A couple of days later Aunt Thecla came round so that we could tell Dad together about Murray’s motorbike. She and Dad were on pretty friendly terms again. She’d told him where she’d really been that night when he was caught in the Godwin house, and she’d asked him to forgive her for lying to him. Dad hadn’t talked about it afterwards – not to me at any rate – but at least I could be sure that he knew the truth now.
As I’d expected, Dad didn’t jump up and down with enthusiasm straight away. In fact, he looked a bit dazed when he first heard that Murray’s old bike had been found, and he couldn’t seem to decide if he wanted to take a look at it or not.
Tansy’s dad had done as I’d suggested and spoken to Bill about Sam. Bill had agreed that when Sam’s leg was better he could restore the bike at his garage, and that he would supervise. All he asked was that Sam did some odd jobs about the place while he was there, and that Dad gave Bill first refusal if he decided to sell the bike after it was fully restored.
‘If you two think I’m going to facilitate Sam building another motorbike then you must be a whole lot crazier than I thought!’ Dad responded when we told him that.
‘But, Paul, this isn’t just any motorbike,’ Aunt Thecla said softly. ‘It’s the one you rode with Murray.’
‘Who died in a bike crash, remember?’ Dad said.
‘But not on this motorbike,’ Aunt Thecla insisted firmly. ‘Anyway, you don’t have to keep it if you still feel that way at the end of the day. In any case, this will keep Sam occupied while Bella’s at school. And if he and Bill get along, Bill says he’ll take him on as his new apprentice when the boy he has now finishes at the end of the year.’
Dad sighed. I could tell Aunt Thecla’s reasoning had got to him. ‘Well, I suppose if the bike comes free and if it could lead to Sam having a job, then it might be worth considering. If Sam’s up for it, that is.’
‘Don’t worry. He’ll be up for it,’ I said.
And of course Sam was.
* * *
I couldn’t believe how soon the summer holiday ended and it was time for us to start the autumn term.
Mum drove all three of us to St Clara’s on our first day.
At the senior school reception we found three other girls of differing ages standing around waiting. Mum left Bella and me on our own and dashed off to the junior department with Grace. Bella immediately started pacing up and down, looking bad-tempered and unfriendly. I knew it was just because she was nervous but I wished she’d stop. I tensed as our headmistress, Mrs McLusky, approached us.
‘Good morning, girls,’ she said in a calm voice. ‘And welcome to St Clara’s.’
Suddenly another girl burst in through the doors, looking flushed and anxious. ‘Sorry I’m late,’ she blurted, and I was totally shocked to see that it was Katie. She looked really different in her smart St Clara’s uniform.
Mrs McLusky talked to us all in a very relaxed manner as she led us to our form rooms. I stayed close to Bella and made a point of not looking at Katie. What was she doing here when she’d said she went to school in Castle Westbury? I was starting to get a horrible panicky feeling. What if she turned all the other girls against me? What if I got too nervous to stand up for myself and they all laughed at me? I felt tears prick my eyes and I had to remind myself what Mum had told me last night when she’d spotted how nervous I was getting: ‘Just be yourself, Libby. That’s good enough!’ The trouble was, I so badly wanted to fit in here.
When Mrs McLusky stopped to show one of the other girls to her form room, I turned to Katie and blurted, ‘How come you’re here?’ It came out a lot more awkwardly than I’d intended.
Katie answered me a bit warily. ‘Mum and Dad wanted to send me here before, but they couldn’t afford it. Now my dad’s got a new job, so they can. I didn’t know I had a place here until last week. Someone who was meant to be starting dropped out.’
Bella was looking at us curiously ‘You two know each other?’
‘A little,’ Katie said politely.
I nodded, trying not to blame Katie for being here when Tansy wasn’t.
‘So what did your pals say about it?’ I asked a little sharply.
She pulled a face. ‘I haven’t told them yet. I guess they’ll find out when they get to school.’ She paused. ‘I’m sorry they weren’t very friendly to you before.’
‘All right, girls,’ Mrs McLusky said as she rejoined us. ‘Katie and Libby, your classroom is next.’
I glanced at Katie, who was nervously chewing her bottom lip. Maybe she wasn’t looking to make trouble for me after all. Maybe, like me, she just wanted to fit in.
I caught Bella’s eye as we prepared to go our separate ways. I could see she was feeling really tense – worse than me, in fact. I can’t say I blamed her.
‘See you at break?’ I asked, deliberately making it a question because I remembered how she’d never liked to be seen with me at our last school. ‘I promise I’ll try not to embarrass you by being too dorky,’ I added with a smile.
She smiled back. ‘Don’t be daft – I’m glad you’re here!’
‘You’ll be fine, Bella,’ I told her. ‘Just be yourself and everyone will like you.’ I had a flashback then to a time long ago when I was the one who was scared to go to school and she was the one who took charge. I wondered if she was remembering that too. Judging by the sparkle in her eyes, I think maybe she was.
I felt strangely brave and calm as I stepped into my new classroom. I even felt a tiny bit excited. After all, I was Libby. I could do this.
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