closet.
But Emily understood. ‘Her reputation. Being cool.’
Now Tracey got it. ‘Right, she has to be the queen bee, everyone’s supposed to look up to her.’
‘Especially her pals,’ Emily added. ‘What did Jenna call them? The Evilettes.’
‘Exactly,’ Ken said. He glanced at his watch. ‘I’ll bet she’s still at her locker – that’s where she meets her friends after school. C’mon, let’s go.’
On the way there, he explained his plan. Personally, Tracey thought it sounded a little cruel, and it certainly wasn’t going to be easy for them to pull it off. But if it could bring Jenna back, she supposed it was worth a try.
As Ken suspected, Amanda was still at her locker, with two of her friends, Nina and Katie. Amanda was tapping her foot impatiently.
‘Where’s Britney?’ Tracey heard her say as they approached. ‘We’re going to be late for our manicures.’
‘Hey, Amanda,’ Ken called out. Emily and Tracey said nothing, but it didn’t matter. The three girls only had eyes for the boy. Even though Ken was no longer a top athlete at Meadowbrook, his good looks and general popularity still made him a catch.
‘Hi, Ken,’ they chorused with identical flirty smiles on their faces.
He focused on Amanda. ‘Listen, Amanda, I have to tell you something.’
She cocked her head coyly. ‘What?’
‘Martin’s got a thing for you.’
Her forehead puckered. ‘Who?’
‘Martin Cooper, from our class. Jenna read his mind yesterday, and she told me it came through loud and clear. He likes you. She meant to tell you today, but like, you know, she didn’t get a chance. Anyway, I thought I’d pass it on.’
Nina giggled. ‘Martin Cooper? That little wimp?’
And Amanda rolled her eyes. ‘What makes you think that I would care if Martin Cooper likes me?’
Now Ken’s face reflected confusion. ‘But – but you told me, remember? You said you kind of liked him. So I thought you’d want to know that the feeling is mutual.’
Amanda’s mouth dropped. ‘I never said anything like that!’
‘Oh, was it supposed to be a secret?’ Ken asked. ‘Sorry.’ With that, he turned away and started towards the door. Tracey and Emily followed. But Tracey couldn’t resist turning round to get a glimpse of Amanda’s reaction.
The girl looked positively shocked. But what was even more interesting were the faces of her friends. They were both staring at Amanda as if they’d just learned she had a contagious disease.
C HAPTER S IX
T HE LOBBY OF HARMONY House hadn’t changed since the last time that Jenna had seen it. The same puke-green walls, the same row of orange plastic chairs, the same stupid poster that proclaimed: ‘Today is the first day of the rest of your life.’ The other people in the lobby might not have been the same ones who were waiting the last time she was here, but they fell into the same categories. Angry boys, sullen girls, unhappy parents, bored social workers . . .
Jenna sat on one of the orange chairs and stared at the poster. If the rest of her life was going to be like today . . .
The policeman sitting next to her interrupted her thoughts.
‘Looks like it’s going to be a while.’
Jenna said nothing.
‘By the way,’ the officer said, ‘my name is Jack. Jack Fisher.’
What was she supposed to say now? He already knew her name. And ‘pleased to meet you’ didn’t seem exactly appropriate, under the circumstances.
‘You’ve been here before,’ he said.
Jenna didn’t look at him as she responded. ‘How did you know?’
‘I’ve read your file,’ he said. ‘I was kind of surprised . . .’
This time she actually glanced at him. ‘About what?’
‘You didn’t seem like a repeat offender. Actually, it didn’t seem like you committed much of an offence to begin with. They didn’t find any drugs on you, did they?’
Because I wasn’t doing any drugs, Jenna answered silently. But her response to the cop was simply a shrug.
‘In
But Emily understood. ‘Her reputation. Being cool.’
Now Tracey got it. ‘Right, she has to be the queen bee, everyone’s supposed to look up to her.’
‘Especially her pals,’ Emily added. ‘What did Jenna call them? The Evilettes.’
‘Exactly,’ Ken said. He glanced at his watch. ‘I’ll bet she’s still at her locker – that’s where she meets her friends after school. C’mon, let’s go.’
On the way there, he explained his plan. Personally, Tracey thought it sounded a little cruel, and it certainly wasn’t going to be easy for them to pull it off. But if it could bring Jenna back, she supposed it was worth a try.
As Ken suspected, Amanda was still at her locker, with two of her friends, Nina and Katie. Amanda was tapping her foot impatiently.
‘Where’s Britney?’ Tracey heard her say as they approached. ‘We’re going to be late for our manicures.’
‘Hey, Amanda,’ Ken called out. Emily and Tracey said nothing, but it didn’t matter. The three girls only had eyes for the boy. Even though Ken was no longer a top athlete at Meadowbrook, his good looks and general popularity still made him a catch.
‘Hi, Ken,’ they chorused with identical flirty smiles on their faces.
He focused on Amanda. ‘Listen, Amanda, I have to tell you something.’
She cocked her head coyly. ‘What?’
‘Martin’s got a thing for you.’
Her forehead puckered. ‘Who?’
‘Martin Cooper, from our class. Jenna read his mind yesterday, and she told me it came through loud and clear. He likes you. She meant to tell you today, but like, you know, she didn’t get a chance. Anyway, I thought I’d pass it on.’
Nina giggled. ‘Martin Cooper? That little wimp?’
And Amanda rolled her eyes. ‘What makes you think that I would care if Martin Cooper likes me?’
Now Ken’s face reflected confusion. ‘But – but you told me, remember? You said you kind of liked him. So I thought you’d want to know that the feeling is mutual.’
Amanda’s mouth dropped. ‘I never said anything like that!’
‘Oh, was it supposed to be a secret?’ Ken asked. ‘Sorry.’ With that, he turned away and started towards the door. Tracey and Emily followed. But Tracey couldn’t resist turning round to get a glimpse of Amanda’s reaction.
The girl looked positively shocked. But what was even more interesting were the faces of her friends. They were both staring at Amanda as if they’d just learned she had a contagious disease.
C HAPTER S IX
T HE LOBBY OF HARMONY House hadn’t changed since the last time that Jenna had seen it. The same puke-green walls, the same row of orange plastic chairs, the same stupid poster that proclaimed: ‘Today is the first day of the rest of your life.’ The other people in the lobby might not have been the same ones who were waiting the last time she was here, but they fell into the same categories. Angry boys, sullen girls, unhappy parents, bored social workers . . .
Jenna sat on one of the orange chairs and stared at the poster. If the rest of her life was going to be like today . . .
The policeman sitting next to her interrupted her thoughts.
‘Looks like it’s going to be a while.’
Jenna said nothing.
‘By the way,’ the officer said, ‘my name is Jack. Jack Fisher.’
What was she supposed to say now? He already knew her name. And ‘pleased to meet you’ didn’t seem exactly appropriate, under the circumstances.
‘You’ve been here before,’ he said.
Jenna didn’t look at him as she responded. ‘How did you know?’
‘I’ve read your file,’ he said. ‘I was kind of surprised . . .’
This time she actually glanced at him. ‘About what?’
‘You didn’t seem like a repeat offender. Actually, it didn’t seem like you committed much of an offence to begin with. They didn’t find any drugs on you, did they?’
Because I wasn’t doing any drugs, Jenna answered silently. But her response to the cop was simply a shrug.
‘In
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