Making Waves Read Free

it’s you !
    “Brice made a big mistake,” Lola explained solemnly. “One day he woke up and found himself on the totally wrong side in the cosmic war. He needed to find a way back home, and you were it, girl.”
    Maybe, maybe not. But when the heavenly authorities finally agreed to let Brice come back to our school, I was disgusted. I couldn’t believe I had to share Heaven with this devious dirtbag!
    To listen to our headmaster, Brice’s dodgy past was all water under the bridge. Michael’s theory was, if you wait long enough, trees evolve into diamonds, and bad boys eventually come good.
    At the time I was like, yeah right, and we’re all made of Stardust and what’s that got to do with the price of cheese? But now I’ve started to wonder if there might be something in this evolution stuff after all, because my feelings towards Brice slowly began to change.
    It was disturbing at first, looking up in the library to see my cosmic enemy feverishly turning pages at the next table. Plus, for a boy who once hobnobbed with demons, he looked alarmingly vulnerable. I’d seen Brice’s dark and dangerous side, however, so I had no intention of being suckered in. But as the months passed, I started to get used to having him around.
    After he came with me and Lollie to Victorian times, I began to feel almost, well, fond of him.
    The day after we got back from ancient Egypt, Brice was slumped at the back of the class wearing his shades, and a ripped black T-shirt that said ASTRAL GARBAGE.
    He wasn’t the only one feeling hungover that day. We’d all been humungously affected by some toxic ancient Egyptian vibes. Everyone was suffering, including Mr Albright.
    Halfway through the lesson, our teacher noticed my new Emily Strange top and went up the wall!
    “A garment decorated with a skull and crossbones design is not suitable for school, Melanie,” he said in a shocked voice.
    “It’s sweet,” I protested. “It’s a sweet, fun, retro thing.”
    “Pirates were not sweet, Melanie,” he corrected. “They certainly weren’t fun. They were calculating, cold-blooded murderers.”
    Lola and I secretly hid our smiles. You see, on our trip to Elizabethan England, Lollie and I had met the sweetest pirate ever. His daughter, Cat Darcy, was in love with Shakespeare. I’m truly not name-dropping, it’s true! Though actually, the world’s most famous writer went under the name of Chance, back then. He was going through a really bad patch and Cat’s pirate dad helped to straighten him out. Listen, I’m not saying piracy is cool. And I’m not saying Cat’s father was a harmless pussycat. I’m just saying that even a pirate can surprise you by having a heart.
    Mind you, I was pretty sure Mr Allbright knew this already. And to be fair, our teacher is not normally the type to stress over an innocent fashion statement.
    He was stressing because:
    1. He’d been zapped by toxic vibes like everyone else, and
    2. We were rapidly approaching the end of term and NO ONE in our class had shown any interest in entering the HALO awards.
    “I’ve got entry forms here,” he said reproachfully at the end of the lesson. “Think about it at least.”
    Lola and I weren’t paying much attention. We had to dash to the library to catch up on an overdue assignment. We’d been scribbling for about ten minutes, when Brice mooched around the stacks.
    “Fancy skiving off?” he said in a casual voice.
    Lola sighed. “I wish. Unfortunately we have to do this thing.”
    Brice cleared his throat. “That’s a shame. I had a proposition. I was wondering if you’d both be interested in a joint entry for the HALO awards.”
    Lola looked puzzled. “Who with?”
    He went red. “Well, me, obviously.”
    I couldn’t believe my ears. “You are kidding!”
    Brice scowled. “Is there some reason I shouldn’t enter?”
    “Of course not,” said Lola quickly. “The awards are open to every trainee in the school.”
    “You’ve got to admit