Chapter 17: Meet Me for Lunch?

Hannah had been right—the weather on Monday was shocking, although it didn’t start out that way. In fact, it was quite bright as I walked to campus for my first session of the day, but the heavens opened while I was in the Law building and I got absolutely drenched on my way to The Union at lunchtime.

Hannah was waiting for me in the foyer. She smirked and said, “I did warn you. Did you not bring an umbrella with you this morning?”

“Yes,” I said, “I did. But decided I didn’t want to get it wet and so didn’t use it.”

She punched me playfully on the arm. “Idiot. Come on, let’s go.” As we climbed the stairs, she said, “I invited a couple of the girls to join us. I hope you don’t mind.”

“No,” I said. “No problem”

“Cool.”

We entered what was now the canteen rather than the dance hall and Hannah waved to Kim and Rachael who were already sitting at a table with their meals. It’s probably wrong of me but I was quietly thankful I wasn’t going to be paying for four meals or more instead of just two. Hannah and I joined the queue to the food counter, chose our meals and after I paid, we headed to Kim and Rachael’s table.

“You really need to stop doing that,” Hannah said.

“Doing what?”

“Paying for everything.”

“Stop worrying about it. I’ve told you before, I’m good for it.”

There’s an old saying—A Rumour is half-way around the world before the Truth has even laced up its boots. I found out just how true that was as we sat down to eat. Even before I’d cut my first mouthful, Kim said, “Did you hear? He struck again.”

“Who did?” I asked, like an idiot.

“The attacker,” said Rachael. “Early hours of Saturday night, Sunday morning. And I heard the poor girl wasn’t so lucky this time. I heard it was a full-on sexual assault.”

“It was an actual rape, I heard,” Kim said. “Over in the park. He grabbed this girl, dragged her into to trees, pulled a knife on her and raped her.”

By the time I got home that evening, the apparent attack had gotten even worse.

“He killed her, that’s what I heard,” Vanessa said while we were sitting at the dining table eating a delicious pasta dish that Imogen had prepared.

“That doesn’t sound right,” I said. “It sounds a bit, I don’t know, extreme.”

“Oh, it was extreme. I heard that he dragged her into the bushes along the footpath that runs alongside the campus—you know, between the footpath and campus fence—and then he raped her, slit her throat and then went full Jack the Ripper on her—cut her open and spilled her guts. The whole lot.”

“That’s bullshit,” said Mark. “If that had happened there’d be police every-fucking-where. They’d be swarming all over campus like flies on shit.”

“Not if they wanted to keep it quiet, like.”

“Well, if they wanted to keep it quiet, they’re doing a piss-poor job of it,” I said.

“I don’t think is helpful at all—all this speculation,” Imogen said. “It wouldn’t surprise me if they did another announcement at the start of lectures tomorrow. They need to stop all these rumours and just give us the facts.”

“Won’t make any difference,” Mark said. “Even if they tell us the so-called facts, most people will choose to believe the rumours.”

“Well, they have to do something,” she replied. “Everyone is terrified.”

“Catching the bastard would be best,” said Mark. “But I can’t see that happening any time soon either. We’ve just got to face it, campus isn’t as safe as it was.”

“Was it ever really safe?” I asked. “I mean, I know we all felt safe, but this kind of thing has always been a possibility, hasn’t it? It’s not like we’ve had world-class security or anything. The fact this has happened at all has proved that.”

We fell silent for a while. Vanessa pushed her pasta around on her plate while the rest of us ate in silence.

“I suddenly don’t feel hungry anymore,” she said.

“Sorry,” I replied. “My fault.”

“No. No, it wasn’t. You just said what we’ve all been thinking anyway since we found out about all this.”

I shrugged. “I wish I could do something.”

“Don’t we all mate,” Mark said. “But we can’t.”

I got a text message from Chloë at breakfast on Tuesday morning.

Meet me for lunch my treat? When are you free?

“Oh, look at that. What a coincidence,” I said loudly. Mark was eating toast at the breakfast bar and Imogen was clearing hers and my cereal bowls from the table, carrying them over the sink.

“What is,” she said casually over her shoulder.

