squash you to pulp, and then he returned to his studies.
Ruby meanwhile was having problems of her own – she didn’t feel like going home nor did she feel like hanging out; she didn’t feel like talking to anyone and she didn’t feel like being in her own company either.
She especially didn’t want to be at home, since her mother would no doubt go on and on about the Ada Borland portrait and how lucky Ruby was to have this great opportunity to have a picture snapped by this genius woman. Worse still Hitch was mad at her, and worse even than that, she could see his point of view.
She had followed the skywalker onto a tightrope 300 feet above the street, and she had fallen.
Or rather, someone had tried to kill her. She was certain of it: someone had cut through the cable. Not a good feeling to know that someone had tried to kill you. . . again.
So on balance, yes, being alone might be the better option, so when the school bell rang she picked up her skateboard and took herself out to a part of Twinford she liked a lot but rarely found herself in.
Clancy slammed the front door and went upstairs to find his sister Lulu.
‘What’s wrong?’ she said.
‘You know Vapona Begwell?’
‘Uh. . . that girl at Junior High? The one you pointed out to me that time?’
‘Yeah,’ said Clancy.
Lulu nodded. ‘Sure I do.’
‘Well this one’s worse.’ He slumped down on one of Lulu’s many floor cushions. He looked depressed.
‘Don’t tell me you’ve attracted the attention of yet another bozo,’ said Lulu.
‘Yeah,’ said Clancy slightly mournfully, ‘and it wasn’t even my fault, all I did was bump into him at the diner.’
‘Him?’ said Lulu.
‘Yeah, it’s a him and he’s kind of partial to socking people in the face,’ said Clancy.
Lulu made her mouth go out of shape, a sort of visual code for, you’re in trouble my friend.
‘Anyway, I thought it was just a one-off thing, you know, an unpleasant encounter in the diner, and I’d never see him again.’ He paused, Lulu waiting for him to continue. ‘But then he sorta turns up at school.’ Again Lulu waited. ‘To be accurate, my class.’
‘The kid, from the diner? The one who threatened to sock you in the face?’ Lulu wasn’t actually asking these questions, she was laying it out for him, acknowledging the direness of the situation and Clancy was grateful for that. Any adult would have played it down but not Lulu.
‘He sits next to me in history.’
Lulu let her whole face go with it now. ‘Dude, you are in seriously deep—’
Before she could finish her no-doubt colourful sentence, there was a tiny knock at the door.
‘Go away!’ said both Clancy and his sister in unison. They knew it was Olive.
‘Mom says you have got to be nice to me,’ came Olive’s sing-song voice.
‘We are being nice,’ said Lulu, ‘we are warning you that if you come in here we will kidnap Buttercup.’ (Buttercup was Olive’s new doll.)
Olive went away. Clancy and his sister continued to discuss his options for future survival. There was another knock at the door, much louder and much more insistent.
‘Enter,’ said Lulu, and in tottered Minny, Clancy’s oldest sister. She was tottering because she was not only wearing very high cork-wedge heels, but she also had a very full tray of snacks and sodas. She closed the door with her foot and dumped the tray on the floor.
‘Hey, that’s not fair,’ said a voice from behind the door. Olive obviously hadn’t gone away after all. ‘Why is she allowed in and not me?’ came the muffled whine.
‘Scram!’ shouted Minny, ‘or Buttercup is going in the blender.’ Minny didn’t believe in taking prisoners and this time Olive’s footsteps could be heard running down the staircase.
‘So,’ said Minny, looking from one sibling to another, ‘what seems to be the problem?’
Clancy repeated the story and Minny quizzed him on all the various options. These seemed to amount to: hire a bodyguard; move schools; or start working out – none of them seemed truly viable.
‘What does Ruby say?’ asked Minny.
‘I haven’t told her,’ said Clancy.
‘What?’ said Minny.
‘I don’t want her to know,’ said Clancy, ‘not after what she’s been through,’
‘Yeah, I get that,’ said Lulu, ‘she did almost bite the big one.’
‘Yeah, and she’s gone all weird,’ Clancy said, flapping his arms now.
‘You should take a look at yourself,’ said Minny.
‘Yeah but that’s different, I’m trying to blend, keeping a low pro, but Ruby, she thinks she’s indestructible. I mean, it’s dangerous, I’m telling you.’
‘It’s kinda dangerous having gorilla boy on your tail too,’ said Minny.
‘On the other hand,’ Lulu said, ‘I mean, if Ruby’s gone all kung fu warrior and stuff, why not get her to help?’
‘I don’t know,’ said Minny, ‘I think Clancy’s right. He’s got to sort this himself, even if Ruby doesn’t wind up dead taking on a pack of meatheads, she can’t always be there, right?’
‘So what do you suggest I do?’ said Clancy.
‘Stop running,’ said Minny, ‘and beat the guy to a pulp.’
‘Maybe go tell Principle Levine,’ said Lulu, ‘this guy sounds dangerous. He could knock your block off.’
‘Great idea, I’ll look like a super sissy.’
‘Better a walking super sissy than a bozo without a head in a hospital bed,’ said Lulu.
‘Maybe start going to the gym,’ said Minny.
But what Clancy actually did was get on his bike and cycle around for a bit. He could use the air, though what he wanted more than anything was to find Ruby. If only he could tell her what was going on then he would feel a whole lot better.
RUBY HAD BEEN THERE FOR ABOUT FORTY MINUTES when she was
