Chapter Two

Jamie slammed the door. He forgot all about what Joelle had said about locking it, and he completely ignored Zak as he made his way upstairs to his room. He didn't make it that far. He was drawn to a door next to the door to his room. One that had a plaque on the door saying "Rachel's Room". As he stopped he wondered why he had been drawn to that room. He hadn't been in there since… since three years before the virus when his sister had died. But now he found himself opening the door. It was the same it had been all those years ago, slightly dustier but that was only to be expected. He sneezed as the dust reached his nostrils but carried on into the room despite himself. He sat on the bed, ignoring the cloud of dust that rose from it, and looked the room.

"Why?" he said to himself. "Why did you do it Rachel?" he continued as tears came to his eyes. As he sat there he suddenly became aware that he was sitting on something, something hard. He stood up and pulled the duvet off the bed, Lying there, as if it had always been there, was a hard backed book with the words "Rachel's diary" written in neat writing across the front.

"I didn't know she had this…" he spoke and opened the book slowly.

*Why me? I used to be popular. So why do I suddenly find myself with no one? Why, when I used to sit in a group at lunch, find myself in the corner on a table on my own, watching the people who used to be my friends sitting together without me. It's been going on for a couple of weeks now. I went into school after the holidays to find them completely ignoring me. I thought I must have done something wrong, something to make them stop speaking to me, so I asked them. They laughed. Didn't say a thing, just laughed and laughed. Even then I wasn't upset. I assumed they'd tell me in time and I could apologise. Two days later they were still doing it. Yet they were getting worse. Now they humiliated me, put me down in front of big groups of people. That was when it begun to hit me. These people who had once been my friends hated me, and I didn't know why. I asked them time and time again what it was that I'd done but they wouldn't tell me…*

Jamie read on…

*I should tell Jamie. He'd help me. He'd find out what I'd done to make these people hate me. But I can't. He's dealing with his own problems; I don't want him to have mine to deal with as well. No. I'll work it out on my own. I'll stop them being nasty to me, if I can.*

Jamie stopped. He didn't want to read on. He knew he would eventually. He had to know the truth. He needed to know what had led his sister to take her own life. But he couldn't read on now. His cheeks were already wet with tears and he didn't want to cry any more. He heard the faint sound of someone knocking on the door downstairs. Why can't people ever leave me in peace? He thought. He stood up slowly as the knocking persisted and began to wonder where Zak had got to. As he neared the door he saw a blurred image of Joelle through the glass. He sighed. He really didn't need this right now. He opened the door.

"What happened to you earlier?" she said immediately. "You disappeared with hardly a word!"

"It's not against the law is it?" he replied, annoyed.

"What's with you today?" she asked, a look of genuine concern on her face.

"Nothing. I'm fine. I just want a bit of peace now and again."

"If that's what you want then I'll go," she said, although it was obvious in the way she spoke that she would prefer to stay.

"OK then. Bye," he answered, and shut the door in her face. As he walked back up the stairs Joelle stood on the doorstep for a couple of seconds, a confused expression on her face, before turning and walking away.