Page 83 of Serenity Falls

‘Or the cinema?’

‘A cold, dark cinema when it’s ninety degrees outside?’ She pauses. ‘Actually, that sounds great.’

‘Okay, then.’ He swigs his coffee. ‘I’ll just have a quick shower and check what’s—’ His phone buzzes. ‘Hold that thought.’

He picks the phone up from the table and frowns. He makes a gotta take this gesture and walks out of the kitchen into the living room. ‘Hi!’ A pause. ‘Yes, yes. Settling in okay. No, all good.’

Sadie realizes she hasn’t popped the toast down, but she doesn’t really feel hungry any more. She watches Dad talking on the phone and something about the way his shoulders sag tells her it’s not good news. After a few more fake-sounding pleasantries – ‘Sure. No need to apologize. See you then’ – he ends the call and walks back into the kitchen.

‘Principal Lockhart,’ he says before she can ask.

‘What did he want?’

‘He wanted to remind me about the staff meeting this afternoon.’

She feels the sharp pang of disappointment. ‘What?’

‘Apparently, he sent an email, but I don’t remember seeing it.’ He sighs. ‘I’m sorry, sweetheart, I know I said we’d do something together, but—’

She waves a hand. ‘It’s okay. I get it. You’ve got to keep your new principal sweet.’

‘Right.’ Her dad nods. ‘Of course. It’s just … I worry.’

‘Well, don’t. This is Serenity Falls, remember. Crime-free zone. Winsom’s dream town.’

‘Yeah.’

They look at each other, and Sadie can feel it – the unspoken stuff hovering in the air between them. All it would take would be for one of them to say something. But eventually they both look away and the moment is gone.

‘So, what will you do?’ Dad asks.

‘Maybe shopping,’ she lies. ‘Maybe I’ll go to the cinema without you.’

‘Harsh. But I’m sure you’ll have more fun than I will.’

She suddenly thinks of something else. ‘Maybe you could ask Principal Lockhart about the ice-cream van when you see him?’

‘Yeah.’ Dad looks thoughtful. ‘Maybe Lockhart is the man with all the answers.’

Serena

Our first problem is that we need a boat.

It’s possible to get to where Milo thinks Harold’s cabin is entirely on foot, but it’s time-consuming and riskier. And we don’t have much time. That’s our second problem.

‘You thought about the curfew?’ he asked.

‘Yeah. I mean, we’ll need to be back before then, or my mom will freak—’ I shrugged.

‘You ever broke it?’ He had that odd glint in his eye that I recognized now. The same one as when he suggested I cut and dye my hair.

‘No.’ I’d never had anyone to break it with. ‘Guess it’s never really been a thing.’

Obviously, people did break curfew, or at least they said they did.

‘I tried once,’ Milo said.

‘You did?’