Saving Jazz by Kate McCaffrey Page A

few times. I watched him coldly. And then I saw ten-year-old Jack. My best friend. The boy who’d kicked Nathan Reilly in the nuts for grabbing my boob, the boy who taught me how to rollerblade and waterski, the boy who came and sat on my bed when I got my first period and brought me pads, the boy who wrapped his arms around me and curled into me when my heart was broken after Scottie McGough hooked up with Lisa Temple when we were going out together, the boy who I’d always believed would be my best friend forever. My Jacky boy.
    And here, dear reader, is where I fear I’ll lose you forever. This is what I did next. I looked at Jack, my best friend Jack, who had just gang-raped one of my other best friends, and then I crossed the room, crouched in front of him and put my arms around him. This time, I held him when his heart was broken.
    â€˜Who has Tommy sent that to?’ I nodded towards Jack’s phone.
    â€˜I don’t know,’ he said. ‘He knows not to spread it. He must know that this looks bad for him and me.’
    And then it dawned on me. And suddenly I knew what was about to happen. ‘You don’t get it, Jack,’ I spoke to him wearily. ‘You don’t see how Tommy sees things. This is a conquest for him. This is a step up from Casey’s boobs, and the graffitied body of Annie. This makes Tommy look like the big man. This is going to get out.’
    Jack shook his head. ‘No, I don’t think he’ll do that. It was a stupid prank that went too far.’
    â€˜Too far?’ I shouted. I wanted to punch his face in. ‘Rape is more than just too far!’
    â€˜He won’t,’ Jack said firmly. ‘I know Tommybetter than you. He’s all bullshit, talking big-man crap. He won’t incriminate himself.’
    â€˜Really,’ I said, so, so sarcastically. And I crossed my room to my dresser and picked my phone up, because if there was one thing I was sure of it was that the video was sitting there in my Messages. The app had the red number 1 over it. I tapped it and watched Lily’s bedroom come into focus. ‘He already has,’ I held the phone up to Jack.

Post 15: The apocalypse
    I went back to bed after Jack had crawled out my window and gone home, but I got no sleep. My brain was still racing. I couldn’t control it. I couldn’t get what I’d seen on that screen out of my head, and it made me sick. I lay in bed, slightly trembling, waiting for the sun to rise. Not knowing what to do. What would I say to Annie? What shit would happen next?
    Annie was waiting for us at the bus stop as Jack and I arrived at the same time. It felt like the apocalypse and we were the walking dead. I couldn’t look at her but the moment Jack’s dark-circled, puffy eyes met mine I knew what I had to do. No matter what happened, I had to show Annie the video before we got on the school bus.
    â€˜Hey,’ she was trying to be upbeat. It was admirable.
    â€˜How are you?’ I asked, finally making eye contact.
    â€˜I’m here,’ she said flatly, and stared coldly at Jack.
    â€˜Annie,’ Jack started, but his voice broke and his lip trembled. ‘I’m so, so, so sorry.’
    â€˜Yeah.’ She wouldn’t look at him. She hated him, and things were just about to get so much worse. She had to see that video before we got on the bus.
    â€˜Annie.’ I watched the orange bus pull out of the Walkers’ winery. ‘There’s a video.’
    â€˜What?’ the colour drained immediately from her face.
    â€˜It’s bad,’ I said.
    â€˜Show it to me,’ she held her hand out. The bus was about two-hundred metres away. I gave her the phone. She watched it quickly, she didn’t even flinch, then handed it back to me. The bus doors opened. Jack looked at me. I waved him on. There was no way I was leaving her. I’d wag school with her. We’d talk, figure this shit out.
    She