Eleanor Jones is Playing with Fire, page 3
‘It’s not that bad,’ I tell him. ‘It isn’t long, and it’s been banned from schools a fair bit over the years.’ I’m hoping that fact makes it a slightly more interesting prospect.
Noah opens his mouth but I cut him off.
‘And there’s a movie.’
He closes his mouth again. I don’t tell him the movie is about a hundred years old.
Ms Kahn, who has been walking around the room during the discussion, stops at our group. ‘Have you made a decision?’
We all nod and Tyler clears her throat before announcing. ‘The Outsiders.’
‘Wonderful!’ Ms Kahn claps her hands together. ‘Excellent choice, Tyler.’ Tyler smiles sweetly up at her and I want to vomit. ‘There are copies set aside at the library in town. We don’t quite have enough of everything here at the school library. If you can each arrange to grab one from there and perhaps also chat a bit more about how you’re going to present your findings, that would be great. I understand life is busy, but if you can at least start looking into it before tomorrow afternoon’s class, it would be an excellent beginning.’
After she moves away, Tyler looks at me. ‘The library is your second home, isn’t it? Can’t you just get us the copies?’
I bite my lip to stop myself saying something snarky. If Tyler had ever borrowed a book from a library in her entire life, she’d know it doesn’t work that way.
‘I’m happy to meet you all there after school and help everyone get organised, if that’s what you mean, Tyler?’ I offer instead.
‘Great,’ says Deklan. He sweeps his books in under one arm and stands to leave. ‘Later.’
‘Thanks, Jonesy.’ Noah gives me another whack on my arm and I try not to flinch.
Tyler doesn’t even bother responding and instead turns in her chair and waves at Camille across the room. Taking that as my cue to leave, I stand. Olivia joins me and we make our way towards the door.
We’re out in the hallway before she speaks quietly. ‘Thanks for that, Eleanor. I’ll see you after school at the library in town.’ She starts to walk away from me, but then pauses. I wait, and finally she speaks again. ‘Tyler scares me a little bit.’
‘A little bit?’ I reply. ‘You’re braver than me then. I think she’s terrifying.’
CHAPTER 5
I’m the first of the group to arrive at the library, but I’m pretty sure I made that happen on purpose. I didn’t want to have to walk with anyone and make uncomfortable small talk, so I left school the second the final bell rang.
I love libraries, even if I have met questionable people at this particular one. Actually, I should just say ‘person’.
As soon as I walk in the door, Alex, one of the librarians, says hello. See? I’m on a first-name basis with the librarians. Tyler would tell me this means I’m a giant nerd, but I think it’s excellent. There is a large grouping of tables on the bottom level, between all the shelving, and sitting at one of them are Angus and Ethan, two of my friends. They’re chatting with Vi, who volunteers at the library and despite being in her seventies, is also one of my friends. If you’re thinking I’m super popular because of my many great friends, you’d be wrong. But maybe you’d be right too. I have met some awesome people since moving to Cooinda and I don’t think I’ve ever had this many genuine mates in my entire life. Ten out of ten recommend.
Ethan Griggs and Namita are, I suppose, even though neither of them will put a label on it, a couple. If you didn’t know either of them, you’d think it was the world’s oddest pairing. Ethan is rough-and-tumble and Namita is all polished and proper. Up until a couple of months ago he was known for riding his motorcycle everywhere. An accident resulted in broken bones that are finally out of plaster, but I have a feeling he will be fixing his bike for the next decade. Ethan is in the year above us and I’d say he and Namita would have to be two of the smartest students at our school.
Not the smartest, however. That would be Angus. Angus Marshall is small and thin and quiet and very much likes to keep to himself. But, if you need to know anything about anything, he’s your guy.
As I approach their table, Vi looks across at me and offers a welcoming smile. Her hair is dyed bright red and her lips and the frames of her glasses match.
‘Hello, Eleanor!’ She pushes the glasses up her nose. ‘Are you here to study with these two?’
‘Hardly,’ I reply. There’s no way I could keep up with either of them. ‘I’ve got to meet my English assignment group here. We need to get extra copies of the text.’
