The Honeymoon Sisters (16 page)

And I could totally see why she had befriended Alison – the one person who had been through something similar and really understood what she was going through.

I went to sleep that night thinking about what it must be like to actually
be
Sadie, and those were not happy thoughts at all.

Chapter Twenty-Two

The next two days of school passed in a bit of a haze while Sadie was suspended. Then came Thursday. It was Sadie’s last day at home, and that afternoon Mum was bringing her in to a meeting with Mr Jamieson and Mrs Thomson. Her social worker was also going to be there. By that time Sadie had apologised to Sean and she had also dropped her complaint against Mr Anderson, thank goodness.

Anyway, straight after lunch we had English, and I thought I heard a few sniggers as I walked in. I looked sharply at Julia and Katy, who as usual were the ones laughing at me. Anne-Marie says they’re just jealous because I’m friends with Josh, but I’m not so sure that’s all it is. Though it’s true Katy once asked me to ask Josh if he fancied her, and she hadn’t been too chuffed when I’d had to report back that he didn’t.

Mr Anderson was sitting at his desk reading a letter. As I walked past him I saw a pink envelope with hearts drawn on it lying open in front of him. I was curious, but I resisted the urge to try and get a closer look.

As I went to sit down, Evie Pennycook, who sits right at the front, asked, ‘Who’s your letter from, Mr Anderson?’ which made a couple of the others start sniggering.

Our teacher ignored her as he folded the letter and replaced it in the envelope before putting it away and clapping his hands for silence. ‘
OK
, let’s get started, shall we?’

He had written some questions up on the whiteboard so I had no choice but to wear my glasses. I immediately felt self-conscious as I put them on. They really are very unflattering. I’d considered leaving them at home today, but the trouble is I can’t really function at school without them. I couldn’t wait for my new ones to be ready.

After I’d put them on I noticed Evie turning round to give me an amused look and I felt even more embarrassed. Were my glasses really that bad? In fact, I was a bit taken aback by the amount of amused glances that seemed to be aimed at me this afternoon. Eventually I took off my glasses and stuffed them into my schoolbag.

‘What’s question four?’ I whispered to Anne-Marie.

She gave me a puzzled look as she whispered back, ‘Why have you taken off your glasses?’

‘Everyone’s laughing at them.’

‘I don’t think it’s your glasses they’re laughing at. I think it’s something to do with that letter.’

‘Poppy … Anne-Marie … is there something you wish to share?’ Mr Anderson said sternly.

At that comment, several more people started laughing.

‘
ENOUGH
!’ Mr Anderson sounded angrier than he usually does when our class gets disruptive, and we all quickly got back to work.

Later, as we were leaving the classroom, Mr Anderson asked me in a quiet voice to wait behind for a minute. For a crazy moment I thought he might be going to make some comment about my glasses too. But instead he waited until the room was empty before asking, ‘Poppy, do you know anything about the letter that was on my desk this morning?’

‘No,’ I replied at once, shaking my head earnestly.

He nodded as he said, ‘
OK
, then. It doesn’t matter. You can go now.’

I left feeling puzzled. Why was he asking me and nobody else?

Out in the playground Katy and Julia came up to me, both of them sporting big fat grins. ‘So, Poppy,’ Julia began smugly. ‘We didn’t know you had such a mega-crush on Mr Anderson.’

‘What?’

‘Thing is,’ Katy added, ‘we’ve heard he goes for older women, not younger ones, so you probably haven’t got much of a chance.’ They both giggled like they thought they were the funniest double act on earth.

‘Still, I’m sure he was flattered by your letter!’

‘Yeah, Poppy … what did you say in it exactly?’

They both started laughing hysterically again.

‘Leave her alone!’ It was Anne-Marie who rescued me – though I still hadn’t worked out yet exactly what she was rescuing me
from
. ‘Poppy, just ignore them. It’s obvious you didn’t write that letter.’

‘What are you all talking about?’ I asked as she pulled me away.

‘I just spoke to Evie. She saw that letter Mr Anderson got just now. According to her,
you’re
the one who wrote it.’

‘
What?
’

‘She couldn’t read what it said but she saw your name at the bottom. Evie says it reeked of perfume.’

‘I didn’t write it!’ I exclaimed in horror.

