To The Grave

Chapter Two

If I believed in omens, this would be a bad one.

It's dark outside, even for an English winter morning. All I see is a shadowy blur of trees flashing past as we drive on the A-road leading through our small town. Rain falls against the windshield like buckets and each gale of wind is strong enough to blow Cora's 2017 Mini off course and into a tree.

The journey isn't a long one, but Cora drives slower than usual. Her eyes squint as she as she tries to look further than her yellow headlights allow, like the weather's insistent on making our first journey together the hardest. Rain races down the window, and I watch as it collects at the bottom in little puddles, spraying away with each onslaught of wind.

My stomach drops as we sway to the right suddenly, the tires complaining over the white paint that lines the road. Cora mutters a curse, twisting the wheel and tipping her chin with concentration until we're back on course. I bite back the urge to tell her to watch where she's going and turn away instead, opening my schedule and trying to forget how my life is in imminent danger from my sister's driving.

8.30am — Tutor, 30m, Room 83

9am — History, 1.5hr, Room 201

11am — Foundational Algebra, 2hr, Room 137

1pm — Lunch, 1hr

2pm — Physical Ed, 1hr, Gymnasium

3pm — Advanced English Lit, 1.5hr, Room 83

4.30pm — Home / Extra Curricular Activities

NOTE FOR ENROLMENT: Please go to the office first thing in the morning to collect your papers. Your teachers will be signing a timetable sheet for each lesson to ensure your attendance. This process will last until you feel comfortable in school and we feel comfortable in you.

The car goes over a bump and my seatbelt jolts me back, digging into my neck like a noose. I grit my teeth and turn off my phone, loosening the belt until I can comfortably breathe again. Next to me, Cora hums along to music playing on the radio, a pop song I just about recognise. It jolts out of service every other minute, but she doesn't miss a beat and her voice is so perfect I barely even notice the gaps.

I'm not sure if she's doing it to avoid the awkwardness between us, the tension that's been wrapping itself around our bodies ever since I came home. If she is, I appreciate the sentiment, but the question on my lips is too strong for even me to ignore.

'Does it look the same?' I ask, regretting my words as soon as I speak them.

Something flashes in Cora's eyes, but it's gone so quickly I'm sure I imagine it.

'Not really,' she replies, her voice guarded. Always so guarded when she talks to me. 'I think the governors were looking for an excuse to modernise the school, so the fire actually helped them even though they won't admit it. They rebuilt the church, though. That's the only thing that still looks the same.'

I nod. 'And everyone is still there?'

'Yup.' A pause. 'I think there's a new guy in your grade and Daniel Taylor is moving soon, but you'll recognise everyone else. You remember Daniel, right? The guy who —'

'— Poured juice all over us in primary school?'

'That's the one.'

She laughs, but catches herself.

I shuffle in my seat and look away as the silence takes over again. The radio juts in and out of signal, but Cora's stopped singing and now only emptiness lies in her wake.

It wasn't always like this between us; believe it or not, we were close growing up. Sure, like every pair of sisters, we had our fights over the TV remote or stolen clothes, but the one thing I loved was that we always knew where we stood. Even if she's a year younger, we were a package deal in primary school, always together on the playground or whispering in the halls. Of course, everything changed when I moved to high school and became a freshman. And then our world shook again with the fire.