‘No, it wasn’t your fault. Please!’ There were beads of sweat popping up on the bunny girl’s forehead now, as she darted a look at the table of watching goths. ‘Let me buy you lunch tomorrow.’
Ivy winced. ‘You really don’t have to do that.’
‘Yes, I do. I really do.’ She forced a five-dollar bill into Ivy’s hands. ‘Please, just take it!’ With a wail of panic, she turned and fled for the door.
Ivy stared at the crumpled bill in her fingers and shook her head helplessly. She couldn’t wait to get out of the crowded cafeteria. The moment she’d finished clearing up the mess, she hurried out with Sophia and Brendan on either side. Once they were safely out of hearing range of the others, she hissed, ‘This is ridiculous! I thought being the new girl would be difficult, but I had no idea being a bunny would be even harder! What is wrong with this school?’
Sophia just shook her head, looking shell-shocked.
Brendan sighed. ‘It’s different, that’s for sure.’
Ivy gritted her teeth. ‘The ceilings might as well be the floors. It’s that upside down. I don’t like –’
‘Hey, wait up!’ It was Amelia, calling out behind them as she stepped out of the cafeteria, surrounded by a group of black-clad girls.
Ivy sighed as she watched the group move. Amelia strode forward confidently, but every girl around her did a funny kind of crab-walk, keeping one eye on Amelia with every step, and trying to copy her every move. Maybe they were trying to do it without looking super-obvious . . . but as it was, it was still very noticeable.
With both eyes on Amelia, the girl beside her walked straight into a locker. Crash!
Ivy cringed, but Amelia didn’t even look around at the noise. She aimed straight at Ivy, forcing Sophia to step aside. ‘Well done!’ She tucked her hand into Ivy’s arm, lowering her voice confidentially. ‘I saw how you handled that tricky situation in the cafeteria. Bunnies have a tendency to turn up at the most unwelcome moments, don’t they?’
‘Uh . . .’ Speechless, Ivy tried to edge away, but there was no room.
‘You were very gracious about it,’ Amelia said. ‘I’m impressed. You chose not to give that silly girl a hard time, even though she deserved it.’
‘What?’ Ivy spluttered. ‘It was an accident! It could have happened to anyone.’
Amelia smiled thinly. ‘Trust me, you don’t have to cover for her.’
‘I’m not “covering” for anyone.’ Ivy gritted her teeth. ‘Why would it matter? It’s not important.’
‘You see how good she is?’ Amelia glanced back at her admirers. ‘She’s so cool, she doesn’t even have to bother giving bunnies a putdown!’ She gave Ivy a wink as she squeezed her arm, then released it. ‘Don’t worry. You and I both know what the truth is.’
‘Uh . . . uhhhhrgh . . .’ Ivy opened and closed her mouth like a fish as Amelia sauntered off down the hallway, followed by her group of admirers, who kept one eye on her and the other on the lockers.
Ivy swung round to her friends. ‘Did that just happen?’ she demanded.
Sophia shook her head, her eyes glazed with shock. ‘This school . . .’
Brendan said nothing.
Together, they turned to walk towards history class . . . and bunnies scattered all around them, crashing into each other in their desperation to make space for the three goths.
Ivy felt sick as she finally realised the truth. It’s bad enough that the goths are the popular crowd at Franklin Grove High . . . but are they the bullies as well?
Whew. We finally made it here! Olivia let out a sigh of relief as she stepped on to a crowded London street with Jackson by her side. It had taken serious convincing to talk her parents into letting her wander the streets of London in disguise with Jackson, and she wasn’t sure which they were more worried about: her physical safety in the big foreign city, or her emotions from spending so much time with her famous ex-boyfriend!
They had finally made it out of the hotel, though, with Olivia’s long brown hair pinned up beneath a floppy hat, her blue eyes hidden behind heart-shaped sunglasses. She had her cell phone tucked safely in the pocket of a freshly-bought pair of baggy, shapeless jeans from a store just down the road.
Her parents had finally relented when she’d convinced them that the trip was ‘essential’ research for the movie – but even then, they’d only agreed on the condition that she call them every fifteen minutes and be back at eight-thirty p.m. She’d never had such an early curfew back home!
They were a world away from Franklin Grove, though, as they walked into the vibrant, colourful Borough Market. Stalls rose up on every side, selling everything from fruits and vegetables to French patés, goggle-eyed fish and Indian curries. The voices of the traders echoed all around the market, calling out to passers-by.
They might as well have been speaking a foreign language, for all that Olivia could understand!
‘Watch out, mate, ya nearly knocked me off me plates!’
‘I’m not trying to rob ya of your bees . . .’