Falcon Drive seemed to Agatha to be further from the train station in Tully’s car than it did when Katherine had driven her. When they finally turned into Falcon Drive, Agatha leaned forward in her seat. ‘It’s just up here. On the left.’

Celeste slowed down and came to a stop in front of the dark house. ‘There’s no lights on, Agatha. Are you sure this is it?’

Agatha was sure. But she was puzzled. Thursday was yoga. The class would have finished hours ago. ‘I’ll go and knock,’ she said.

‘I’ll come with you,’ said Tully.

As they walked up the driveway, Agatha turned to Tully. ‘We should hear Chief bark any minute now. He always knows when someone is coming.’

When they reached the front porch, the automatic light went on but there was no barking. Agatha pressed the doorbell and knocked on the door. Nothing. Tully pressed the doorbell too. She looked at Agatha. ‘I don’t think she’s here. Are you sure she knew you were coming?’

‘Sort of.’

Tully looked back towards the car, then leaned in closer to Agatha. ‘Have you run away?’

Agatha shrugged.

‘You can trust me,’ Tully’s face had flooded with concern.

‘Please don’t tell anyone.’

‘Come on.’ Tully gently took Agatha’s arm and lead her off the porch and back to the car. ‘There’s no one home, Mum. What will we do?’ Tully had opened the passenger door and was leaning in, Agatha standing silently behind her.

‘Why don’t you both jump in? Let’s get home and we can sort something out.’

‘I can wait. She’ll be home soon. She’s probably still at yoga,’ Agatha offered.

‘There’s no way we’re leaving you here alone, Agatha. Jump in,’ Celeste insisted. ‘I’m hungry and I’m sure you girls are too. You can have dinner with us and then we’ll try her phone later.’

‘Come on,’ said Tully encouragingly. ‘It’s pasta night.’

Agatha looked back at the house. She desperately wanted to be inside, in her room, with Chief jumping around her and Katherine talking about the next project she wanted to get done in the garden.

‘Really, Agatha, we’ll work it out.’ Tully had opened the back door of the car and was motioning for her to get in.

Agatha agreed and got into the back seat. ‘We’ll call later?’

‘Yes. Promise.’ The car slowly turned around and headed away into the night.

Agatha hoped that Tully’s house wasn’t far. She tried to focus on each turn – right, straight ahead, a sharp bend to the left – but it wasn’t long until she realised she wouldn’t be able to remember her way back. The darkness made it harder to recognise any landmarks or particular houses.

Just like at Katherine’s house, as they turned into the driveway the garage door went up and they drove straight in. Before anyone of them had a chance to get out of the car, the door that connected the garage to the house swung open and a small boy almost fell through with it.

‘Did you get it? The bicarb?’

Tully turned to Agatha. ‘That’s my brother, Ike. He has a science project due tomorrow and he remembered an hour ago.’ Tully let out a frustrated sigh, rolled her eyes and then smiled. Agatha realised that this probably wasn’t the first time he had waited until the night before.

‘I certainly did. Where’s your dad? Is he helping you?’ Celeste was at the boot, taking out the shopping bags. As she closed the boot, Agatha said, ‘I want to get my suitcase.’

‘It’s okay, sweetheart. I’ll drive you to your aunty’s later.’

‘Please. I want it.’

Celeste hesitated, then smiled at Agatha. She lifted the suitcase and placed it down in front of her.

Ike was already at the shopping bags, peering inside each one, looking for the necessary ingredient for his project. ‘Ike, just let me get the bags inside,’ his mother said, not that it stopped him from looking. She handed him the bags in her hand and he hurried back in through the door.

Tully came over to Agatha and picked up her suitcase. ‘Come on, I know exactly where we can put this while you’re here.’ Tully turned and walked inside, Agatha close behind, not wanting to be too far from her suitcase. They went through an internal door that led directly into a narrow room, which had a long rack for shoes and boots, with coat hooks above and then shelving with containers above the coats. Everything had a place.

Tully led her straight through that room into a large kitchen that opened up to the rest of the house. Agatha stopped and looked around.

‘Hello again!’ Tully’s dad was standing at the kitchen counter, knife in hand as he cut up a tomato to add to a salad. ‘Just in time for dinner. Pasta bake and salad.’ Agatha nodded.

