But he never caught sight of him or of anyone like him, and as time went on, his interest in the mystery waned. He was also looking around whenever he was out in the town in case he saw Alex, whom he would have chosen to avoid. It was just his bad luck that one Saturday morning, as he came out on to the road from his own house, she was coming out from next door. It was impossible to pretend that they hadn’t seen each other. They were almost face to face. Stephen felt horrible. Not only because he knew he’d been unprovokedly rude at their last meeting, but more, because he’d mistaken her for a boy. Had he said anything in their brief conversation which could have told her of his mistake? That would be unbearably embarrassing. He saw that she had turned red. Perhaps she was going to pay him back for telling her that he didn’t want her company. But instead she said, ‘Hi!’, and it was guarded but not unfriendly. Stephen hoped that she might have forgotten their last meeting. He also said, ‘Hi!’ ‘You still cross with me?’ she asked.
