Bex Fisher took a deep breath, and stepped onto the train.
"Welcome to everyone who boarded this train in Walsden. Our calling points will be Littlebrough, Smithy Bridge, Rochdale…" The rest of the announcement was drowned out by a baby screaming, but Bex had heard enough. Hearing the name made it seem too real, and her stomach lurched as thousands of unspoken thoughts churned in its emptiness.
She ran to the cramped train toilet and leant over the bowl and retched. Nausea swept over her like a tsunami but only a mouthful of bile rose from her stomach. Bex realised that she couldn't remember the last time she had eaten anything. She leant her head against the cool metal under the sink and tried not to think about where the train was taking her, as it rattled along steadily, each jolt taking her nearer and nearer to the person she was dreading seeing.
The last eighteen months hadn't been kind to Karen Fisher, and her face was covered in lines of worry, lines of anguish and lines of guilt. She paced up and down the front of the assembly hall, churning out platitudes that every new headteacher was expected to say, but really her mind was elsewhere. Her eldest daughter should be sitting there with the rest of the Year 13s, her only worries coursework and boys, her arms folded, trying to look as disinterested as she possibly could. But she wasn't, was she?
She gave a sharp intake of breath and her heart lurched for a second.
But no, it was a different blonde girl, someone else's daughter, just like it always was.
"I er…sorry, where was I? Um… ah yes, so, like I said, 3 strikes and you're out. There is a zero tolerance policy this year". Assembly continued, and Karen was reassured when Jess walked in late at the back. At least some things never changed…
Jess was 16, the same age as Bex was when she disappeared. She bore a striking resemblance to her sister, and she felt like a failure trying to live up to her sister's name. Bex had the brains of the family, and the looks to. Jess felt like an empty shell in comparison, and she knew that her mum wished it was her that had gone missing, not Bex. She bit back the tears, though, and concentrated on doing what she did best. She caught Chris' eye, and grinned flirtatiously at his shocked expression. Oh, this was going to be fun.
The school piled out of assembly, chattering noisily. No one noticed a new girl slip into the middle of them. She was desperately thin, and she looked like she was going to fade away. Wisps of blonde hair framed her pale, skeletal face as she took a deep breath and headed up the stairs towards the headteacher's office.