Sincerely, Red

Chapter Twenty Five

"It'll be okay," I said, as I got up and put my plate in the sink. "Just pretend they're not there, because we're not doing this for them."

"When did you stop being so annoying?" he asked. "You're actually sprouting stuff that isn't complete nonsense. It's weird and it makes me wonder if we're all growing up too fast."

"That's not anything unusual," I replied. "Lots of people grow up too fast. It's what makes us normal. We've got something in common with others."

He rolled his eyes and I followed him outside to Claire's car. We'd all agreed that it had more space, mainly because it wasn't full of canvasses, clay vases and random statues of pigs. It was warm inside and the smell of leather was drowned out by a pine tree air freshener. Everything was so much like one of those advertisements on TV. A stranger looking in would never have been able to tell that we were going to a funeral; or that everything was not normal; or even that we were all worrying and thinking over the silliest thinks, in our aim to just forget, even though we knew we couldn't.

When we got to the hall, we found that there were lots of people already there. They milled around in the otherwise open space, talking animatedly but quietening when they noticed us. I hated the fact that we drew that kind of attention, the type that demanded pity even if the people subjected to it didn't want pity. It made it feel like we had no choice.

"Do these people have nothing better to do than stare?" Claire questioned. "That's the only thing they've been doing through the entire thing. They're so useless." When David shook his head, she added, "Well you can't say it's not true. Have you actually ever known them to help in any way? They're just there to believe in whatever the current news is." It sounded like she was on the verge of a rant. "When someone said Liv had murdered her best friend, they believed it. But now that the law has said that Tim did it, they're following that too. They just don't care about anything other than the gossip. It's just a matter of switching topics for them."

"You know that's not true, Claire," David said. "You know more than any of us that we can't base every single person in this room on that one interpretation. People lose focus when they're part of a group. I'm sure at least some of the people here wanted to help. They were just scared of drawing attention to themselves. I mean, wouldn't you be?"

She didn't answer and tried to ignore Lucas' glare at the mention of his sister's name. Instead, she walked off in front of us and took a seat in the front row of the hall. People continued to stare, but then began to follow our cue and sit down in their own seats. David sat beside Claire and I took the seat after his, whilst Lucas took the one next to me.

"Isn't any of his family here?" someone asked. "It seems a bit odd."

Lucas looked like he was about to get up and punch the person, even though the voice sounded feminine. David shook his head and he settled back down again. He stayed still for the next five minutes or so, as a man we'd never seen before got up on stage and paid his respects to the Carters. Then it was the school principal, Laney's art teacher and Mr Carter's business partner.

They all talked about how good the family had been. They mentioned how they would always think fondly of Laney and how Maria Carter should be forgiven so she that could rest in peace. They sprouted a number of lies, making up stories that everyone knew were not real in any way but crying over them anyway.

It was absolutely pathetic.

And then they called me on to stage. "We have here today Laney's best friend, Olivia," the principal introduced. "I've been informed that she'd like to say some words."