Lola

14

Dani

It seems very fortunate for Cam and I that Zig and Mara are much too kind to make a fuss over what just happened. As I re-enter the room with Cam following sheepishly behind me, Kel gives me a questioning look from across the room. I give her a quick thumbs up and she smiles with satisfaction and mimes applause.

Mara waves with a mouthful of popcorn. Zig gives me a quick smile, and it is reassuring that any issues Cam had with me this morning haven't changed their opinions of me. Cam sits back down on the couch and I slip in between him and Kel. He clears his throat, clearly embarrassed. "So, how did we all go?"

Kel's mouth switches as though she's suppressing a laugh. "As I had started to say before, nothing particularly unusual came up around the physics class."

I suddenly remember Kel's earlier words before Cam decided to lose it. "You said there were some fairly mixed opinions of Lola in the class. Were there any that surprised you?"

Kel looks up thoughtfully. "I never knew Lola as well as you or Cam did, but a couple did surprise me a little. Lindsay, one of the quietest girls in the class, claimed that she never would have passed first semester without Lola. Apparently she tutored her weekly in the library for free."

I can't help but share her surprise. "I never knew about that either."

We both turn to Cam. He shrugs. "I knew. Lola was blitzing electromagnetism, so when Lindsay said she was struggling she thought it'd be stupid not to offer."

It is odd, listening to Cam recount memories of Lola that I never knew about. I can't condemn her for lying, as she never denied these friendships or deeds that I never knew of, but it is still jarring that I was privy to such a small fraction of her life. By this point I have someone conceded that Cam was somewhat of an equal best friend to Lola as I was, but the possibility that he was a better and more trusted friend is painful to think about.

I choose not to comment on Cam's recollection. "Anything else, Kel?"

She grins. "You know McKenzie O'Shea?"

"Unfortunately, yes."

"She told me that while it was a tragedy that she died, Lola was extremely rude. Apparently she once told her that her self-bleached hair made her look like the love child of Niall Horan and an albino echidna."

I shake my head. "I do remember that actually. Although Lola did tell me that McKenzie first told her that her new pink shade made it look like she had been puked on by a pixie."

Cam admits that he never heard about the hair-related arguments between Lola and McKenzie, and I can't help but feel selfishly satisfied. He claps his hands, which I have begun to notice is a move that he uses interchangeably with a conversation starter. "Right. Mara, any luck with the locker?"

Mara smiles shyly. "I got in. Kel kept Mr Callaway busy, so I had a good ten minutes to get in and look around."

My stomach does flips. "What did you find?"

"Mostly just textbooks and folders. There was something that struck me as interesting though."

Cam looks like he's about to explode. "What is it?"

Mara pulls a folded piece of paper out of her pocket. "It's a to-do list. It was stuck to the inside of her locker door."

Cam and I look at each other desperately, knowing that we're feeling the same awful anticipation. Despite my differences with Cam, it can be comforting to share the loss with someone who understands. I finally manage to get the words out. "What does it say?"