Chapter 1

The moment Rain turns away from his locker, he finds himself staring directly into the three cameras of an iPhone decorated neatly with glittering purple and pink plastic gems.

“Is it true what everyone’s saying? That you murdered Zoe Carmichael?” The owner of the phone flicks a wave of sleek, jet-black hair over her shoulder and stares at him expectantly through tortoiseshell-patterned glasses. He’s so speechless at her insensitivity that his mouth falls open and no words come out. Everyone knows that Ivita Davies has no concept of tact, but even for her that was blunt. “Well?” She points a long, navy-blue fingernail in his face, almost impaling his left eye, “Did you?” Rain swallows hard, fighting back the painful sting in the back of his eyes. He’s not about to start bawling in the middle of the school corridor.

“She was my best friend.” His voice comes out like he’s been swallowing sand, and it feels as though there’s a knife rammed into his guts.

Ivita tilts her head slightly, still holding her phone up in his face, “Is that a yes or no?”

He grits his teeth, “It’s a shut the Hell up.”

Ivita frowns, and then pockets her phone with a heavy sigh, “Fine. But it’s not like I’m the one spreading the rumours, is it?”

“Who’s been saying this?” He doesn’t know why he bothers to ask, when he already knows what the answer is going to be.

“Lester.” Ivita shrugs, “Which makes sense, since it’s his sister you killed.”

Something snaps inside Rain, “I didn’t kill her!” He says it too loudly, and the words echo around the dingy corridor. A dozen heads turn in his direction, curious and a little uneasy. Does the whole school really think he’s some blood-crazed murderer? Ivita herself doesn’t even flinch. She’s not half as pathetic as the rest of the popular group in their year, he has to admit. Speaking of which, her three closest friends, Harper, Esme and Michelle, hear his raised voice and hurry over to flank Ivita. Harper giggles, fiddling with the end of her elaborate blonde braid.

“What’s going on?”

Ivita’s expression darkens, her eyes boring into him like burnt caramel, “Rain is trying to say that he didn’t murder Zoe.”

Michelle smirks, "Why should we believe that? He’s always been weird. So was that Zoe girl.” Rain’s fist clenches so tightly that his nails bite into his palm. How dare she say that about her?

“Not surprised he’s turned out to be a psychopath.” Esme adds, tossing her shiny black ponytail over her shoulder and flashing him a sly smile. Rain’s fists clench even harder, and suddenly the corridor feels far too small. The dingy grey walls seem to be closing in, ready to crush what little life he has left.

“I didn’t touch her!” His voice is shaking, “It was just a stupid accident!” The four girls share a look that says they’re not buying it for a second, and then Michelle, Harper and Esme turn away from him, whispering among themselves as they saunter off. He wonders how they can be so casual knowing they’ve just delivered him another stab to the heart. Ivita remains a moment longer, one hand on her hip, her expression still curious and stubborn. She's not intentionally cruel, but somehow her relentless intrigue is even worse than barbed comments. It's a well-known fact that she's obsessed with true crime and unsolved murder cases. Last year, she did a huge project on Jack the Ripper and even made plasticine versions of each crime scene. Of course she'd never ignore the chance to solve a murder within her very own school. But the problem is, it wasn’t a murder. Rain hates that no one believes him. That they all think he killed her. His best friend. His only friend.

“Vi!” Michelle flounces back over with a loud sigh of disdain and drags her away by the arm, leaving Rain standing there, forgotten again, his heart racing and his cheeks burning with indignation.

Then he sees Lester, and for a second his heart constricts with sheer terror and stops beating altogether. Zoe was the spitting image of her older brother. Hair so blonde it was almost white. Pale green eyes like mint leaves. They’d even had the same smile. The kind that could brighten a whole room. Lester is not smiling now. His mouth is set in a grim line, a bead of blood welling up on his lower lip where he’s bitten into it. He has dark hollows beneath his eyes, and he hasn’t bothered to cut his hair, so it’s flopping over his eyes in a mess of blonde tufts. There’s hate in those eyes. There’s a hunger for vengeance. Rain won’t be at all surprised if Lester draws a machete out of his bag and tries to run him through with it, right there in the corridor. Deciding that he doesn’t really feel like dying right now, he bolts for the staircase, taking the steps two at a time. He’s not sure if Lester follows him, but luckily his first class, History, is the closest to the stairs, and he’ll be safe in there. Well, not safe, but safer.