‘I might be able to help you with that,’ she says and then something over my shoulder catches her eye. ‘This might be one of your crew now?’
I turn to see Olivia walking towards us. She’s on a call and the conversation appears to be very serious.
‘Yes,’ she’s hissing into the phone as she gets closer. ‘Fine. I said yes. I’m going.’
She drops the phone into her pocket and looks up, shaking her head in the process and I finally catch a glimpse of her face. She’s quite pretty.
‘Everything okay?’ I ask.
‘Yeah,’ she answers. ‘Sort of. Have you ever just wanted to kill someone though? I mean, seriously!’
I laugh. ‘Not personally, but if you need a hand with that, Angus could probably concoct something and Vi could totally help you hide the body.’
Ethan snorts and I can’t quite read the expressions on Angus and Vi’s faces. Too soon?
Olivia looks at me with a curious expression. ‘You’re kind of strange, Eleanor. Has anyone ever told you that?’
Ethan laughs loudly this time and Olivia blushes.
‘Olivia, you know everyone, right? Ethan Griggs and Angus Marshall – this is Olivia Fisher.’
‘We’ve never actually spoken,’ Angus answers and I’m not surprised. Angus doesn’t really speak to anyone unless they speak to him first. I can’t imagine Olivia going out of her way to introduce herself to someone.
‘And this is Vi,’ I continue. ‘She works here.’
‘Just a volunteer, love,’ Vi corrects me, politely ignoring my earlier joke. ‘Eleanor says you might need help with some text copies?’
Olivia starts to nod but I can see she’s watching Ethan’s face. He has that effect on people. Dark hair, strong jawline, big, dark brown eyes, and eyelashes that almost don’t look real. He has a scar on one side of his face now, thanks to that recent motorcycle incident, but annoyingly, that’s just made him better looking. Sometimes I watch him walk through the school grounds and people go all quiet and make way as he moves through a crowd. They either want to be him, or be with him. Little do they know he’s a big softie . . . or that Namita is his girlfriend and he’s definitely not interested in anyone else.
I give up on Olivia responding and instead answer for her. ‘Yeah, that’d be great. Thanks, Vi.’
Ethan looks past us, towards the entry, and it’s as though a dark cloud has passed over his face. I wonder if the frown is because Tyler is here, but when I turn, I see a guy walking towards us. He looks older than school age but not much, and there’s something about his face that’s weirdly familiar.
‘Jarrod,’ Ethan says between gritted teeth.
‘Hey, little brother,’ the sort-of-familiar guy says. ‘I heard you’d be hanging out in the library and I didn’t think I’d believe it unless I checked it out for myself.’ He looks me up and down, then does the same with Olivia. She blushes, her cheeks turning a deep red.
Little brother? Jarrod? No way. This is the original bad boy Jarrod Griggs that everyone talks about? The reason Ethan has such a crappy reputation around town. Ethan told me he’d moved up north to work in the mines. I wonder what he’s –
‘What are you doing here, Jarrod?’ Ethan says. He sounds tired.
‘Looking for you. Maybe I need to be introduced to your friends here though?’
‘You really don’t.’ Ethan shoves his chair back and moves to stand, but Jarrod turns to me and Olivia.
‘Ladies,’ he says with an easy grin and I see at once why he seemed familiar. He’s like a thinner, fairer version of Ethan. It’s weird. The similarities are there, but also enough differences that you wouldn’t see it unless you knew the connection. He waves a hand in my direction. ‘And you are?’
I ignore the hand. ‘Eleanor Jones.’
Olivia makes a small ‘meep’ sound next to me and I feel her move behind my shoulder.
‘And this is Olivia Fisher. That’s Angus Marshall. And Vi, who works here,’ I say.
‘Volunteers,’ Vi politely corrects me once more.
‘You’re Eleanor Jones?’ Jarrod folds his arms and moves his head slowly up and down. ‘I’ve heard all about you.’
I’m really, really not used to having a reputation, and now this is twice in as many days. It feels weird to be noticed when I’m so used to being invisible. I shoot a glance at Ethan, like he is responsible for talking about me, but he looks just as confused by the comment as I am.
