Contents
Chapter 11
Overview
In a flashback, Ellie unexpectedly meets her former tutor, Noelle, who offers a promising practice paper and persuades Ellie to visit her nearby house. Ellie goes willingly, imagining later reconstructions no one would ever provide. The encounter quietly sets the stage for Ellie’s disappearance, with no witnesses and the door closing behind her.
Summary
Ellie reflects on having dropped Noelle Donnelly as her tutor and, reassured by Laurel’s dismissal of Noelle’s annoyance, pushes thoughts of Noelle aside. Seeking quiet during May half-term, Ellie heads to the library for a book on nineteenth-century workhouses, leaving behind her sister’s loud-voiced friend.
On the high street, Noelle intercepts Ellie with a warm greeting and pointed attention. After brief small talk about exam dates, Noelle claims to have a practice paper rumored to resemble the upcoming test. Despite an inner alarm, Ellie agrees to take a copy, motivated by exam anxiety and anticipation of summer plans.
Noelle first suggests dropping it by later, then proposes Ellie pop in immediately to her nearby house. Amid a busy street, Ellie imagines how these moments might later be reconstructed on television, yet recognizes there are no attentive witnesses.
Ellie walks with Noelle to a small, scruffy house on Harlow Road. Noelle unlocks the door and invites Ellie inside. Unseen by passersby, Ellie enters, and the door closes behind her, marking the last known moments before her disappearance.
Who Appears
- Ellie MackTeenager preparing for GCSEs; meets Noelle and, despite misgivings, follows her to Noelle’s house.
- Noelle DonnellyFormer math tutor; corners Ellie on the high street and lures her home with a “practice paper.”
- Laurel MackEllie’s mother; earlier dismissed Noelle’s annoyance, which reassured Ellie about ending tutoring.
- Hanna MackEllie’s sister; her noisy friend prompts Ellie to seek quiet at the library that morning.