After Eden

Chapter 15

Amy, Megan and I dressed at Megan’s. When we had applied the finishing touches to our hair and make-up, Megan’s mum took photos of the three of us in the back garden. She photographed us alone and together, then humoured us for a while as we goofed around, pulling faces and posing for silly shots. Megan and Amy were giddy with excitement – the evening still lay ahead of us, long anticipated, ripe with possibilities. I smiled and laughed along with the others, reminding myself that this should be one of the happiest nights of my life, trying to forget that I would have to spend the whole evening making sure I didn’t argue with Connor and inadvertently help to bring about the end of life on Earth.

We viewed the photos on Megan’s laptop while we waited for the limo to arrive. There was a photo of Megan alone by a blue ceanothus tree: her lilac dress, floor-length, shimmering satin, like the sky at dawn; her hair curled and pinned up on top of her head with small curls framing her face; her smile hopeful and innocent.

There was one of Amy standing next to a bench by a rosebush. She had one foot up on the bench and she’d pushed her skirt up high enough to reveal a black garter snug around her thigh. She was winking at the camera. Megan’s mum appeared to think she was just being mischievous and ironic. We knew better.

There was one of me in my vintage, beaded sea-green dress. It was shorter than the others’ – flapper style – and I’d pinned up my hair so that it resembled a nineteen-twenties bob. It was very different to everyone else’s dresses, but it suited my lean shape perfectly. My smile, however, was more sad than hopeful. Like my dress, I seemed nostalgic. Out of time.

There were other photos too. Megan and I with our arms around each other, grinning stupidly at the camera. The three of us with exaggerated pouts. Megan with her parents.

We were still viewing them when the limo pulled up outside and the driver sounded the horn.

‘Bye, Mum!’ Megan yelled, hiking up her dress and almost running out of the door.

The limousine was silver with white leather seats. Ryan, Connor and Matt were already inside, each dressed in tuxedos with bow ties and cummerbunds to match our dresses. Matt was holding a half-empty bottle of vodka. He passed the bottle to me.

‘Not for me, thanks,’ I said, passing the bottle on to Megan.

‘Someone still hung-over?’ said Connor.

That was when I remembered that I was angry with Connor for ratting on me to Miranda.

‘About that,’ I said, trying to control my voice. ‘Why did you tell your mother that I spent Thursday afternoon drinking vodka in Perran Park?’

‘I thought you might have alcohol poisoning,’ he said, his expression wide-eyed and earnest. ‘You don’t normally drink and you downed a lot of bottles in a short amount of time.’

‘Oh, please,’ I said. ‘Ryan was with me. He drove me home.’

‘Which – no offence, Ryan – was also a bad idea.’

‘Connor!’ I began. ‘If you were concerned about me, you could have called Ryan. Or me, for that matter.’

‘I was too busy throwing up myself. All I was able to do was tell my mum that I thought you might be sick.’

‘You know what Miranda’s like!’

Ryan kicked me gently from across the limousine. I looked up and caught his eye. Almost imperceptibly, he shook his head.

‘I wanted to make sure you didn’t pass out in your room and choke on your own vomit.’

I literally bit down on my tongue and counted for ten seconds. Then I composed my face into a grateful smile. ‘That was very thoughtful of you, Connor. Thank you.’

‘Where’s the other bottle?’ asked Amy.

Matt removed a medium-sized bottle of vodka from the inner pocket of his tux. Amy reached out for the bottle, but he pushed her hand away gently.

‘Let me,’ he said.

Amy laughed and hiked up her dress, revealing her lacy, black garter.

‘Close your eyes, boys,’ said Matt.

They didn’t.

Matt slid the bottle of vodka under Amy’s garter and checked that it was snug against her thigh.

‘How does that feel?’ he asked.

‘Fine,’ she said, pulling her dress back down.

‘Why are you wearing a bottle of vodka under your dress?’ asked Ryan.

Amy raised her eyebrows. ‘How else are we going to smuggle alcohol into the ball? They’ll check your jackets and our bags. But there’s no way they’re going to check my thighs!’

Mr Peterson, the deputy head, was standing at the entrance to the school canteen, flanked on either side by Mrs Link and Mr Chinn. The two men were dressed in the same suits they wore to school every day. Mrs Link, however, was dressed in a pink cocktail dress that showed rather too much of her ample bosom and the crêpy skin of her neckline.

‘Link is looking rather glamorous tonight,’ Ryan murmured, raising an eyebrow.

Matt laughed. ‘I think I might have to ask her to dance. Imagine being pressed up close against those.’

Connor made a puking sound. ‘Enough.’

