Michael walked over to his desk and sat down opposite Taliah who was sat playing with the locket around her neck. Michael could see from the look in her eyes and the way she handled it that it was special to her and he was convinced that this was the key to finding out what was going on.
"That's a pretty necklace you've got there," Michael said gently and Taliah carried on playing with it, unresponsive to what Mr Byrne had just said.
"Who gave it to you?" he asked calmly and Taliah replied quietly, talking into her chest.
"No one gave it to me." She whispered. This answer puzzled Michael as he could tell that the locked meant a lot to her and all he needed was for her to open up to him.
"Well, if no one gave it to you then how did you get it?" Michael questioned simply but Taliah immediately let go of the locket. She couldn't bear to think about Millie or anyone else.
"It was my little sister's. I took it from her room last night." she explained weakly and Michael could sense that he was getting closer to finding out what was wrong with her.
"Did she mind you taking it?" Michael questioned her but Taliah's eyes once again began to leak tears but she still managed to answer him.
"She'll never know," Taliah whispered before completely breaking down. Michael didn't know what was going on but he knew it was serious as someone doesn't break down into tears for no reason, especially when they are normally so happy.
After giving Taliah a moment to sort herself out, Michael turned to her. He needed to find out what had happened and quickly.
"Taliah, has something happened?" Michael asked seriously and watched as Taliah nodded her head in response. "Taliah, it's important that you tell me what has happened so that I can help you in the best way that I can," Michael explained, pausing to see if he was going to get a response but he didn't.
"If you don't tell me soon I am going to have to call your parents." Mr Byrne explained and Taliah finally spoke.
"Have fun with that one sir." Taliah said flatly as she stared at the phone on Mr Byrne's desk.
"What do you mean? Has something happened to them?" he asked concerningly but Taliah remained silent. "Taliah, this is serious." Michael said sternly but again, no reply. The pair sat in silence, Taliah thinking about her beloved family in hospital, Michael thinking about what on Earth could have happened and how he was going to get it out of her.
Just as Michael was about to pick up the phone, there was a knock on his office door.
"Come in!" Michael shouted and the familiar faces of Tom and Sian walked in.
"Oh sorry Mr Byrne, we didn't realise you were still busy," Sian explained as she saw Taliah sat by Michael's desk.
"It's fine. I'm almost finished here, just give us a moment." Michael explained and Tom and Sian backed out the door and waited patiently outside.
"Taliah, I'm going to give you some time to sit outside my office and think things over and decide whether or not you are going to tell me yourself. Meanwhile, I am going to call your parents to see what they have to say, okay?" Michael asked and Taliah nodded weakly before standing up and leaving Michael's office.
Tom and Sian both re-entered his office and could tell it was unsuccessful due to the expression that was sketched on Michael's face.
"There is definitely something serious wrong. She sat and played with that necklace a lot and she said she got it out of her little sister's room. I asked her if she would mind her taking it when she burst into tears and said that she'll never know. Also when I suggested that I should call her parents she said to have fun with that one but refused to explain why." Michael explained and he saw the confusion grow on both Tom and Sians' faces.
"So where has she gone now?" Tom asked whilst trying to register what he had just been told.
"I've told her to wait outside my office and to think things through about whether she is going to tell me or not." Michael explained as he put his hand on the phone, looking at a piece of paper as he dialled the number.
"Are you calling her parents?" Sian asked whilst looking at Michael. She was unsure whether or not this was going to help matters or not.
"Yes, it seems like it is going to be the only way we will get answers since she still isn't saying anything and we are running out of time." Michael explained and he pressed the dial button, expecting it to start calling but all he got was that the number was no longer in use. He then looked down the list again and dialled in another contact number for Taliah but the exact same thing happened. Michael placed the phone back down, rubbing his forehead. He was not liking where this was heading.
"Let me guess, you can't get through?" Tom asked as he saw that no one had answered Michael's calls.
"It says that neither of these numbers are in use." Michael replied puzzlingly. He didn't understand what had gone on as it was only a few weeks ago that he had called her parents up to say that she was in the running for Head Girl at the end of this year.
"Well," Tom started, "All I can suggest is that you get Taliah back in and explain what has just happened and hopefully she will tell you what is going on."
So with that as the only option left to do, he made his way to his office door where he showed Tom and Sian out before calling Taliah back in to get to the bottom of things once and for all.