Eleanor jones is playing.., p.7
Eleanor Jones is Playing with Fire, page 7
‘Fire!’ Alfie shouts next to me, and I realise he’s screaming at the players on the ground. ‘Fire!’
I scan the ground for Troy. Where is he? They all look the same, and I didn’t pay attention to his number.
There. I’ve spotted him. We lock eyes and an expression of concern runs across his usually smiling features. He looks around the ground and I realise he’s searching for Deklan and Noah. Both teams are being moved to the far end of the oval, and it’s hard to determine exactly where anyone is.
I scan the crowd to see if I can spot Tyler and Olivia, but before I can register where they might be, I hear a massive boom. I’ve heard that sound before. A large slice of metal flies sideways off the change room as the roof explodes. The shouts turn to screams and people start scattering in a million different directions. From where we are standing, I can feel the panic, but I also feel removed from it. Like I’m watching it on a screen and not in real life. My heart is racing and I can’t look away. I don’t know what to do. As the roof hits the dust with a creak and a clang, the screams and shouts increase. The open air releases the bright orange flames beneath. Another, smaller bang sounds out and we watch as a section of fire dances across the top of the wall and then leaps and lands on the small, leafy tree next to it, setting it ablaze as quickly and as easily as a candle on a birthday cake.
CHAPTER 14
‘I mean, I know she’s awful, but do you really think she’d do . . . well, this?’ Alfie hasn’t taken his eyes off the change rooms since they went up in flames and even now, as he’s speaking to me, he’s still staring.
We’re all across the other side of the oval, reluctant to move, after watching the entire event play out like some sort of weird fever dream. The fire is out, thank goodness, and everyone is safe and accounted for, but the footy team – both the Cooinda Lizards and at least a quarter of the opposition – seem pretty pissed that their gear has been destroyed and the game cancelled.
‘At least Mum had my phone,’ is all Troy was able to say before the entire team were shuffled off to one side of the ground to speak with Holly.
‘She was with her friends before the whole thing went down,’ I explain again. I’m honestly not in any way convinced that Tyler Linney is our arsonist, but at this point, that’s exactly what it looks like. ‘And then the whole group were over there, but she wasn’t.’
Namita folds her arms and looks across to where Tyler, Camille and their friends are now huddled in a tight group. They look to be comforting Tyler who, to be fair, appears slightly dishevelled and shaken up. Is she a really good actress? I don’t even know. Maybe?
‘How did she do it though?’ Namita asks. ‘That explosion was way more than someone lighting a match and hoping for the best.’
I nod slowly. Namita is right. I mean, she had her footy bag with her, and maybe there was something in that, but it’s a stretch. Who plays a game and then immediately goes off and starts a fire? What am I even thinking? Who starts a fire in the first place? We’re not exactly seeking out a rational person.
‘I don’t know why she’d burn down the footy change rooms,’ I concede. ‘Or why she’d burn down Garry McGregor’s place.’
‘Maybe she thought it was your house and messed up?’ Alfie offers.
I look at him, horrified. ‘You think she hates me that much?’
He finally takes his eyes off the action across the oval. ‘Oh no! I didn’t mean that . . . I was just . . .’
‘Why wasn’t she with her friends though?’ Ethan muses. ‘Who was she with, or what was she doing instead? They usually run in a pack.’
‘True,’ Namita says. ‘Those girls don’t even go to the toilet on their own.’
I can see by the look on Ethan’s face that he’s got an idea.
‘What are you thinking?’ I ask.
‘That my brother is completely unobservant and doesn’t think about anything but himself, but maybe he saw something. I’ll be back.’ With that, he walks off towards a large group of guys who are hovering by the fire truck and police cars.
‘Jarrod Griggs is probably thrilled to be so close to the cops and not actually be the one in trouble,’ Alfie says once Ethan is out of earshot.
‘Is he really that bad?’ I ask. I find it so weird that Ethan can be so nice and so thoughtful and then be directly related to someone who is none of those things.
Namita pauses before answering me. ‘Ethan’s only shared a few stories with me, but yeah. I think Jarrod was the poster boy for juvenile delinquency. Fights mostly, but also destroying property and stealing stuff. Just anything that made other people’s lives hard.’