The canteen had been transformed from the usual yellow plastic tables with moulded white chairs and harsh fluorescent lighting to something actually quite striking. If you had a good imagination – or had had a few drinks – you might be able to make believe you were in a restaurant in a luxury hotel rather than a glammed-up school canteen. The tables were covered with heavy, white linen tablecloths, and each table had a simple glass vase with a single pink rose. Pink and white confetti was sprinkled across the table like cherry blossom. Shadows flickered on the walls and the ceiling; hundreds of white tealights placed in pink holders were dotted around the room, giving the whole place a rosy glow.

‘This looks amazing,’ I said to Amy, who was part of the leavers’ ball committee.

‘Doesn’t it?’

Out of habit and nostalgia, we chose our usual lunch spot by the exit. A table for six. I looked around. The tables were mostly full. Year Ten prefects were our waiters, coming around to take our orders. Ryan and I both ordered the only vegetarian option on the menu – some sort of pasta dish. The meat-eaters had a choice of fish, chicken or beef. As I watched my friends order their meals, I leant back in my chair feeling utterly content. This was perfect. School and exams were behind me, I was sitting in a pink and white dream with all of my classmates, sharing a table with my best friends, sitting across the table from the best-looking boy in the universe. Later on, I hoped, we would dance. I glanced up at Ryan, who was smiling at me with his big, happy grin. I didn’t allow myself to think any further forward than that night. I wanted to enjoy the feeling of contentment, the thrill of the here and now.

‘I can’t believe that this is the last time all of us will be together,’ Megan was saying. ‘In September Matt and Amy will be going to college in Truro and . . .’

‘Stop,’ I said. ‘No nostalgic comments. That can come later. Let’s enjoy being here all together tonight.’

‘Hear, hear,’ said Connor, raising his glass of fruit punch. ‘Here’s to the end of school, the best friends a guy could wish for, and a brilliant future ahead.’

‘Aww,’ said Matt, leaning in to hug Connor. ‘You’re so sweet.’

One of the Year Ten prefects arrived back at our table with a tray of bread and soup. Our first course. Surprisingly, it looked nothing like the watery gruel served up at lunchtime on a daily basis. The bread rolls were different shapes: some were round wheat rolls, others were star-shaped with walnuts, and others had little pieces of tomato and olive in them.

‘If they can produce food like this, why have we eaten crap for the last five years?’ moaned Megan. ‘It’s the same cooks.’

‘They had a way bigger budget,’ said Amy. ‘Like ten times what they get to spend per head on a school day. And the menu had to be approved by the leavers’ ball committee.’

‘Well, they did a good job,’ said Ryan. ‘This actually looks edible.’

Amy smiled happily. She and her drama-club friends had spent hours organising the ball.

‘But the big question is where do we go after the ball?’ said Matt.

The dance was in the drama hall. Like the canteen it was decorated in pink and white, but rather than candles, the room had been rigged up with disco lights and a strobe. A cover band was supplying the music for the first hour and then a DJ for the rest of the evening. Amy and Matt went straight on to the dance floor. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Chloe Mason heading our way. I tensed up. With only a few hours left, I did not want to have to share my time with Ryan. But then she slipped her arms around Tyler Cook and dragged him out on to the dance floor.

‘Come on,’ said Ryan, reaching for my hand.

His hand felt warm and strong. The band was playing an upbeat rock song, too fast for slow dancing, so we just danced next to Amy and Matt. Connor didn’t dance. Ever. Ryan kept repositioning himself so that he was facing Connor.

‘It’s not nine thirty yet!’ I yelled in his ear. ‘You’re not on duty. You can enjoy yourself for a bit longer.’

‘Sorry. Force of habit. And I am enjoying myself.’

The cover band started playing a song I recognised from the radio and pretty much everyone came on to the dance floor. The door to the corridor was open, but the drama hall was hot and stuffy. Megan pushed her way through the crowd to join the rest of us.

‘I can’t persuade Connor to dance,’ she said. ‘I don’t know what he’s afraid of. All he has to do is shuffle from foot to foot. That’s all Matt is doing.’

‘I am not shuffling from foot to foot,’ said Matt.

‘Silly me. You’re also making infinitesimal movements with your arms. So while it looks like they’re merely hanging by your sides, they’re actually dancing along with the rest of your body.’

‘OK, so show me how it’s done,’ he said with a laugh.

Megan liked to put on a show. She gyrated her hips, wound her arms into the air and sang along with the music. Matt started copying her.

‘Let’s get some fresh air,’ I said to Ryan. ‘It’s too hot in here.’

We walked through the lobby and out into the cool, night air.

‘And where are you two going?’ Mr Chinn asked, startling us.

