Angels

by Meredith Badger

  Maybe I can forget about my soccer mistake, thought Sophie happily. She squeezed her cousin’s hand. For once she was glad that Annabelle had spoken for her!

  ‘OK, kiddos,’ said Mr Stavros in class that day. ‘You’ve got fifteen minutes to finish the maths problems on the board.’

  Sophie finished them in five minutes. She found maths easy.

  I’ll start designing the raft while everyone’s still working, she thought. She opened her drawing pad and picked up her pencil. Usually once she was holding a pencil, her hand would almost start drawing by itself. But that didn’t happen today.

  The trouble was there were lots of things to think about with the raft. Like, what should it be made from? The worksheet said they had to use recycled materials. And it had to be something that would float, of course!

  Sophie shook her head. All these thoughts are getting in the way! So she shut her eyes and drew without looking. She often came up with good ideas doing this. And it was fun, too.

  After a while she stopped and looked at the page. There were lots of squiggles. Most of them looked like nothing. But one looked a bit like a soft-drink bottle. Sophie drew the shape again, this time with her eyes open.

  Plastic bottles float, she thought. Maybe if we stuck lots of bottles together? Sophie drew more bottle shapes, side by side. Would that work? She drew a question mark next to the doodle.

  ‘Five more minutes!’ said Mr Stavros. Sophie looked around. Was she the only one who’d already finished? Then she noticed that Luke was drawing, too.

  Luke reminded her of Patrick Lee from her old school. He had the same cheeky grin and spiky fringe. Sophie knew the other Angels thought Luke was a pain. But Sophie had thought Patrick was a pain too, at first. Once she got to know him better though, she thought he was OK. He was even kind of a friend now.

  I don’t think Luke’s all that bad, actually, thought Sophie.

  Luke was concentrating very hard on whatever he was drawing. I bet he’s designing the Devils’ boat! thought Sophie. I wish I could take a peek. It might help me with my design.

  But just then Luke curled his hand around the page. Now there was no way Sophie could see, even if she wanted to!

  Then Sophie jumped as someone prodded her arm. It was Annabelle, passing her a note.

  I’ve just had the coolest idea! We should make the raft out of really thick cardboard wrapped up in plastic.

  Sophie thought about it. She couldn’t imagine how they would be able to keep the water out, even with lots of plastic around it. So she wrote a note back.

  I don’t think that will work. The water will get in.

  She slid the note across to Annabelle. Annabelle read it, then quickly scribbled something back to her.

  It will work! Maybe we can do the design together? I could describe it and you could do the drawings.

  Sophie looked at the note for a moment, thinking hard. She really wanted to design her own raft, without any help from her cousin. This way she could make the Angels proud she was on their team. But she didn’t want to hurt Annabelle’s feelings, either.

  After a moment, she wrote back.

  Why don’t you design the cardboard raft? It’s your idea after all.

  Annabelle read the note. Then she looked up and grinned. ‘I didn’t think of that!’ she whispered. ‘It’s a great idea. I’ll do the design tonight to show the other Angels at recess tomorrow.’

  Sophie smiled back, feeling a bit guilty. But it’s not like I’ve lied to Belle, Sophie told herself. I just haven’t mentioned that I’ll do my own design as well.

  Sophie spent the whole evening working on her design. She even worked while Home and Away was on. But for once Sophie didn’t mind missing her favourite show.

  It was really fun working on the raft anyway. She wanted to design something amazing. And to do that she needed every second she had. It was bedtime when she finally finished. But it had been worth the effort. Her design looked great!

  When the others see this they’ll be so glad I’m part of the Angels, thought Sophie happily. Then she rolled up her design and put it in her schoolbag.

  What will Belle’s design be like? she wondered. Sophie hadn’t seen many of her cousin’s drawings. Annabelle never wanted to show them to her. I’m sure it will be good, thought Sophie. But all the same she couldn’t help feeling that her design would be a tiny bit better.

  The next morning at recess the Angels met in their headquarters – the loft in the multi-purpose room.

  ‘Right,’ said Bonnie, after checking that there were no spying Devils around. ‘Let’s see your design, Sophie.’

  ‘Soph hasn’t done one,’ said Annabelle. ‘We decided that I should do it instead.’

  ‘Actually Belle,’ said Sophie. ‘I have done one.’

