They knew all about the surfing incident, and she thought they might have guessed about her panic attacks for she hadn’t been out surfing since then. She knew they’d want an explanation if they saw her looking so wet and bedraggled now. She still felt cold and shivery as she stripped off, showered and changed. She draped her wet clothes beside her open window to dry, and began her homework. She wondered if Noah would call to see how she was doing. He’d been understanding about everything, they all had, but she still felt ashamed and stupid. So she was relieved but also disappointed when the evening passed with no word from him. Or from Meg or Pont. She wondered if their mobiles were running hot with the gossip about her, but told herself not to be paranoid. Nevertheless, she felt acutely uncomfortable when she arrived at school the next morning. All her senses were on high alert for any whispers or sniggers or sidelong glances as she walked into her first class of the morning. But everyone seemed to be ignoring her as usual.