‘It’s hot inside,’ said Ryan. ‘We just need some fresh air to revitalise ourselves.’

He gave us a look that suggested he didn’t believe a word of it. ‘I hope you’re not thinking of revitalising yourselves with contraband refreshments?’

‘Certainly not, sir,’ said Ryan, his expression wide-eyed and innocent. ‘I don’t use alcohol or tobacco if that’s what you’re implying.’

‘That’s exactly what I’m implying,’ said Mr Chinn. He made a big show of looking at his watch. ‘Five minutes. That should be plenty of time to revitalise yourselves.’

Ryan reached for my hand and we walked around the corner to the small memorial garden. The sun was now low in the violet sky. We sat on one of the two benches in the garden. The other was taken by a group of girls who were swigging from a shared bottle.

‘How long till sunset?’ I asked.

Ryan glanced at his phone. ‘Twenty minutes.’

He slipped an arm around my shoulders and pulled me close to him. Even through his tux, I could feel the warmth of his body. I breathed in the smell of him and reminded myself to live in the moment. This moment right now which was beautiful and perfect.

‘Eden,’ Ryan said softly.

I turned to him.

His fingertips lightly traced the outline of my face. ‘You are so beautiful,’ he said.

I held his gaze, drinking in the sight of his gorgeous eyes, even as I felt my own face begin to redden. He’d said he wouldn’t kiss me because that would make it harder to leave, but I didn’t want it to be easy for him to leave. And I didn’t want to face a future of regretting not doing the one thing I wanted more than everything else in the world. A mixture of desire and desperation rushing through my veins, I leant in and gently pressed my lips to his. At first he just received the kiss, his lips hard and unyielding. I pulled away, but before I had the chance to feel embarrassed or hurt or any of the other emotions beginning to emerge from deep within me, he slipped his arms around my neck, pulling me closer to him, and then he kissed me. His lips were warm and gentle and sweet. I ran one hand through his soft, brown hair and he kissed me harder, more urgently, as though we had a couple of minutes to cram in a lifetime’s worth of kisses.

When we came up for air, we just gazed at each other.

‘I don’t want this day to end,’ I said.

Ryan pulled me against him tightly. ‘If I had the power to stop time, I would stop it now and spend the rest of eternity with you here.’

‘That’s the most romantic thing I’ve ever heard,’ I said with a nervous laugh.

And then he kissed me again.

I shivered. Despite being a clear evening, the wind was cold. Ryan put his arm around me and we walked slowly back to the hall.

Mr Chinn checked his watch as we approached the entrance. ‘Just in time,’ he said. ‘I was about to send out a search party.’

‘We’re quite revitalised, thank you, sir,’ said Ryan.

I checked my watch: nine fifteen. ‘Seven minutes till sunset,’ I said.

‘The sky is still quite light. Twilight lasts for about sixty minutes at this latitude. I don’t think we have to worry too much for the next hour at least.’

Connor and Megan were slow dancing. Megan caught my eye and waved.

‘Connor’s dancing,’ I said.

‘Is that dancing? It looks to me like Megan is trying to keep him upright.’

‘This is a breakthrough for Connor. I have never seen him dance, ever.’

‘Shall we?’ asked Ryan.

I let him lead me out to the dance floor. He wrapped his arms around my waist and I slid mine around his neck and we danced. For a few minutes I just closed my eyes and moved to the music, enjoying the feel of Ryan’s body pushed up against me, remembering the feel of his lips on mine.

‘Connor’s headed our way,’ Ryan whispered into my ear. ‘Remember your promise. No falling out.’

‘What if he tries to grope me?’

‘Just smile sweetly and tell him to keep his hands to himself. Anyway, from the way he’s been gazing at Megan all evening, I don’t think you’re the person he’d like to grope.’

‘Dance with me, Eden?’ Connor asked.

I laughed. ‘Now I know you’re an impostor. There’s no way the real Connor would dance with one girl, let alone two.’

‘You don’t want to miss this opportunity. This may never happen again. Tonight the stars are aligned just so and I have enough vodka in my blood and enough sentimentality in my heart, to break with tradition and . . .’

‘Fine, yes,’ I said. ‘Just stop talking.’

I didn’t know what to do with my hands. His waist seemed too intimate, his neck too romantic. In the end I settled for his shoulders while he rested his hands on my waist.

‘Are you having a good time?’ he yelled in my ear.

‘Great!’ I yelled back.

‘Where did you and Ryan disappear to?’

‘We just went to catch some fresh air.’

‘Is that what it’s called these days?’

I felt myself stiffen. Surely he wasn’t going to make an issue out of me and Ryan disappearing for five minutes.