He rounds the table and grabs Jarrod by the elbow. ‘Leave everyone alone, would you. Come on, if you want to talk to me, then let’s go talk.’
‘Go easy,’ Jarrod says with a scowl, but moves to follow Ethan all the same. The expression completely changes his face. The attractiveness that he shares with his younger brother is instantly erased and I’m glad Ethan is making him leave.
As they walk behind the stacks and out of earshot, Olivia releases a loud sigh. ‘Those Griggs boys,’ she says, shaking her head. ‘I don’t know whether to be afraid of them, or in love with them.’
I give her a gentle pat of acknowledgment on one shoulder. ‘Experience tells me neither. Ethan’s really nice though, I promise.’
‘If you say so,’ she replies, her voice so quiet now I struggle to hear.
‘I’m with you, Olivia,’ Angus says, although he doesn’t look up from the calculations on his page as he speaks.
‘Perhaps Eleanor needs to speak to both of you about the complications that come with dangerous, older men?’ Vi tuts and I shoot her a look.
She answers my glare with a cheeky smirk and I can’t even be mad at her. I totally deserved that. ‘Now, how about we go find you kids those books you need?’
CHAPTER 6
Olivia and I are leaning on the main counter, waiting for Vi to return with five copies of The Outsiders, when Tyler, Noah and Deklan finally arrive.
‘Oh, look,’ Tyler announces as soon as we are in earshot of them. ‘The book nerds must have raced each other to get to the library first.’
Olivia stares at the floor in response and I roll my eyes. ‘Vi’s gone to get us all copies,’ I say, mostly to Deklan and Noah. Then I look at Tyler. ‘You’re welcome.’
She purses her lips together in what is barely smile-adjacent. I still can’t decide if she hates me, or if she’s just mean. Maybe both. I really seem to annoy her though, that’s for sure.
‘Are we sure this is the choice?’ Deklan asks, filling the space in what is turning into an uncomfortable silence.
I look at him, confused. Don’t tell me he’s a secret classics literature buff and has an alternative preference. I never would have picked it.
‘It’s just . . .’ he continues, ‘. . . it seems kind of old.’
I try my hardest to keep a straight face. ‘They’re all kind of old, Deklan. I’m fairly sure that’s the point of the exercise.’
Now he’s the one who looks confused.
Olivia clears her throat. ‘Ms Kahn was explaining last week that although things change – technology and stuff – the human experience doesn’t. Same thing, you know? So, she gave us a list of old books so we could compare, and find the similarities to how things are now.’
I want to cheer. Olivia gets it. I try not to show my surprise, but I am a bit shocked. One of the things that really bugs me about people is that they sometimes act too cool to learn, or even be interested in things. I think people who are interested in things are the most interesting kinds of people. I will never understand why being smart about anything is seen as a negative.
‘That’s ridiculous,’ Tyler says, folding her arms as she speaks. ‘Of course things change. Old people don’t understand what it’s like to be young. At least, my parents sure don’t.’
I can see Vi walking towards us with the novels in her hands and I want to point out that a couple of conversations with her might just change Tyler’s mind. I don’t bother though. Tyler doesn’t seem to understand anyone’s point of view outside of her own.
‘Excellent,’ Vi says are she reaches the counter. ‘You’re all here then. Alex will be over shortly to process these. I understand some of you don’t have library cards?’
‘I think I had one when I was little,’ Noah announces. ‘But I have no idea where it would be now.’
Deklan is looking around the space like he’s never seen it before. It is a beautiful library. Set over two levels and floor-to-ceiling windows that overlook the river and giant gums outside. I’m about to comment on how nice it is when he speaks.
‘Anyway, can we hurry this along. My dad will want me home for training. He’ll be wondering what’s taking me so long.’
Something tells me he won’t be up for discussing the beauty of the Cooinda Library.
‘Training?’ I ask, wondering what he does that his dad needs to train him on a Monday after school.
Tyler looks at me as if I’ve grown two extra heads. ‘Um, his dad is Leigh Webb.’
I’m wondering why that’s a thing I should apparently know.
Olivia saves me from the awkward silence. ‘He’s a really famous footballer, and he’s Deklan’s footy coach.’
