Sugar and Spice. Jean Ure

playground. It was quite scary. I jumped and gave this little pathetic bleat. Brett said, “Where ya goin’, Goofball?”

      I said, “Going into s-school.”

      I mean, where else would I be going?

      “Wotcha got in yer bag?”

      “N-nothing!” I clutched my bag very tightly with both hands. “I haven’t got anything in it!”

      “Wotcha mean, you ain’t got anyfink in it? Wotcha carryin’ it for?”

      “It’s just s-school stuff.” I cast round, desperately, but the playground was empty. I’d done my usual trick of arriving late, after the bell. It was just me and Brett Thomas!

      “Give it us.” He reached out and grabbed the bag from me. There wasn’t anything I could do; I had to let him have it. Brett Thomas was a real hard nut, he’d bash your head in soon as look at you. Even Karina, who didn’t mind giving a load of bad mouth to Julia Bone, wasn’t bold enough to stand up to Brett Thomas. Nor was Julia, come to that. Nobody was.