My stomach cramps at the thought. I don’t think I’ve ever been as nervous as I am right now.
But walking away is not an option. I made Ruby a promise—quite apart from which, Lin will probably kill me if I don’t hand over her notes as agreed.
I take a deep breath, pluck up my courage, and ring the bell. It takes thirty seconds for the door to slowly open. Ruby’s dad islooking up at me, his eyes hard and challenging, with a determined look on his face that reminds me of Ruby for a moment. I clear my throat.
“Hello, Mr. Bell,” I say.
“James,” he replies flatly. It’s clear that he’s not happy about my visit.
“I wanted to bring Ruby today’s homework. And I’ve got notes from the lessons she missed,” I say, holding up the little stack of paper I’ve assembled to prove it.
Several seconds pass while Mr. Bell studies me without a word. I hold his gaze, the way I always try to do with Ruby.
“Come in,” he says eventually, wheeling to one side so that I can step into the house. Like last time I was here, the first things to catch my eyes in the narrow hallway are the family photos on the walls.
If I ever have a house of my own, I want to put up photos like that. The thought darts through my head, catching me unawares, and I have to look away.
“Ruby!” Mr. Bell shouts so loud that I jump, “you’ve got a visitor!”
I hear footsteps on the landing, then a creak as Ruby slowly walks down the stairs. Her eyes widen with surprise at the sight of me. “Hey,” I say quietly, as she comes to stand by me.
I know that’s not enough of a greeting. I wish I could give Ruby more than that, but I can’t. Not as long as Mr. Bell is watching me like a hawk.
“James has brought your homework,” he explains. “Go into the living room. Helen and I were about to put the kettle on anyway.”
I watch him vanish into the kitchen. Then my gaze is drawn back to Ruby. She looks tired and depressed, and I long to takeher in my arms and never let her go. But I know that won’t help, let alone solve her problems, so I resist the urge and gesture hesitantly toward the sitting-room door.
Ruby nods and leads the way; I follow at a safe distance.
“Lin and I were sure you’d want the notes from class so as not to miss anything,” I say, once we’ve sat down on the sofa. I put the pile of papers on the table.
“Have you spoken to Lin then?” Ruby asks. She leans forward to read the top sheet.
“Yeah. We sat together at lunch and divided up who would take notes in all your subjects.”
The corners of Ruby’s lips curl upward—ever so slightly, but they twitch.
“She was worried about you,” I go on. “She said she hasn’t got through to you since yesterday.”
“I didn’t really want to speak to anyone, somehow,” she says quietly.
“I get that.”
We sit in silence for a moment, then Ruby picks up the top piece of paper and looks questioningly at me. “What does the Post-it mean?”
I cough. “There’s a different color for every subject,” I explain. “To help you find what you’re looking for quicker. Lin gave me a crash course in your system. So that’s for maths.”
Ruby looks down and then back up to me, and some of the despair fades from her eyes to be replaced by a hint of something warmer, until eventually a smile spreads over her face. She pulls the whole stack off the table and into her lap and starts to take a closer look at the notes.
“I thought it was probably best for you to read it through inpeace, and then if you have any questions, we can go through them together. Apart from English. We’re not doingTess of the d’Urbervilles. But Lin can help you there.”
Ruby nods absently, still flicking through the notes.
“I hope you can read it all. I did my best, but…”
I don’t get any further. Ruby kind of bounces, then flings her arms around me.
“This is so amazing, thank you,” she says.
