Penny stared at her. Then her face lit up with gratitude. ‘Oh,’ she said. ‘Oh! You mean, in your magazine.’
‘That’s right.’ Ivy smiled as the other goths reached them. Pointedly, she turned the bubblegum-coloured cover directly towards them. ‘I was just showing Penny something I really liked in my magazine.’
Come on, she silently urged the other goths. Start sneering! See, I’m not cool after all, am I?
One goth raised her eyebrows. But she didn’t sneer. Instead, she looked thoughtful. The others peered closer.
‘Is that magazine cool?’
‘I’ve been reading that magazine forever!’
‘Maybe I’ll get a copy after school.’
Argh! Ivy screamed silently.
Next to her, though, Penny was leaning into the circle of other girls with wistful delight, like a plant stretching towards the sunlight. That’s it, Ivy decided. I have to shift this school’s attention on to Penny. Let her be the cool one!
And the time to make that change was . . . now . Because the hovering goth-girls were already beginning to swarm! Where are they all coming from? Ivy wondered, as more and more flooded through the school doors towards her.
‘Ivy, why aren’t you going to lunch? Aren’t you hungry?’
‘Maybe she doesn’t want to.’
‘Is lunch “uncool” now?’ one goth-girl gasped.
Ivy stared at her in disbelief. How could not having lunch be cool? She shook her head. ‘I’m not skipping lunch. I was just stopping here to . . . to . . .’ Inspiration struck. ‘To ask Penny for some fashion advice!’
‘Really?’ The goth-girls flocked closer, looking from Ivy to Penny and back.
‘Oh, yes.’ Ivy nodded solemnly. ‘Penny is the one girl at this school with real style . Don’t you think?’
‘Oohhh . . .’ There was a collective sigh as all the girls clustered around Penny, looking her up and down, from her black lace T-shirt and silver dragon bracelet to her skinny black jeans and boots.
Penny’s cheeks were flushed, but she looked desperately hopeful. Ivy gave her a firm nod of support. ‘I always think that Penny looks just right.’
‘I do like your style,’ the closest goth-girl said to Penny.
‘Oh . . . me, too.’
‘And me.’
It’s working! Ivy thought . . .
. . . Until the goth-girls turned away from Penny to beam at Ivy.
‘You’re so perceptive, Ivy!’
‘You notice everything !’
‘Of course Ivy was the one who noticed that Penny wasn’t just a normal goth!’
At least that part’s true, Ivy thought glumly. But only in ways that these girls don’t realise!
The girls were all flocking back to her now. ‘How can we learn to see people the way you do, Ivy?’ another goth-girl sighed wistfully.
I can’t take this any more! Losing her cool completely, Ivy gave in to sarcasm. Waving her hands, she droned, ‘O . . . pen . . . your . . . eyes . . .’
But even blatant rudeness didn’t work.