Epilogue
It was a month later when Jamie next walked through the school gate, and yet people were still talking. Athena was gone, the school had expelled her right after they realised what had happened. Jamie smiled as he walked right by the place she used to hang out. Standing there, almost cowering, were the people who had once stood by her side; without her, they were nothing.
"Hi," Lewis said, approaching Jamie and walking along side him.
"Hi," Jamie replied, still smiling.
"How are you?" Lewis asked.
"It's…weird," he said. "I keep expecting to bump into Athena somewhere."
"Well you're not going to," Lewis smiled. "She's not coming back."
"I still can't get over seeing her at the funeral. The nerve of that girl!"
"I guess she felt more guilty than anyone," Lewis said solemnly.
"Athena? Guilty? You mean she actually had a heart?"
"Maybe, maybe no one ever looked close enough."
"I still can't imagine it."
As they walked into class, the teacher looked up from his desk and smiled.
"Jamie, can I have a word?" he called across the class. Jamie looked worried for a moment, and sidled slowly up to the teacher.
"I want to say how impressed I was with the quality of the work you did while you were away," he said. Jamie was shocked.
"Oh… err… thanks," he replied, blushing slightly.
"I have to say I'm pleased you've decided that doing school work is beneficial."
"I had to do it," Jamie replied. "I have to make mum and dad proud of me," he paused for a moment. "For Rachel's sake."