Angels

by Meredith Badger

  ‘The Super Stars?’ grumbled Bonnie. ‘But they were way slower than us.’

  ‘No,’ corrected Mrs Clarke. ‘They stayed on their raft and they finished the race. Sorry, Angels.’

  Then she walked away to congratulate the Super Stars.

  For a moment the Angels sat there in silence. No-one could believe it!

  Finally, Bonnie spoke. ‘It’s my fault we lost,’ she said. ‘If I hadn’t been mucking around we wouldn’t have capsized!’

  ‘It’s my fault too,’ said Annabelle. ‘I should’ve paddled faster.’

  Sophie frowned, thinking hard. She had really wanted to win the raft race to make the Angels proud to have her on their team. It was so annoying to get that close to winning and then lose! But instead of being disappointed, Sophie felt a grin creeping across her face.

  ‘Why are you smiling, Soph?’ asked Annabelle.

  ‘How surprised did the Devils look when we overtook them?’ grinned Sophie.

  Annabelle chuckled. ‘That was pretty funny,’ she said. ‘They were so shocked!’

  Then Chloe started giggling too. ‘They had no idea our raft was going to be so fast,’ she said. ‘Did you see them when their raft started sinking? Joey was scooping out water with his hat!’

  ‘Your dance moves were so hilarious, Bon,’ added Lucy, with a snort.

  ‘Yeah, do them again, Bonnie!’ urged Sophie, standing up to stretch.

  ‘Sure thing!’ said Bonnie, jumping up. ‘Angels are the best! Chuck out the rest!’ she chanted. She jumped from foot to foot and did some fast pivots.

  ‘Careful, Bonnie …’ warned Lucy, as Bonnie danced close to the edge of the pool. ‘Remember you’re not exactly the world’s most co-ordinated person – ’

  But she was too late. With a shriek Bonnie toppled over the edge of the pool and landed with a splash back in the water!

  ‘Not again!’ laughed Lola.

  ‘What’s she doing?’ asked Lucy.

  Sophie peered over the edge. ‘For some reason she’s dived to the bottom,’ she reported.

  Bonnie bobbed up a moment later, carrying a ten-litre water bottle with a shark’s tail painted on it.

  ‘Hey, Devils!’ she called. ‘Here’s your raft. Or what’s left of it!’

  ‘Laugh it up, Angels,’ said Joey. ‘Because you won’t be laughing for long. We’re going to beat you in the next challenge.’

  ‘This time you guys were lucky,’ added Luke. ‘Your raft was only so good because you had Sophie on your team.’

  Lola looked around, pretending to be puzzled. ‘Can anyone hear something? I think that monkey might have escaped from the zoo again.’ Then she flashed a grin at Sophie.

  When the Devils had gone, Lucy said, ‘Luke is so annoying. But for once he was right. About us being lucky to have Sophie, that is.’ She smiled at Sophie. ‘Thanks for designing such an awesome raft.’

  ‘Yeah, and sorry about sinking it,’ said Bonnie, drying herself off. ‘I hate it when we lose!’

  ‘Don’t worry,’ said Sophie confidently. ‘We’ll win the next challenge.’

  ‘How do you know?’ asked Annabelle, cocking her head to one side.

  ‘Because we’re the Angels,’ replied Sophie. ‘And the Angels are the best team of all!’

  Chloe was puffed out by the time she got to the multi-purpose room. She was late – for a very important Angels meeting. They had to discuss the next Team Terrific challenge. They had already completed the first two challenges – Get Active and Use Your Brain. Next up was Help Others.

  We really have to win this round, thought Chloe. Especially as we lost the raft race.

  Carefully, she climbed the stairs that led to the Angels’ meeting spot – the loft. She could hear her teammates’ voices drifting down.

  ‘Come on, Chloe!’ called Bonnie. ‘What’s taking you so long?’

  ‘I’m going as fast as I possibly can!’ replied Chloe.

  Once the others see me they’ll understand why I’m so slow! she smiled to herself. They were in for a big surprise!

  Finally, her head popped up at the top of the stairs. Chloe noticed that Lucy wasn’t there yet and she breathed a little sigh of relief. She got the feeling that Lucy didn’t like her all that much.

  She was pretty sure she knew why, too. Sometimes dumb things just popped out of Chloe’s mouth. Especially when she got mad. She’d almost lost her bestie, Dani, because of saying something silly. The worst bit was that she couldn’t seem to stop doing it!