The young police officer who was at the station the other day is trying to stop everyone from entering the change rooms or poking about the place. I know it’s only a matter of time before the fireys and the cops lose it, and everyone gets told to go home. I make a mental note to check with Holly what the deal is there. Would they want to speak with everyone? How do you even start to get witness statements off hundreds of unhelpful people?
Out on the field, the players are dispersing and as Troy walks towards us, a serious expression on his face, I register for the first time today how he looks in his football uniform. I haven’t seen this much of his legs, or upper arms, before and both are way more . . . how would I describe it . . . shapely than I thought they would be. I mean, I guess I haven’t actually thought about those specific body parts but I’m now aware that I’m fully perving at this point and geez, Eleanor, this is not the time or the place.
‘Hey,’ I offer as he gets closer. Focusing on his face isn’t exactly helping. ‘Everyone okay?’
He sighs loudly and climbs over the fence so he’s on the same side of the ground as the rest of us. ‘Yeah, I guess so. I just . . . I don’t even know what to think.’
I want to reach out and give him a big hug, but it feels sort of strange to do that with everyone here. Instead, I stretch out my hand and give his arm a soft rub. Nope, that was not good. Now I really want to give him a big hug.
I try to distract myself and look over his shoulder. In the distance, I see two guys walk out of the change rooms. They’re both in Lizards gear but they’re also both wearing yellow firefighting helmets.
‘Hey,’ I say. ‘Is that the firey, Smitty?’
Troy turns to see what I’m looking at and then nods. ‘Oh, yep. I was right, he does play in the seniors. I thought so. I didn’t even register that when we met him. Their game would have been up next. If . . . this hadn’t happened.’
‘Interesting,’ Namita says, and I catch her eye to acknowledge that we are on the same page. Why is it that we’re suspicious of everyone, and Troy seems to be suspicious of no one?
‘What are you doing now?’ I ask. ‘Why don’t you all come back to my place? I feel like we need to workshop this a bit . . . or something.’
Troy leans forward and takes my hand, giving it a little squeeze. I totally should have hugged him. ‘I’d love to, but I feel like Barb isn’t going to let me out of her sight for a bit after this happening.’
Troy’s mum is somewhat of a helicopter parent, so I’d say he’s not wrong. When I scan the crowd, I can see her leaning against her car on the far side of the ground. She’s watching us all and we both give her a wave.
‘Why don’t you come to mine?’ Troy says.
I smile. ‘I’d like that.’
‘Sounds great,’ Alfie chimes in. For a moment I’d forgotten he was there. ‘Let me call Mum. I was going to walk Millie home, so I will talk to her as well.’ Alfie and Camille live near each other, and I swear he does whatever he can to travel to and from home in her company whenever possible.
‘What about you?’ I ask Namita. Her parents are pretty strict. If it’s not school, study, or a pre-approved extracurricular they’re usually a firm no. I have met them twice now and managed a sleepover (me at hers), so I’m hoping to break them eventually. ‘They know Troy’s mum, right? They might approve if they think Barb is in charge. Also, we’ve just survived a traumatic event. We absolutely need to be together right now.’
She grins and holds up her phone. ‘Give me five.’
‘I’ll go tell Mum she’s about to have a house full of people and no snacks left,’ Troy says. ‘Hey, Eleanor . . . thanks.’
‘For what?’
‘For understanding. For being here. For being you.’
I feel a blush rise through my chest and up my neck into my face. I’m not used to being acknowledged like that. It’s deeply unsettling. But also, nice.
‘Any time.’ I start to watch him walk away and then take a deep breath before raising my eyes to the sky. He really needs to put some clothes on.
CHAPTER 15
Two car loads and forty-five minutes later, we are all spread out on Troy’s back lawn.
Barb has delivered on the snacks, and Namita is lying with her head on Ethan’s lap, and I know she is in absolute heaven. I’d say Alfie is also over the moon because he has somehow convinced Camille to join us and Angus’s dad has dropped him over as well.
