35

TOM ALMOST MADE IT TO SCHOOL IN TIME. As THE LAST bend came into view, he saw Robert and Emma ahead of him, running flat out. Robert glanced back over his shoulder, and when he saw Tom, he stopped to wait for him. Emma went on, flying around the corner at top speed.

So she wasn’t going to be late after all. Well, if she could do it—so could he. Tom broke into a run, determined to beat the bell.

“Come on!” he said as he passed Robert. “Let’s catch her!”

In two strides Robert was beside him. The two of them raced around the corner together—

—and bumped into a man coming the other way.

Tom cannoned straight into him, knocking himself off balance. He staggered sideways, and if he hadn’t caught hold of Robert’s arm, he would have fallen into the gutter.

“Sorry,” Tom said, looking up apologetically.

In the same moment, Robert caught his breath. “You?” he said. “Aren’t you the one—?” And then he broke off, without finishing.

The man didn’t speak at all. He just stood still, looking straight back at Tom. And his eyes were as clear as water, as blue as a cloudless sky.

I’ve seen you before, said a voice inside Tom’s head. But he couldn’t think when or where. All he could do was stare at his own reflection in the center of those blue eyes while the man looked gravely back at him.

He didn’t know how long he went on staring. It could have been for a split second or for an hour. While it lasted, there was nothing except the bright, dazzling blue.

And then, suddenly, it was over. The man stepped past them and disappeared around the corner, and they heard the school bell begin to ring.