Say Her Name by James Dawson

can I have my glasses back please?’
    The girl was framed by the tall, arched window at the end of the hall. She stood as still as any statue, almost unnaturally still. Bobbie could just about make out long, lank hair hanging rod straight from a skinny frame. Well, at least she was cornered now. ‘Listen, I won’t grass you up – I just want my glasses back.’
    The girl’s pale face was almost in focus. Bobbie realised that something about the girl wasn’t right. There was something wrong about the way she was standing. Was she hurt? Maybe she needed help.
    ‘Stay there, okay?’ Arms held out in front of her body, clutching at the dark, Bobbie approached the shadowy girl.

Chapter 6

The Olden Days
    The Head’s office door swung open in Bobbie’s face. Light flooded the corridor and Bobbie screamed – she wouldn’t have had herself down as a screamer, but she’d been holding her breath and then the door burst open and then and then …
    Her head teacher’s hand flew to her chest before she composed herself. ‘Oh my goodness me! You’ll give an old lady a heart attack! Roberta, isn’t it?’ Dr Price stepped out of her office, laptop bag on her shoulder like she was leaving for the night. ‘What are you doing down here? Is there something wrong, dear?’
    ‘I … Someone ran off with my glasses.’ Bobbie stepped back and pointed to the end of the corridor, to the arched window.
    There was nothing there. Well, there was a comfy armchair for visitors to use, and a spiky pot plant, but no
person
stood in the window, certainly no creepy, weird, silent girl. ‘Oh, Roberta, you’re going to kick yourself.’
    ‘What?’
    ‘They’re on your head, dear – your glasses. I do that all the time too. Don’t worry,’ she added with a faint smile, ‘it only means you’re cracking up.’
    Bobbie checked her hair. Sure enough her glasses were tucked behind her ears and resting on the crown of her head. No way … she’d put them by the sink. She was
not
some flaky ditz. ‘But I … ’
    Dr Price smiled. Even when she smiled, the Head was a little glacial. ‘Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone if you don’t. Now off to bed, young lady, it’s a school night.’
    ‘Okay,’ Bobbie said. She was frustrated but wasn’t about to enter into an argument with the headmistress. What was she going to do? Stamp her foot and swear there was some stupid Lower running off with her glasses who’d then somehow put them on her head? ‘Sorry.’
    ‘Not a problem. Now scoot.’
    Bobbie ran all the way back to her dorm, not wanting to spend a second longer than necessary in the draughty corridor. The whole way she couldn’t shake the sensation of eyes on the back of her head. She shut the bedroom door behind her and dived onto Naya’s bed. ‘Naya, something really super-weird is going on.’
    Naya’s copy of
Heat
had flopped to the floor and she was half asleep with her bedside light still on. ‘What?’
    ‘This is going to sound mental, but I think I just saw Bloody Mary.’
    ‘Girl … ’ Naya rolled onto her front, burying her head in the pillow.
    ‘It’s true. Someone took my glasses out of the bathroom.’
    Naya lifted her head. ‘Oh well then, it’s definitely Bloody Mary. Call the hotline now.’
    ‘Don’t,’ Bobbie moaned. ‘I followed her because I thought it was just a Lower, but there was something
wrong
with her. It was really scary.’
    ‘Of course it was. Everything in this school is scary at night. Go to sleep. In the morning you’ll feel like a total moron, I promise.’
    Another thought occurred to Bobbie. ‘Naya, is this you?’
    ‘What?’
    ‘You said before we did the mirror thing that you wanted to freak Grace out … Is this all some sort of prank?’
    Her friend propped herself up onto her elbows. ‘Girl, I swear on my mom’s Louis Vuitton handbags that I someday hope to inherit that this is nothing to do with me. It’s nothing to do with anything – you’re freaking