Where Sleeping Girls Lie by Faridah Abíke-Iyimide

Author:Faridah Abíke-Iyimide [Àbíké-Íyímídé, Faridah]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

There was something about Sundays that made Sade feel on edge.

A weird, unsettling feeling that something wasn’t quite right.

Perhaps it was the empty promise of a new week.

Or maybe it was that at home, tragedy always seemed to strike on Sundays. Her mum died on a Sunday, and her father would often return home from business trips on Sundays, bringing with him his unpleasant air. Perhaps it was that.

And now it seemed the dread that was always there had been made worse by everything that had happened.

The Sunday morning after the Halloween party, a sharp knock sounded on her door and for a split moment, Sade’s mind convinced her that Elizabeth had returned. In those fleeting seconds, before the rational side of her brain took over, her heart felt as though it was ready to burst out of her chest and wither away, the hairs on her arms stood upright, and sweat beaded on the top layer of her skin.

Then, when she questioned why she was so scared in the first place, the physical symptoms of her perpetual anxiety subsided and she was able to think clearly once again.

Except when she opened the door, there was no one there. Just a bouquet of sunflowers and a note tucked between the petals.

I look forward to seeing you this afternoon – JR

PS. Don’t ask where we’re going – it’s a secret

She had almost forgotten about the game she had lost yesterday, and the date Jude had promised.

Almost, because it had been all she could think about last night.

It wasn’t like she had to go on the date with Jude; the game was not legally binding. But going would help her figure him out. In the spirit of keeping your friends close and all.

She placed the sunflowers next to the forget-me-not plant and lay back down on her mattress, staring up at the ceiling and trying to empty her brain long enough before she had to get up and meet Baz for their mission in half an hour.

The plan, they’d decided in the end, was to try snooping through Hawking again if, and only if, they were unsuccessful with what Sade was calling Operation Thistle. This involved distracting Ms Thistle so that they could look at all the student and teacher files kept in cabinets in reception.

Anyone with the initials TG would be a suspect.

Sade just hoped that any new discovery wouldn’t lead to more unsolvable questions. They needed something to take to Webber and Blackburn, to convince them that this was not a closed case – that Elizabeth was not in Birmingham, and could very well be in danger, or…

Her phone suddenly buzzed with a message from Baz.

B: There’s been a slight Muffin-Roommate domestic, will have to meet you at the main entrance.

S: Okay, see you soon she replied, deciding not to ask any questions.

Her brain was spiralling already as it was. Anxiety jumbled her thoughts into a distorted mosaic of noise. Jude. Jam. Thistle. TG. Jam. Jude. Elizabeth. TG. TG. TG.

When Sade closed her eyes, she could still see the engraving on the box.

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