The Yearbook Committee by Sarah Ayoub Page A

him).
    â€˜Do you play Xbox?’ Sammy asks.
    â€˜Yes, I play it with my best friend, Mo, at his house, because I don’t have one. I play games on my computer at home, though.’
    â€˜I don’t have a computer, but I have an iPad,’ he says. ‘And I have an Xbox. Can you come over and play with me one day?’
    I smile and nod. ‘Sure, and I’ll bring you a Berry Bravo.’
    He shakes his head as if I have insulted him. ‘No, that’s only on Tuesdays and Thursdays.’
    I nod my head again, stifling a laugh. ‘Of course, sorry, I forgot.’
    He finishes the ice-cream and looks at me expectantly.
    â€˜So . . . do you want to tell me why you’re out here by yourself?’ I ask him.
    Sammy starts blabbing about a sister who was supposed to take him out for an afternoon of shopping but who never showed, so he tried walking to the mall himself. Apparently, he cut through the park and that’s when the ‘bad men’ started being ‘mean’. Poor kid , I think, his family sounds a bit messed up .
    â€˜Do you have your sister’s phone number?’ I ask, pulling out my phone and praying I have credit.
    He hands me a scrap of paper from a Superman wallet in his back pocket, and when I hear a dial tone, I’m thankful I remembered to pay my bill this month.
    â€˜Hello?’ a frantic, weirdly familiar female voice answers.
    â€˜Hi, um, I’m here with Sammy at Burwood Park. He seems to be lost — is someone able to come pick him up?’
    I hear the girl breathe a loud sigh of relief. ‘Oh, thank God,’ she says. ‘I was so scared. I’m in Burwood now. Which part of the park?’
    â€˜We’re near the big war memorial, the one that says —’
    â€˜â€” something about God and the victory. I know it.’
    A few minutes later, a little hatchback parks across the road, its hazard lights on, and a girl runs out.
    â€˜Gillian?’ I say. ‘I thought I recognised the voice.’
    â€˜Oh, Matty, I thought so too! But then I saw a guy with his hood on and freaked out.’
    â€˜It’s just a hood,’ I tell her. ‘You should be freaked out that your brother was in the park alone in the dark.’
    â€˜Gillie, I was scared,’ Sammy says. ‘I thought you forgot me.’
    â€˜Sammy, honey, I’ve been looking all over for you,’ she explains slowly, throwing her arms around him. ‘Sometimes there’s traffic on the big road where Daddy’s office is, and that makes me late. But you still have to wait for me to come pick you up. You can’t come on your own.’
    â€˜But you were so long, and I was gonna miss SpongeBob.’
    â€˜There was a SpongeBob Squarepants show in the centre today,’ she explains, her eyes flicking to me. ‘I promised I’d bring him. The show is going to be there next week,’ she says to Sammy. ‘I’ll leave a day free to bring you to see SpongeBob, no matter what.’
    She grabs his hand and looks at me apologetically.
    I give her a half-smile.
    â€˜Um, before you go,’ I say, ‘there were these guys that were hovering around him, youngish, like nineteen maybe. I don’t think they did anything, but he seemed a little scared when I found him.’
    â€˜Well, thanks for staying with him.’
    I shrug awkwardly.
    â€˜I promise to not go walking by myself again, Gillie,’ Sammy says a moment later. ‘But please don’t tell Dad, I’ll get in trouble.’
    She swallows and shakes her head. ‘I won’t tell Dad, as long as you never do that again. You scared me.’
    â€˜Mean Mike scared me .’
    I stifle a laugh. ‘Well, now that you guys are reunited I should head home,’ I tell her. ‘My bus will be here soon.’
    â€˜No, wait, I’ll give you a lift,’ she says. ‘Please, it’s the least I can do.’
    I rub the back