Launched! Read Online Free PDF Page B

finger down a tag. The paint was still wet to the touch. ‘Criminals,’ he said, then he sucked in his breath and spat.
    Clem blanched at the spit at her feet and wondered who was worse: kids who defaced public property or unhygienic men. She stared at the letters, struggling to comprehend their meaning. All of a sudden her eyes widened. For on the wall, in a colour that was blue tinged with green, the colour of the ocean on a stormy day, was the word ‘PHREE’.

Chapter Five
    Clem sighed a sigh from the deep. She worried that Bryce had gone back to his old ways, that he was in trouble again and needed her help, but she wasn’t sure whether she should ask. She knew how sensitive Bryce was on the subject, how he leapt down Darcy’s throat whenever it was mentioned, so she decided to stay silent. After all, lots of taggers could be called PHREE, couldn’t they? She trudged up the ramp and went to join the others.
    ‘ Finally ,’ said Darcy when Clem appeared. ‘We were about to send out a search party.’
    ‘This guard stopped me and escorted me to the gate. Dirty old man.’
    Darcy’s eyes flew open. ‘He didn’t hurt you, did he?’
    ‘No. Nothing like that.’ Clem’s face scrunched as she said, ‘He spat.’
    ‘And you’re such a lady.’ Darcy rolled his eyes, then laughed as he added, ‘Not!’
    Tong interrupted. ‘What Bella want, Clem? Why she run?’
    ‘This.’ Clem held up the doll’s head, swinging it by the hair, aware of how macabre it looked.
    ‘Some kid’s probably dropped it,’ said Darcy. ‘They’re running around cradling a headless dolly, like some sort of Goth.’
    ‘What a got?’ asked Tong, the strain of trying to follow the conversation showing on his face.
    ‘Not got. Goth. With a “th”.’
    ‘Got.’
    ‘Did you find anything else?’ interrupted Mio.
    Clem bit her lip. She mulled over whether or not she should mention the graffiti, and decided that she would. She told them about the wall and the empty spray paint cans. She told them about the caps and tips. Then finally, she told them about PHREE.
    Immediately Darcy whirled on Bryce. ‘You didn’t, did you?’ It sounded more like an accusation than a question.
    ‘No!’ Bryce gulped, his face pale under a sheen of sweat. ‘You know I wouldn’t go back to graf.’
    Darcy’s eyes narrowed as he taunted, ‘Wouldn’t you?’
    ‘No!’ Bryce reared up. Now his face flooded with colour.
    Mio placed a cautionary hand on Darcy’s arm, saying, ‘Bryce doesn’t do that stuff any more.’
    Darcy turned from Bryce to Clem and asked, ‘You said the paint was wet?’
    Clem nodded. ‘So what?’
    ‘So, Bryce could well have done it.’
    ‘Except that I didn’t.’
    ‘Except that we can’t be sure,’ said Darcy.
    ‘What’s your problem?’ hissed Clem, rounding on her brother. ‘I don’t get it.’
    ‘Last night,’ Darcy continued, ignoring his sister. ‘When you didn’t make it into our carriage,’ his voice dropped even lower, ‘did you miss the train on purpose?’
    Instead of answering, Bryce turned away.
    ‘What sort of answer is that?’
    Bryce’s fingers clenched as he turned back. Anger screamed like a siren in his stomach.
    ‘It’s perfect,’ went on Darcy. ‘You pretend to see something so you miss the train. You’re at the station, long wait on your hands, thinking, how’m I gonna pass the time?’ Darcy’s voice needled. ‘What’s a little paint between friends, eh?’
    Mio found herself holding her breath and waiting. Whether it was for the two boys to gohead-to-head or whether it was because she needed to hear Bryce’s answer and convince herself it wasn’t true, she wasn’t sure.
    ‘What is it with you?!’ shouted Bryce. ‘Always riding me. And for what?’
    ‘Yeah, Darcy, for what?’ demanded Clem, her face rigid. She knew that being the oldest of six kids made Darcy act like a prize rooster sometimes, but the Darcy she knew was also kind and gentle, with endless