I remembered Noah schmoozing with the mayor and her husband at Vee’s party. Maybe he’d managed to charm his way into a job then, convince her security was something she needed?
“Well, good luck with your first day.”
“And good luck with your first day back at school. Try not to maim any more students if you can,” he said teasingly.
“I’ll try,” I replied with a small smile, building up the courage to ask a favour. “Will you be in the city this week?”
Noah lifted his coffee mug. “I might be.”
“Could you buy something for me?”
He came forward, kneeling down and reaching out to touch my knee. “What do you need?”
I had a moment of dizzy headedness at the sight of him below me like that. I cleared my throat. “A cheap smartphone. The cheapest you can find. I’d buy one myself, but there aren’t any electronics shops in town,” I said, pulling out the money I’d taken from my stash this morning and handing it to him. He took it and shoved it in his pocket.
“Okay,” he said, and I felt like rejoicing. I was finally going to have my own phone! I’d be able to call or text Aoife whenever I needed.
“Thank you,” I replied quietly. He didn’t make a move to stand, and the longer he knelt there staring at me with his irresistibly enigmatic smile, the hotter I grew.
“What?” I whispered, unable to take the intensity emanating from him.
Noah exhaled, his focus on his hand cupping my knee. “I don’t do favours for people, Estella.” There was a brief pause as his eyes came to mine. “But I do favours for you all the time.”
My heart skipped a beat. “Your point?”
His gaze sharpened. “My point is you’re in danger of turning me into a good person.”
Well, that was ironic, because he was in danger of turning me into a bad one. I still felt the shameful thrill of sneaking into Principal Hawkins’ house.
The front door opened, announcing Irene’s arrival. Noah stood and returned to sipping his coffee by the counter as her shoes clipped down the hall toward Sylvia’s bedroom. I brought my plate and cup over to the sink to rinse them, feeling Noah’s eyes on me the entire time.
I picked up my bag and walked toward the back door. “See you later,” I said and headed out. The chilly sea air cooled my cheeks, and for once I was glad of the cold weather. Noah always made me feel way too hot.
When I arrived at school and went to grab some books from my locker, Sister Dorothy approached me.
“Miss Shannon, it’s good to see you back,” she said, her ever present ambiguous smile in place.
“Thank you, Sister Dorothy. It’s good to be back.”
“I hope you’ve learned your lesson,” she went on, then leaned closer to speak quietly, “Though if you ask me, Sally O’Hare was in need of a good hiding.” I blinked, wondering if I heard her correctly. I knew I had when she winked, her voice rising back to its normal level. “My door is always open if you ever need to talk.” She patted me once on the shoulder before continuing down the corridor. I shook my head and chuckled to myself. Sister Dorothy had a devious streak. The little interaction made me feel like she was on my side, and it was nice to know I could go and talk to her whenever I needed.
Later in the day, I was on my way to meet Aoife for lunch when I spotted Principal Hawkins having a serious conversation outside his office with the science teacher, Mr. Hanley. I hid around a corner and listened.
“Did you report it?” Mr. Hanley asked.
“Of course, I did,” Hawkins replied. “But you know what they’re like down at the station. Completely incompetent. I doubt they’ll even bother trying to find the bastard who did it since nothing was really taken.”
“Did you tell them about Theresa’s dresses?”
“I told them everything. The bloody lunatic even took a bite out of one of my apples, but it’s not like they’re going to do any testing or sweeping for fingerprints. You’d have to be murdered in your bloody bed before they’d go that far. Theresa was pale as a ghost when she saw what had been done.”
“Sounds like the handiwork of a stalker,” Hanley commented.
“That’s what I thought. I had a house key go missing a few weeks ago. I thought I just misplaced it, but … well, now I’m wondering if it was stolen. They even signed for a package delivery. I called the post office, and they checked the records. The cheeky shit signed for it using my name!” I heard the fury in his voice now. Whatever Noah’s intention for entering the principal’s house, if he aimed to piss him off and freak him out, he’d certainly achieved that goal. “I managed to get in touch with the delivery driver, but he couldn’t remember what the man who accepted the package looked like, just said his face was hidden under sunglasses.”