“It’s a massive coincidence that Hannah tells me last night she can’t see me for lunch today because of some important experiment she needs to run in the lab and Chloë just happens to choose today to ask if I fancy lunch.”

“Wow,” said Imogen, trying her best to sound innocent but not doing it very well. “That really is a coincidence.”

“Yeah,” I replied. “Either that or the Group Chat has been working overtime again.”

“Mate,” said Mark, “You are so far up shit-creek, it wouldn’t even fucking matter if you had a paddle.”

“You know,” I said, “I’m starting to think we should have a few more group chats as they seem to work so well. Maybe one for the house—you know, so we can make sure we know whose turn it is to cook or load the dishwasher or put the bins out.”

“That’s a great idea,” said Imogen.

She put the bowls on the worktop next to the sink, took her phone out of her pocket and started tapping away. A few seconds later, both my phone and Mark’s beeped. I took mine out and checked the message.

You have been added to the group, Housemates United

Mark looked up at me and scowled. Both phones then beeped again.

Mark, it’s your turn to wash up the breakfast things. Please don’t just put them in the dishwasher. Paul, all the bins need emptying ready to go out tonight, which is your turn.

A few seconds later, the phones beeped again.

Gen! This is a great idea. Why didn’t we think of it sooner?

Mark looked at me again and said, “Seriously, mate, there are times when I really, really fucking hate you.”

By the time I met Chloë for lunch at Jak’s I had been added to several more group chats. There was one for me, Imogen and Emily. One for me, Emily and Lisa. One for our regular Friday and Saturday nights-out group. One for Emily, Lisa and some of our other old friends from Micester High. And one for some of the people on our Law course.

I was standing outside the café looking up how to turn off the message notifications for these groups when Chloë arrived. She smirked at me, obviously already clued in on what was going on.

“It’s your own fault, you know,” she said. “You should have left well enough alone. We’re only looking out for you.”

I rolled my eyes. “Come on, let’s go eat.”

Chloë had dressed down for lunch, wearing blue jeans and a pink hoodie. I assume she did it to minimise the likelihood of being recognised by someone. We sat at my usual table—although it was usually where I sat for breakfast rather than lunch. I hadn’t actually had lunch in Jak’s for quite a while—probably not since the start of term.

“Oh, here’s my favourite law student,” Jak said as she approached the table to take our orders. “With yet another pretty girl, I see.”

“Come off it, Jak. I haven’t brought that many girls here. Just Imogen. And Vanessa. Oh, and Emily and Lisa. And none of those really count.”

“Why? Don’t you think they’re pretty? I’ll tell them that the next time I see them.”

“You know that’s not what I meant.”

She playfully slapped my arm. “I know, love. I’m just teasing. So, what can I get you? We do breakfast all day, you know.”

“I know, but I fancy something different so can we see the menu?”

“Well, there’s a first.” She took two laminated menus out of the front pocket of her apron and handed them to us. “Shall I get you a drink while you decide?”

“A diet coke for me please,” said Chloë with a smile.

“Same,” I said. “But not diet. Horrible stuff.”

“Lovely. Be right back.”

Jak fetched our drinks and Chloë leaned forward to whisper to me.

“I like her. She’s very... down to earth.”

“Yep, that’s our Jak. She has a fascinating story if you’re ever inclined to sit down and listen to it—I know how you like to listen to people’s stories.”

“I might just do that sometime—if she wants to tell it.”

Jak arrived back with our drinks. She placed them on the table and then said to Chloë, “Pay no mind to the way I tease this big lump. He hasn’t really brought lots of girls here. Just his friends, not girlfriends, if you know what I mean.”

“Oh, I know,” said Chloë, flashing her megawatt movie-star smile. “I know all of them. In fact, we’re all in a group chat together and talk about Paul all the time.”

“Seems I’m all you lot talk about,” I mumbled.

“Not at all,” she replied. “We talk about lots of things. Just mostly you.”

“Yes, well, Paul knows I love him really,” said Jak. “Especially after what he did for my little girl.”

“I’ve told you,” I said. “I didn’t really do anything. Marie got herself that job.”

“After you’d spoken to that friend of yours who spoke to Mr Laird. She never would have got that interview without that.”