  ‘Hi, everyone,’ said Chloe. ‘Sorry I’m late. It took me ages to get ready for school this morning.’

  ‘Hey, Chloe!’ said Annabelle, turning around with a smile. But it quickly disappeared when she saw Chloe. ‘What happened?’ she said, hurrying over to help Chloe up.

  Chloe’s right arm was in a cast!

  Bonnie patted the floor beside her. ‘Sit down and tell us the whole story. I won’t be able to concentrate until I know!’

  So Chloe sat down. ‘On the weekend Dani and I were playing with her puppy, Gidget, in the park,’ she said. ‘I threw Gidget’s ball and as she ran off she tripped me up. I fell over and broke my arm!’

  ‘Did it hurt?’ asked Lola. ‘My stepbrother, Will, broke his leg once and it hurt heaps. He cried a lot.’

  ‘I cried a lot too when it happened,’ admitted Chloe. ‘But after the doctor put the cast on it stopped hurting.’

  Bonnie tapped on the cast curiously. ‘What does it feel like?’ she asked.

  ‘Soooooo itchy!’ replied Chloe. ‘And they’re really annoying itches too, because you can’t get at them!’

  Sophie pulled out a pen. ‘Can I draw on it?’ she said, grinning and doing little squiggles in the air.

  ‘Um, maybe not,’ said Chloe doubtfully. ‘I don’t want it getting all dirty and gross.’ Chloe liked things to be neat and clean, especially the things she was wearing. She had to wear this cast for six whole weeks. It was going to be hard to keep it white for that long!

  ‘I wasn’t going to make it look gross,’ said Sophie.

  Chloe looked at Sophie’s hurt expression. Oh no! I’ve done it again! realised Chloe, feeling bad.

  But before Chloe could say anything, Lucy appeared at the top of the stairs. She was bright red in the face, and breathing so hard she had trouble getting her words out. ‘Guess – what – I’ve – just – heard!’ she puffed.

  Bonnie stretched over to help Lucy up into the loft. ‘Take some deep breaths, Lou,’ she laughed. ‘You’re going to explode otherwise!’

  When Lucy got her breath back she looked around, her eyes bright. ‘You’ll never believe what the Devils are planning for their Help Others challenge!’ she said.

  ‘I heard that they were going to raise money for the Country Fire Association,’ said Lola, puzzled. ‘What’s so amazing about that?’

  Lucy smiled. ‘Guess how they’re going to raise the money!’

  ‘Come on, tell us, Lucy!’ said Bonnie.

  ‘They’re going to have a kissing booth!’ squealed Lucy.

  The others looked at her in amazement.

  ‘No way!’ said Annabelle, shaking her head and giggling. ‘I don’t believe it!’

  ‘It’s true!’ insisted Lucy. ‘I heard it straight from Luke’s sister Matilda. She’s in my dance class. It’s going to be one dollar to kiss them or two dollars to throw a tomato at them instead.’

  ‘You’d have to pay me a million dollars to kiss one of those boys!’ said Bonnie, wrinkling her nose.

  ‘More like a billion!’ said Lola.

  ‘You know,’ said Chloe thoughtfully, ‘they might actually raise heaps of money with that idea. I mean, no-one would want to kiss them, of course. But just think of how many people would like to chuck tomatoes at them. Especially at Luke!’

  ‘Just about everyone,’ agreed Lola. Then she shot a teasing look at Sophie. ‘Except maybe Soph. Because she looooooves him.’

  Sophie went bright red. ‘I do not!’ she prote
sted, trying to karate chop Lola. But Lola quickly dodged out of the way, laughing.

  ‘Chloe’s right,’ said Bonnie. ‘We have to think of something totally amazing for the Help Others challenge if we’re going to beat them.’

  ‘What about –’ started Lucy.

  ‘Hey, I just remembered something!’ Chloe said, interrupting Lucy. ‘I saw a poster from the Lost Dogs’ Home, asking for donations. Maybe we could raise money for them!’

  ‘Great idea,’ grinned Bonnie. Sophie and Lola both nodded too.

  Bonnie turned to Lucy, who was pulling at a loose thread in her top. She looked kind of annoyed. ‘What do you think, Lou?’

  ‘I think it’s rude to butt in,’ replied Lucy. Then she shrugged. ‘But it’s a good suggestion, I guess.’

  ‘Right. The Lost Dogs’ Home it is, then,’ said Bonnie. ‘Now, how should we raise money?’

  ‘We could sell lamingtons,’ suggested Annabelle.

