Secrets at St Jude's: New Girl (22 page)

Chapter Nineteen

On Fridays, Amy stayed on for an extra hour at school because of Art Club, so she was walking back to the boarding house on her own. Not that this bothered her. It was a warm, sunny afternoon and she was strolling down the path between the high hedge and the tennis courts.

It was slightly surprising to hear a whistle coming from the bushes. Amy carried on walking at a quickened pace. Now she could hear rustling, as if someone was about to burst through the bushes, so she speeded up to a jog, but was stopped in her tracks by the male voice that called out after her.

‘Amy! I’ve been sitting here all afternoon looking for you.’

She swivelled on her heel and there, just five metres or so away from her, dressed in a scruffy version of the St Lennox uniform, was Jason.

248

Secrets of St Judes 16/4/08 4:47 pm Page 249

NEW GIRL

‘Jason? What are you doing here?’ she gasped. Yet again, he’d managed to take her completely by surprise. She’d not heard from him for fifteen days. In that time, she’d sent him four emails
and
a postcard.

Then, when Gina had confided to her yesterday about
Mel
, her toes had curled, her cheeks had burned and she’d wished she’d never set eyes on him. Ever.

And now here he was. Popping out of bushes.

Completely unpredictable. And she couldn’t control the smile spreading across her face at the sight of him.

‘Waiting to see you,’ he replied, as if crouching in a hedge for an hour or so was the most obvious way to arrange a meeting.

‘Why?’ was the question that sprang to Amy’s mind.

Jason looked down at the ground, scraped the front of his shoe across the gravel and for a moment or two looked almost shy.

‘Well . . . you know,’ he began, ‘I’ve been thinking about you. I’ve missed you.’

So . . . despite the four unanswered emails and postcard . . . Jason Hernandez had been
thinking
of her? Jason Hernandez had
missed
her? Then, to recap: Jason Hernandez seemed to have some actual feelings about her, Amy McCorquodale. Internally, Amy was leaping about in a victory dance; she was running 249

Secrets of St Judes 16/4/08 4:47 pm Page 250

SECRETS AT ST JUDE’S

barefoot through grass, rolling crazily down a hill.

Externally, she managed to pull the smile off her face and look at him just a little huffily.

Meanwhile Jason pushed a hand through his hair, cleared his throat a little, then shot her one of his smiles. ‘C’mon,’ he said, walking towards her. ‘Haven’t you missed me too? Just a little bit?’

Amy’s heart, very inconveniently, seemed to have jumped up and lodged itself in her throat, where it was beating wildly and making any chance of saying anything back extremely unlikely.

‘Erghmnm . . .’ was the sort of strangled sound she managed.

He was smiling. Smiling and approaching. Smiling, approaching and holding out his arms. ‘You’re very sweet,’ he said as he got up close. He was very close, then he was right beside her – in fact, definitely too close for a casual conversation.

‘Nmmngh . . .’ she said as she realized he was about to put his arms round her and smack her on the lips.

Then she was scrunched up tightly against him and his warm, coffee-flavoured mouth was on hers.

She found herself closing her eyes, wrapping her arms up and over his neck and then, without any 250

Secrets of St Judes 16/4/08 4:47 pm Page 251

NEW GIRL

intention on her part, she was up on her tiptoes, pressing close to him.

His tongue was sliding against hers and Amy could feel the tingle from the nape of her neck right down to the soles of her feet. If she hadn’t had her arms tightly around Jason, she felt her knees might have buckled.

He broke the kiss off only to murmur, ‘You’re nice,’

right into her ear, and then the smooch started all over again.

She clung on, gradually becoming aware of the ache in her jaw muscles. But she didn’t want this to end.

Not ever.

His hands had slipped down so that he was pulling her hips tightly against his. Amy wasn’t so far gone that she missed the effect this was having on Jason.

Oh my God! I am snogging! In the school grounds!

With Jason! On the school path! And he is so into it!

And then she thought of Mel.

She didn’t mean to think of Mel; in fact she definitely
didn’t
want to think of Mel. At all.

Mel’s violet eyes, Mel’s tarty eyeliner, Mel’s bleached hair. Mel’s hand in Jason’s trousers. Well, that’s apparently where it had been. According to Gina. Jason’s hand on Mel’s boobs. Jason snuggled up in bed with Gina.

251

Secrets of St Judes 16/4/08 4:47 pm Page 252

SECRETS AT ST JUDE’S

Amy suddenly pulled her head back from the kiss, causing it to end with an abrupt smacking sound.

