‘Whereabouts in the sky do we need to aim this thing?’ I asked Mr Chinn.
Connor sighed loudly. ‘Move away from the telescope, Eden. I want to show Megan my favourite variable star. You can have a look too, OK?’
‘What’s your favourite variable star?’ I asked, although I already knew the answer.
‘Algol. The Demon Star.’
I checked my watch. Ten fifty-five. Five minutes until the end of the ball; five minutes until Eden had finished its transit of Algol.
‘The ball ends in a few minutes,’ I said. ‘They’ll be playing the slow, romantic songs now. We should leave stargazing for another night and go down for the last dance.’
‘You’re right,’ he said. ‘You should go down and dance with Ryan. Megan and I will be down in a minute.’
I took a quick look at the door again. Nothing.
‘OK, folks, I’ve lined up Algol,’ said Mr Chinn, seemingly oblivious to the tension between us. ‘If I remember correctly, it should eclipse in the early hours of this morning.’
I gripped the railing at the edge of the terrace and watched, cold adrenalin coursing through my body, as Connor made his way to the telescope. It was as if I was up against Fate. Connor was going to discover this planet and the world was going to die. And the only way any of this could be prevented was if I did something. I wasn’t equipped for this. I wasn’t the sort of person who saved the day. Connor was seconds away from the eyepiece. My heart pounding in my ears, I shoved past Mr Chinn and repositioned the telescope until it was pointing at a completely different section of the sky.
‘What the hell is your problem?’ asked Connor.
I ignored him and put my eye to the eyepiece. The next thing I knew, his hands were pushing against my ribs and I staggered sideways.
‘Calm down, Connor,’ said Mr Chinn. ‘There’s no need for that. We can all take turns looking through the telescope. Let Eden see what she wants to see and then we can check out your star.’
There was no way I could keep Connor away from the telescope for a full five minutes. He was already moving the telescope back towards Algol. Cringing inwardly at what I was about to do, I launched myself at him with all my strength. I pushed him away from the telescope so that he staggered and fell on to the concrete roof.
Connor just lay there, blinking up at me, his face shocked and horrified. Megan knelt beside him, glancing up at me with confusion.
And then I picked up the telescope and hurled it off the roof. Everyone stared at me as it crashed to the ground.
For a moment, the world appeared to freeze. No one spoke and no one moved. And then everyone came back to life. Connor picked himself off the ground and peered over the edge of the terrace.
‘It doesn’t look as if anyone will be looking at the stars tonight,’ said Mr Chinn.
‘It’s in pieces,’ said Connor.
‘Of course it’s in pieces,’ said Mr Chinn. He narrowed his eyes at me. ‘I hope you have plenty of money. Because that is a very expensive telescope.’ He turned to Connor. ‘I’m going to give you two minutes to lock this room and get out of here.’
The door banged against the jamb as Mr Chinn slammed it behind him.
‘You need help,’ said Connor. The disgust on his face broke my heart.
‘It was a misunderstanding,’ I said, my mind racing, grappling for an excuse that might explain my bizarre behaviour. I glanced at my watch. Eleven o’clock. We were safe. Eden was gone.
‘There was no misunderstanding.’
The door flung open and Ryan burst in. ‘There you are!’ he said breathlessly. His eyes moved wildly from me to Connor to the open door to the roof terrace. ‘What’s going on?’
‘Why don’t you ask your psycho girlfriend?’ said Connor, tossing the keys to Ryan. ‘Because I have no idea.’
He wrapped an arm tightly around Megan’s waist and left the room, slamming the door behind him.
‘What happened?’ asked Ryan.
‘I did it,’ I said. I laughed, a harsh sound, faintly hysterical. ‘I stopped him from discovering Eden.’
Ryan stared at me. Exhaustion rippled through my body, and then my knees buckled and I slid to the cold, hard floor of the lab.
‘He had a telescope out on the roof terrace,’ I said, my voice cracking. ‘He was going to show Megan his favourite star. It was happening. Just like you said it would.’
Ryan slid on to the floor beside me and reached for my hand. I told him everything.
‘You saved a lot of people’s lives just now, Eden,’ said Ryan.
‘And earned myself a reputation as a violent pervert who likes to spy on her friends when they make out,’ I said, covering my eyes with my palms. ‘As well as a destroyer of telescopes. How am I ever going to explain my behaviour?’
He touched my arm. ‘If it had been down to me, Connor would have discovered the planet tonight and it would be game over for us all. What you did was brave.’
‘What I did was an act of desperation. I wish I could have found a less dramatic way of keeping him from that telescope. Now they all think I’m weird.’
‘They’ll get over it eventually. They’ve been friends with you for too long to hold it against you.’
‘I hope you’re right.’
Ryan stood up and helped me to my feet. We walked out on to the terrace and looked down. Below us, our friends were weaving their way across the school campus towards the harbour beach. Laughter and shouting carried through the air.
‘What shall we do now?’ I asked.
Ryan checked his phone. ‘It’s time for me to head back.’
‘Already?’
He nodded. ‘It’s quarter past eleven. Connor can’t detect Eden now.’
Time was slipping away from us.
‘I want to come with you.’
‘To the farmhouse?’
To the farmhouse. To the future. Anywhere he was going, I wanted to be there.
‘Yes.’
‘It might be easier to say goodbye here.’
‘Ryan, in less than an hour you’ll be gone for ever and I will never, ever see you again. Please let me come back to the farmhouse with you.’
He nodded. ‘Course you can. It’s not that I don’t want you to. It’s just that saying goodbye doesn’t get any easier.’
‘We’ve already said goodbye. I just want to be with you for a few minutes longer.’
‘Come on then. Let’s go.’ He reached for my hand.
Cassie had left the car in the car park next to the harbour beach. We paused by the car for a minute and watched everyone on the beach. The tide was high, leaving just a bright crescent of silver sand. There were groups of people around a small fire. Others had shed most of their clothing and were paddling or swimming. A little further along the beach, couples found quiet places to be together.
‘Are you going to say goodbye to the others?’
Ryan looked across the beach to the water’s edge. ‘They’re all having a good time. And everybody hates goodbyes. I’d sooner just disappear quietly.’
I followed his gaze. Connor and Megan were at the water’s edge. The bottom of Megan’s dress was floating in the water and her arms were twisted around Connor’s neck. He wrapped his arms around her waist and leant towards her. I held my breath as she lifted her lips to his and they kissed.
Ryan squeezed my hand. ‘Let’s hit the road.’