‘And mine,’ Noah announces proudly.
‘I thought footy training was on Tuesday?’ I’m quite proud of myself for knowing this, even though it’s mostly because Troy has footy training, and Namita has soccer training, on a Tuesday. We often drop in to Morgan’s after school and before they have to go.
‘It is,’ Deklan says as he runs an impatient hand through his wavy dark hair.
I’m wondering what I’m missing when Noah pipes up. ‘Deklan’s really lucky. His dad gives him one-on-one training every day, and he gets to train with the seniors sometimes too.’
‘Training every day? Seriously?’ That sounds awful.
Deklan shrugs like it’s no big deal, but Noah is looking at him with reverence. Like he’d hand over all his worldly possessions for the chance to train with Deklan’s famous dad.
Alex, the librarian, has arrived and is ready to sort the books Vi got us, so Olivia retrieves a card from her schoolbag and I do the same. Once we’ve scanned both book and card, I motion towards an empty table so we can leave the others to get themselves sorted.
She nods and follows me.
‘I’m glad I’m in your group for this, Eleanor,’ she says quietly as we dump our bags on the table.
‘Thanks, Olivia,’ I reply. ‘Glad I’m in yours too.’ I mean it. Despite the overly shy exterior, it seems like Olivia Fisher is nice.
I open my bag and pull out my English folder, retrieving the instructions Ms Kahn gave us earlier today.
‘I have zero idea how we are going to do this and keep everyone happy though.’ I’m mostly thinking out loud, but Olivia digs through her bag to find her sheet as well and we both sigh as we sit down. I’m pretty sure she’s thinking the same.
She looks back and forth between the sheet and the rest of the group members before speaking. ‘Maybe we let Noah be in charge of videoing everything . . . and Tyler can be the interviewer?’
I laugh. She’s already trying to create the path of least resistance.
‘Do you think they’ll even read the book?’ I look over at the counter. They’re all finishing up with Alex.
‘Not a chance,’ Olivia whispers as the boys move towards us, leaving Tyler at the counter.
Noah and Deklan both throw their schoolbags on top of ours as they reach the table. Noah pulls out a seat next to me and plops down, while Deklan remains standing. He wasn’t kidding when he said he wanted to leave.
‘So, we’re thinking . . .’ I decide to get in early on planting ideas before Tyler shoots everything I say down in flames. ‘That maybe, Noah, you could be videographer.’
Noah makes a rectangle with his thumbs and pointer fingers, holding the frame up to one eye. ‘Excellent. Love that.’
‘And, Deklan, you could be director and decide who we interview.’
Deklan narrows his eyes. He looks wary. I know for sure if Tyler was here, and not still at the counter with Alex, he’d be telling me not to tell him what to do. ‘What about you two?’
‘Oh, we’ll be the assistants. Doing all the behind-the-scenes work for you.’
‘The boring reading stuff,’ Olivia adds.
He nods slowly and I’m feeling confident that we might actually pull this off.
Tyler, book and library card in hand, makes her way to the table and adds her bag to the pile. ‘Okay, losers,’ she announces. ‘What now?’
If Namita were here, she’d question why Tyler would want the opinion of a bunch of losers, but I’m not brave enough to poke the bear.
‘I’m going to film everything,’ Noah says confidently and I’m pretty happy he’s making it sound like it’s his idea. ‘Dek will be director.’
‘Oh, really?’ Tyler pulls a face. ‘You’ve just all decided, have you?’
‘We thought you could be the star.’ I try my hardest to not choke on the words. ‘On camera, I mean.’
Tyler’s face pales and her eyes dart to Deklan. He’s looking at the exit though, not paying attention. ‘No!’
‘No?’ I ask. I thought we were safe allocating her the job that would give her the most glory.
She rolls her shoulders and straightens up. ‘No. I want to be director. Dek can be on camera.’
I can already imagine her changing her mind a million times, and I feel like this is going to be way harder than it should be, but whatever. I suppose we will figure it out as we go.
‘Sure,’ I reply. I look at Deklan waiting for him to agree or disagree, but he’s totally checked out. ‘That will give us enough to tell Ms Kahn tomorrow, don’t you think?’