‘So where did you stash your liquid refreshments?’ he asked. ‘Are you holding out on us?’

‘I don’t have any.’

‘You mean you really were just getting some air?’

‘Honestly. It was getting hot in here.’

I spotted Megan and Ryan dancing across the other side of the room.

‘Amy still has a full bottle under her dress if you want some,’ he said.

‘Maybe later,’ I said.

I didn’t want anything to drink. I didn’t want anything to interfere with my ability to remember this evening in every little detail.

‘I’ve been meaning to say thank you,’ said Connor. ‘For turning me down when I asked you to the ball.’

I wasn’t sure how to respond. Every time Connor spoke to me, I worried that it would turn into an argument.

‘Why is that?’

‘I never would have asked Megan if you’d said yes.’

‘Are you going out together?’

‘Not officially. But she’s my date tonight.’

‘Are you going to ask her out again?’

‘I want to. Do you think she likes me?’

‘I know she does.’

When the song ended, I danced with Matt and then I was back with Ryan again. The band finished and the DJ started and we all carried on dancing. It must have been ten thirty when we stopped to get drinks.

‘This is turning out easier than expected,’ Ryan whispered in my ear as we queued up for fruit punch. ‘Let’s see if we can keep him dancing until eleven.’

I took a plastic cup of the red punch and gulped it down.

Ryan took his mobile out of his jacket pocket and tapped in a number.

‘If you’d like a little punch to your punch, follow us,’ Matt murmured with a sly wink.

‘I’m just going to step outside to phone Cass and tell her to leave my car by the harbour beach,’ Ryan whispered in my ear. ‘There’s no reception in here. Stay with him. In fact, encourage him to drink. Then he won’t be able to focus.’

Connor, Megan and I followed Matt and Amy down the corridor and behind a bank of lockers by the dance studio. The high slit in Amy’s dress was a practical as well as stylish choice: she opened the slit to reveal the garter and bottle of vodka. Hurriedly, she unscrewed the cap and poured a large splash in everyone’s cups, except mine.

‘Still recovering from Thursday?’ asked Matt.

I shrugged.

Amy pushed the half-empty bottle back in its hiding place. ‘Right, back to the dance.’

‘Actually,’ said Connor. ‘Megan and I will join you in a few minutes. We’re just going to get some air.’

‘I could do with some air myself,’ I said. ‘I’ll come with you.’

Connor shook his head. ‘Why don’t you go and get some air with Ryan?’

‘He’s making a phone call,’ I said. ‘I’ll just tag along with you guys.’

Connor slipped his arm around Megan’s waist. ‘I don’t want you to tag along with us.’

‘Connor, don’t be mean,’ said Megan, looking embarrassed.

Connor continued to glare at me. I remembered what Ryan had said about not falling into an argument with Connor. I was going to have to follow him, out of sight.

‘Oh, I get it,’ I said. ‘I’ll see you in a few minutes.’

I stood and watched as Megan and Connor walked along the corridor, away from the drama hall. As soon as they turned the corner, I followed them. I started to run, but my shoes made a loud clip-clop on the tiled flooring and they would have heard me a mile away. I pulled off my shoes and ran along the corridor, reaching the corner just as they got to the end of the next corridor and began to go up the stairs. I waited a few seconds and then ran along the next corridor to the stairwell. Above me I could hear Megan’s high-pitched giggle. Connor said something in a low voice and then she giggled again. Although the classrooms and corridors away from the drama studio were in darkness, the stairwell was brightly lit. Probably some health and safety thing. Keeping close to the wall, I crept up the stairs behind them, praying that they wouldn’t look down and see me creeping up behind them like some perverted stalker.

There were four floors to the building. The ground floor held the drama hall and the dance studio. The first floor held the maths classrooms and the two floors above them held the science labs. Why on earth would Connor want to take Megan to one of the classrooms? Unless he really did like her and bringing her to the ball had nothing to do with making me jealous or making do. Ryan had convinced me of my importance in Connor’s life to the extent that I had begun to believe that he’d never be able to get over me and move on. Yet here he was, at the ball, dancing with Megan, stealing off to a classroom for some alone-time with her. Her giggle echoed down to me. I cringed. I really didn’t want to spy on Connor and Megan making out in one of the classrooms.

They reached the top of the stairwell and began walking along the third-floor corridor. I crept along behind them, working out where I could hide if either of them turned around. There was nothing much to hide behind, but the corridor was dark and shadowy and I could duck into a doorway if I needed. Far below us I could hear the bass of some song throbbing up through the building.

