The Circle (Hammer) - By Elfgren, Sara B.,Strandberg, Mats Page 0,133

all drink them at the same time,’ Minoo says, looking terrified. ‘Linnéa, have you thought of a question? Nothing too personal.’

‘No, of course not,’ Linnéa says, with a smile that makes Vanessa nervous.

She doesn’t have any secrets. Or does she? What if she’s the one who gets the cup that will leave her mind wide open for Linnéa to rummage around in? What if Linnéa asks something that Vanessa doesn’t even know she wants to keep secret?

Vanessa reaches for the middle cup, but Ida beats her to it. Vanessa takes the left one and Minoo takes the right.

‘I can’t believe I’m going along with this,’ Ida mutters.

‘Okay,’ Linnéa says. ‘One. Two. Drink!’

Vanessa empties hers in one go and puts the cup back on the table. She runs her tongue round her mouth, checking for any weird aftertaste. Ida burps.

‘Minoo,’ Linnéa says, smiling widely. ‘What are you most afraid I’ll ask you right now?’

Minoo smiles back. She looks relieved. ‘I’m not telling you,’ she says.

Linnéa’s dark eyes bore into Vanessa’s. ‘And you, Vanessa? What are you most afraid that you’ll be forced to reveal?’

‘I’m not afraid of anything.’ It’s only when she hears herself lie with such conviction that she’s sure she’s made it.

They all look at Ida. It’s the moment of truth. If it doesn’t work on Ida it doesn’t work at all.

‘And you, Ida?’

‘What the fuck?’ Ida says. ‘I can’t believe this is happening to me for the second time. I think it’s sooo unfair that I’m the one who ended up drinking the truth serum – Anna-Karin forced me to tell the truth that time at the fairground, and I really don’t want to tell you all that I’ve had, like this, enormous crush on G since year four.’

She claps a hand over her mouth, her eyes widening in horror.

‘Looks like the serum works,’ Minoo says.

‘What did I say?’ Ida asks.

‘That explains a lot,’ Vanessa says, and starts laughing.

‘What? Tell me!’

‘The serum’s made you forget straight away. It’s better like that, don’t you think?’ Linnéa asks, with a grin.

Ida gets up and wraps her cardigan tightly around her. She gives an exaggerated sniff, as if to remind them that she’s ill and that they should be nice to her. ‘Whatever I may have said, I can stand by it,’ she says. ‘And now I’m going home to bed.’

‘Get better soon,’ Minoo says.

Ida snuffles again and twiddles her necklace. ‘If any of this gets out at school you’ll all be in big trouble,’ she says.

‘Don’t worry,’ Linnéa says. ‘We won’t let anyone know that you’ve actually got feelings.’

When Anna-Karin steps into the hall she’s met by a barrage of laughter from the TV. She doesn’t have to look into the living room to know that her mother is lying on the sofa. Maybe she’s fallen asleep with a cigarette in her hand again, but Anna-Karin can’t be bothered to check.

She goes into the kitchen, takes out a box of chocolate balls from the fridge and a bag of white buns from the bread box. She eats her chocolate-ball sandwiches standing up, washing them down with a glass of milk. But they don’t give her the nice dozy feeling they usually do. They just make her feel sick.

She looks through at the window at Grandpa’s cabin. As if he might suddenly be sitting in his usual spot, beckoning her over.

She wonders if he’s noticed that she hasn’t been to see him in hospital.

Suddenly she feels something warm and soft pressing against her calf. She bends down and meets Pepper’s green gaze. ‘Hello, sweetie,’ she whispers. She sinks down on to the kitchen floor and lifts the cat up in her arms, massaging its soft fur.

Pepper purrs. The people on the TV laugh.

‘At least you like me again,’ she murmurs.

But despite Pepper’s best efforts she feels more alone than ever. Linnéa’s words chafe at her. She’s told herself that she withdrew for everyone else’s sake. She’s dangerous. She can cause injury. But is Linnéa right? Is she just being selfish and cowardly?

48

MINOO IS STARING at the numbers in front of her. A quadratic equation that ought to be a cinch. But she can’t get anything to add up.

The lunch bell rings, setting off a cacophony of chairs scraping, books slamming, zips opening and closing. Minoo glances at Max, who gives her a little smile. He hides it behind his coffee mug. Her heart leaps. The secret understanding between them is back.

She’ll soon turn seventeen. In a year she’ll be of age.