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That’s good, isn’t it?’
    Yeah, I thought. A possible friend. And two definite enemies. When I added it up, the maths weren’t good.

4 .
    â€˜How did you get my number?’ I asked.
    â€˜From Mr Atkins. I said it was an emergency. I promised I wouldn’t let anyone know what he’d done.’ Leah giggled. ‘He’s a good guy.’
    â€˜He seems it,’ I said.
    â€˜Anyway, sorry to be ringing so late. Hey, I’m glad it was you who picked up. I’m not sure what I would have done if it had been your mum or dad.’
    Dad wasn’t back from the pub and Mary must have gone to bed. She wasn’t around anyway. I was sitting in my favourite place – the laundry steps – listening to Leah on the cordless. I was amazed she’d gone to the trouble of ringing. It was the first phone call I’d had in . . . well, I couldn’t remember how long. I tried to keep the excitement out of my voice.
    â€˜Anyway,’ she continued, ‘I heard what happened today. That Martin is such a bastard. Are you okay, Michael?’
    I twisted the telephone cord between my fingers.
    â€˜Sure,’ I said. ‘No big deal.’
    â€˜I don’t want you thinking we’re all like him. There are plenty of kids who think what he did to you was shitty. I guess I wanted you to know that before you went to sleep. That you’re not alone.’
    Normally I’m so focused on looking for differences, they don’t take me by surprise. But occasionally, when they do sneak up on you, they’re the big ones. I knew something was wrong. When I realised what it was I nearly laughed. I twisted the cord some more.
    â€˜Leah,’ I said. ‘Do you want a real experience, something that will blow your mind?’
    There was a pause and I knew she was sifting my words for the sinister or the unpleasant.
    â€˜What do you mean, Michael?’ she said eventually.
    â€˜Have you ever flown?’
    â€˜Well, I’ve flown to Sydney a couple of times.’
    â€˜No,’ I said. ‘No, I don’t mean that. I mean flying. Like a bird.’
    There was an embarrassed laugh at the other end.
    â€˜Yeah, well, it’s getting late, so I’d better let you get to bed. I’ll see you at school tomorrow . . .’
    â€˜Put the phone down, Leah. I don’t mean hang up. Place the receiver on the floor next to you. And don’t be frightened. Whatever happens.’
    â€˜Michael . . .’
    â€˜Humour me, Leah. Please?’
    I heard a sigh. Under normal circumstances she would have hung up. But I knew she’d do as I asked. She didn’t have a choice. This was my world. I had control.
    I heard the dull thud as she placed the phone on the floor. I didn’t need to check, but it’s a habit. Sure enough, there were three laundry steps instead of two. The cordless phone was cordless again. I centred myself, found the calm at my core and willed it all to happen.
    My body dissolved around the edges, slowly at first, but gathering momentum. I watched myself from the outside. Within moments, I had become smoke, a faintly glowing cloud above the steps. And then I poured myself through the holes in the mouthpiece, a genie disappearing into a bottle, until all that was left was the phone rocking gently on the ground.
    I had never been inside a phone before. It was strange.
    My understanding of electronics is hazy at the best of times and I have no idea how a cordless phone works. But it’s all improvisation, I suppose.
    I found myself racing through a wire. It twisted and snaked as I sped down it at breathtaking speed. The colours – reds, yellows and greens – became tracks, continuous lines that appeared stationary only because of my relative speed. I was in a white plastic tunnel, the strips of colour an aurora over me.
    A bend loomed and then I was past it, hurtling down another straight. I was under the earth. There was