When they reached the lab at the end, Connor took a key out of his jacket pocket and unlocked the door. I waited until they had both gone inside and then padded along the corridor in my bare feet as quickly as I could. They had closed the door behind them, but every door in the school had a narrow glass panel running down the middle of it. I crouched down in front of the door and lifted my eyes high enough to peer through the panel. At first I could see nothing. And then the overhead fluorescent light flickered on. There were rows of high desks with stools tucked under them. A table of microscopes. Bunsen burners. A life-size human skeleton.

And a telescope.

How had we overlooked the possibility of Connor coming up to the science lab? Of course, the classrooms were always locked outside of lessons. But somehow he had obtained a key. I wished I had brought my phone so I could call Ryan, but it had been too bulky to fit inside my tiny clutch bag. I glanced at my watch: ten forty-five. The ball wouldn’t end for another fifteen minutes. Eden was still visible.

Connor unlocked the glass door that led from the classroom to the flat roof outside. It was where the school astronomy club held its viewing nights. My heart pounding, I crossed my fingers and hoped that Connor had brought Megan up to the roof because he wanted to kiss her away from the rest of us. The presence of a key made it look like he had planned this. I watched through the glass panel as he took Megan by the hand and switched off the light. The room plunged back into darkness.

I waited a few seconds and pushed open the door to the lab. The door swung shut behind me with a bang. I crouched behind one of the lab tables, holding my breath. Connor and Megan didn’t come back inside. Either they hadn’t heard or they didn’t care. I stood up and tiptoed towards the glass door. They were standing on the edge of the roof terrace, gazing down at the garden below. Connor was standing very close to Megan, their shoulders brushed, but he hadn’t touched her. He said something and she threw her head back with laughter. Above them, all around them, a million stars were twinkling. But the telescope was still inside.

I fixed my eyes on the sky, trying to locate a familiar constellation. I quickly found the w-shape of Cassiopeia. From there, I located Perseus, just as Ryan had taught me a few weeks earlier. Looking back down, my eyes reached Connor just as he spun around, facing the classroom. I pulled back from the window, but the shock in his expression told me that he’d seen me.

I stayed where I was, flat against the wall, my heart thudding in my chest. Perhaps he couldn’t tell that it was me. He might think it was a teacher. After all, the lab was in darkness. I didn’t move.

The glass door slid open and Connor stepped inside.

‘Eden,’ he said, his voice grim. ‘What are you doing here?’

Megan joined him in the doorway.

‘I came up here to get some air,’ I said.

‘You followed us.’

‘I had no idea you were here. I just needed some air and thought I would head up to the roof terrace.’

‘What an odd coincidence,’ said Connor. ‘You must have known the classroom and the door to the roof terrace would be locked, but you decided to come here anyway.’

I shrugged helplessly.

‘I don’t get you, Eden. You don’t want me. But you don’t want Megan to be with me either?’

‘That’s not true.’

‘This is weird, Eden,’ said Megan.

‘Were you spying on us?’ asked Connor, his voice rising in irritation.

‘No.’

The door banged open and the overhead lights flickered on. I blinked and rubbed my eyes. Mr Chinn.

‘OK, kids, hand over your booze and don’t make a fuss.’

‘We don’t have any booze,’ said Connor.

‘Connor? Is that you? What are you doing up here? Dare I ask?’

‘I was just showing my friend Megan the view of the night sky from up here,’ said Connor.

Mr Chinn walked out on to the roof terrace and gazed up at the sky. ‘It is a beautiful night. How about it, Connor? One last look?’

‘We should head back down and find our friends,’ I said. ‘The ball is nearly over.’

‘You go down and find our friends,’ said Connor. ‘We’ll be down in a minute. I want to show Megan my favourite star in the universe.’

Mr Chinn was already carrying the telescope out on to the roof terrace. I ran to the door and looked down the corridor. Surely Ryan would have finished his phone call with Cassie by now. He would have realised we were missing. He would be looking for us. ‘I would love to see the Pleiades through a telescope,’ I said, running back into the classroom.

‘Good luck,’ said Connor. ‘It’s the wrong time of year for the Pleiades.’

‘And I’d love to see a galaxy,’ I said. ‘Could you show me a galaxy, Mr Chinn?’

‘Certainly we can take a look,’ said Mr Chinn. ‘There are several galaxies we could take a look at tonight.’

I got the impression that he had completely forgotten about the ball downstairs.

‘Eden!’ said Connor, his voice heavy with disgust.

‘Oh, come on, Connor,’ I said cheerily. ‘You get to look through the telescope all the time. It’s my turn tonight.’

‘Because you’ve always held such an interest in astronomy, haven’t you?’ said Connor, his voice rising.

‘Hey, Connor, it doesn’t matter,’ said Megan, reaching for his arm. ‘We can do this another time.’