‘I know that.’ Anne-Marie frowned. ‘You know, if Sadie was here I’d say it’s just the sort of thing
she
would do and think was really funny.’

‘Well, she isn’t here.’ I gritted my teeth. ‘I bet it was Katy. Or Julia.’ The two were out of earshot, halfway across the playground walking out of school together.

‘I think it might have been both of them,’ Anne-Marie said. ‘They were both over at Mr Anderson’s desk when I came into class. I was early and they were the only ones there.’

‘I’m going to ask them!’ I announced, hurrying to catch up with them before they disappeared through the main gate.

‘Hey, Julia! Katy!’ I called out sharply as I reached them just outside the school. ‘I want to talk to you!’

As they stopped walking and turned to face me, I said breathlessly, ‘I know you wrote that letter to Mr Anderson!’

‘A
love
letter, to be exact,’ Julia said, smirking. ‘I’m sure you’d blush if you read it – seeing as how you blush so easily.’

‘Yeah,’ Katy added. ‘You know you can get this green make-up to put on your face to help with that. My big
sister tried it. It’s supposed to counteract the pinkness or something.’

‘I’m going to tell Mr Anderson it was you,’ I said, making to go back into school. Just talking about blushing is enough to make me start these days and I wanted to get away before it happened.

‘Hey, it’s very rude to turn your back on a person when they’re talking to you,’ Katy called out, giving my hair a sharp tug from behind.

‘
OUCH
!’

Julia was grinning. ‘You want to watch it or you might find your hair getting accidently chopped off.’

‘Yeah,’ said Katy. ‘All it takes is for someone to bring a pair of scissors into school!’

I glared at them, feeling my adrenalin level rise even though I was fairly sure they were bluffing.

Suddenly I heard a familiar voice behind me. ‘Did you just threaten my cousin?’

It was Sadie. I hadn’t expected her to still be here after her meeting. I couldn’t see Mum, but I guessed she must be somewhere nearby too.

Maybe because of the grim tone of voice Sadie used, or maybe just because of the reputation she had, Julia and Katy immediately stopped grinning.

‘So what’s going on, Poppy?’ Sadie asked me without taking her eyes off either of them.

I quickly told her about the letter.

Sadie glared at the other two. ‘Nobody makes fun of
my
family.’

‘Sadie, it’s
OK
,’ I said, trying to calm her down.

‘No, it’s not. What was in that letter, Julia?’

‘It was just a joke,’ Julia started to say, but Katy quickly put her hand in her pocket and pulled out a sheet of paper. ‘Here. This is the first draft. Read it yourself.’

Sadie read it first, then passed it to me.

Dear Mr Anderson (or can I call you Leo?),

I am writing to let you know that I didn’t mean what I said before about your bum being big. I think you have a lovely bum. You are definitely the cutest teacher in our school and you have a totally sexy voice that makes me go all tingly up my spine.

LOVE AND KISSES,

Your biggest admirer,

Poppy

‘Urgh!’ I exclaimed, sure that my face must have turned beetroot red.

Sadie looked serious. ‘
OK
, tonight the two of you can write another letter telling Mr Anderson that one was from you.’

‘And what if we don’t?’ Julia snapped.

Sadie took just one step towards her. ‘Julia, you do know
why
I got suspended, don’t you?’

‘If you punch
us
, you’ll get expelled,’ Katy said coldly.

Sadie just shrugged. ‘I honestly don’t care! I didn’t even want to come to this school in the first place!’

We watched the two exchange uncertain glances before turning away and leaving us together.

‘Those two had better not mess with either of us from now on,’ Sadie said fiercely. ‘Come on. Your mum’s waiting for us in the car. She couldn’t find a big enough parking space near the school so she ended up driving miles up the road. She told me to come and fetch you.’

As we set off along the road together I asked doubtfully, ‘Do you
really
think they’ll tell Mr Anderson that letter was from them?’

Sadie shrugged. ‘If they don’t it’ll just give me a good excuse to whack them both.’

‘Sadie, you can’t just go around hitting people whenever they make you angry.’

‘Why not? They were threatening
you
! Or don’t you mind getting your hair cut off?’

‘They wouldn’t really have done that.’

