Calling Carter.

“I’m taking you to the school nurse,” Kala said suddenly. She was almost back to her bossy self, I noticed. That was good.

“No,” I argued.

“Fine,” Carter piped up, “we’ll take you to Mum.” They both stood in front of me, arms crossed. They looked exactly the same, from the expressions on their faces to the poses. I blinked, but remained in my own stubborn pose, arms also crossed. I don’t think I looked as credible, what with the blood all over me. I was pretty sure I was pale with shock, too. I had a sudden image of Snow White come to mind, all brunette and pale having just survived an attempt on her well-being. Oh hell no, I was no princess.

“No!” I argued, but it was half-hearted since they knew, and I knew, that I was gonna lose this. Two on one wasn’t fair. I was arguing because I’m too silly to stop sometimes. “I don’t need…” I began, then stopped. I was finally able to control my mouth. “Fine,” I muttered darkly, “but this sucks.” I said childishly, with a tiny pout.

I was ignored. “I’ll call mum and explain, Carter, you do something with Caidan, and Silah… don’t do anything.” Kala ordered, flicking open her phone and already dialling Layny’s number. Carter stepped around me to pick Caidan up. I opened my mouth to protest, but Kala sent me a sharp warning glance and I did as I was told. Instead, I turned and watched Carter as he picked Caidan up with ease and put him in a fireman’s hold across his shoulders.

I hid a tiny smile as I admired Carter. I still remembered how much fun I had around him, but, well, we kept getting interrupted. Damn Caidan for getting in the way, right? I know. I didn’t notice Carter stop right in front of me until he had said my name several times.

“Silah…” He said yet again, still soft and patient. He gave a tiny smile when he realised he’d caught my attention, then said, “give me the knife, Si.”

I blinked at the new nickname. No-one had ever called me Si before. It was strange. But I liked it. But then I registered what else he had said, and gripped the knife tighter. “Why?” I asked cautiously.

He gave me a look that said I was being silly. “So that we can give it to the police.” He said. His voice was still very patient. I was a little unsure about how calm he was; he had looked livid not five minutes ago and suddenly he sounded very rational.

I decided to ask. “Why are you so calm all of a sudden?” I tilted my head slightly, a weird habit I had.

His face darkened. I was taken aback at the sudden show of anger, the rage he had been hiding a second ago.

“Oh,” I said in a very small voice. He nodded once and moved past me, heading towards the school nurse’s office. I watched him go with confusion. What was going to happen now?

I suddenly noticed the absence of rain on the roof. How much time had passed? I didn’t know. Kala was still chatting away to Layny quietly, her voice urgent. I had a feeling Layny would be arriving soon. I realised I had to grab my bag, which was probably soaked through and everything in it ruined. I sighed, then moved towards the end of the hallway.

A wave of dizziness stopped me. I blinked several times, trying to regain my sight. It didn’t work. There was still darkness around the edges of my vision, but stubborn as I am, I just held the wound on my arm and kept walking. I stumbled a few times but got the hang of moving like a normal person again.

I was touched to see that Kala had put my bag right under the tree’s roots, thus saving it from the rain. I needed to buy her some ice cream for that. Bending over to pick my bag up made me sway, and I had to fight not to throw up. I didn’t like this feeling.

I slung my bag over my good arm’s shoulder and walked back to A block, where Kala was. She had finished talking by then and was pacing.

“Don’t do that again!” She said loudly, as soon as she saw me.

“I’m sorry,” I muttered, unable to gather the strength for anything louder. “I didn’t want to interrupt your phone call.” I explained weakly.

She strode over to me and hugged me gently. “You scared me. I turned around and you were gone. You’re in shock, you’ve lost blood and you look terrible pale.” Yes, she used incorrect grammar. It must have been from the country that she and Carter got their musical voices from, but it sounded really cool. Maybe that was the blood loss talking.