As my smile barely left my lips, I leave the classroom both glad and disappointed that I didn’t see Easton on my travels. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with my time off, but tonight I will definitely be browsing that website Ms Bowles recommended.

As I round the last corner which leads out into the playground, I hear the sounds of girls giggling.

“Hey, Pigtails, how about we cut your hair? Then we can play a game of pin the tail on the little piggy wiggy!”

All the girls start laughing, but I’m not. My eyes flit in the direction of the bullies when they land on a very timid, very frightened Samantha.

“Leave me alone. I’ve done nothing to you,” she shouts, holding onto her folder in front of her.

The main girl, Lynn—who just happens to be the tallest in our class—walks up to her flicking her pigtails in front of her face. “You’re doing everything to me. Just by existing.”

“That’s enough!” I shout, marching up to the girls. I notice the sneer on Lynn’s face as I approach. I have been keeping my head down and concentrating solely on my schoolwork since being here, but what I can’t abide by—or ignore—is someone being bullied.

“Who the fuck do you think you’re talking to?”

Not caring for her language or intimidation techniques, I waltz up to her until we’re a mere two feet apart. “What is your reasoning for picking on Samantha? Jealousy, perhaps? It normally is when people like you bully.”

She snorts like what I’ve just said disgusts her. She may have an extra inch or two in height on me, but she doesn’t scare me.

“Why would I be jealous of her?” She tilts her chin in Samantha’s direction. “She’s nothing but a little squirt.”

Her minions giggle nervously, but I step forward, now inches from her face. “You think you’re so hard, don’t you? Do you like intimidating a girl when she has no one to defend her? Does it make you feel big, huh? How about you try and pick on me? I’m black belt champion in Tae Kwon Do. Do you want to test the theory of just how tough you really are against me?”

I notice her swallow hard before nervously looking towards her friends. They’re all silent—all watching our little exchange.

Lynn—noticing she must say something—looks around once more, screws up her face in disgust before saying, “You’re not worth my time. Come on, ladies,” she says, moving away from me. “We have better places to be.”

I watch as they walk off, shaking my head as they do. Bullies are such cowards. When they’re out of earshot, I turn to Samantha whose mouth is slightly parted. “Are you okay?”

“Y– yes,” she stutters, finding her feet and moving towards me. “That was amazing. Thank you.”

I start walking for the exit and Samantha follows suit. “You’re welcome.”

“Do you really have a black belt in Tae Kwon Do?”

Turning my head towards her, I smirk. “Nope.”

She starts laughing and it’s so infectious that I end up joining in. “That’s amazeballs!” she shouts, laughing again. “Hey, can I get you an ice cream to say thanks? I know a great place down Park Road.”

I shake my head, still walking in the direction of home. “No, thanks. I appreciate it though.”

I notice she’s stopped walking, so I turn to find her standing on the pavement, a sad frown on her face. “Oh, okay,” she answers. “I guess I’ll see you after half-term.”

I watch as she walks away, my eyes closing with guilt as she does. I hitch up my backpack further up my shoulder and sigh. I don’t want to get to know any of these students, but I also can’t let her walk away knowing how sad she looked. The guilt will plague me for days.

“Hey,” I say, shaking my head knowing that I may or may not regret this later. I watch as she turns, her face looking brighter. “Actually, I could really go for an ice cream right now.”

Her face lights up. I smile, walking towards her, and she links her arm through mine. A bold move on her behalf, but I don’t shrug her off. Instead, we start a steady pace towards Park Road.

“You don’t mix with people that much, do you?”

I can see in the corner of my eye that she’s scrutinising me, like she’s trying to work something out.

“I’m not a social person, I guess. I just want to get this last year of school over and done with so I can figure out what I’m going to do next.”

Samantha fusses over her bag until she eventually pulls out some gum. “Do you want some?” I shake my head, and Samantha deposits the gum into her mouth, chewing loudly. “Do you know what you want to do when you leave school?”

I think back to the time I used to read a lot at Liam’s because there was little else to do. I remembered thinking then that becoming a literary editor would be an awesome job. You’d get paid for reading—something I love.

