Amy?’
Think about what? What were they talking about?
Gina wondered.
‘Absolutely,’ Amy replied. ‘Give it a go.’
‘Gina,’ Niffy began, grinning again. ‘Welcome to the team!’
‘ WHAT! ’
‘And the gang,’ Min said weakly from between them.
69
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SECRETS AT ST JUDE’S
Chapter Six
‘Mom . . . I’m not calling at a bad time, am I?’ Gina knew that she probably was, but she’d had to take her chance on the pay phone when she’d been able to grab it.
‘Oh . . . hi! Gina!’ The voice on the other end of the line sounded surprised.
‘Sorry . . . I just wanted to catch up with you all and it’s hard to get to the phone here. Cells aren’t allowed!’
Gina still couldn’t believe this.
‘Oh . . . yes, I remember reading that now—’
‘You knew that and you still let me come here?!’
Gina was outraged.
‘Well, anyway’ – her mother didn’t want to get into this – ‘how was your first day at school, baby?’
‘Just terrible,’ Gina told her immediately. ‘It’s horrible. It’s the worst place I’ve ever been to. When I say it’s soooo last century, I really mean it. This place 70
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NEW GIRL
is frozen in time, Mom. I mean, there’s a history teacher who is in her sixties! She’s called Miss Ballantyne and I bet she was teaching when you were here. Wasn’t she?’
‘Miss Ballantyne?’ Lorelei repeated. ‘I don’t remember . . . I don’t think I remember the names of any of the teachers . . .’
‘Really?’ Gina pressed. ‘Not one of them?’
‘It was a long time ago,’ Lorelei reminded her.
‘So when is your idea of a joke going to be over, huh?’ Gina went on. ‘I’m really sorry I didn’t study hard last semester, but I will make it up to you . . .
Please, Mom, will you let me come home?’
When nothing but silence came back at her down the line, Gina wheedled, ‘Pleeeeeease . . . Mommy?’
‘It’s too early to come home,’ Lorelei told her firmly.
‘You don’t win your bet if you come home now, Gina.
Just give it a chance,’ she insisted. ‘I think you’re going to really love it.’
When Gina snorted at this, her mother added,
‘Well, at least parts of it. Give it a chance.’
‘I suppose you loved hockey, did you?’ Gina demanded. ‘You enjoyed running up and down wet grass with wooden sticks hitting a very hard ball around. It’s deadly. I hit someone in the face 71
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SECRETS AT ST JUDE’S
in my first game and there was blood everywhere.’
‘I’m sure you’re exaggerating as usual.’
‘I’m not!’
‘How about class?’ Lorelei was much more interested in this. ‘How did you find that?’
‘Boring,’ Gina told her. ‘But all the geeky girls here seem to love lessons – they can’t stop studying all day long. They are weird – honestly, all of them. I don’t think any of them has ever met a boy, ever.’
If Gina thought this was going to get her home early, she was so wrong. This was music to Lorelei’s ears.
‘Aha, Gina. Here’s hoping some of that rubs off on you too,’ she said.
‘Huh!’ It was all Gina could do not to slam down the handset there and then. Instead she managed to listen to her mother talk about Menzie and the fantastic weather and a few other things that made her feel sick to her stomach that she wasn’t at home.
When the call was over, she stumbled out of the phone box and wondered where would be a private enough place to go and cry or at least shout and punch a pillow, but then Niffy ran down the corridor and tapped her on the shoulder.
‘Got to come with us, newbie. Sideshow Mel’s 72
Secrets of St Judes 16/4/08 4:47 pm Page 73
NEW GIRL
first performance of the term. You can’t miss it!’
‘What?’
‘C’mon, we’ll get Amy out of the study room and go up.’
It wasn’t difficult to tear Amy from her homework, then the three
Think about what? What were they talking about?
Gina wondered.
‘Absolutely,’ Amy replied. ‘Give it a go.’
‘Gina,’ Niffy began, grinning again. ‘Welcome to the team!’
‘ WHAT! ’
‘And the gang,’ Min said weakly from between them.
69
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SECRETS AT ST JUDE’S
Chapter Six
‘Mom . . . I’m not calling at a bad time, am I?’ Gina knew that she probably was, but she’d had to take her chance on the pay phone when she’d been able to grab it.
‘Oh . . . hi! Gina!’ The voice on the other end of the line sounded surprised.
‘Sorry . . . I just wanted to catch up with you all and it’s hard to get to the phone here. Cells aren’t allowed!’
Gina still couldn’t believe this.
‘Oh . . . yes, I remember reading that now—’
‘You knew that and you still let me come here?!’
Gina was outraged.
‘Well, anyway’ – her mother didn’t want to get into this – ‘how was your first day at school, baby?’
‘Just terrible,’ Gina told her immediately. ‘It’s horrible. It’s the worst place I’ve ever been to. When I say it’s soooo last century, I really mean it. This place 70
Secrets of St Judes 16/4/08 4:47 pm Page 71
NEW GIRL
is frozen in time, Mom. I mean, there’s a history teacher who is in her sixties! She’s called Miss Ballantyne and I bet she was teaching when you were here. Wasn’t she?’
‘Miss Ballantyne?’ Lorelei repeated. ‘I don’t remember . . . I don’t think I remember the names of any of the teachers . . .’
‘Really?’ Gina pressed. ‘Not one of them?’
‘It was a long time ago,’ Lorelei reminded her.
‘So when is your idea of a joke going to be over, huh?’ Gina went on. ‘I’m really sorry I didn’t study hard last semester, but I will make it up to you . . .
Please, Mom, will you let me come home?’
When nothing but silence came back at her down the line, Gina wheedled, ‘Pleeeeeease . . . Mommy?’
‘It’s too early to come home,’ Lorelei told her firmly.
‘You don’t win your bet if you come home now, Gina.
Just give it a chance,’ she insisted. ‘I think you’re going to really love it.’
When Gina snorted at this, her mother added,
‘Well, at least parts of it. Give it a chance.’
‘I suppose you loved hockey, did you?’ Gina demanded. ‘You enjoyed running up and down wet grass with wooden sticks hitting a very hard ball around. It’s deadly. I hit someone in the face 71
Secrets of St Judes 16/4/08 4:47 pm Page 72
SECRETS AT ST JUDE’S
in my first game and there was blood everywhere.’
‘I’m sure you’re exaggerating as usual.’
‘I’m not!’
‘How about class?’ Lorelei was much more interested in this. ‘How did you find that?’
‘Boring,’ Gina told her. ‘But all the geeky girls here seem to love lessons – they can’t stop studying all day long. They are weird – honestly, all of them. I don’t think any of them has ever met a boy, ever.’
If Gina thought this was going to get her home early, she was so wrong. This was music to Lorelei’s ears.
‘Aha, Gina. Here’s hoping some of that rubs off on you too,’ she said.
‘Huh!’ It was all Gina could do not to slam down the handset there and then. Instead she managed to listen to her mother talk about Menzie and the fantastic weather and a few other things that made her feel sick to her stomach that she wasn’t at home.
When the call was over, she stumbled out of the phone box and wondered where would be a private enough place to go and cry or at least shout and punch a pillow, but then Niffy ran down the corridor and tapped her on the shoulder.
‘Got to come with us, newbie. Sideshow Mel’s 72
Secrets of St Judes 16/4/08 4:47 pm Page 73
NEW GIRL
first performance of the term. You can’t miss it!’
‘What?’
‘C’mon, we’ll get Amy out of the study room and go up.’
It wasn’t difficult to tear Amy from her homework, then the three
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