Becky's Dress Disaster (3 page)

“Well, he's definitely winning,” sighed Katie, leaning back on her elbows, and watching Feathers, who'd let go of the ball for once so he could stand a few centimetres away and bark frantically at it, in case it was thinking of running away.

Fran looked apologetic. “Sorry! Me and Becky'll take him for a run when we've caught our breath, and then you and Megan can practise properly.”

Becky gave her a quick, relieved glance. Thank goodness! Katie and Megan were so serious about their football that practising with them could be a bit scary.

 

Five minutes later, Katie heaved herself up off the ground, and gave Megan a hand to pull her up. “We'll see you two in a bit then.”

“Uh-huh. Maybe once we've worn Feathers out a bit we can come back and you can show us some more of the stuff,” said Becky, trying to sound enthusiastic. She felt a teensy bit guilty when Katie looked so pleased.

Becky, Fran and Feathers headed off to the woodier part of the park so Feathers could go squirrel-chasing – his second-favourite game after football. Becky and Fran chatted as Feathers raced ahead of them, woofing ecstatically.

“Oh, look at that gorgeous dog!” Becky exclaimed suddenly, pointing a little way ahead. It was a small Jack Russell terrier, racing through the long grass after a Frisbee that his owner had just thrown for him. The dog was pretty tiny, and the grass was long, so he wasn't so much running as bouncing, covering the distance in great bounds as he fought to get his nose out of the grass and see where the Frisbee was going.

The girls laughed delightedly as the little dog leaped into the air at just the right moment to catch the Frisbee – which wasn't much smaller than he was – and turned in mid-air to race back to his owner for another go. On the way back they couldn't even see the dog – there was just a bright-yellow Frisbee bouncing up and down above the grass.

“Ohhh, he's so cute,” said Fran. “I wish Feathers would fetch.”

“He does!” said Becky, surprised.

“Yeah, but the point of fetching is that the dog gives it back. Feathers fetches and then disappears off to chew the stick into a million pieces. That one's obviously going to give the Frisbee to his owner.” Fran and Becky's eyes tracked the tiny dog back, and then they both gasped.

“Oh!” Becky looked as though she couldn't believe what she was seeing. “That – that isn't
Max
, is it?”

“Yup.” Fran nodded, equally gobsmacked.

The Jack Russell had handed over the Frisbee, after a little bit of mock-growling, and was now being made a huge fuss of by a dark-haired boy who Becky and Fran never normally saw without a scowl on his face. Max Cooper – the triplets' least favourite person. (He was definitely beating Amy Mannering at the moment, since this whole thing between the triplets' mum and his dad.)

Fran and Becky moved slightly so that they were behind some bushes and could watch without Max seeing them.

“Max is being really nice,” murmured Becky, disbelievingly.

She could see that he adored the little dog from the way he was patting him, and the dog was jumping all over him, licking and yapping as though he was having the best time ever. It was weird. This was
Max
. But Becky just didn't feel like she could hate somebody who was so obviously such a caring dog-owner. She met Fran's confused green eyes, and they stared at each other in amazement. Max couldn't be nice – it just didn't make sense!

Chapter Three

On Monday morning, Becky sat at the breakfast table paying hardly any attention to her toast, or the conversation that Mum, Katie and Annabel were deep in, about what Mum ought to get from the supermarket that morning. She was still turning over Max's strange behaviour in her mind. Really, she supposed it
wasn't
strange behaviour – it was perfectly normal to be nice to your dog. But since when did Max ever behave like a normal human being?
That
was what was so weird.

“Becky? Becky!”

She jumped as Katie prodded her. “What?”

“For the third time, do we need any cat food?” Katie was looking at her as though she was totally dim. “What's the matter, anyway?”

Becky hadn't told Katie or Annabel about the odd encounter with Max – Katie disliked him so much that it would probably have just brought back her bad mood, and Becky really wanted to avoid that. She hated it when people argued, and Katie had such a strong character that her moods tended to affect the whole house. “Nothing,” she said hurriedly. “I was just thinking.” She caught sight of Pixie, their little black ex-stray, who was slinking round the legs of Katie's chair in the hope of a bit of dropped toast. She didn't actually like toast, but she loved butter, and her rough little tongue was very efficient at licking it off. “I was trying to remember when we last put flea-stuff on the cats. And, no, we've got lots of cat food.”

Pixie gave her such an accusing look that Becky could have sworn the skinny black cat had understood what she'd said. Pixie never thought they had enough food. It was to do with being a stray once, Becky thought. Pixie was never quite convinced that the next meal wasn't going to be her last. The Ryans' other cat, Orlando, a big ginger tom, didn't have that excuse. He was just plain greedy, and he had a big furry marmalade tummy to show for it.

Before Katie had interrupted her, Becky had been gradually coming to the conclusion that maybe she ought to say something to Max. After all, however much Katie might hate the idea, their mum
was
going out with his dad – they were going to have to talk to each other sometime. At least the episode with the dog had made that seem less of a problem, because now Becky felt she actually had something in common with Max – it made him seem a bit less scary, somehow.

