Izzy's River

by Holly Webb

  Poppy sat down next to her on the little bit of wall. There wasn’t much room. “Has Emily been mean to you again?” she asked suspiciously, glancing over at Emily and Maya.

  “Nope. She’s actually been really nice, the last few days.” Izzy tried not to sigh.

  “So why don’t you want to be friends with us now?”

  “B-but I do…” Izzy stammered. “I just didn’t think I could. You were only putting up with me.”

  Poppy looked at her, and shook her head. “You’re such an idiot,” she said, but nicely. “It’s probably to do with your star sign. Were you born in September? Or the end of August?”

  Izzy nodded slowly. “The first of September. How did you know that?”

  Poppy shrugged, but there was a smug look on her face, as she counted off her points on her fingers. “Very hard-working. Nervous about friendships, and not very confident. But very clever. You really had to be a Virgo.”

  “I’m not sure I believe in all that stars stuff,” Izzy said apologetically, hoping Poppy wouldn’t mind. She just couldn’t pretend she believed in it.

  Poppy shrugged. “I do and I don’t. Sometimes it works, but sometimes things don’t fit at all. Virgos aren’t really supposed to be great organisers, so that obviously doesn’t work.”

  Izzy turned pink at the compliment, and Poppy hauled her up off the step. “Come on. Let’s all go and sit on the bank.” It was everyone’s favourite part of the playground, the grassy slope that ran around the edge of the main playground and up to the field that they used for PE.

  “Do you think Mr Finlay will let me change places, and come and sit with you?” Izzy asked, rather shyly. She still wasn’t sure what Maya and Emily felt about her moving. She suspected it was Poppy’s idea.

  “I shouldn’t think he’d mind,” Maya said, stretching her feet out in front of her, and sighing happily. It was sunny, for the first day in ages, and she wanted her legs to get brown. “Just warn me if any of the teachers are coming. I don’t want a lecture on sun cream, it’s no way hot enough to burn.”

  “Mr Finlay got all the parents telling him how fabulous he was after the fashion show – and he’s Mrs Angel’s favourite person now,” Emily pointed out. “He oughtn’t to complain! It would be totally unfair if he did!”

  “I think we shouldn’t ask,” Poppy suggested. “Is he going to notice?”

  “He might not, but I bet Miss Grace will.” Emily lay down on the grass. “She notices everything.”

  Poppy sighed, rolling on to her stomach next to Maya. “I hadn’t thought of her. All right, we’ll have to ask properly then. We’ll do it after break. Mr Finlay’s always in a better mood when he’s had a cup of tea.”

  Izzy sucked in a nervous breath, and Poppy looked up at her, squinting against the sun. “What’s the matter? He won’t mind, Izzy. He said we worked together really well.”

  “It isn’t him,” Izzy muttered, staring at the grass as though she’d seen a legion of spiders marching through it. “It’s Ali. And Lucy and Elspeth. Coming this way.”

  Poppy turned over and sat up in seconds, glaring. Izzy had told them a bit about the way Ali had treated her, and even just Izzy’s face as she described the things they’d said to her had made Poppy furious. “If they so much as try to be mean to you, we’ll tell Mrs Angel. I mean it,” she added fiercely.

  “It’s all right,” Izzy said, trying to sound firm. “I’m not scared of her.”

  Maya was sitting up now too. “Aren’t you? I am.” She nudged Izzy. “She’s a slug. A big, slimy slug, with expensive hair clips.” She nodded encouragingly. “What is she?”

  “A slug.” Izzy managed a small grin. “In sunglasses.”

  “Mmm, let’s hope they get taken off her,” Emily said, looking at Ali’s pink sunglasses enviously. “There was a letter home, wasn’t there? We aren’t allowed them.”

  Maya sighed. “Unless you’ve got medical reasons. Guess who’s got fragile eyes.”

  Emily snorted. “She hasn’t! She’s got a mum she walks all over, that’s all. What do you want?” she snapped at Ali and the other two, who were now standing next to them. Ali was smiling sweetly.

  “We just came to talk to Maya,” she purred. “Is that OK, Emily?”

  Emily scowled, but she couldn’t really tell Ali she wasn’t allowed to talk to Maya, however much she’d like to.

