Chapter 3 - Leaving

"Professor Buckingham?" Liz quivered,

"Well done, Elizabeth." Professor Buckingham called down the halls, and began to stride towards us. "Now, you lot, hand over the book."

"Why should we?" Bex retorted, and snatched the book out of Liz's half-out-stretched hands.

"That book will give clues to Cameron's where-abouts and we need to know all the clues."

"How do you know that Cammies' gone missing?" Macey put her hands on her hips.

"Well girls,-and boy, I can't exactly say that your good at whispering."

I stood there, speechless. But how could I not? What was there left to say? I was being silent a lot these days. The things that could be said were getting fewer and fewer. I once daydreamed about Cammie saying yes to running away with me, and after a while, we never spoke to each other. We didn't need to – we knew exactly what the other one wanted. But I would make her laugh once in a while, just to hear her snappy voice, her light, summary laugh.

"Don't you have a class to teach?" I finally said.

Her head snapped round to me. "Why, Zach, you noticed. But, no. So, come on, you know I'm on your side, so hand over the book. Now."

We stiffened. Then ran.

As we ran through the open Gallagher Academy gates, I called to anyone who would listen, "Where the hell are we going?"

"Just run! OK?" Macey yelled back.

We ran to Roseville. As soon as we entered the town, we tried to rid ourselves of any sign of uniform. Bex and Liz swapped their skirts for shorts they got at one of the corner shops, and we got t-shirts and threw our ties down an alley. We ended up on a bench.

"What now?"

"We run…?" Liz started, and Bex finished,

"…somewhere."

Bex said she knew of a safe house. I didn't really like the idea of 'safe house' considering it probably belonged to the CIA (or knowing Bex – MI6), and everybody was looking for me, for news on my mother.

We went to the safe house anyway, and I didn't voice my problems. I was just thinking of Cammie. But then I remembered we were looking for her, and the others had seemed to completely have forgotten that.

"Why are we going to a safe house if we're looking for Cammie?"

"She might be there." Bex answered, not stopping to look at me.

"The words 'Cammie' and 'safe' don't go together."

"We've been there before. It belongs to Mr. Solomon."

"That safe house?" Macey stopped walking. "Isn't it a bit…obvious to go there?"

"Oopsie daisy." Liz went, as she tripped over a twig and tumbled into Macey – creating a massive heap of teenage girl on the ground.

"This is Cammie, Bex. She wouldn't go somewhere obvious. Or somewhere obviously safe."

"Shut up, Zach! Maybe she is there, maybe she's not. Have you got a better idea? No! So let's try the only idea, OK?" Bex had snapped. Her best friend was missing. She hadn't eaten in an hour. Her make-up was smeared. She had bags under her eyes. It looked like she was getting frown lines already.

I stayed quiet.

For a few minutes, anyway.

I know. I sounded like a kid, but I said it anyway.

"When will we get there?"

"Zach! How many times am I going to have to tell you to shut up in the space of one bloody hour!" Bex snapped. Again.

When we got there, my doubts of Cammie being here greatened. The thing looked like no-one had touched it for centuries. But I guess that was part of the 'safe' thing. After all, we had all been here…within a century.

Macey knocked on the door. No answer.

Bex shouted at the door to open if it didn't want to get its' hinges knocked off. No reply.

Liz stayed back. Well back.

I creaked the door open…and it got slammed in my face. I stumbled backwards but quickly regained my balance.

"What the hell, Gallagher girl?"