Camille, however, is not okay with the fact that we’ve got a shortlist of suspects and that the shortlist is filled with people she knows. People she’s friends with.
‘Tyler? Lighting fires?’ She looks around at each of us once we’ve updated her on the note and the theories. ‘No way.’
‘You don’t think she’s got it in her?’ I ask.
‘I’m sure everyone’s got it in them, Eleanor,’ she replies thoughtfully, and that makes me wonder what’s behind Camille’s innocent face. ‘I think if she has a problem with someone, she’d likely just tell them.’
‘Fair,’ I agree. ‘But why wasn’t she with you all when the fire started? She was over by the change rooms.’
Camille looks at each of us, her long lashes framing a concerned expression. I can tell she knows something, she just doesn’t want to admit it.
Finally, she speaks. ‘I can’t say.’
‘So you admit she was near the change rooms!’ I feel very validated right now. ‘What’s going on with her?’
Camille bites her lip and Alfie looks at her with care.
‘This is a safe space, Millie. I promise,’ he says to her. ‘You can tell us. We won’t let her know you have.’
‘You’ve got other people on that list though. You said Olivia Fisher had a lighter in her pocket, correct?’
I nod. ‘True, but she was sitting way over the other side of the oval. She was nowhere near the change rooms.’
‘Maybe she set it up earlier?’
‘Maybe,’ I acknowledge.
‘And what about Deklan? His dad is mates with Garry McGregor. And he’s part of the footy club.’
‘So is Noah,’ Alfie interjects and Camille frowns at this.
I decide to back off her for a bit. ‘What about Jarrod, Ethan? How did you go with him?’
‘Over between the change rooms and the canteen there’s often a small fire in a barrel,’ he explains. ‘A lot of old blokes hang out there and they all used to stick up for Jarrod back in the day. I knew that’s where he would have been.’
I know my confusion is showing on my face when Ethan continues.
‘He was pretty good at footy.’
I roll my eyes.
‘I wanted to find out what they saw. If anything.’
‘And?’
‘Nothing.’ He shakes his head. ‘He was with them all the whole time though. There’s no way he could have done it.’
Namita sits up and looks at him. ‘You mean you actually thought he might have?’
‘I don’t know. He could have. He’s done some stupid stuff over the years. Nothing would surprise me.’
‘I promise you, Tyler wouldn’t do this. She wouldn’t put people in danger.’ Camille is still sticking up for her friend.
I turn to her. ‘So . . .’
Camille sighs loudly. ‘Baxter Roberts.’
‘Who?’ I have no idea if it even is a who.
Troy immediately looks at the ground and now I’m really curious.
‘He’s in Year Twelve. He plays in Troy’s team. He was there today.’
‘Okay . . .’
Camille hesitates for the briefest moment, and then it all comes rushing out. ‘Tyler sent him nudes. Months ago. She had a huge crush on him and kissed him at a party and then he said he wanted pics and she sent them and then he ghosted her.’
I can’t stand Tyler, but I feel immediate fury on her behalf as Camille is speaking.
‘He showed some of the guys in the locker room the other week. She found out. She was going to sneak in and steal his phone. He was refusing to talk to her, but also refusing to delete them.’
I realise that Troy still won’t look up. ‘You knew this,’ I announce. ‘You saw them?’
He raises his head and at least has the good sense to look sorry. ‘I wasn’t part of the group, I didn’t look, I swear. But, yeah, I know he did it.’
I’m baffled. Tyler isn’t nice to me, but Troy has known her forever. I’m sure he would say they’re friends. ‘You didn’t say anything? You didn’t call him out? Or tell him he was out of line?’
Alfie makes a choking sound and I swing my head to look at him.
‘What?’ I ask.
‘The idea of calling out Baxter Roberts?’ Alfie says. ‘Asking for trouble.’
Namita looks around at Troy, then at Alfie. She’s clearly incensed. ‘This. This is the whole problem with boys. You just accept this!’
‘Hey!’ Alfie seems hurt. ‘Don’t put us all in the same obnoxious Neanderthal category, Namita.’