She took a long look at Jason’s handsome face. He was gorgeous. She had thought about this face, this mouth, these lips for weeks . . . months!

He tried to smile but the expression now looked a lot more like a smirk. ‘I really like you, Amy,’ he said.

But his fingers were probably crossed behind his back, weren’t they?

Their lips were in contact again: this was going to be hard, Amy realized. But it was obvious he was an untrustworthy louse. It was obvious she should not be kissing him. Or even speaking to him. She had to break this off right now. But, ha . . . here was the catch.

He kissed . . . he kissed like . . . heaven. She could feel the brush of his long, soft eyelashes against her cheek.

‘Jason . . .’ She pulled out of the kiss again and found her voice. ‘Jason!’ She removed her arms from his neck. ‘Go away, Jason!’ she managed with a wobble, then added, despite the hurt look on his face, ‘I don’t want to go out with you!’

She was mortified to hear something closely resembling a sob breaking through those final words.

That was it. She was finished here. All she had to do now was turn on her heel and make a run for it. But 252

Secrets of St Judes 16/4/08 4:47 pm Page 253

NEW GIRL

as she turned, something caught her eye and held her transfixed to the spot.

It was the hideous vision of Mrs Knebworth storm-ing down the path towards them. There was an expression of absolute fury on her face, and in her hand was a shoe. Despite her rising panic, Amy recognized the shoe. It was Niffy’s.

253

Secrets of St Judes 16/4/08 4:47 pm Page 254

SECRETS AT ST JUDE’S

Chapter Twenty

‘I am astonished at your behaviour! I am utterly, utterly mortified. By both of you . . . What has got into you? What exactly were you thinking of !’

Mrs Knebworth angry was an unattractive sight.

She was flushed, her chins wobbled, her beady little eyes glared. This rant had been going on for about five minutes now and she had worked herself up into a fury.

‘I am writing to your parents,’ she went on. ‘This evening! Have you got any sort of explanation for what has happened? Luella? How did your shoe get into Mrs Bannerman’s records office? At least have the decency to try and explain.’

Niffy had been racking her brains ever since she’d had the summons to go to Mrs Knebworth’s private sitting room straight away. But no excuse had so far come to mind.

254

Secrets of St Judes 16/4/08 4:47 pm Page 255

NEW GIRL

‘I can’t really say . . .’ was all she told the housemistress.

‘I see!’ Mrs Knebworth stormed. ‘Well, you’re gated.

You’ll also go and see Mrs Bannerman first thing on Monday morning. She didn’t have time to deal with you this afternoon.’

Then it was Amy’s turn to face the two barrels of the Neb’s anger.

‘To find you behaving like that in the school grounds! It is just beyond belief. Absolutely beyond belief ! How long has this been going on?’

‘Nothing’s been going on. He just appeared out of nowhere – I didn’t know—’

‘Don’t be ridiculous,’ the Neb raged. ‘Boys don’t just pop out of bushes and start kissing you. This was pre-arranged.’

‘It wasn’t!’ Amy argued back, but that just inflamed Mrs K all the more.

‘Be quiet! What kind of an idiot do you think I am?’

The snippy reply which sprang to Amy’s mind –
A
size twenty-four one!
– fortunately stayed there.

‘You are gated and your father gets a letter from me.

Now off you go to your dorm straight away,’ the Neb instructed.

*

*

*

255

Secrets of St Judes 16/4/08 4:47 pm Page 256

SECRETS AT ST JUDE’S

‘That woman is so totally unreasonable!’ Amy stormed, once she was back in the dorm with Niffy.

‘Letters! Letters? How Victorian is that? Just because she doesn’t want to phone and have an actual conversation with my dad. Jason
did
appear from the bushes completely unexpectedly. And . . . I told him to get lost.’

‘But you snogged him first?’ Niffy wanted to get this straight.

Amy treated her to a furious glare. ‘And what were you doing in the Banshee’s office?’ she asked.

Niffy refused to explain. If she wasn’t going to tell the Neb or the Banshee, then she wasn’t going to tell Amy either. If anyone should explain anything, it was Gina. But so far, Gina had maintained a total silence. ‘And don’t feel you have to say anything,’ Niffy had told her. ‘This is private stuff. Absolutely nothing to do with them.’

‘What about the Freedom of Information Act?’ she shot back at Amy now.

Amy snorted.