  ‘No,’ said Chloe. ‘The Zebras are already doing that.’

  ‘I know! What about a dance-off?’ said Lucy. ‘People could sponsor us for how long we can dance.’

  ‘Cool!’ said Sophie, jumping up and doing a neat spin.

  But Chloe shook her head. ‘That won’t work,’ she said. ‘Not all of us are good dancers.’

  Lucy rolled her eyes. ‘Well, what do you suggest then, Chloe?’ she said.

  ‘Umm …’ said Chloe. Everyone was looking at her, waiting. I’ve got to suggest something really good, realised Chloe.

  And then, from outside, she heard Mr Paul’s voice. He was talking to the soccer squad on the oval. ‘OK, team. Hit the showers before the bell goes!’ he called.

  Suddenly, an idea popped into Chloe’s head. ‘How about we wash people’s dogs!’ she said. ‘They could pay us three dollars for a small dog and five for a large one.’

  There was a moment’s silence and Chloe held her breath. If they didn’t like this idea she wasn’t sure she’d be able to come up with another one!

  Then Annabelle said, ‘I love it! It’d be so much fun, washing lots of cute little puppies.’

  ‘Dog-washing is hard work, Belle,’ laughed Bonnie. ‘But I like the idea, Chloe. Especially as there are heaps of dog owners around here.’

  ‘I still think we should have a dance-off,’ Lucy muttered under her breath.

  ‘I kind of like the dance-off idea, too,’ admitted Sophie.

  ‘Well, let’s vote,’ said Bonnie. ‘Hands up who wants the dog wash.’

  Chloe, Annabelle, Lola and Bonnie all put up their hands.

  ‘And who wants the dance-off?’ asked Bonnie.

  Sophie and Lucy put up their hands. Then, grinning cheekily, Lucy put up her other hand too. And one of her feet!

  ‘That’s cheating!’ frowned Chloe.

  ‘Oh, would you chill out, Chloe,’ sighed Lucy, flopping back onto the floor. ‘I was just mucking around.’

  ‘Right,’ said Bonnie. ‘That decides it. We’ll have a dog wash.’

  Chloe felt proud. It was cool when people liked your ideas!

  ‘And,’ Bonnie continued, ‘I’m choosing Chloe to be leader of this challenge!’

  Chloe’s mouth dropped open. ‘But I can’t be the leader!’ she protested.

  ‘Why not?’ asked Bonnie.

  ‘Because I’m going to be leader of the next challenge – the performance,’ Chloe blurted out.

  Lucy sat up immediately. ‘Who told you that?’ she said.

  Chloe shrugged. ‘No-one,’ she said. ‘I just figured I would be. I mean, I’m a really good dancer and I’m great at making up routines.’

  ‘Well, I take actual dance lessons, you know,’ said Lucy. ‘Did you ever think that I could be the performance leader?’

  ‘Hang on!’ said Annabelle. ‘What about me? I haven’t been leader of anything yet. And the performance is the last challenge!’

  Chloe stared at them both. She’d forgotten that Lucy took dance lessons. She was in the same class as Dani. And Annabelle was right. It wasn’t exactly fair if everyone else got to lead a challenge except for her.

  ‘Anyway,’ said Lucy, ‘how are you going to dance with a broken arm?’

  Chloe jumped up. ‘I could do it easily!’ she insisted. ‘Watch!’

  Chloe started a dance step that she and Dani had made up. It was a grapevine move with a spin and a clap at the end. Chloe had done it heaps of times in Dani’s lounge room.

  But this time it didn’t go very well. She’d forgotten that her arm was in a sling! When she tried to spin, her arm got caught up and she lost her balance. Then her legs got tangled up and she fell in a heap on the ground. Right there in front of everyone!

  Lucy and Bonnie burst out laughing. And Chloe could see that the others were trying not to join in, too. To make things worse, her cast now had a big dirty scuff down one side.

  Chloe’s face felt hot. A ball of anger started to churn in her stomach.

  ‘Bonnie, you decide who’s leader,’ said Sophie. ‘After all, you’re head Angel.’

  Bonnie sighed. ‘I don’t know why you all want to be leader anyway,’ she grumbled. ‘It’s not that fun.’

  Chloe held her breath. Who would Bonnie choose?

  ‘OK,’ said Bonnie, after a moment. ‘Here’s my decision. Annabelle – it says on the worksheet that there’s going to be an awards night at the end of all the challenges. We have to choose someone from our team to be part of the awards night squad. How about you do that?’

