thatâs bothering you?â
If only, Molly thought, if only I could say yes, a dead boy. She shook her head and pulled her coat a little tighter round her body. âThought I saw someone I know,â she said, âbut heâs gone now.â She smiled. âHow do we get to yours?â she asked.
âWe can get the bus,â Dev replied. âCome on, itâs this way.â
Devâs house was similar to her own; a semi-detached with a front garden that Devâs Dad had converted to brick for parking off road. Molly followed Dev inside and was relieved when he shut the door firmly behind them. Inside however, it was completely different to the house she shared with her mum.
âHow long have your family been in England,â Molly asked.
âI was born here,â Dev said. âMy parents came over forty years ago.â He shrugged and smiled. âI know, itâs very Indian, isnât it?â
Molly looked around. âItâs...â she stared three hundred and sixty degrees around the hall. âCrap.â She stopped and put her hand over her mouth.
âSorry?â Dev said. He had walked through to the kitchen to put the kettle on and popped his head back round the door. Molly glared at the dark young boy who stood just inside the front door, gawping at the ornate Hindu interior.
âSnap!â she said, âWeâve got the same lamp at home.â
Dev grinned. âReally? We have so much in common,â he said cheerily and Molly grinned back. This was going better than she had hoped; if it wasnât for the dead boy in the corner.
âGo away!â She hissed at him when Dev went back into the kitchen to make a cup of tea. âI donât know why youâre following me, but you need to go away and leave me alone. You are REALLY getting on my nerves!â
Zack shook his head. âIâm getting on your nerves? Thatâs choice. You two are so lame that itâs making me puke.â
âThen go AWAY!â Molly snapped through clenched teeth.
âI canât!â Zack snapped back. âI donât know why, but I canât seem to move out of your aura. Itâs like I want to walk away, but I canât, Iâm sort of stuck to you and it is REALLY getting on MY NERVES!â
âOh God,â Molly groaned, putting her head in her heads. âThis is impossible...â
âBesides,â Zack went on, as if he hadnât heard her, âI havenât got anywhere else to go.â
Molly glanced behind her at the kitchen to check that Dev was busy. âLook,â she said, âwhy donât you try really hard to think yourself away from here. Imagine yourself somewhere else.â
âBut where? Where should I imagine myself?â
âI donât know! How about outside, across the street, in your own home?!â
Zack stared down at his hands. âI donât have a home,â he said.
âOh.â Molly bit her lip.
âAnd itâs freezing outside and dark and...â
âYouâre dead!â Molly said, âYou donât feel the cold and nothing else can happen to you, I mean nothing worse â itâs not like you can get murdered or anything! She looked at him. He looked young and lonely, much like he did in the café, and she felt sorry for him. âOK,â she said, âwell how about you imagine yourself down here, in the front room, while I go upstairs with Dev.â
Zack raised an eyebrow. âUpstairs? To his room?â
âYes...â Molly hissed.
âTea?â Dev said, coming back into the hall. âShall we take it up to my room? My mum and dad will be back soon and we donât want to have to watch Punjabi TV with them in the front room.â He smiled. âCome on.â
Molly glared once more at Zack who finally nodded and closed his eyes. He focused really hard on the front room and suddenly he disappeared.