look
in
the
mirror
of
the vanity
table.

It's
a
French
plait
with
many
other
plaits
running
into
it,
and
I
seem
to
have
red
ribbons
coming
out
of
everywhere,
making
me
strongly
resemble
a
poodle.

Although
it
looks
strange,
and
I'd
never
be
seen
dead
with
it
usually,
I
have
to
say,
she's
right.
In
a
strange
way,
it
does
look
nice.
She
has
left
a
few
soft
ringlets
to
frame
my
face,
which
seems
to
soften
the
usually
sharp
edges