  Maya was fidgeting on the grass, wishing that Ali would just say whatever mean thing it was she was going to say, and go.

  “We came to say thank you.” Ali smiled in a sickly sort of way.

  All four of the other girls stared up at her suspiciously.

  “For the fashion show. It was your idea, wasn’t it, Maya?” Ali sat down next to Maya, still smiling.

  Maya nodded, and tried hard not to edge away from Ali. She was known for her meanness, and she was remarkably good at saying horrible things with the sweetest smile, which made them seem even nastier.

  “It was a brilliant idea. And you all organised it so well.” Ali smiled round at them all.

  “Who does she think she is, the Queen?” Emily muttered to Izzy, and Izzy had to stifle a snort. Emily was right. Ali had that look of her gracious majesty, talking to her loyal subjects. She just needed a corgi, and a big flowery hat.

  “We really loved the modelling,” Elspeth put in, smiling in exactly the same way Ali had.

  “And the chance to meet your mum, Maya,” Lucy added. A sudden twitch ran through all the girls, as though someone had flicked a switch.

  Izzy eyed Ali sideways. She’d gone a little bit pink, and it wasn’t just the sun. So that was what it was all about. That was why they were buttering Maya up.

  “She’s so cool.” Ali’s smile went up several notches. “You’re so lucky having a pop star mum.”

  “She isn’t really a pop star,” Maya muttered. “She doesn’t do much pop stuff any more.” She looked incredibly uncomfortable, and Izzy remembered her saying how much she hated people going on about her mum – it was why she’d moved schools to Park Road, because everyone at her posh girls’ school made such a fuss about it.

  Ali shrugged. “She’s a star, anyway.”

  “Yes, she is,” Maya said firmly. She sounded as though she thought Ali was leading up to some snide comment about her mum’s singing. But Ali just kept on smiling, while Maya and the others fidgeted uncomfortably.

  How can she be so sure of herself? Izzy wondered. Can’t she see that we’re all wishing they’d go away and leave us alone? But Ali didn’t seem to be able to think about herself like that. She knew everybody loved her. Or if they didn’t, it was their loss.

  Izzy watched her enviously. They must be the two most different people in the world. Still, she wouldn’t want to be a mean cow, so maybe she was better off the way she was.

  “Oh, the bell!” Maya said gratefully, jumping up as it rang. “Er, I need the loo. See you in class.”

  “Me too!” Emily muttered, and Izzy and Poppy agreed, hurrying off after Maya.

  “What was all that about?” Emily muttered as they walked as fast as they possibly could without actually running down the corridor. Mrs Angel had spies.

  “It’s happening all over again, just like my old school,” Maya said bitterly, shoving open the door of the girls’ loos.

  “Excuse me? Are we sucking up to you, Miss daughter of a pop star?” Poppy elbowed Maya in the ribs. “Take that scowl off your face, you look like you’re sucking a lemon.”

  Maya looked round at her in surprise, and then laughed. “OK. Sorry. I just really hate it…”

  “That’s OK, we all hated Ali already anyway,” Izzy pointed out quietly. “It isn’t as if she’s changed. We’re just adding ‘totally two-faced’ to her description, that’s all. She’s a two-faced horrible slug.”

  “Don’t underestimate her.” Emily shook her head. “At least three faces. Maybe even four.”

  “I wish I knew how she does it.” Izzy glanced round them all, hoping she was
going to be able to explain what she meant. “Couldn’t she see we all wanted her to get lost, but we weren’t rude enough to say it?”

  Maya shrugged. “It’s because she’s got everyone scared. We all tiptoe round her because we think she’s about to explode into something horrible. I was waiting for the bomb to drop, and it never did.”

  Izzy sighed. “I wish I could be just a tiny bit like her, though.”

  The others stared at her, and Poppy put her head on one side, as though she was examining some weird creature she’d found under a rock.

  “Just the nerve!” Izzy added. “Not the rest of her. She’s so brave.” She frowned. “No. Not brave. It’s that she just can’t see that anyone could possibly not want her to be their friend. Like if she offers, everyone’s going to jump at it.”

  Poppy shrugged. “Most of our class probably would. Just because they’d be scared of what she might do if they said no.”

  “But it’s as if she thinks we’ll all forget the horrible stuff she’s said before! She was even being nice to me!”