At the other end of the kitchen, Tully stood in a doorway leading to a hallway. ‘Follow me, Agatha.’ She didn’t wait. With a few hurried steps, Agatha caught up to her. ‘We can leave your case in my room.’

Tully opened her bedroom door. Agatha wasn’t sure what to do. She couldn’t remember the last time she had been to anyone else’s house, that is, someone of her own age ... a friend. She just didn’t have friends anymore. It was easier not to.

‘You can come in. It’s a bit messy, but you know how it is.’ Tully put the suitcase at the end of her bed. She bent down and scooped up a small pile of clothes and put them in a basket near the door. ‘Have a seat,’ she said, pointing to an armchair that sat under the window. Agatha looked down at the carpet and made careful steps towards the chair.

The room was no bigger than Agatha’s, yet it was so different. There were white fairy lights draped across her bedhead. A pin board showed photos of Tully’s happy life and, on the desk below it, was a row of matching colourful containers, deliberately placed, holding pens and other small knick-knacks. Tully opened her wardrobe to put away a top that had been lying on her bed. From one quick glimpse, Agatha could see how organised it was.

‘What school do you go to?’ The question from Tully took Agatha by surprise. She thought back to yesterday and her conversation with Nell, about how she should start going to high school.

‘The local high school,’ she said.

‘Do they give you much homework?’

Agatha shrugged. She didn’t mind lying to strangers, but lying to friends was different. She felt uncomfortable about it.

‘Mine does. Tonnes.’

‘Dinner!’ Tully’s dad called out.

The two girls walked back towards the kitchen. Instead of eating at the dining table, which was covered with a half-completed project, the family took up their places at stools around the kitchen counter. Agatha watched as they fell into a rhythm of passing plates and bowls, pouring water into tall glasses and handing around napkins. Tully held a bowl in front of Agatha. ‘Salad?’ Agatha looked at the other plates, then picked up the tongs that lay across the bowl. Tully’s mum placed a large scoop of pasta on Agatha’s plate and then a bread roll.

Between mouthfuls of food and the clinking of cutlery, the small family began talking about their day, asking questions about school and work, and listening to Tully’s animated retelling of getting caught in the rain and meeting Agatha on the train.

Occasionally a question was asked of Agatha, but she pretended to be chewing or shrugged her answer and the conversation moved on. As they finished up, Tully’s dad began moving empty bowls away, Tully and Ike put their plates in the dishwasher and Celeste moved to the dining table to inspect the progress that had been made on the project. Agatha, not sure what to do, continued to pick at the remaining bits of salad on her plate.

Tully sat back down at the counter. ‘When you’re finished, we can go to the TV room – get away from the project drama.’

‘I’m done,’ Agatha replied. Tully picked up Agatha’s plate and took it away. Agatha looked at the kitchen counter. Everything had been packed away and wiped down. Only a fruit bowl and a pile of papers at the end remained.

‘Let’s go,’ Tully whispered into Agatha’s ear. ‘I’ve grabbed a couple of ice creams from the freezer.’ Tully held them up, as if she had won a prize.

The TV room was through a sliding door on the other side of the dining room. It had large comfy armchairs and a long L-shaped sofa, like the ones Agatha had seen in a furniture store when she had been window shopping with Nell.

Tully sat on the sofa and Agatha carefully sat down beside her, sweeping the cushion with her hand, as if to push invisible things away. ‘Don’t worry about the sofa. Mum says that she would like a neat and tidy house, but that will probably be after we’ve left home – I really think she means when Ike leaves. He’s so messy!’ Tully laughed as she spoke.

‘I don’t think this looks very messy at all.’

‘Really? Look over there.’

Tully pointed to a large pile of magazines on a small table, next to one of the armchairs. ‘That’s Dad’s mountain of magazines – well, that’s what Mum calls it. She says that he’s only allowed to have that table or else he’ll turn into a hoarder. He loves bike magazines.’Again, Tully laughed.

Agatha looked at the pile, but didn’t laugh.

The flicker of the television screen distracted her from the small table of magazines. Tully flicked through until she found the channel she was looking for. The two sat back on the sofa, ice creams in hand, and watched. ‘I’m glad you’re here, Agatha,’ Tully said.

‘Me too.’