| Michelle and Pascal started walking to where Pascal�s Mum was waiting in the car. Pascal didn�t seem like she wanted to talk, and Michelle didn�t mind. She couldn�t get him out of her mind. It was dark already, before half past five. There was another owl, sitting on a fence on the opposite side of the road this time, but Michelle didn�t notice, she was too busy thinking about Mr Landau. Her mind wouldn�t focus on anything else. It began to not even focus on that, and seemed to swirl. She began to feel faint, until her mind emptied itself. She suddenly felt like she needed to go back to the school. She didn�t know why, but it was a very strong urge and she couldn�t disobey. �I�ve left my maths book in my locker,� she said, �I need to get it for some homework tonight.� �Michelle we�re late already. We�ll miss Eastenders at this rate.� �Don�t be silly, it�s only half past five. I�ll only take a minute.� She started jogging back in the direction she had come. She passed Mr Landau on the way, but for some reason she didn�t even acknowledge him. Her mind was completely empty. She skipped up all the stairs to the common room where the lockers stood, pulled out her key and opened it. It was empty. She frowned and as she remembered what she was doing. She shut the door and shook her head trying to wake herself up. She left walking down all the stairs, said good bye to the caretaker and walked to where Pascal�s Mum always waited for them in the car. �What time do you call this?� she called out of the window. �Sorry, I forgot something and had to go back.� �Well couldn�t one of you have come and told me? I�ve been worried with those girls going missing.� �But Pascal�� Michelle started, and stopped. �Isn�t she here?� �No.� Pascal�s Mum�s face lost all it�s colouring. She clambered out of the car and started calling for her daughter. �Calm down, Mrs Brown, she probably just met someone and got talking, that�s all.� Michelle thought that she would have noticed on the way back if that had been the case. �I�ll walk back slowly, see if I can find her. Let�s not panic unnecessarily.� She walked back slowly calling her friend�s name and looking everywhere. She was terrified for Pascal�s safety. She knew Rosy Baker from orchestra, and though everyone assumed that she had simply run away with the other fifteen-year old and would probably be found somewhere in London soon, there was still a fear deep inside that some man in a raincoat could have taken them. The only thing that calmed everyone down was the fact that Lisa Spencer had run away before. She saw the owl again. It seemed to glow in the darkness and it was sitting on something. It flew away as Michelle approached, and she knelt down to see what it was. Pascal�s violin lay in it�s case, upside down on the cold dirty pavement, less than ten metres from where Michelle had seen her friend last. |