  ‘Hey!’ Annabelle said, frowning. ‘I thought we decided yesterday that I would do the design.’

  ‘Just because you did one doesn’t mean I can’t do one too,’ replied Sophie.

  ‘Yes, it does,’ said Annabelle.

  ‘No, it doesn’t,’ said Sophie, feeling cross. Annabelle was getting so bossy!

  ‘I don’t believe it!’ grinned Bonnie. ‘Are you two actually arguing?’

  ‘We’re not arguing,’ said Annabelle. ‘Sophie just thinks – ’

  But Sophie cut Annabelle off. ‘Stop telling everyone what I think!’ she said, loudly. It was the loudest she’d spoken since she’d started at this school. Everyone looked surprised. Especially Annabelle!

  ‘And stop butting in whenever anyone asks me a question,’ added Sophie. ‘I can talk, you know!’

  Annabelle sat there with her mouth open. Sophie thought she was getting ready to yell back. But instead, Annabelle’s face just kind of crumpled up. Straight away, Sophie felt bad. She had never seen Annabelle look like that before.

  ‘I just thought I was being helpful,’ said Annabelle, her voice wobbling.‘I know it’s horrible being new. But if you want me to stop butting in, I will. In fact, you won’t hear another word out of me!’

  ‘Don’t be such dummies, you two,’ said Lucy kindly, shaking her head. ‘We can look at both designs. Pass them over.’

  Sophie and Annabelle handed their designs over to Lucy, who unfolded them straight away.

  ‘Wow, this one is great!’ exclaimed Lucy, a moment later. ‘Who did it?’

  Sophie looked. It was Annabelle’s design for the raft!

  Chloe leant over Lucy’s shoulder. ‘Hey, that’s awesome, Belle,’ she agreed.

  Sophie examined her cousin’s design. The others were right. It was great! It wasn’t just the drawing, either. Around the design, Annabelle had stuck silver and pink stars. Sophie’s wasn’t nearly as neat or pretty. She’d been concentrating so hard on getting the design right that she’d run out of time to make it look good.

  ‘Wow! I didn’t know you were so good at drawing, Belle!’ said Sophie, impressed. She put her hand out to squeeze her cousin’s arm. But Annabelle shook her off. Sophie’s heart sank.

  ‘We should definitely use Belle’s design,’ decided Chloe.

  ‘I think so too,’ agreed Lucy.

  Then Lola picked up the two designs. She examined one and then the other for what felt like ages to Sophie. And then finally, she said, ‘Annabelle’s design looks great, but I don’t think her raft will work. The cardboard is going to get wet, no matter how much plastic we wrap around it. But I’m pretty sure Sophie’s design will work well.’

  Bonnie nodded. ‘Exactly what I was thinking,’ she said. ‘Plus I know where we can get a heap of plastic bottles.’

  Then Bonnie turned back to the group. ‘So, three of us have voted for Annabelle’s design and three have voted for Sophie’s. What do we do now?’

  For a moment no-one said anything.

  Then Lola spoke. ‘How about we make both of them?’ she suggested. ‘Then we can test them out and see which raft is better.’

  ‘Excellent idea!’ said Bonnie. ‘We’ll split
into two. Lola and I will help Sophie. Chloe and Lucy can help Annabelle.’

  Sophie noticed Lucy bite her lip. Sophie got the feeling that Lucy didn’t really want to work with Chloe. They were very different people! But everyone else seemed keen on Bonnie’s idea.

  ‘I’ve got a pool at my place,’ said Chloe. ‘Let’s meet there in two days’ time to test both the rafts out.’

  Everyone nodded in agreement.

  ‘Great idea,’ said Sophie, turning to her cousin. ‘Don’t you think so, Belle?’

  Annabelle shrugged her shoulders. Then she pointed to her closed mouth and twisted her fingers like she was turning a little key.

  Sophie sighed. She and Annabelle had never had a fight like this before. Usually one of them ended up making the other laugh after a couple of minutes.

  But Annabelle didn’t look like she was going to laugh any time soon.

  I’ve really hurt her feelings, thought Sophie. Will she ever forgive me?

  Sophie spent the afternoon worrying about Annabelle. What if she stayed mad forever? That would be terrible! She was glad when the final bell rang and Bonnie raced over.

  ‘Have you arranged it with your dad? We should get to work straight away.’

