Chapter Two

When Megan woke up, she was in a large, clean room, with sunlight streaming in through the windows. She rolled over underneath the rustling duvet and saw with relief that Max was there. Though he was still sleeping soundly, she slipped her hand in his and held it tight, for comfort. She felt as if she had been dreaming for a very, very long time – dreaming of nothingness. But then…. She struggled to remember. No. It couldn't be true. That Mami and Jamie had died? That's what she seemed to remember. The awful realisation came crashing down on her and she remembered fully the scene in headmaster Cromwell's office the day before. She sank onto the comfortable pillows behind her. A small tear dribbled down her face. She wanted Max to wake up, to talk to him properly. As she thought it, he stirred a little, and then awoke with a little jolt.

"M..Megs?" He asked, astounded. She reached over and hugged him. She realised that all she had on was a skimpy vest from the day before and some baggy cotton underpants.

'Buenos dias, mi hermana menor," he whispered quietly, as he used to tease her at home. It was a Spanish phrase – 'my little sister' was what he called her. Megan was the youngest out of the three. Jamie was the oldest; always the leader, the strongest. Max with the middle child; never quite as strong or as brilliant as Jamie. But Max was always much closer to Megan than Jamie was – he was the friendlier child. And then there was Megan. Sweet, pretty little Megan.

The door opened, and Megan and Max sat up, their hands still clasped tightly. A woman walked in. She was black, and Megan thought that she recognised her from somewhere. Very tall and muscular, she had a pleasant, fruity-like scent about her and she smiled warmly at them.

"Good morning, Megan, Max," she said, and sat down on the end of the large bed. Then, she started speaking in Spanish.

"Okay. I know you're feeling confused right now, and upset, but I just need you to listen for a while, okay?" They both nodded. Max murmured 'Si' under his breath. Then, to their amazement, the woman switched to French.

"Now, there's some clean clothes in the drawers, and there's some nice showers and baths through there so you can freshen up a bit if you wish. Do you understand?" They both nodded. She smiled brightly at them, before switching back to English.
"I'm Meryl Spencer, by the way. I'm going to be your handler.'

As Meryl left, Megan jumped into the shower. She felt she need to scrub away the dirt and the dust of the previous day, the faint smell of smoke that always lingered on her school clothes from the subway on her walk to and from school. She wanted to wash away any memory of the day before. Max, on the other hand, didn't feel the same obsessive need. Once Megan was out of the shower, they discovered two sets of no-brand underwear, cotton vests, blue t-shirts with a weird symbol on the shirtsleeve and the word cherub splashed in giant white letters across the chest, with a picture of a winged baby, sitting on a globe. There were also two sets of green army trousers and two sets of black polished boots that smelled like fresh rubber. They were all the same size so Max and Megan each put on a set of clothes and, when they were ready, they peered out into the corridor outside the room. There was a note pinned to the door of their room.

Megan, Max

Have some breakfast and I'll talk to you there

The dining rooms on the ground floor

Straight ahead from the lift

Meryl x

Megan and Max found the dining room relatively easily. It was full of kids, chattering noisily over their breakfasts. A plasma screen on the wall of the large, airy room showed the latest news bulletins. Megan noticed that the kids were all wearing varying colours of cherub shirts – red, pale blue like hers and Max's, grey, navy, black and white. Megan was itching to know more about this place – the kids, the 'staff', the coloured, strange uniforms and most of all, where she and Max belonged in it all. Megan wasn't very hungry, so she just got some scrambled eggs and a hot chocolate and went and sat at an empty table. Max, on the other hand, was starving, and loaded his plate with bacon, eggs, sausages, baked beans and fried bread, topped with hot chocolate and orange juice, before coming over to join Megan. They sat quietly, not saying much. Megan's hair dried quickly and began to curl around her cheeks. Max longed to lean over and brush her hair out of her eyes, how he so often did normally, but he couldn't quite bring himself to do it. It reminded him too much of how Lauren would ruffle their hair and drop a kiss on each of their cheeks before heading out to school every morning.

They noticed Meryl coming over to them. She sat down next to Megan and looked at them both, concerned.

"I hope you're not too confused," she said, taking a sip of her expresso.

"I know I promised I'd explain some things, but there's only so much I can explain. You're both going to see Zara, the chairwoman, after breakfast, and she'll tell you everything that I can't. But firstly, I wanted to check that you're both holding up ok." She looked at them.

"Okayish, I guess," said Megan. Well, as well as you could be having found out that her mother and brother had just died. Max didn't say anything. Megan wondering how he was feeling. He had always been somewhat overshadowed and pushed out a little by Jamie; Megan wondered whether he was feeling guilty for what happened.

"Well, we've scheduled some sessions with a councillor as soon as possible," said Meryl. Megan pushed her plate away, half the eggs still left there. Meryl gave it a quick glance before carrying on.

"Anyway. I'm so sorry about what happened to your brother and mother. But I can tell you, you're not alone in this room. Everyone here has no parents either." Max looked at Megan in shock. He just couldn't take any of it in.

"But, that's really as much as I can tell you. Come on. If you've finished, I'll take you through to see Zara."