‘Yeah,’ Angus chimes in. ‘If guys like Baxter Roberts have done rotten things to girls, it’s highly likely they’re doing rotten things to some of us guys too.’
‘But, hey,’ Namita seethes, her tone darkly sarcastic. ‘He’s the star player, of course! So no one calls him out. Everyone’s afraid of him, which completely reinforces his behaviour and his feelings of power.’
‘You’re not being fair,’ Ethan chimes in, and this surprises me, because it’s very rare that he would take anyone’s side over Namita. ‘Alfie’s not wrong. Sometimes, with guys like that, you’re best to just ignore the bad behaviour.’
Namita is furious though and she stands up to reinforce her point. ‘He’s not a toddler, Ethan. He’s practically an adult. And a physically strong and powerful one at that. What do you think is going to happen if he thinks that doing that sort of thing is all a bit of fun? You’re all giving him permission to continue pushing the boundaries when he’s already crossed them. That’s not okay.’
She looks at Ethan and I can tell she’s really upset with him. ‘Are you saying you wouldn’t speak out?’
He shrugs. He’s always honest and right now is no different. ‘I hope I would. But it’s different for me. I’m physically similar to him. I couldn’t care less if he tried to smack me in the head and I could hold my own if he did. Angus and Alfie aren’t so lucky. At least, not at this stage of their lives. Also, I wouldn’t care if he tried to ruin my reputation or put me down in front of people. Troy though, he’s well liked. He’s part of a world that guys like Roberts could destroy. That means these guys are not going to take the risks that I would. I don’t care what people think of me.’
I know that’s not true. He cares what Namita thinks of him, and I can tell it’s killing him right now that she’s looking at him in that way. She moves her gaze to Troy, and I know he’s one hundred per cent going to cop it next.
‘Oh, so your reputation is more important than Tyler’s? You’d rather look after yourself than a girl you know who isn’t there to defend herself.’
‘It’s not that . . .’ Troy starts. ‘When you send pics like that to a guy like . . .’
‘Don’t you dare blame her!’ Namita is raging now.
I hate this. I hate people fighting anyway. But I hate that I’m just sitting here, not taking a side, and not knowing what to say to make it stop. It feels as if not speaking up about how I’m feeling is the same as Troy not speaking up in that moment. That when you don’t know exactly what to say, you end up not saying anything at all.
‘Namita, you don’t understand –’ Troy starts.
‘No, no, I really don’t.’ She folds her arms and glares down at him.
Camille, who has been silent through this entire interaction, faces Troy. ‘What else do you boys talk about in there? Who else do you talk about?’
‘I . . . I . . . I don’t . . .’
‘Has anyone talked about me in that locker room, Troy Masterson?’ Camille’s voice wobbles as she says his name and Alfie’s face contorts as he swings between his concern for her and his mateship with Troy. ‘Did Danny Brown say anything about me?’
I’m confused. This conversation is making me realise how few people I seem to know at our school, or in this town. The look on Troy’s face says everything though. Danny Brown, whoever he may be, totally said something about Camille in the locker room and now we all know it.
Camille’s face crumbles and she makes a little squeak as she stands up and runs towards the house. Namita gives him a filthy look and follows her.
Without looking back, she calls out to me. ‘Are you coming, Eleanor?’
The boys – the four of them so different from one another – sit quietly in a group, but each of them are giving me the exact same expression of helplessness.
‘Troy . . .’ I start.
‘Just go with them, Eleanor. Mum can take you all home,’ he says.
Alfie opens his mouth to speak and Troy lays back on the grass as he cuts him off. ‘You can go if you want to as well, Alfie. It’s fine.’
CHAPTER 16
I get a message on my phone early Sunday morning from Troy.
Can I come over?
I’m so relieved to get the message. I had started writing, and then deleted, about a million last night. I didn’t want to ask him if he was okay, or tell him not to worry about it, because Namita wasn’t wrong. She maybe didn’t deliver her point in the most helpful way, but the truth is, it’s all a bit crap. A lot crap, actually. I can’t stand Tyler, but there’s no way she deserves this. Footy locker room, or not, Troy should have spoken up. No excuses. I send a message right back.