  Sophie nodded. ‘Yep. We’ve got all afternoon. He’s going to pick me up from your place at 5.30pm.’

  ‘Well, come on then!’ said Bonnie, pulling her arm. ‘Lola is going to meet us later. We have to beat those Devils! Loudmouth Luke will never stop bragging if they win.’

  ‘All right, all right!’ said Sophie, laughing as Bonnie raced ahead. ‘I’m coming!’

  Sophie didn’t say much as she set off with Bonnie. She was still thinking about Annabelle. But it didn’t matter if Sophie was quiet. Because Bonnie talked enough for both of them!

  ‘We’ve got so many plastic bottles at home,’ she said. ‘Boofhead drinks way too much soft drink. I reckon it’s why his head is so big. It’s filled with gas! Pinhead drinks it too, but not as much. They are supposed to put the bottles in the recycling but they always forget. So there’s a big pile of them in the shed.’

  It’s funny how Bonnie talks about her brothers, Sophie thought to herself.

  ‘How many bottles have you got?’ asked Sophie. She was running to keep up with Bonnie – that girl never ever slowed down!

  ‘Um … Not sure. Maybe fifty?’

  Sophie nodded. ‘That’s good. We’ll need heaps.’

  But when they looked in Bonnie’s shed they got a surprise. There was nowhere near fifty bottles. There was probably only twenty or so.

  ‘Boofhead must’ve finally put them in the recycling,’ groaned Bonnie. ‘Come on. Hopefully we can find some inside.’

  They went into Bonnie’s house, and looked in the fridge. Bonnie grabbed two soft-drink bottles and passed one to Sophie.

  Sophie was confused. ‘Am I supposed to drink this?’

  Bonnie shrugged. ‘You can if you like. I’m just going to tip this one out.’

  ‘But that’s such a waste!’ said Sophie, a bit shocked. ‘And what if your brother gets thirsty?’

  ‘He can drink water,’ shrugged Bonnie. She opened the bottle and started tipping it down the sink.

  Sophie stood for a moment, holding the bottle in her hand. It felt really bad to just tip it out. But they really did need the bottles. So before she could change her mind, Sophie up-ended the bottle. The liquid quickly gurgled away.

  ‘Woohoo!’ chuckled Bonnie. ‘I didn’t think you’d actually do it!’

  ‘Well I don’t want your brother to turn into a burp-head,’ said Sophie.

  Bonnie laughed.

  ‘Hey, you’re pretty funny,’ she said. ‘I didn’t realise it at first, but you are. And you’re kind of naughty, like me!’

  Sophie grinned. It felt good to make Bonnie laugh. But she felt a bit nervous, too. ‘Will your brother be angry when he finds out?’ she asked, looking around.

  Bonnie shot her a cheeky look. ‘Don’t sweat, Soph. Did I mention that this lemonade was flat anyway?’ she said. ‘It’s been in the fridge for ages.’

  Sophie gave Bonnie a push. ‘Bonnie! Were you just testing me or something?’ she said, laughing with relief.

  Bonnie pulled a pretend-shocked face. ‘Of course not!’ she said. ‘But if it was a badness test you totally would’ve passed!’

  The girls found a few more empty bottles in the laundry and some under the sink. But even then they only had about twenty-five bottles.

  ‘Will this be enough?’ asked Bonnie.

  Sophie shook her head. ‘Not even close,’ she sighed.

  The girls looked at each other. Where were they going to get more bottles?

  There was a knock at the door and a familiar voice called out. ‘Hey! Are you guys there?’

  ‘It’s Lola!’ said Bonnie, bounding over to the front door. When she opened it there was Lola, surrounded by bulging green garbage bags.

  ‘What’s in the bags?’ asked Sophie.

  ‘Empty soft-drink bottles,’ said Lola. ‘Mum and I just picked them up from the restaurant where she works. I wasn’t sure if we’d need any more, but I thought I’d bring them along just in case.’

  ‘You’re a lifesaver, Loles!’ said Bonnie. ‘Come on. Let’s take these to the shed. We better start working.’

  Sophie picked up one of the bags. It looked heavy because the bag was so full, but it was actually very light.

  Bonnie grabbed one, too. ‘I can’t lift it!’ she groaned dramatically. ‘It’s tooooo heavvvvy …’

  Sophie giggled. Then she deliberately dropped the bag she was holding on her foot. ‘Owwwww!’ she yelped, hopping around while trying not to giggle. ‘I think I’ve broken my toe!’