“I think I’d go on to do an A level in English. It’s my favourite subject.”

“Mine too,” she beams. When I don’t offer any more she says, “I want to be a trapeze artist.”

I stop dead in my tracks and at first she doesn’t even notice. Her arm slips from mine and she casually strolls forward, humming Fifth Harmony’s “Worth It.” It’s a good full two seconds at least before she turns her head, notices I’m not there and swivels on her heels to find me.

“What?” she asks. “Have you seen someone you don’t like? An ex-boyfriend, perhaps?” Her eyes light up at the very idea.

“Were you joking about the trapeze artist comment?” She shakes her head. “Wow.”

Tilting her head, she frowns. “Is there something wrong with being a trapeze artist?”

“No,” I shout, a chuckling slightly. “It’s just not something you hear every day.”

She shrugs and we then carry on our walk. “My aunt was one—until she retired last year. I used to hang out when they practiced and watched wide-eyed and awestruck. My aunt asked if I wanted to learn and of course, who wouldn’t? I jumped at the chance. I was seven back then. Haven’t looked back since. As soon as I’m done with school I’m going to join the circus and travel the world.”

I nod my head, impressed. “Power to you, girl.”

She beams at my comment. “Thanks.”

We reach the ice cream shop where I opt for vanilla and chocolate sauce. I sit with Samantha for the duration, chatting, and although she’s very young she was not bad company at all. At the end, I thanked her, and she gave me her number just in case I ever wanted to chat or hook up with her during the week. I was just thankful that she never asked too many personal questions.

When at home, I immediately get to work switching my laptop on and surfing this website that Ms Bowles had suggested we look up. I sign up and as soon as I put in my location it tells me of all the nearby locations of people also looking to swap books. I scroll through each one, but none catch my eye. Not until I get to someone with the username Nike1991 who is looking to swap a book by James Patterson for any by Dean Koontz.

I bite my lip thinking of Easton, but it can’t be him. It would be way too much a coincidence. Besides, I know Easton told me he lived fifteen miles out, whether this location is only a ten minute walk away from me.

Shaking my head, I get on with the task at hand. Whomever he or she is, I have plenty of Dean Koontz to choose from, and I doubt Ms Bowles can really complain about a thriller.

I shrug my shoulders. What harm can it do? I hit the button to get in touch with Nike1991 and immediately an email style template pops up.

To: Nike1991

From: FriendsFan18

Hi,

I have plenty of Dean Koontz books if you’re interested in a swap? I will list the ones I have below:

Watchers

Strangers

The whole Odd series

Velocity

The Whispering Room

Final Hour

The City

77 Shadow Street

Life Expectancy

Sole Survivor

I take another couple of minutes to look around, but nothing else catches my eye. I’m actually about to give up and shut my browser when I get a ping alerting me to a message.

To: FriendsFan18

From: Nike1991

Wow, you have a lot of Dean Koontz books. I take it that you’re a fan? In any case, yes, I am interested in a swap, but may I ask that you pick whichever is your favourite? I trust your judgment, considering you have so many. I have read a couple, but it’s been a while, so I’m sure I’ll enjoy whatever you choose.

Thanks.

I respond immediately.

To: Nike1991

From: FriendsFan18

Yes, you can definitely say I’m a fan, and I will certainly pick one out for you. The same happens to be true of me where James Patterson is concerned. I look forward to reading your choice as well. Where and when would you like to meet so we can exchange?

I wait a few minutes to see if he or she will respond. A couple of minutes later, I hear the ping.

To: FriendsFan18

From: Nike1991

How about tomorrow at 6pm? I live at 32 Barrington Way. You can come and make the swap there.

I look on Google to find where Barrington Way is, and it’s where I suspected it would be. It’s not a far walk for me at all, and it’s in a nice area. I spend a moment pondering the wisdom of just showing up at a stranger’s house, but whoever it is is trusting me, so why shouldn’t I go? I can always run if I don’t like the look of the person. With that in mind, I reply.

To: Nike1991

From: FriendsFan18

That’s perfect. See you then.