I glanced back at the door. Where was Ryan? This was the most important part of his mission and he was nowhere to be seen.

‘Whereabouts in the sky do we need to aim this thing?’ I asked Mr Chinn.

Connor sighed loudly. ‘Move away from the telescope, Eden. I want to show Megan my favourite variable star. You can have a look too, OK?’

‘What’s your favourite variable star?’ I asked, although I already knew the answer.

‘Algol. The Demon Star.’

I checked my watch. Ten fifty-five. Five minutes until the end of the ball; five minutes until Eden had finished its transit of Algol.

‘The ball ends in a few minutes,’ I said. ‘They’ll be playing the slow, romantic songs now. We should leave stargazing for another night and go down for the last dance.’

‘You’re right,’ he said. ‘You should go down and dance with Ryan. Megan and I will be down in a minute.’

I took a quick look at the door again. Nothing.

‘OK, folks, I’ve lined up Algol,’ said Mr Chinn, seemingly oblivious to the tension between us. ‘If I remember correctly, it should eclipse in the early hours of this morning.’

I gripped the railing at the edge of the terrace and watched, cold adrenalin coursing through my body, as Connor made his way to the telescope. It was as if I was up against Fate. Connor was going to discover this planet and the world was going to die. And the only way any of this could be prevented was if I did something. I wasn’t equipped for this. I wasn’t the sort of person who saved the day. Connor was seconds away from the eyepiece. My heart pounding in my ears, I shoved past Mr Chinn and repositioned the telescope until it was pointing at a completely different section of the sky.

‘What the hell is your problem?’ asked Connor.

I ignored him and put my eye to the eyepiece. The next thing I knew, his hands were pushing against my ribs and I staggered sideways.

‘Calm down, Connor,’ said Mr Chinn. ‘There’s no need for that. We can all take turns looking through the telescope. Let Eden see what she wants to see and then we can check out your star.’

There was no way I could keep Connor away from the telescope for a full five minutes. He was already moving the telescope back towards Algol. Cringing inwardly at what I was about to do, I launched myself at him with all my strength. I pushed him away from the telescope so that he staggered and fell on to the concrete roof.

Connor just lay there, blinking up at me, his face shocked and horrified. Megan knelt beside him, glancing up at me with confusion.

And then I picked up the telescope and hurled it off the roof. Everyone stared at me as it crashed to the ground.

For a moment, the world appeared to freeze. No one spoke and no one moved. And then everyone came back to life. Connor picked himself off the ground and peered over the edge of the terrace.

‘It doesn’t look as if anyone will be looking at the stars tonight,’ said Mr Chinn.

‘It’s in pieces,’ said Connor.

‘Of course it’s in pieces,’ said Mr Chinn. He narrowed his eyes at me. ‘I hope you have plenty of money. Because that is a very expensive telescope.’ He turned to Connor. ‘I’m going to give you two minutes to lock this room and get out of here.’

The door banged against the jamb as Mr Chinn slammed it behind him.

‘You need help,’ said Connor. The disgust on his face broke my heart.

‘It was a misunderstanding,’ I said, my mind racing, grappling for an excuse that might explain my bizarre behaviour. I glanced at my watch. Eleven o’clock. We were safe. Eden was gone.

‘There was no misunderstanding.’

The door flung open and Ryan burst in. ‘There you are!’ he said breathlessly. His eyes moved wildly from me to Connor to the open door to the roof terrace. ‘What’s going on?’

‘Why don’t you ask your psycho girlfriend?’ said Connor, tossing the keys to Ryan. ‘Because I have no idea.’

He wrapped an arm tightly around Megan’s waist and left the room, slamming the door behind him.

‘What happened?’ asked Ryan.

‘I did it,’ I said. I laughed, a harsh sound, faintly hysterical. ‘I stopped him from discovering Eden.’

Ryan stared at me. Exhaustion rippled through my body, and then my knees buckled and I slid to the cold, hard floor of the lab.

‘He had a telescope out on the roof terrace,’ I said, my voice cracking. ‘He was going to show Megan his favourite star. It was happening. Just like you said it would.’

Ryan slid on to the floor beside me and reached for my hand. I told him everything.

‘You saved a lot of people’s lives just now, Eden,’ said Ryan.

‘And earned myself a reputation as a violent pervert who likes to spy on her friends when they make out,’ I said, covering my eyes with my palms. ‘As well as a destroyer of telescopes. How am I ever going to explain my behaviour?’

He touched my arm. ‘If it had been down to me, Connor would have discovered the planet tonight and it would be game over for us all. What you did was brave.’

