The Sky is Everywhere

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Now I can't help wondering if the change in her behaviour has something to do with what she knows about the Trials. I can only speculate since I have no idea how long Cole and Fletcher have been together.

I start walking, expecting her to turn around and keep going, but she doesn't. She stands there and waits, watching as I draw closer and then pass her. I don't look back, but I can feel her eyes boring into me.

"Have you noticed anything strange about Cole lately?" I ask Taffy that evening, as we sit on my bed.

Boots lies between us, paws in the air, as we take it in turns to rub his fluffy belly. My wooden bird sits on the window-sill – Taffy was surprised to see it, but I told her that I had found it down by the fence, that someone must have dropped it on the other side, and that I had reached through to rescue it. She seemed happy enough with that explanation.

"I don't pay attention to her if I can," Taffy says, her face darkening.

"It's just . . . she's never been nice, but don't you think it's odd how much worse she's become over the past few months?"

Taffy visibly stiffens. "Considering that we're both usually her targets, I don't really care why she's become worse."

"But you have noticed it."

Boots nudges Taffy's hand with his head and she starts stroking him again.

"Yes, okay. She went from kind of a bitch to a complete mega bitch. Who cares?"

I can't tell her that I do without telling her why, so I just shrug.

"Seriously, why do you care?" Taffy asks, looking intently at me. "Has something happened?"

I suppose I don't have to keep everything secret, as long as I don't mention Roan or Rosie or anything to do with the Trials.

I tell her what happened today, and how strange Cole was, but I can tell that Taffy's not particularly interested. I can't blame her; Cole has made her life miserable.

"She's just messing with you," Taffy says. "That's what Cole does."

I'm no longer sure that it's as simple as that, but of course I can't say that to Taffy.

"Anyway, the Trials are almost here, and after that we'll never have to see her again," Taffy says.

That seems optimistic. Passing the Trials means we will be assigned a job and a role in the outside world, but it doesn't mean that none of us will see each other again. For all we know, anyone who passes simply moves to a different version of the CC. That's not going to happen to us, thanks to Rosie, but Taffy doesn't know that.

Still, there's no point reminding her of any of this. We all need hope, something to strive for, and if the thought of never seeing Cole again is what gives Taffy hope then I'm not going to take that away from her.

Boots rolls over, kneading Taffy's knees with his paws. She smiles down at him, running her fingers through his fur.

And then it all goes wrong.

Even though our doors don't have locks on them, we are expected to respect each other's privacy, and for the most part we do. So neither Taffy nor I expect someone to come bursting into our room unannounced.

We especially don't expect that person to be Cole.