THE CHASM 

By Tessa Harvey


    It was a few minutes before Dylan could disentangle himself from the crush of students at the classroom door after the school bell had rang. Mr. Jones, the teacher, had sent a girl to check on Ariella, but she came back shrugging her shoulders, palms out in a negative gesture, dark hair swirling round her face. 
    Dylan made for the school buses, and found Ariella's. She wasn't in her usual place at the front, diagonally opposite the driver. Without pausing, the boy swung up on the bus. The driver glanced at him, then back to his work checking for messages and the time.
    Ben Strand knew who travelled on his bus, but once the kids were in High School he did not feel he should monitor them unless they were in Child Safety programs.
    Other students came and the bus lurched away. Ariella was curled up small in the far back corner, desolate and alone. There were tear tracks down her face. She tried a small smile for Dylan. "Want me to come home with you?" he queried shyly. "Thanks," Ariella smiled properly.
    "Could your mum or dad take me back?" Dylan didn't want his uncle fuming.
"Sure, I think."
    Ariella's parents were both home from the medical centre where they worked. Dylan explained about the lesson. Daniel and Esther exchanged glances. "Esther will explain. I will take you home, Dylan." Daniel Cowan explained about the young widow and child he had met at a funeral for the husband who had died on duty in Afghanistan. "We were planning to tell Ari when she was older. Nice of you to be a friend, Dylan."

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