It was a sharp, June morning. Riverlark hadn’t opened up in May, after all. Two teachers had tested positive, followed by three students who’d had to go to school in lockdown because their parents were essential workers. But now, finally, school was opening again. There was still time for year six to be everything it was supposed to be.

Riding her bike along the river path, Harper felt a surge of happiness that made her remember running down hills. Things were getting back to normal. There’d been no more night wakings. No more objects flying out of nowhere. No more shadows, noises, smells. The virus numbers had gone down and everything had started to open again. Harper’s fears had dried up like rain. She wanted to be the school leader she was meant to be. Library captain was nothing to be ashamed of. She’d make something of it, even if she was the only one who cared.

When she got to the gate, she heard her name shouted by more than one voice. Cleo and Ro waved from the top of the wooden fort. It looked like most of her year level was up there.

‘We’ve taken back the fort!’ yelled Cleo. She was in the gap of the tallest tower, dangling her legs. Ro was tucked behind her, on his phone. Corey, Briar and Dree were in the far corner on their phones, too. Sol, Jake, Augie; even Misha was up there. Most of the little kids had found other places to play.

Corey leaned over and shoved his phone in front of Cleo’s face. She laughed at whatever was on the screen. ‘Harper, you have to see this.’

But before Harper could climb up to look, Briar appeared.

‘Are you the only one without a phone, Harper?’ She smiled, showing pink braces.

‘Cleo doesn’t have one either,’ Harper said.

‘Yes she does,’ replied Briar in a heartbeat.

Cleo reached into the pocket of her shorts.

‘Nonna upgraded and gave me her old one.’

‘So now it’s just you, aww,’ said Briar.

Harper had a vision of everyone in her year level texting each other for months, making new jokes she’d never understand.

‘Harper doesn’t care. She likes old things, not technology. Come up, Harps,’ said Cleo. ‘I’ll make room.’

‘Old things, lol,’ Briar said, close into Harper’s ear.

The bell rang. As Harper walked to class with Cleo, she couldn’t tell her why all the happiness she’d felt on the way here had vanished so suddenly. She didn’t really understand it herself. This term wasn’t supposed to be like this.

Mr Kumar sent Harper to the office with Sol to collect the lunch orders.

She felt awkward around Sol. Their friendship so far consisted of a high five during a netball match months ago and seeing his face in a small square on her iPad screen in lockdown. But she forced herself to say something.

‘It’s weird being back, don’t you reckon?’

‘I never really left,’ Sol replied. ‘My parents are doctors so I had to do school here. But there were hardly any of us.’

‘You were here that whole time? I didn’t know, sorry. My parents are both nurses,’ said Harper.

‘No way, so how come you weren’t here? That would’ve been way better. I was the only year six.’

‘Mum and Dad went overseas to do humanitarian work before the pandemic started. They can’t get back, so I live with my gran.’

‘Whoa, you must miss them like…yeah, wow.’ Even if the words didn’t quite come out, he said it with a lot of feeling.

‘I do,’ Harper replied. There were tears just holding on, and she turned away to wipe them with the sleeve of her hoodie.

‘Sorry, Harper.’

‘No, I’m fine! Seriously.’

‘It sucks sometimes having parents who are always helping other people.’

‘A bit.’

‘But it’s also really cool, I think.’

Harper smiled. ‘Yeah, it is.’

After they’d picked up the crate of lunch orders, Sol said he needed the toilet. There was no way Harper wanted to wait outside the boys’ toilets holding a crate of sandwiches, so she walked on extra slow.

She went around the block to the small high-walled area and put the crate down. She remembered what had happened there a few weeks ago—the yellow leaf, the search for Hector.

Her heart leapt when a yellow leaf appeared just as it had before.

Nothing stirred at all apart from this one leaf.

She followed it.

It made the same graceful movements, leading Harper around the corner to the door that she’d never given a second thought to until that day with Hector.

Just as before, the door was ajar. This was too weird.

Into the dimness, Harper called: ‘Hello?’ She could smell that waft of smoke again. She climbed onto a ridge on the fence behind the library to peer over. There was no smoke in that direction.

What if something was actually on fire in the library?

She went inside. There was no sign of smoke or flames or anything. She breathed in. It was a really faint smell.

From where she was standing she could see Sol emerge from the toilet block, so she hurried out again. She gasped as a shadow moved across the gap. She pulled the door closed behind her and held the handle tight. In her mind the shadow grew the features of a face.

Not again.

She couldn’t start thinking like this. Was it her period? No, it wasn’t due for a while.

She heard Sol calling her, and she walked quickly back down the narrow side path.

Sol was smiling. ‘Isn’t that out of bounds? I didn’t know you were a rebel.’

‘I’m not,’ she snapped. ‘There was…a bird, it had hurt itself. I helped it.’ She felt guilty for snapping, and worse for lying.

Harper gave Sol the most awkward smile. She was trying to look like she hadn’t just chased down a leaf for no reason, seen a face that wasn’t really there, and snapped at him when he didn’t deserve it.

All through maths she was stuck in her thoughts. What makes a leaf do that? Did I see a face, or a shadow? What was that burning smell?

She wanted to let it go, but it wouldn’t let her.