  Emily stared at her thoughtfully. “And if she kept on doing it, I bet you’d go along with it. She’s one of those people. She’s always been like it, ever since reception, hasn’t she?”

  Izzy nodded. “Mmm. I suppose so. I wouldn’t be friends with her, though.” She shivered. “I really hope I wouldn’t, anyway.”

  “Does anyone actually need the loo?” Maya asked. “We’re going to get in massive trouble if we don’t hurry up. And we want to ask Mr Finlay about Izzy sitting with us, remember.”

  They barged for the door, and speed-walked along to the classroom, arriving at the door just before Mr Finlay did.

  Emily pushed Izzy to the front, and they all smiled at him hopefully, except for Izzy, who went bright scarlet and stared at the floor until Poppy poked her in the back. “Izzy wants to ask something.”

  Izzy swallowed. “Please could I move to sit with Poppy and Maya and Emily?” she gabbled.

  “I didn’t catch a word of that, but if you were asking if you could move tables, yes. I was going to ask you if you wanted to. Providing you don’t mess around.” Mr Finlay glared at them, mock-sternly.

  “We won’t!” Poppy promised, grabbing Izzy and steering her into the classroom, and the others nodded, all trying to look saintly.

  “As if we mess around,” Emily hissed indignantly, back at their table. “Well. Hardly ever, anyway.”

  Izzy and Poppy had both brought lunches from home, so they were sitting together in the dining hall, waiting for Emily and Maya to come back from the lunch queue.

  “I can’t believe you thought we didn’t want you sitting with us,” Poppy told Izzy.

  Izzy shrugged uncomfortably. It was hard to explain without sounding even more stupid. She just wasn’t used to people actually liking her any more. “I suppose I’m just used to being mostly on my own,” she said, going red again. She could feel her cheeks burning. That was such a feeble thing to say. She stared at her sandwiches (Dad had gone mad, there looked like half a cucumber in there).

  “Well, you shouldn’t be,” Poppy said firmly. “Being on your own’s fine sometimes, but it can be bad for your inner harmony.”

  “My what?” Izzy stopped trying to decucumberise her sandwich and looked up at Poppy.

  Poppy sighed. “You really don’t know anything about alternative therapies, do you?”

  Izzy shook her head. “I did go to a yoga class once,” she offered, and Poppy looked hopeful for a second. “But I hated it,” she added. “They talked a bit about harmony and stuff, but it was mostly just sitting around with your legs in the air. It felt stupid.”

  Poppy shook her head. “OK. Inner harmony just means not being miserable anyway. All I mean is, being on your own all the time makes you fed up.”

  Izzy shrugged. “I know. But trying not to be on your own and then getting told to go away because you’re boring makes you feel even worse.”

  “Who said that?” Poppy asked indignantly.

  “Most of the girls in our class,” Izzy sighed. “I’m sort of marked, I think. As the boring one.”

  “But you aren’t!” Poppy argued. “You’re funny. And you have brilliant ideas. We couldn’t have organised all the stuff for the fashion show without you.”

  “Mmm, I’m organised. Being organised is so exciting.” Izzy grinned at her shyly.

  “Yeah, OK, I see what you mean. But you are funny. See? What you just said was funny.”

  “Maybe.” Izzy nodded.

  “Is your dad picking you up today?” Poppy asked suddenly.

  Izzy nodded. “Yes. He always does.” Izzy’s dad was a gardener, and he fitted his work in around school hours. It usually worked, although she did have to go to work with him in the holidays now that her mum wasn’t there. She usually sat in his truck with a book unless there was something she could help with. “Almost always, anyway. I go to after-school club if he’s got a big job on.”

  “Do you think he’d let you come over to mine?” Poppy said hopefully. “My mum wouldn’t mind. She only works mornings on Fridays, so she’d be picking me up.”

  Izzy swallowed, suddenly nervous. She’d met Poppy’s mum when she’d taken all the girls to Tara’s clothes shop to find out about Fairtrade clothes. She was really nice – friendly and funny.

  But she hadn’t been over to a friend’s house all this year. Not for most of last year either actually. How sad was that.

  “Would your dad let you?” Poppy asked anxiously. “Would he say it was too short notice?”

