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Just as he clings tight to Tori

A surprise: not just Muets back to school I wave goodbye to Ben and the others, and walk over to the car,is stiffening up so much now, it is an effort just to put one foot in front of the other

Mum jumps out of the car ‘What in hell happened to you?’ she says, horror on her face

‘I’m fine And look’ I show her my Levo: 66 Even with the distress of our whispers on the bus, running is obviously the way to keep my levels up

‘But the state of you!’ And she ets out of the car as well, looks rins

‘Oh, yes’ I s like I’ll fall over if I don’t I haven’t seen Dad since he scared me in the dark in the kitchen – he’s been away for work – but now he looks happy, relaxed, nothing like the gri when he startled o?’

‘I came first’

He whoops, holds up his hand ‘High five?’

‘What?’

‘Hold up your hand, like this’ I do and he claps his hand againstto like it if you keep this up She has a low tolerance for dirt and blood’

That night, Jazz corins at hion impression, and Dad tells bad jokes Jazz even answers to ‘Jason’, looks resigned to his fate and doesn’t talk‘yes please’ and ‘thank you’ I just concentrate on eating

‘Hungry, today?’ Muo for seconds of roast and potatoes Gravy and Yorkshire pudding: yuet to have soreen spriggy bits, like little trees So far I’ve ed to avoid them

‘What is it?’

‘Broccoli Haven’t you had it?’ she says, looking surprised

‘I don’t think so’ With all eyes onfor it I spear soy and horrible I try to s it down, butand start to choke

‘Are you all right?’ Muain, and so I shove the rest of my broccoli into a napkin, and then later, into the bin That was disgusting

CHAPTER TWENTY THREE

‘You’re to skip tutor and go see Dr Winston,’ Mrs Ali says ‘Now’

‘What? Why?’ I stare back at her, but her face is unreadable

‘I expect she’ll tell you Go upstairs and wait’ She smiles but it doesn’t make me feel better

What is this about? I climb the stairs, and sit down, hands clenched Maybe, so about people disappearing Maybe the bus was bugged, and the Lorders are pulling hiht now Maybe, they will…

Her door opens; a boy steps out

‘Next!’ a voice yells

I stand and walk into her office Scan , Kyla!’ She is s her painted on lipstick s to me about you Do you knohat about?’ She purses her lips I scan ?

‘One of my teachers? I… I don’t know’

‘Don’t look so panicked It is one of your teachers, but you don’t know him yet Mr Gianelli: Head of the Art Depart of yours, and has beenyou beover ’

‘I’m very sorry about that, but…um, so can I take his class?’

‘Yes Here is your new timetable’ She thrusts it at me ‘We had to move your maths class also to make it fit You’ll have Unit at lunch twice a week to make that up, and can do as you will the other days froo’

I dash out of the seat, scan my card at the door

‘Oh, and Kyla?’

I turn ‘Yes?’

‘Don’t look so pleased with yourself I don’t want to be bothered by you, or by anyone about you, again, any tihtly as she says the words, which rin off my face ‘Yes,’ I say, and bolt out the room and down the stairs

Mr Gianelli, my champion, isn’t what I expect at all

‘Who are you?’ he de, when I slip in just after the bell

‘Kyla Davis’

‘Who?’

‘A new student You arranged it with Dr Winston?’

At the mention of her nairl I had to endure three s with that insufferable woman on your behalf’

I look nervously behind one As I turn back and glance over the students, reat She is in my art class, too

He whips my owl sketch out of a pile on his desk, holds it up to the class and before he lets me sit down, proceeds to tell everyone exactly how I could

What to paint?

My Happy Place: o there I start on the sky Soon I a wisps of cloud, white swirls with a palette knife So lost in the sky that I alister low voices behind