“That will do. I’m leading this conversation.” Mrs.Sinclair exchanges glances with Mr.Ward, then looks at me. “Emma, I have to take Mr.Ward’s accusation seriously. But I want to hear your version of events. Were you in his office or not?”
My mouth is dry, my lips are numb.
Tell the truth, tell the truth.
The deeper you get in lies, the worse it will be.
“Emma?”
I swallow with an effort. “Yes.”
My voice is quiet, but they heard. There’s a hint of triumph flickering in Mr.Ward’s face. Mrs.Sinclair looks stunned. “But I came out again the moment I saw that nobody was there.”
“She must have taken photos,” Mr.Ward interrupts me. “She must have had her phone with her. All you have to do is check...”
“That’s enough, Mr.Ward.” Mrs.Sinclair’s voice is sharp. When she continues, her words sound gentler. “Emma, we can’t check your phone without your permission. But if you allow us to, it might prove you innocent.”
The pictures were deleted. There’s no chat to prove I sent them to Henry. There’s nothing. Bluetooth doesn’t leave a trail, does it? If they don’t find anything on my phone, Mr.Ward has no proof.
Slowly, I nod. I reach for my phone, which I’d picked up again as I was leaving the classroom. The display immediately shows a series of messages from Mum. I just glance at them, but it’s enough to reveal that Mrs.Sinclair has already told her.
I’m about to give it to her when there’s a knock at the door. Before Mrs.Sinclair can say anything, it’s opening.
It’s Henry, his face expressionless. His eyes meet mine, my heart skips a beat. He seems to have put two and two together as he sees Mr.Ward and the phone in my hand.
“It was me,” he says.
What is he doing?
I jump up as Henry closes the door and comes in. He’s walking tall, his shoulders tense.
“Henry, you can’t just—”
“No, you don’t understand,” he interrupts Mrs.Sinclair. “I heard the announcement. This is about the maths mock, right?”
“We’re talking to Ms.Wiley here,” snarls Mr.Ward, but Henry doesn’t bat an eyelid. I try to implore him with my eyes, but he just stares past me.
“Emma saw me in Mr.Ward’s office. She was on her way to her appointment with him. I was worried about the exam, and I made a mistake. I’m sorry.”
“He’s lying!” I turn to Mrs.Sinclair. “It’s not true, he didn’t do anything. It was me who photographed the papers. I was in theroom, and the papers were on the desk. I didn’t mean to, I really didn’t mean to, but I was thinking about Henry, and I wanted to do something to help him. I only wanted to help. It was wrong, I regret it, but he didn’t do anything.” I don’t know when I start crying. All I know is that I can’t contain myself anymore.
“It was her,” repeats Mr.Ward.
“Quiet!” Mrs.Sinclair rubs her temples. “Oh, God, this can’t be true.” She looks from Henry to me.
My blood runs cold as Henry pulls his phone out of his bag, unlocks it, and lays it on the desk. I whirl around to him as I see the photos. Why does he still have them? Is he out of his mind?
He shakes his head as Mrs.Sinclair and Mr.Ward bend over his phone.
“I’m sorry,” he repeats, and I can’t breathe.
Henry
I knew what had happened as I sat there in Latin, hearing Emma summoned to the head. It was like I was on autopilot. I stopped thinking. I stood up and Ms.Barnett let me leave early.
I couldn’t run because my bloody shoulder still hurts, but I can’t feel a thing now anyway. There’s just blankness as Emma just stared at me aghast while I put my phone on the desk. My phone with the photos, which I’d deleted but left in the trash. Because I’d had a hunch that we might still need them. They’re proof, but teachers aren’t allowed to go through my phone without my permission. Everyone’s known it since there was thatbusiness a couple of years ago with Colette in the second form, and Mr.Ward, who ignored the rule.
But now they’re looking because I want them to. Because I’ve been at this school for so many years now and have never been in any trouble. Because I’m school captain, and I’ve just lost my sister, for fuck’s sake. Because if they’re going to go easy on anyone, it’ll be me. But not Emma, who’s only been here a couple of months. She wouldn’t understand that, and maybe I didn’t completely think this through, but I had to do it. The way she did something for me even though I didn’t ask her to.
