Missing by Gabrielle Lord Page A

back from the beach and I hurried to join them, remembering to limp a little, managing to get through the compound gate before it closed behind us. Everyone was milling about happily. Maybe Ryan always stood with the same people. I hesitated, looking around, when the girl from BB’s photograph ran over to me and grabbed my hand—Sophie Bellamy.
    â€˜Ryan! There you are! I thought you were going to be late again.’
    Great, I thought. I’d passed the first test.
    Sophie dragged me over to stand beside her near the front of a raised stage area. I glanced around. There were about forty of us, with perhaps slightly more boys than girls.
    And now the boss arrived, stepping up onto the platform, a folder in his hand. So this was Damien Thoroughgood. He stood well over six-foot tall, broad-shouldered with a dignified air and dressed in khaki shirt and trousers, his hair cropped short. His white teeth flashed when he smiled, and he smiled a lot. He greeted us and then started to read out the names in alphabetical order. When it came to ‘Ryan Ormond’, I answered like the rest of them—’I’m here.’ He lifted his head from the folder and fixed me with a penetrating gaze. I felt my heart start to race. Had he noticed something? I saw his eyes narrow. Was my mission going to come undone even before it had started? I braced myself.
    â€˜How’s that ankle coming along, Ryan? You feeling alright?’
    Slowly, I let out the breath I’d been holding in. ‘It’s OK,’ I said, wondering if I was supposed to say ‘Sir’ or something else.
    Thoroughgood nodded and then passed on to the next name. Finally we were excused but as we started to move away, Damien looked my way and beckoned me over. ‘Good to see that ankle’s getting better. Have you given any more thought to the matter we discussed the other day?’
    Problem. How was I going to answer that? I tried to look like I was contemplating something.
    â€˜I need your answer fairly soon, Ryan,’ Damien said. ‘Otherwise you might miss out. So what’s it to be?’
    I didn’t have a clue what he was talking about but I had to give some kind of answer. ‘I’m still thinking about it,’ I said, nodding, hoping I looked like I was deep in thought.
    â€˜Good. That shows you’re someone who doesn’t rush into things. But I also need people who can act decisively.’
    â€˜You’ll have your answer very soon,’ I said.
Just as soon as I find out from Ryan what this is all about!
    That seemed to satisfy him and he strode away, taking a phone call on the way back to the office building.
8:41 am
    When I was certain there was nobody in the bathroom block, I went into a cubicle and closed the door, pulling my phone out. I called Ryan, keeping my voice as low as possible. ‘Thoroughgood just asked me if I had an answer for him, he asked you about something. What was it?’
    â€˜I forgot to tell you, sorry! He invited me to join The Edge—it’s like an exclusive adventure program.’
    â€˜OK, that doesn’t sound too bad,’ I said.
    â€˜But you’re not allowed to talk about it,’ said Ryan. ‘No-one must know that you’ve been invited. And that seems suss to me. Why would you have to keep that a secret?’
    â€˜Maybe he thinks other kids might get jealous, or feel hurt if they’re not included?’
    Footsteps approached the bathroom block from outside. ‘Gotta go,’ I said, ringing off.
2:14 pm
    I joined in some activities for the rest of the morning, spending a bit of time with Sophie Bellamy—not too much in case she worked out I wasn’t Ryan—just enough to get to know her a little. A couple of times I caught her looking at me oddly.
    â€˜Your ankle seems to have gotten better really quickly,’ she said.
    â€˜It comes and goes a bit,’ I said vaguely. Actually, I was having a bit