Not that much less, though. As Becky walked into their classroom when the bell went, she was practically shaking.

“What's the matter?” asked Fran curiously. “You look all trembly. Are you ill?” she added in a worried voice.

“No,” Becky muttered. “I'm just trying to make myself say hello to Max. Ask him about his dog maybe. With all that stuff I told you about my mum and his dad, it's just stupid not to talk to each other.”

Fran nodded, but slowly, and she didn't look quite convinced. She wasn't really sure this was a good idea – not for shy Becky anyway. Still, she certainly wasn't going to stop her. What she
was
going to do was make sure she was there too, in case Max didn't share Becky's good intentions… She followed the determined little figure of her friend over to the other side of the room, where Max was sitting on his own reading a football magazine. He seemed to have had a bust-up with his mate Ben – certainly they didn't sit together much any more.

“Hi Max,” said Becky, but so nervously it came out in a whisper.

Max looked up, and immediately scowled at her. “What do
you
want?” he snapped.

Becky tried to stay calm. After all, she reasoned to herself, if Max had unexpectedly come to say something nice to her, she would probably have reacted in just the same way. She smiled at him, and ploughed on. “Me and Fran saw you in the park yesterday. With your dog – he's really cute! Have you had him long? I didn't know you had a dog.” She stammered to a halt. Max's angry, white face was not exactly giving her the impression that he wanted to swap pet-care tips.

Max shoved his chair back with a snarl that made everyone else in the class look round in surprise, and Fran move in shoulder to shoulder with Becky.

“What's it to you?” he growled furiously at Becky. “Why are you so interested all of a sudden? You needn't think I'm going to be all friendly with you just because your stupid mother's trying to cosy up to my dad.” He was looming over her angrily, and Becky cowered. She hadn't really expected him to be all sweetness and light, but she certainly hadn't been ready for this ferocious attack. It looked like Max and Katie felt pretty much the same about the whole parents dating thing…

Suddenly, there
was
Katie, as furious as Max, and backed up by Annabel, her pretty face frowning.

“What's going on?” Katie demanded sharply. “Don't you dare shout at my sister like that, she hasn't done anything to you.”

“She's over here, isn't she? Bugging me! Why don't you all just get lost, you lot
and
your mum!” Max was practically nose-to-nose with Katie now.

Watching in horror, Becky thought she could almost see Katie's hackles rise at the mention of their mother. She seemed to get taller, and her deep-blue eyes took on a steely glint.

“Since when was this part of the classroom your property? My sister can walk anywhere she likes, and so can I. Like this.” And Katie shoved forward, forcing Max to retreat or be pushed over. Max stepped back, surprised. “And if there happens to be something in my way,” she continued sweetly, “then I'm just going to walk on it. Like
this
.” She trampled decidedly on Max's jumper, which had been lying next to his rucksack, and smiled at him, nastily.

Annabel and Fran were looking pretty horrified now as well, as were Megan and Saima who'd come to see what was going on. What on earth had got into Katie? She was behaving like – well, like Max!

The whole class was watching in a breathless hush, waiting to see what Max would do, when a cold voice snapped. “Go to your seats, all of you. Max, pick up your jumper and sit down.” Miss Fraser had arrived – just in time, Becky thought. “Not you, Katie,” their class teacher added, her usually friendly voice still sounding icy. “Go and stand by my desk, I'll talk to you later.”

Registration was torture for Becky. She could only imagine how embarrassed and upset Katie must be feeling, standing at the front of the classroom with everyone staring at her. Although, actually, Katie didn't look embarrassed at all. She looked like the heroine in a film, about to be executed by firing squad for standing up for what she believed in. Becky shuddered. Katie was in trouble for standing up for
her
.
But I didn't ask her to!
a tiny voice inside her muttered indignantly.
She didn't have to come storming in like that, like she always does
. She sighed. She'd never have thought a few months ago that she'd get sick of having Katie look after her.

She looked carefully round the class, to see what people's faces were saying. Annabel was picking at her rubber anxiously, looking at Katie. Becky caught her eye and they exchanged worried shrugs.
What was all that about?

Becky moved on. Huh. Of course. Amy Mannering and her mates Emily and Cara were smirking and whispering behind their hands to each other. Cara saw her watching and sneered, and Becky looked away quickly, and by chance caught sight of Max. She'd been avoiding looking at him – why on earth had he got so mad with her? She'd only been trying to be nice, after all. She sighed to herself. Somehow, her peace-loving idea of all of them being friendly seemed pretty stupid. Now that she'd accidentally glanced at Max, though, she found herself drawn back to look again, feeling confused. Max ought to be sitting there looking insufferable, grinning all over his face. He'd just had an argument with Katie Ryan, his worst enemy, and
she
was in big trouble while he'd got off scot free! So why was he looking so miserable? His shoulders were all hunched up, and he was staring down at his homework diary as though his life depended on it.