‘We should be allowed to see these things,’ Niffy argued. ‘Anyone would think I’d broken into MI5 or something.’

‘I’m going to get Mrs bloody Knebworth back,’ Amy 256

Secrets of St Judes 16/4/08 4:47 pm Page 257

NEW GIRL

promised. ‘I am
so
going to get her back. It’s Sports Day next week, isn’t it?’

Min issued a groan from behind the book she was reading on her bed.

‘Sports Day should be an excellent opportunity to nobble the Neb. What have you got to say about all this anyway, Min? I forgot you were here, you’re so bloody quiet.’

‘Leave me out of it,’ Min instructed. ‘Be grateful you didn’t have to spring-clean the sitting room. That was my punishment for
stealing her spectacles
.’ She looked at Amy significantly. ‘I’ve got enough to worry about.

I can’t worry about your latest prank as well as everything else.’

‘But it wasn’t my fault!’ Amy insisted. ‘At least get that straight.’

‘Oh, whatever.’ Min pulled the book,
Advanced
Level Physics: the Basics
, back up to cover her face.

‘I can’t even think about this!’ Amy wailed. ‘I’ve got to sort out my speech for the debate. It’s only nine days away . . . I’ve written about forty words and they’re all rubbish!’

Niffy let out a long sigh at this information before the door opened and Gina came in.

‘We’re gated,’ Amy and Niffy announced together.

257

Secrets of St Judes 16/4/08 4:47 pm Page 258

SECRETS AT ST JUDE’S

‘Amy can’t be gated for this evening though. The special viewing at the Arts Institute, which you have to go and see for your project?’ Gina reminded her. ‘And I’m coming with you.’

‘Oh yes . . .’ Amy had forgotten. ‘Do you think she’ll still let us?’

‘If it’s for a project, she’ll have to let you.’ Niffy didn’t sound sure. ‘But she’ll be furious!’

‘And who’s to know if we drop in on the Arts Café while we’re there?’ Gina asked, sounding a little mysterious.

‘I can’t go to the café. I’ll have a quick look round the show and then I’ve got to do my speech,’ Amy moaned.

‘But I’ve been thinking about that: what you need is Dermot,’ Gina told her.

‘Dermot?’ Amy sounded confused.

‘Dermot is perfect,’ Gina said.

‘Didn’t know you felt like that about him,’ Niffy snapped.

Gina coloured up a little but insisted, ‘No! Duh! We need Dermot to help Amy with her speech.’

There was a pause before Amy finally got it.

‘Dermot? Oh my God. Dermot!’

Dermot was definitely a comprehensive school guy 258

Secrets of St Judes 16/4/08 4:47 pm Page 259

NEW GIRL

who clearly hated private school types – apart from them, of course. He’d have plenty to say on the subject.

‘Min, are you going to come with us – provided we’re allowed to go, obviously?’ Gina asked.

‘No. Got to go out and train,’ Min replied. She snapped the textbook shut and heaved herself wearily from the bed.

‘Girls! I’ve been counting the hours! What can I get for you?’ was Dermot’s cheerful greeting as Amy and Gina settled themselves into their favourite sofa after a very quick tour of the gallery downstairs.

‘None of those posh nobs joining you today then?’

he added.

‘No, you’re safe,’ Amy told him.

‘You look smart,’ Gina said with a smile. ‘New shirt?’

Dermot was dressed in a sky-blue shirt, crisply ironed and tucked into baggy blue jeans. His white waiter’s apron was tied round his waist. The shirt, so much better than the thin white nipple-revealers he usually wore, matched his blue eyes, which Gina, not for the first time, found herself drawn towards.

‘New uniform,’ Dermot replied with a touch of 259

Secrets of St Judes 16/4/08 4:47 pm Page 260

SECRETS AT ST JUDE’S

pride. ‘We’re shooting upmarket in here. Blue shirts, blue trays, blue mugs . . . so long as they don’t start making any blue food or blue coffees, we’ll be fine.’

‘We want to talk to you about something. You’re not too busy, are you?’ Gina asked, with a glance around the room, which wasn’t nearly as packed as it was on a Saturday.

Dermot perched himself on the arm of the sofa closest to Gina. ‘I am never, never, ever too busy to talk to the Daffodils.’ He grinned at them.

‘Bet you say that to all the girls,’ Gina teased.

‘No, I don’t!’ he insisted. ‘How many other Daffodils do I know? How many other girls have midnight feasts in long white nighties?’