All These Things I've Done (Birthright #1)(87)

Yuji answered the phone in Japanese.

‘Yuji, it’s Anya Balanchine. I need a favour.’ I explained my situation. ‘I don’t expect you to watch Leo, but I can’t leave him in this country. He’ll be killed and they’ll be right to do it. Still, I can’t let my brother die, can I?’

‘Of course not,’ Yuji replied.

‘I’m hoping that you’ll be able to arrange a secret transport of some kind for Leo to Japan. Again, I know it would compromise you to have him in your home, so I was hoping you might find an institution of some kind where they could watch him. He’s lost his mind. He has no sense of his abilities, of his limitations. I believe the associate you warned me about, Jacks, has been puffing him up, though to what end, I still don’t know.’

‘I will arrange the transportation and a place for your brother,’ Yuji said.

‘Thank you. Of course, I’ll pay you for everything, but it can’t be right now.’

‘Not a problem.’

‘I . . . It might seem a little disingenuous coming on the heels of me asking you for such an enormous favour, but I wanted to thank you for your flowers and especially for your note.’

‘Yes, of course, Anya. May I ask you a question?’ he asked.

‘Yes.’

‘Do you have any idea how and when you’re going to get him out of your school? If it’s as surrounded by media and police as you say, I mean. And since you obviously can’t bring him back to your home either.’

‘There’s this school dance coming up in two weeks. It’s a big one. With catering and fancy clothes and lots of people coming in and out. I think I’ll be able to get him out then, though I don’t know exactly how yet,’ I said.

‘It is my theory that he should go straight from your school to the transport. Less chance of anything happening to mess things up.’

I agreed. We decided that we would talk in exactly one week, at which time Yuji Ono would give me the details of where Leo was to go. I would call him from the school. I couldn’t be sure that our home line wasn’t tapped.

‘Thank you,’ I said for maybe the fourth time.

‘It’s my pleasure. Some day, and I hope this day will never come, I may call on you to return the favour.’

Yes, I knew what that meant. ‘And, Yuji, make it as nice a place as you can find for Leo. He’s done this horrible thing, but he’s a gentle soul. He’s just a child.’ My voice wavered a bit on child, betraying more emotion than I would have liked.

I went to fencing. I hadn’t spoken to Scarlet since she’d told me about Gable, so she was surprised when I cornered her in the girls’ locker room.

‘Scarlet, are you still on the prom committee?’ I whispered.

‘Oh, now Miss Balanchine decides to talk to me! Well, I don’t know if I want to talk to you,’ Scarlet replied.

‘Scarlet, I don’t have time for this. I need you to help me with something important. And you have to swear you won’t tell Arsley about it. If you tell Arsley, people could die or get hurt.’

‘I don’t tell Gable everything, you know.’ Scarlet lowered her voice to a whisper. ‘Is it about Leo?’

I made sure no one was watching us or listening, then I nodded.

‘What can I do?’ she asked.

‘He’s here,’ I said. ‘At school. I’ve arranged for him to go far away, but I need to figure out a way to get him out of here. I was hoping to do it on prom night. I don’t want anyone but us to know. I’m not going to tell Win or even Natty.’

Scarlet nodded. ‘So, you still trust me even though I’m going to the prom with Gable.’

‘What I believe,’ I said diplomatically, ‘is that you would never do anything to hurt Leo or Natty or me. You’re my oldest friend, and I need your help.’

Scarlet took that statement at face value. She hugged me. ‘I missed you so much!’

I hugged her back. I had missed her, too.

Scarlet and I whispered plans all through fencing for the next week. We didn’t resume sitting together at lunch, though. That way, no one would suspect she was helping.

Some of the plans we came up with were too elaborate. For example, build a piñata horse on wheels for decoration and have Leo ride in a compartment inside. Piñatas were overly complicated to build, requiring paper licences and a knowledge of piñata-building, and they were totally inappropriate to the theme of the prom, which was ‘Hawaiian Paradise’. What we ultimately decided on was very simple: hide Leo in plain sight. We reasoned that since many boys would be going into the dance in tuxedos, why couldn’t Leo just walk out wearing one? At 9.30, about an hour into the dance, Leo would simply walk outside and get into a car. He’d look just like any other boy at the dance. Scarlet and I even arranged for Gable, Win and Leo to rent the exact same tuxedo. Entirely unbeknownst to any of them, they’d assist in the illusion that Leo was another male student, indistinguishable from the rest.

Funny story: about ten days before the prom, Win asked me if I still wanted to go. ‘You’ve been under so much stress,’ he said, ‘and I know I like these things more than you. I’d definitely understand if you wanted to sit this one out.’

‘No,’ I said. ‘I want to go with you. I think it’s best for me not to wallow. To be out and about as much as possible.’ This was true, but what I failed to mention was that my brother’s very survival depended on me attending that dance. I had never anticipated a formal event so much in my whole life.