‘Fine. So in that case I wouldn’t really have punched them.’ She paused. ‘Anyway, don’t mention it.’

‘Mention what?’

‘I mean, you’re very welcome, Poppy.’

We heard a horn tooting and looked over to see Mum double parked on the other side of the road. Obviously she’d got fed up waiting for us.

‘Thank you, Sadie,’ I finally said as we crossed the road together. ‘Thank you for standing up for me just now. I really do appreciate it. And thank you for saying I’m your family.’

She nodded curtly. ‘No problem. And anyway … you
are
.’

Chapter Twenty-Three

The next day brought both good news and bad.

The good news was that Julia and Katy confessed to their letter-writing prank and were instructed to write
me
a letter of apology.

The bad news was that when I got home from school Mum told me that tomorrow’s visit to Amy had been postponed for yet
another
week because now Amy’s new sister had just come down with chickenpox.

So on Saturday morning Sadie and I stayed at home helping Mum in the house and doing our homework. When Mum went upstairs just after lunch to make a couple of phone calls, Sadie said she would load the dishwasher if I wanted to go and get on with the English essay I’d been struggling with all morning. (Sadie had already done hers while she was suspended.)

About twenty minutes later as I finally finished my
homework I thought I heard the front door close. Mum was still on the phone in the bedroom so I went downstairs calling out Sadie’s name. In the kitchen the lunch things had been cleared and there was a note on the table which said,
Back later. Sadie.

I ran to the front door, flung it open and spotted Sadie hurrying away down our street. Where was she sneaking off to without telling anyone?

I frowned. Today was the day Alison had mentioned in her text.
Be careful
, she had said.

I don’t know what possessed me to follow her without even taking my phone with me or leaving another note for Mum. I think I had some idea I would catch up with her and talk her into coming back before Mum even got off the phone. Anyway I wasn’t thinking straight as I grabbed my jacket from the banister and raced off down our road after her. I decided not to let her know I was following until I found out where she was going.

She headed straight past the park and along the road towards the little row of shops where the second-hand bookshop is.

I kept watch from a safe distance as she disappeared inside the cafe. Was she meeting someone there or what?

I knew I couldn’t wait outside forever because Mum would be worried when she discovered we were missing. I either needed to return home or borrow a phone to give her a call.

Just as I was debating what to do a familiar voice called out my name and I turned to see Sean coming out of the estate agent’s where his mum works. I couldn’t help remembering what Josh had said about him fancying me and I felt myself flushing and feeling horribly awkward. Out of school uniform he looked a bit older and a lot cooler, despite the bruise on his face. His boyish grin was just the same.

‘I brought Mum her keys that she left at home
again
and now she wants me to fetch her a coffee from the cafe,’ he said, talking rapidly as if he was a bit nervous too. ‘So what are you doing here? Looking for a really weird birthday gift again?’

‘No,’ I answered. ‘Sean, are you going into the cafe right now?’

‘Yeah. Why? Want to come with me and get a Coke or something?’ Forbidden or not, he didn’t seem at all bothered about hanging out with me.

‘Oh … no …’ I lowered my voice as I continued, ‘Sadie’s in there. I’m sure she’s planning to do something
dodgy and I’m trying to follow her without her seeing me.’ I quickly reminded him about the text we’d been discussing just before she’d punched him.

Sean looked amused. ‘And here’s me thinking I was going to have a dead boring Saturday. Listen, I’ll go and get that takeout coffee for my mum, and while I’m in there I’ll see what I can find out, shall I?’

‘
OK
, but be careful what you say this time.’ The last thing I wanted was for him to get punched on the nose again.

By the time Sean came out of the cafe – with Sadie – I had gone to hide inside the bookshop. The bookshop owner was giving me sharp looks as I hovered by the window pretending to read a musty old book I’d picked up, which I suddenly saw was all about fly-fishing.

Sean was carrying a takeaway coffee and Sadie had a can of Coke and they chatted for a minute before Sadie walked off.

I quickly put back the book and went outside to meet Sean.

‘She actually told me again she was sorry for punching me,’ he said. ‘And you know what – I’m starting to believe her! She was in there just now asking how to get to Percy
Street. Apparently she went there straight from school before, and she doesn’t know the way from this direction. Says she’s going to see a friend.’