  Bonnie laughed. ‘Oh, poor Soph. She’s going to need plastic surgery!’

  Lola tried to look stern. But Sophie could see she was trying not to laugh, too. ‘You two are as bad as each other,’ said Lola. ‘Now pick up those bags and let’s take them to the shed. Otherwise I’m quitting this team and joining the Devils.’

  ‘We’re not as bad as each other,’ protested Bonnie. ‘We’re as excellent as each other!’ Then she grinned at Sophie. Sophie grinned back.

  Once they were in the shed, a thought struck Sophie. ‘What will we stick the bottles together with?’

  Bonnie started looking around in the drawers. ‘I’m sure Dad’s got something in here we can use.’ After a moment she pulled out some fat rolls of silver gaffer tape. ‘What about this stuff?’ she said. ‘It looks strong.’

  Sophie nodded. ‘That’s perfect. And it’s on the list of materials we can use!’

  There was total silence as the girls worked. Each of them had a job to do. Lola cut lengths of gaffer tape. Bonnie held the bottles while Sophie stuck them together.

  Sophie wondered occasionally what Annabelle, Chloe and Lucy were doing.

  But the girls kept working. Then after about an hour, Bonnie groaned and flopped onto the floor. ‘OK, break time!’ she declared.

  Sophie and Lola stood back and looked at their work.

  ‘Wow!’ said Lola. ‘It actually looks like a raft, don’t you think?’

  ‘Totally!’ agreed Bonnie.

  Suddenly, there was a noise outside. It sounded like something scraping on the side of the shed, just below the window. Quickly, Sophie flung a nearby blanket over the raft.

  ‘Who’s there?’ called Bonnie.

  At first there was no reply. Then the girls heard a familiar chuckle.

  Bonnie rolled her eyes. ‘Guess who lives two houses away?’ she muttered. Sophie and Lola groaned.

  ‘Loudmouth Luke, are you spying on us?’ demanded Lola. Luke’s spiky head popped up at the window.

  ‘Sorry, Angels!’ he grinned. But he didn’t look sorry at all.

  ‘If we catch you spying again we’ll tell Mrs Clarke,’ Lola warned.

  ‘Don’t worry. I didn’t see anything,’ said Luke. ‘Anyway, I figured it was OK to look because Sophie was h
aving a good gawk at my work yesterday.’

  Sophie flushed. He’d caught her!

  ‘I …’ she said. But then she stopped. She didn’t know what to say next. Usually by now Annabelle would have said something clever to shut Luke up. But Annabelle wasn’t around. Sophie was going to have to think of something herself.

  ‘I wasn’t looking at your work,’ she said quickly. ‘I was wondering which zoo you escaped from!’

  Bonnie and Lola laughed.

  ‘Good one, Sophie!’ said Lola. Then she looked at Luke. ‘Off you go back to the zoo, Monkey Boy,’ she said. ‘It’s probably feeding time by now.’

  Luke pulled a monkey face. Then he disappeared.

  ‘He’ll be back for sure,’ said Bonnie. ‘How are we going to stop him spying on us again?’

  Sophie looked around. Nearby was a large piece of cardboard. Sophie got her favourite texta out of her bag, and started to draw.

  When she’d finished, Bonnie and Lola giggled. Sophie had drawn a picture of the three of them! She’d made them look really mad, with little puffs of steam coming out of their ears. Underneath she’d written, Angels at work. Devils keep out! Then she stuck it over the window.

  ‘That is totally cool,’ said Bonnie.

  Lola nodded in agreement. ‘You’re the best drawer, Soph! We’re lucky you’re in the Angels.’

  Sophie smiled happily.

  The next morning Sophie met the Angels in the loft, as planned. Annabelle was in the corner, talking to Chloe. Sophie paused. She’d been so busy with the raft that she’d almost forgotten about the fight.

  Maybe Belle has forgotten, too? thought Sophie hopefully.

  ‘Hi, Belle!’ said Sophie, walking over. But Annabelle turned away. Sophie sighed. This was the longest they’d ever gone without talking!

  Then Bonnie bounded up the stairs. She didn’t seem to notice what was going on. ‘My dad dropped our raft around at Chloe’s place this morning,’ she said. ‘Did you peek, Chloe? I bet you did!’