  “I don’t think so…” Izzy said slowly. She knew her dad wouldn’t mind at all. He was more likely to give Poppy’s mum a hug, to be honest. She knew how much it upset him that she was lonely. That was why he kept signing her up for stuff like yoga, and ballet (even more of a disaster, Izzy was not made for ballet). She smiled at Poppy. “He really likes you – he said you were good at washing up. He likes people who get on with stuff and don’t whinge about working.”

  Poppy sighed. “I’m fabulous at washing up. My mum thinks dishwashers use too much energy, she’s trying to make us more eco-minded and save money at the same time. She says she’s got three dishwashers – me, Jake and Alex – and she doesn’t see why she should buy another one.” She looked at Izzy hopefully. “So would you like to come over? Will you ask him?”

  Izzy nodded. She still didn’t quite believe what was happening. Poppy had that look now – that slightly worried look that meant she wasn’t sure if someone might laugh at her. “I’d really like to,” Izzy murmured. “I’ll definitely ask him.”

  “Good.” Poppy beamed at her, and the others came back with their lunches – baked potatoes and salad.

  “Whatever the veggie option was, it looked like glue,” Maya explained.

  “Hey, Maya!” Ali walked past their table with Elspeth and Lucy trailing behind her, and Maya half-smiled. Luckily, the lunch tables only had room for six at the most, otherwise Ali looked like she would have tried to sit with them.

  “This is going to drive me mad,” Maya wailed, as soon as they were out of earshot on the other side of the dining hall.

  “She doesn’t take a hint, does she?” Emily muttered. “They’re still all staring at you, by the way.”

  “Aaaargh!” Maya moaned. “Why can’t I just have a normal mum like everybody else?”

  Izzy tried not to drop her sandwich. Maya had no idea she was being tactless – she’d only joined the school that year, and she didn’t know that Izzy’s mum and dad were divorced, and Izzy hardly saw her any more.

  “Ow!” Maya stared at Poppy in surprise. “What was that for?”

  Poppy had kicked her under the table, Izzy realised.

  Poppy sighed. “Maya! I was trying to tell you, tactfully, that not everyone’s mum is normal. Actually mine’s a monster half the time,” she added jokily, but she was looking at Izzy sideways, obviously worried.

  “It’s OK. My mum lives in Australia. She got
married again, and I’ve got a baby brother,” Izzy explained to Maya. “You weren’t supposed to know all that, don’t worry.”

  “Oh.” Maya looked guilty. “I wouldn’t have said it if I had known, Izzy.”

  “It’s really OK. I’m sort of used to not seeing her,” Izzy lied. “What are we going to do about Ali?” she said quickly. Even though she was upset, she still enjoyed saying “we” like that, feeling part of a special group again. It was great.

  “We could just try telling her to get lost,” Emily suggested. “It would be simple.”

  “She’d kill us,” Poppy pointed out.

  “I wouldn’t.” Izzy shivered. “You don’t know how mean she can be. Really, deliberately on-purpose cruel. And she’s clever about it,” she added. “It isn’t just pushing you over in the playground, or anything like that.” Her eyes were burning with tears, just thinking about it. “She told Mrs Gratton I had nits last year. I got sent home. My dad was furious, he even came in and saw Mrs Angel and said they were bullying me, but Ali said she’d just made a mistake. She apologised really nicely. And then the next day she told the whole class.”

  Emily made a face. “I remember now. But you did have…” She trailed off as Izzy looked up at her furiously. “OK, I’m guessing you didn’t.”

  “It was ants!” Izzy hissed. “She’d brought them into school, and she threw them at me, and then she told everyone. She said it was because I told on her.”

  “She put ants in your hair?” Maya asked, horrified.

  “Yeah, like I said, she’s clever,” Izzy said miserably. “Don’t get on her bad side. If you can help it.”

  “Are you planning your next mission, girls?”

  They all jumped, and Maya nearly tipped her lunch over.

  “Sorry!” Mr Finlay moved Emily’s cup, so she didn’t spill it. “I didn’t mean to creep up on you. You were all looking so serious, I wondered if you’d come up with another project.”

  “Um, not yet…” Emily said slowly. “Do you think we should, Mr Finlay?”

  “Definitely! I still haven’t got over the last one, mind you.” He grinned. “But seriously, girls, you worked together so well. Why not?”