Brendan shook his head. Holding out his hand to her, he asked, ‘What about you? Are you ready for another week of being part of the “it crowd”?’
‘Oh, gak.’ Ivy pretended to gag. ‘Let me think. New school, new students, and a rulebook I don’t seem to have . . .’
‘Look at it this way.’ Brendan grinned at her, giving her hand a warm squeeze. ‘If you don’t follow the “rules”, then that must mean you’re a true outsider here.’
Slowly, a grin spread over Ivy’s face. ‘Huh . . . You’re right, I am. Just the way I like it!’
She leaned forwards to give Brendan a hug . . . but he stopped her by nodding over her shoulder. ‘Here comes Sophia.’
Ivy’s heart sank. From the expression on Brendan’s face, the outlook wasn’t good. She turned, bracing herself to see a picture of Finn’s skateboard tattooed on to Sophia’s face, or something equally ridiculous.
But, a second later, Ivy was letting out a sigh of relief. Her best friend was wearing a fashionable, halter-neck black dress. Her black, bat earrings might look unexpected against her pixie-cut blonde hair, but otherwise she looked back to normal.
She didn’t look happy, though.
‘Are you OK?’ Ivy hurried over to her, looking for new bruises. ‘Did you have another accident? Or –’
‘No.’ Sophia sighed and gave a lopsided smile. ‘Although I did think for a minute that my eardrums might have exploded when my parents saw my new hairstyle.’
‘Ouch.’ Ivy winced, putting a supportive hand on her friend’s arm. ‘They didn’t like it?’
Sophia shook her head. ‘I’m pretty sure I’m grounded until Christmas.’
Ivy stared at her. ‘You’re kidding. They actually grounded you?’
‘They said I should have asked permission first. You were right. I guess I just . . .’ Sophia’s voice drifted off as she glanced over at where Finn stood with his ‘bodacious’ buddies just inside the hallway. She sighed.
One of them looked back at her and laughed.
Ivy’s teeth clenched together. ‘That’s it. I’m going to take care of this once and for all!’
Before either of her friends could stop her, she marched down the hall. Bunnies scattered out of her way, clearing a path, and she had to admit . . . it felt good.
Not that she would ever scatter bunnies on purpose.
‘Hey!’ she snarled, as she reached Finn and his crew. ‘I need to talk to you.’
Standing in the middle of the skater crowd, Finn looked nervous. ‘Is something wrong?’
‘In private,’ Ivy said, and gave Finn’s snickering friends a death-squint. They turned pale, and edged away.
Sneering at them, Ivy pulled Finn away with her. ‘Look,’ she said in a fierce undertone. ‘I know you’re not the brightest crayon in the box –’
‘Sorry?’ His face creased into a frown. ‘Have we actually met?’
Ivy rolled her eyes. ‘The point is, though, I didn’t think you were a total jerk.’
‘What?’ He flinched as if he’d been slapped. ‘I’m not. Why would you think I am?’
Ivy pointed at the skater group waiting for him. ‘Can’t you see how cruel your friends are being to Sophia? Why don’t you stop them?’
His frown deepened. ‘Well . . .’
Ivy lowered her voice to a whisper. ‘And, anyway, what are you doing, giving Sophia skateboards to borrow? Can’t you see she’s crushing on you? Are you actually trying to lead her on, or do you just not care about her feelings?’
‘I’m not trying to lead her on,’ he said. His frown had eased, but he was flushed now with what looked like embarrassment. ‘I wouldn’t do that. It’s not my style.’
‘Hmm,’ Ivy said sceptically.