‘What I did was an act of desperation. I wish I could have found a less dramatic way of keeping him from that telescope. Now they all think I’m weird.’

‘They’ll get over it eventually. They’ve been friends with you for too long to hold it against you.’

‘I hope you’re right.’

Ryan stood up and helped me to my feet. We walked out on to the terrace and looked down. Below us, our friends were weaving their way across the school campus towards the harbour beach. Laughter and shouting carried through the air.

‘What shall we do now?’ I asked.

Ryan checked his phone. ‘It’s time for me to head back.’

‘Already?’

He nodded. ‘It’s quarter past eleven. Connor can’t detect Eden now.’

Time was slipping away from us.

‘I want to come with you.’

‘To the farmhouse?’

To the farmhouse. To the future. Anywhere he was going, I wanted to be there.

‘Yes.’

‘It might be easier to say goodbye here.’

‘Ryan, in less than an hour you’ll be gone for ever and I will never, ever see you again. Please let me come back to the farmhouse with you.’

He nodded. ‘Course you can. It’s not that I don’t want you to. It’s just that saying goodbye doesn’t get any easier.’

‘We’ve already said goodbye. I just want to be with you for a few minutes longer.’

‘Come on then. Let’s go.’ He reached for my hand.

Cassie had left the car in the car park next to the harbour beach. We paused by the car for a minute and watched everyone on the beach. The tide was high, leaving just a bright crescent of silver sand. There were groups of people around a small fire. Others had shed most of their clothing and were paddling or swimming. A little further along the beach, couples found quiet places to be together.

‘Are you going to say goodbye to the others?’

Ryan looked across the beach to the water’s edge. ‘They’re all having a good time. And everybody hates goodbyes. I’d sooner just disappear quietly.’

I followed his gaze. Connor and Megan were at the water’s edge. The bottom of Megan’s dress was floating in the water and her arms were twisted around Connor’s neck. He wrapped his arms around her waist and leant towards her. I held my breath as she lifted her lips to his and they kissed.

Ryan squeezed my hand. ‘Let’s hit the road.’

‘How will you get back?’ I asked, as we pulled out of the car park.

‘In a flying saucer.’

‘You’re not serious?’

He laughed. ‘I’m not serious.’

‘Do you have, like, a spaceship hidden somewhere? Where would you even hide a spaceship?’

‘Yes, we have a spaceship. Although I doubt it’s anything like you’re imagining.’

‘I don’t know what I’m imagining. I guess I’m thinking of a huge battleship-grey ship shaped like a disc.’

‘Like a military style flying saucer.’

I laughed. ‘I don’t really have any idea.’

Ryan pulled on to the coast road as usual. ‘Our ship is small. It can carry five people maximum. We only have enough fuel to transport three people safely.’

‘It must be tiny.’

‘It’s just a bit bigger than an average size car.’

‘You travelled through space and time in a car?’

Ryan grinned. ‘Yeah. Although spaceships come in all sizes. You can get large ships and small ships. Those that travel through time are usually smaller because it’s easier to distort space-time for a small ship than a large one.’

‘How long does it take to travel back to your time?’

In my head I imagined years, but Ryan was only seventeen so I knew that couldn’t be true.

‘Two minutes exactly.’

‘Two minutes,’ I repeated. ‘How is that even possible?’

Ryan shifted down as we took the dangerous bend above Lucky Cove. ‘It’s hard to explain. We create a short cut. You probably think of it as a wormhole.’

‘I can assure you I don’t think of it as anything.’

‘Well, it uses a ridiculous amount of energy, but our ship distorts space and time allowing us to travel from one time and place to another quickly. To reach most times and places takes only minutes.’

‘That certainly beats driving or flying. No queues, no waiting around. Travel in the future must be incredible.’

‘You can’t use it for short journeys. It’s much too dangerous.’

‘What’s dangerous about it?’

‘Portals – that’s what we call these short cuts – are unstable. If they collapse when you’re travelling through them, you’ve had it. Distorting small sections of time and space is too difficult. You need some distance. So you can use them to travel to distant parts of our solar system or to other star systems or through time, but not from one place on Earth to another.’

‘Will I be allowed to see you leave?’ I asked.

‘No,’ he said softly. ‘Ben didn’t want me telling you anything about our technology. He’d be furious with me if he knew what I’d just told you.’

‘Where will you do it from?’

‘The ship has been stored in the garage. By the time we get home, Ben will have moved it into the back garden, behind the garage where it isn’t overlooked.’

All the lights in the farmhouse were blazing and Ben stood in the open doorway, a halo of light around him.

‘Mission accomplished!’ yelled Ryan as we approached.

Ben hugged Ryan and slapped his back. ‘Was it difficult?’

