Page 11 of What Did I Miss?

‘It’s a healthy muffin?’ Flashbacks of her mother sneaking vegetables into a lasagne still haunt her.

‘If you’re on a new health kick, there’s no need to bring me down with you.

’ Makayla doesn’t recall her mentioning a diet, and Cece mentions everything .

Like the time she overshared all the gory details about her episiotomy.

‘The only place beetroot belongs is in a bin.’

‘Hear, hear,’ Beau chimes in, thrusting a coffee mug into the air. He’s blissfully unaware he’s just committed the biggest sin in Goldbrooke Secondary College history.

‘What have you done?’ Makayla asks, breaking her vow of silence.

Cece and Rongo gasp in unison as they realise.

‘Rest in peace,’ Cece adds.

‘Nice knowing you, bro.’ Rongo pats his back.

‘What is it?’ Panic flashes across Beau’s face. ‘Will someone tell me what’s going on?’ He glances over his shoulder nervously.

There’s a silent agreement among the group that Makayla should break the news. They lean in, creating a defensive wall with their backs, for their own protection as much as Beau’s.

‘That’s Agnes’s mug,’ Makayla whispers, pointing to the illustration of two cocker spaniels with matching head bows.

‘This?’ He lifts it again. ‘I grabbed it from the communal shelf. Everyone knows you can’t claim a mug as your own. If you do, you have to take it back to your office.’

They shake their heads at poor, misguided Beau. He’s been working here for three weeks and still hasn’t worked it out. Agnes doesn’t follow the rules, she makes them.

‘She puts it there to mess with people’s heads. She’s evil like that.’ Makayla glances around to ensure none of Agnes’s minions are floating about. She has spies everywhere.

‘Agnes? Are we talking about the same sweet old lady?’ He makes the rookie error of pointing at her across the room, causing The Whiny Bunch to turn their heads in eerie synchronicity, like possessed dolls.

Makayla ducks, Rongo hides behind Beau, and Cece squeezes her eyes shut as though it’ll make her invisible. Beau’s becoming a liability.

‘That’s what she wants you to think,’ Makayla says when The Whiny Bunch return to their gossip session. ‘Before you know it, she’ll make your life a living hell. Sometimes just for fun, but always if you touch her mug.’

‘It’s true.’ Rongo stares out the window, a glint of terror in his eyes.

‘I accidentally used her mug once and from that point on, all my yard duties were assigned to the oval. The oval ,’ he repeats for emphasis.

‘No trees out there, man. Not one. The conditions are brutal. I get burnt to a crisp in summer and freeze my butt off in winter because there’s nothing to block the wind.

Is it a coincidence I got reassigned there after I used The Mug of Doom? I think not.’

‘Sorry to hear that, mate, but what’s that got to do with Agnes?’ Beau asks.

‘She’s The Timetabler,’ they say in unison.

‘Agnes is in charge of who teaches what, yard duty allocation and loading teachers with extra classes to cover absentees,’ Rongo explains.

‘Some might argue, The Timetabler has more power than the principal,’ Makayla adds. ‘Those in her good books find themselves with no classes on Friday afternoon and skip out of school at lunchtime. Get on her bad side and she’ll have you supervising detentions for a term.’

As though Agnes has supersonic hearing, she pitter-patters over to the shelf where her trusty mug should be, then spins around, casting her beady eyes over the faculty.

Chatter fades into the background as Makayla’s heart thumps in her ears.

If Beau’s caught, he’s a goner. There’s only so much a graduate can take.

Ebony’s already made it her mission to break him; the last thing he needs is to be on Agnes’s hit list too.

Without thinking, Makayla snatches the mug and twists it around so Agnes’s beloved pets are on full display.

Throwing her head back, she swallows the rest of Beau’s coffee, eyes watering as the hot liquid burns her throat.

There’s a collective gasp when she slams it onto the table and shoots Agnes a smile that hopefully says, ‘That’s right. I used your cup and I’m not sorry.’

With a simple smirk, Agnes makes it clear Makayla will pay for this. Agnes isn’t foolish enough to make a scene now; she’ll exact her revenge later, once she’s come up with a way to keep her hands clean. Makayla can already feel the target on her back.

Everyone sighs with relief when Agnes returns to her seat.

‘I can’t believe you took a bullet for me,’ Beau says, forcing eye contact.

‘I would’ve done the same for anyone.’

‘Bullcrap,’ Rongo says. ‘When that happened to me, you laughed your face off.’

Makayla’s cheeks burn like a furnace, inadvertently corroborating Rongo’s story.

Rongo looks back and forth between Makayla and Beau, mouth gaping like a cartoon character. It doesn’t take a genius to work out what he’s thinking.

‘No effing way.’ Rongo grins. ‘Did you two—’

‘Don’t you dare finish that sentence,’ Makayla warns.

Why didn’t she let Beau cop Agnes’s wrath instead of saving him? If Rongo’s worked it out, it’s only a matter of time before everyone else does.

The heaviness of Beau’s gaze has her sweating up a storm, her jacket moulding to her.

They lock eyes, and even though it’s only for a millisecond, it’s the longest she’s allowed herself to stare into them since he arrived at Goldbrooke Secondary College.

The way he’s looking at her says it all – he knows she has feelings for him.

They’re only embers, but if she doesn’t do something drastic, they’ll soon become flames.

Desperate for some air, she stands to leave.

‘Makayla!’ Beau’s call wakes the lady in the corner, who it seems isn’t dead after all. ‘Don’t go.’

But she’s already gone. The double doors of the staffroom swing shut behind her as she races to the bathroom to die of embarrassment.