Eggshell Days Read Free

was in the back with her and she was taking advantage of his presence, using him as an unwitting shield.
    â€œSorry,” Emmy winced from the front. “Am I being that bad?”
    â€œNo, you’re okay,” Jay said. “It’s better than pretending. Mum and Dad put these stupid fixed smiles on their faces when they’re in bad moods in front of people. Haven’t you ever noticed?”
    â€œI don’t think Mum counts,” said Maya.
    The taxis were in a twenty-mile-an-hour convoy behind a milk tanker. Behind them was a metallic blue Golf. In the cab in front of theirs, Sita turned round and tapped her watch through the back window.
    â€œWe’re going to miss the train,” Emmy told the driver.
    â€œIt’s this blessed tanker. He must be able to see us. He should pull over.” He sounded his horn.
    â€œI hope we do miss it,” Jay told Maya when he could see Emmy was in conversation.
    â€œWhy?”
    â€œThen we won’t have to go to school.”
    â€œWe’ll just have to get the next one. There’ll be one every hour. Some people commute from here, you know.”
    Jay sighed. “They must be mad. All grown-ups are mad.”
    â€œIs Monday a bad day, then?”
    â€œEvery day’s a bad day.”
    â€œIs it?”
    â€œYeah, it is. I hate school.”
    â€œDo you?”
    â€œYeah, really. Sometimes I don’t bother going.”
    â€œWhat do you do instead?”
    â€œGo home.”
    â€œWhat do you tell your mum and dad?”
    â€œNothing. They’re not there, are they? I just pretend I’ve been at school. If they can pretend everything’s fine when it’s not, I can too.”
    â€œWhat’s not fine?” Maya asked. It had never occurred to her that things in Jay’s family might not be fine.
    â€œDo you want a list?”
    â€œAnyway, I thought your mum was at home all the time now Lila has been born.”
    â€œWell, yeah.”
    â€œSo how do you skip school?” She didn’t believe he did, in the same way that Asha didn’t believe he had a hangover.
    â€œWell, that’s one of the things that aren’t fine, isn’t it?”
    â€œAll right, you two?” Emmy asked, looking round.
    â€œFine,” said Jay, putting on what he thought was a stupid fixed smile.
    â€œHey, Niall’s behind us!” Maya shouted, waving frantically. “What’s he doing in that posh car? Who’s that girl?”
    â€œMaya, will you just turn round and sit properly,” her mother barked.
    Maya recognized only too well the edge in Emmy’s voice, and when that edge was present the only sensible option was to do exactly what she was told.

1
    C ORNWALL, TWO MONTHS LATER
    They were having the train-crash conversation again.
    â€œRight, okay, I think we should stop this,” Emmy said. “Now that we’re here.” She gripped the solid edge of the table, just to be sure they really were. Toby’s table. His kitchen. Her kitchen. Their kitchen.
    â€œThat’s rich, coming from you,” Niall said. “You’re the one who usually starts it.”
    â€œThat was back then.” She smiled. It was the contagious smile, the one that gave that glimpse of Maya. “Before my fairy godfather waved his magic wand.” It must have been magic, because it didn’t even matter to her anymore that Kat was on Niall’s lap. Being at Bodinnick made up for all sorts of things. “We missed the train,” she carried on. “It crashed. We could all be dead. We live here now. End of story.”
    â€œDon’t you mean beginning?” Sita corrected. “This should be where it starts to get interesting.”
    â€œWe hope,” said Jonathan.
    A blown fuse meant it was dark in the huge room, but it was a clear evening and there was a full moon, so they could at least see each other.
    â€œWell, there are two ways of looking at