‘Eden took care of everything. Connor went on to the roof of the school with the telescope from the science lab! Eden tackled him and destroyed the telescope in the process.’

Ben laughed and shook his head. ‘Despite everything we’ve changed, he was still planning on looking up at the stars through a telescope tonight of all nights. It makes you wonder if there’s any such thing as free will.’

Cassie appeared alongside Ben. ‘Everything is ready to go.’ She checked her watch. ‘Ten minutes till departure.’

‘Then we’d better say our goodbyes,’ said Ben. He pulled me in for a big bear hug. ‘You’re an amazing girl,’ he said. ‘I still can’t believe how you’ve taken so much in your stride. Thank you for being such a good friend to all of us.’

‘Thank you for letting me,’ I said. ‘I know that my finding out about everything left you with some tough decisions. Thank you for trusting me.’

‘Ryan didn’t exactly give us a choice,’ he said, laughing. ‘But he was right to trust you.’

Ben released me from his grip and held me at arm’s length. ‘I know I don’t need to ask you this,’ he said, looking deep into my eyes. ‘But don’t forget to keep all this secret, will you?’

‘Of course not,’ I said.

‘Have a good life.’

‘You too,’ I said. ‘Look up my grandchildren. Or my great-grandchildren.’

‘I intend to.’

I tensed at the thought that my future was out there somewhere, lying ahead of me, unlived, unknown, unimagined, but that in a few minutes’ time Ben and Ryan would be able to find out exactly what I had done with my life, exactly what I would do.

Cassie shook my hand. ‘Take care of my great-grandfather.’

‘I will.’

Ryan took my hand and pulled me to him, so that the full length of our bodies was pressed together. He looped his arms around my waist and pulled me tight. I could feel the warmth of his arms against my own cooler skin, the warmth of his body through his shirt and my dress. He kissed me hard, with the urgency and passion I realised meant goodbye. For ever. I felt myself flush. Ryan seemed oblivious to anyone else, but I was acutely aware that we had an audience.

Cassie cleared her throat loudly. ‘How long is this goodbye going to take? Should we sit down with a cup of coffee and come back later?’

Ryan ignored her and looked at me. ‘I’m going to miss you so much.’

‘I’m going to miss you too.’ I put my lips to his ear. ‘When you get back, dig up the time capsule. I wrote you a letter.’

‘You did?’ He looked surprised.

Cassie sighed loudly. ‘Five minutes to go, Ry. Have you finished your goodbyes or are you planning to go back for an encore?’

He kissed me lightly on the lips. ‘Goodbye, Eden.’

‘Goodbye,’ I said, swallowing hard, determined not to spoil our last moments with tears.

He looked at the watch on my wrist. ‘It’s four minutes to midnight,’ he said. ‘It will take us about twenty seconds to leave. Go inside and sit down. Wait until two minutes after midnight.’ He smiled apologetically. ‘Temporal Laws and all that.’

I nodded, no longer trusting myself to speak.

‘Ry!’ shouted Cassie.

He released me and followed her behind the garage to the back garden.

I went inside the house and sat at the kitchen table. If I was in a film, if I was a different person, I would have raced outside and around the back of the garage yelling at them to stop, wait, and take me with them. I would have told Ryan that I didn’t want to live without him. And I would have told him that I loved him.

But I wasn’t like that. I was practical and sensible. I knew that I had obligations here in Penpol Cove in my own time. So I sat at the kitchen table as I’d been told and stared at my watch as it ticked away the minutes till midnight, while Ryan, Cassie and Ben prepared to travel forward in time.

I did quite well. I watched the second hand make three complete revolutions before I went outside. I didn’t run. I walked calmly through the garden and around the back of the garage.

Directly in front of me, a huge translucent disc vibrated and shimmered. Through it I could see a blurry vision of a grey vehicle. The disc vibrated faster and the image beyond it blurred further. After a few seconds the disc appeared to stop vibrating and the blurry image disappeared. A flash of light blinded me. And then the disc collapsed inwards until it vanished. All that remained in front of me was the lawn.

I walked back to the front garden and our apple tree and sat beside it. My watch told me that it was thirty seconds after midnight. In another ninety seconds he would be back in his own time. I watched the second hand of my watch tick away. At precisely two minutes past midnight I gazed up at the clear night sky. High above me was the constellation Perseus with its demon star Algol. Out there somewhere was Eden, the birthplace of the most perfect boy in the universe. Ryan was gone. And it would be months before I would once again see the constellation Orion, his name written across the sky in stars. I shut my eyes and breathed in deeply. Where was he now? Was he thinking about me? I liked to imagine him sitting in the garden beside me, separated only by time.