Becky chewed the end of her biro thoughtfully. Max reminded her of someone, but she just couldn't work out who. Something about that determined refusal to look at anybody, so no one could be horrible…

She suddenly sat bolt upright, and got a confused glare from Annabel. Of course! Max looked like her! At the beginning of last term when she'd been rowing with Katie and Annabel, and not really known anybody at their new school, she'd sat in all her classes just like that, hoping everyone would forget she was there. Was that what was happening to Max now? Poor Max – it was such an awful feeling. She still remembered what it was like, even though she had loads of mates now: Fran; her sisters, of course, and their best mates Megan and Saima; even Jack and Robin were fun. And David – she grinned at him across the table, thinking how lucky she was. He gave her a strange, serious look in return. Becky felt confused for a moment, but then realized that he must be surprised to see her looking so happy when Katie was in trouble. She wished she could explain, but she certainly wasn't going to risk whispering when Miss Fraser was already cross.

Miss Fraser kept Katie behind when the bell went for first lesson, so Annabel and Becky waited outside for her and sent the others off to save seats. Becky was expecting David to wait too, and she was intending to explain why she'd smiled at him, but he disappeared off, leaving her feeling confused. Where was he going? They normally sat with each other in maths. She was still gazing up the corridor after him, looking troubled, when Katie stalked out of their classroom with a defiant expression on her face.

“So what happened?” asked Annabel interestedly as they set off to maths. “It sounded like she was having a massive go at you.”

“Mmm,” Katie agreed. “She put me in detention for tomorrow. She said I was bullying him! Can you imagine? Max!” She sounded indignant.

Becky frowned. Max had bullied her practically since she'd started at Manor Hill, and Katie and the others had always stood up for her. But it had never been quite like this. Just when did always hating and fighting with somebody you thought was really mean turn into bullying
them
? Maybe when they stopped fighting back, and looked as miserable and alone as Max had just now… She looked at Katie, still raging to Bel about how unfair it was that Max hadn't got detention too. Katie was always scrupulously fair, but it seemed to Becky that she was so upset about the situation with Mum that she couldn't see what was really going on. Max might still be horrible, but he wasn't
happy
. Whenever he'd quarrelled with Katie before – or been picking on Becky – he'd been enjoying himself, and Becky had actually been frightened of him. As she'd watched Katie kicking his jumper along the floor earlier, she'd just felt sorry for him as she recognized the trapped, bewildered look on his face.

Annabel didn't seem to have noticed any of this, although she did say, “What were you doing kicking his sweater all over the floor like that? You'd have gone mad at anyone who did something like that to one of us.”

Katie shrugged crossly. “Oh, he deserved it, Bel. Come on, he did, didn't he?”

Annabel nodded. “Mmm. Maybe. I can't believe Miss Fraser just let him off. That really isn't fair.” And the two of them went on discussing how unfair it was, while Becky just listened, looking anxiously at Katie's hard face.

By the time she got to maths, Becky had turned everything over in her head so many times that her brain was feeling dizzy, and she failed to notice that David had gone to sit with Jack and Robin instead of with them. Katie, bullying Max? She just couldn't get her head round it. And as for getting Katie's head round it – huh. You might as well try getting her into a full-length meringue dress with high heels and a tiara. Oh dear…

 

It was halfway through the lesson that Becky suddenly came to (without the slightest clue about what the square of the hypotenuse was, let alone what you did with it) and noticed where David was. Or, more precisely, where he
wasn't
. Why had he gone to sit with Jack and Robin? She tried to telegraph this to him with her eyebrows, but he wasn't looking at her, and Mr Jones was, so she decided she'd better pay some attention to triangles for a bit. As soon as the bell went though, she stuffed all her books into her bag, said, “Wait for me!” to Fran and hurried over to David. She didn't realize, but it showed just how much she'd changed in the last few months. The old Becky would have panicked and agonized about what was going on for most of the day before daring to go and confront somebody.

David was pretending to be very interested in putting all his stuff away as she came up, so she plucked at his arm.

“Hey! Why didn't you come and sit with us?” She tried hard not to sound like she was upset – she just wanted to know what was going on.

He mumbled something unintelligible, still staring into the depths of his rucksack, and Becky tugged him round to face her.

“Look, what's wrong? What have I done to make you off with me like this?”

He looked up, frowning. “Isn't it obvious?”

“No!”

He looked shamefaced, as though he was realizing he'd been a bit stupid. “You were talking to Max – being all nice to him,” he muttered.

“Are you jealous?” Becky almost squeaked, disbelievingly.

“No! Well … maybe a bit. What were you talking to him for? You hate him! I didn't know what was going on.”

Becky hooked her arm through his. “Look, come on, we're going to be late for French. I'll explain on the way. Fran'll tell you, she was there,” she added cryptically, as they caught up with Fran, who'd been pointing at her watch in a “come on!” kind of way. “I was just explaining to David about Max.”

By the time they got to French she and Fran had filled David in. He already knew about the nightmare with Max's dad and the triplets' mum. He couldn't stand Max either. He had the same situation with him on the football team that Katie had with Cara. He just had to try and forget how much he disliked him.