she scowled. “Sick of what?”
I shrugged. I didn’t know what she meant.
“I’m surprised,” she said.
I hesitated. “He’s got flu. Why’s that surprising?”
“Not about George, about you.”
I guessed it was a compliment, that she was surprised I’d done something people noticed and was now one of the popular kids.
“Thanks,” I said.
She huffed. “I mean surprised you’ve been fooled by Miller, idiot!”
Beatrix Jones was weird, so I didn’t listen.
I went to catch up with Warren which was when I overheard him saying to Josh to spread the word that they were meeting at the Rec again on Friday after school. The message didn’t exactly get given to me, but I didn’t have anywhere else I wanted to be. The thing is, once you’ve tasted fame, you just can’t get enough of it. You know when you’ve eaten half a bag of crisps and you’re saving the rest for later, but you go back to the kitchen to finish them after only a few minutes of waiting, plus you get a piece of cold chicken from the fridge and maybe some cheese? That’s what fame feels like. A feast.
So, on Friday, I went.
Warren was leading the others across the field, all of them on glossy newish bikes. Warren looked down at my bike, at the torn seat, the clunking gears, the tyres worn smooth. Then I didn’t know what to say. I wasn’t exactly invited this time. My bike was half the size of his and everyone else’s, and the brakes had just about had it. “Hey,” I said. “What are you all doing?”
Warren grinned.
“We’ve got business in town. Private business. Maybe see you some other time.”
“Yeah, sure, I was just, you know …” but he wasn’t listening.
Warren’s knees bent, he yanked up the front of his bike and they cycled past while I cringed inside. My cheeks flamed. I kept my back turned. Why had things changed so quickly?
Behind me I heard barking. It was Jack Pepper, darting about in front of Warren’s bike. What was he doing here? Warren twisted and put his foot down quick, but Jack ran away. He tore past me, turned and raced back, straight towards me. He stopped, looked up. I didn’t know what he was doing there or asking me to do.
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