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Even concise pre planed Peg could manage to bend the routine for a friend. Which is why, at ten past seven that night she was speed walking, in grubby jogging bottom; a scabby white top and flip flops with her damp hair pulled into a tight bun, down her road to Anna’s house.
She didn’t bother knocking on the door, instead she just walked straight in and over to her friend.
“Oh Anna,” she sympathised before wrapping her arms around her friend. “How is he?”
Anna sniffed. “Alive, for now,” she started a new wave of tears and leant her head on Peg’s shoulder wetting her t-shirt with salty tears. “They are air lifting him to hospital; Mum is trying to get everything sorted here so she can go to Auntie Miriam’s, it’s nearer the hospital where they will eventually bring him. I have to stay here and wait.”
Peg stroked her friend’s hair. “You can stay with me,” she said. Anna started to argue but Peg cut her off. “No, you are about my only friend; I’m not letting you stay in a house alone when you are upset like this. And anyway it is stupid you staying alone I mean what if you need a life somewhere, or an adult for any reason?”
Anna nodded. “Thank you Peg,” she said softly before resting her hair gentle on Peg’s shoulder.”

Peg stayed until Anna fell into a exhausted sleep then she said good bye to Anna’s mother and left and walked back to her empty house. She finished the sheet of homework she was working on before giving in to her emotion and picking up the landline.
It rang twice before being picked up.
“Hello Gena Star?”
“Mummy,” Peg said her voice cracking. “Mummy Davy got shot,” she repeated those fateful words.
“Peg? Who got shot?” her mother was panicking.
“Anna’s brother, the solider, he got shot in the back; they think he might be paralysed.” Peg said before her throat closed.
“Oh baby,” her mother breathed. “Honey I’m so sorry.”
Both ends of the line were silent as the two women thought.
“Honey I know that this is really tricky. But you need to sleep and I’ll be there when you wake up, I promise,” Gena assured her daughter. “I promise I’ll be there, just try and get some sleep, because you are going to need to be there for Anna tomorrow.”
Peg nodded absent mindly before remembering that her mother couldn’t see her. “Your right, I love you Mum.”
“Good night honey,” her mother said affection filling her words. “I love you.”

Peg’s mother honoured her promise and woke Peg up the next morning with a large mug of tea and a hug. Peg sobbed into her mother’s shoulders.
“Anna could barely talk yesterday,” she told her mother as she did her hair. “She just sat there and stared at the wall.”
Gena nodded. “Well honey, that’s to be expected, she just hit with a ton of bricks.”
Peg paused a moment to translate the metaphor.
“I know mum,” she said when she was done. “But it was still the scariest thing I’ve ever seen.”
Peg didn’t have to tell her mother why, anyone who knew Anna knew a loud, bubbly who could very occasionally appear obnoxious girl. They were used to her always chattering, always having a point of view. One of Peg’s most vivid memories of Anna’s brother Peg was when he was getting screamed at for sighing up to the damn army in the first place.
I guess Anna was right then, Peg thought before mental slapping herself, how could she have thought that. It was not the time to gloat on behalf of a friend.

Sometimes Peg could swear she was born void of emotion.

Like on the previous day Anna held onto Peg with a vice like grip, but that Tuesday morning was different, this time Anna was holding on for support, for protection. She wanted Peg to stop the people staring at her, she wanted Peg to stop them whispering. One of the other girl’s in their year was is Davy’s regiment and the news had travelled home that he was injured.
Anna pulled on Peg’s arm outside of their Maths class. “I can’t do this; they’ll either just stare at me or just be sympathetic. I don’t know which is worse.”
Peg hugged her friend. “Just think of the drawing and I’ll defer any comments,” she assured her terrified friend.
Anna returned the hug hard. “Thank you Peg,”

Anna hadn’t wanted to come to school that morning, but Peg had nearly dragged her out of bed, running her routine of course, but she had tried hard to ignore that, and anyway the horrible feeling she got when a routine was messed up was already there, but this time it came packaged in a Davy shaped box.
Peg had sat in Anna’s room as she waited for Anna to shower and get dressed, and she made her breakfast as Anna fished her makeup. Then together the two girls had walked into school and together they had explained why they where late that day, and ever since that point Anna had stayed glued to Peg’s arm.
As they walked across the room many of the girls class mates went to speak but Peg shot them first a glare, then a pleading look, and they all stopped disguising their change of plan with a cough or clearing their throats. When Anna and Peg had made it safely to their desk Anna squeezed Peg’s arm gratefully.
Peg smiled and then opened her sketch book for a lessons reprieve.

At lunch Anna convinced Peg to go off site so as to avoid anyone else from their year. They sought out their tutor and coerced him into letting them miss the tutor session. Thankfully their tutor was also one of the student support staff and so after offering them special support sessions signed the permission slip.
The two girls wandered down the small streets that led them to the town centre and their favourite coffee shop. They both ordered a small latte before making their way over to their favourite table, Anna collapsed into the short sofa whilst Peg curled up on the armchair.
“Mum leaves tomorrow,” Anna said so quietly it took Peg a moment to work out what she said.
“You can come after school tomorrow then,” Peg offered.
Anna smiled gratefully but shook her head. “Thank you Peg, for offering, but I want to be at home,”
Peg was surprised, she couldn’t understand why Anna would want to be alone.
Anna saw this and reached out a hand to grip Peg’s. “I just want to be able to find bit of Davy whenever, I don’t know if he’s coming home,” her voice cracked. “I just want to be sure that he was once.”
Peg nodded, she didn’t entirely understand but she respected her friend.
“Two lattes?” a male voice interrupted the girls.
Peg looked up to thank the waiter. “Toby?”

Maths was just starting when Peg walked in, she had dropped Anna of at her citizenship class first.
“Sorry I’m late sir,” she muttered before rushing to her seat.
She frowned when she saw that Toby had moved from two seats behind her to the seat in front of her.
“Hello,” he mouthed as she sat down.
“Hi,”
Peg opened her book and started the exercise written up on the board. After five minutes of work a folded note address to, Peg of the desk nearest the radiator.
It read, Sorry about your friend’s brother.
She looked at Toby in surprised.
How did you hear about that?
Toby shrugged. It’s all over school.
Peg sighed; she had thought that was the case but hearing it confirmed made it even worse.
I’m sorry I was an idiot yesterday too, first day nerves?
Peg smiled despite herself, but instead of replying she carried on with her work.