  Annabelle opened her mouth, as though she was going to say something. And then she closed it again, and nodded.

  Then Bonnie turned to Chloe. ‘Sorry, Chloe, but you’re staying as leader of the Help Others challenge,’ she said. ‘The dog wash was your idea after all.’

  Chloe clenched her fists as she felt her face get even hotter. This wasn’t fair! ‘Does that mean that Lucy will be leader of the performance challenge?’ she asked.

  Bonnie nodded. ‘Yep.’

  Chloe saw Bonnie shoot a little smile at Lucy. I bet Bonnie was going to make Lucy leader all along! she thought. The anger inside her felt like a bubble, and it was getting bigger and bigger by the second.

  ‘Fine then!’ Chloe snapped. ‘But don’t expect us to win the performance challenge now. Dani told me that Lucy almost failed their last dance exam.’

  The moment she’d spoken Chloe clapped her hand over her mouth. She couldn’t believe what she’d just said! Dani had told her that as a secret. Chloe had promised she’d never tell anyone.

  Lucy went very white. ‘I only almost failed because I was sick that day,’ she said, her voice wobbling. And then she quickly climbed down the stairs, out of the loft!

  ‘Good one, Chloe,’ said Lola, shaking her head.

  ‘I know, I shouldn’t have said that,’ said Chloe, rubbing her nose. The anger bubble had burst. But she didn’t feel any better. She felt much worse. ‘I got mad,’ she explained, feeling awful.

  Bonnie looked at Chloe thoughtfully. ‘Maybe you shouldn’t be leader of any challenges,’ she said quietly. ‘I mean, what if you keep getting mad all the time?’

  Chloe looked Bonnie right in the eye. ‘I promise that I won’t get mad again,’ she said firmly.‘And I’ll make it up to Lucy, too.’

  Then she drew a little halo around her head in the air with her finger. ‘That’s an Angels promise,’ she said.

  Chloe was deep in thought about Lucy when she walked into her classroom. How was she going to make up with her? When she’d had a fight with Dani she had made things better by being silly. Dani had laughed and things went back to normal.

  But Chloe didn’t know Lucy as well as Dani. She wasn’t sure she could do anything to make her laugh.

  I’ll have to do something really good, thought Chloe. Something that will make her forgive me. That wasn’t going to be easy, though. Lucy had looked pretty upset when she left the loft.

  Chloe wandered over to her desk and sat down. Since Team Terrific had started,
Ms Diamond had let her students sit with their teammates instead of in their usual spots. Chloe had been sitting next to Annabelle and Sophie. It had taken Chloe a while to get used to the new arrangement. She kept going to sit in her old space next to Dani.

  Chloe turned to see if Dani was around. She was sitting up the back with Matt and some of the other Zebras. Dani waved and pulled a funny face. Chloe giggled and waved back.

  She missed Dani. She was the perfect friend – especially for Chloe. She never seemed to lose her temper. And when Dani was around Chloe hardly ever got mad at all. But they had both been so busy with their teams that they’d hardly seen each other recently.

  What would Dani do about Lucy, if she were me? wondered Chloe. Then she realised Dani would never say anything so dumb and mean in the first place! Still, Dani might have some helpful suggestions. I’ll ask her on the bus trip home tonight, decided Chloe.

  Chloe had been so deep in thought that she hadn’t been paying attention to what was going on in the classroom. Suddenly, there was a voice right beside her. Chloe jumped!

  ‘Chloe, are you listening to what I’m saying?’ It was Ms Diamond.

  ‘Yes, Ms Diamond,’ said Chloe, going pink.

  Ms Diamond patted her on the shoulder. ‘Good!’ she smiled. ‘Now, read out what I’ve just written on the board, please.’

  ‘Help Others Day. This Saturday on the school oval,’ read Chloe.

  As she read the words Chloe’s heart skipped a beat. Saturday was so soon! There was loads to do between now and then.

  ‘I hope you’re all organised,’ said Ms Diamond. ‘I expect to see you all there bright and early to set up.’

  Matt put up his hand. ‘Are you going to be there, Ms Diamond?’ he asked.

  Ms Diamond looked surprised. ‘Of course I am!’ she said. ‘There’s no way I’d miss out on such an important day!’

  ‘The Zebras are so going to win this challenge!’ said Matt, puffing out his chest.

  ‘Not a chance!’ said Annabelle, straight away. ‘The Angels will raise heaps more money than you.’