'Just leave me alone!' Rosie insisted, her face still in her hands.

But then Amy remembered all the time Rosie had spent listening to her Jason sorrows. Rosie had only wanted to be nice; had only wanted to be her friend!

So instead, feeling a pang of regret, Amy went and put an arm round Rosie's shoulder.

'You have my old pop sock in your bedside cabinet,' she said, but with a hint of kindly meant teasing.

'Oh no!' Rosie spluttered in astonishment, trying to pull away. 'I didn't want you to know about that!'

'I think you've gone off your trolley,' Amy soothed, 'but it's OK. I'm flattered really you're my very first stalker . . .'

Rosie began to sob freely now, so Amy pulled her towards one of the make-up counters, where she'd spotted a box of tissues.

'Shhhhh . . .' She tried to calm the younger girl. 'You'll get me banned from Harvey Nicks and then my life just won't be worth living. It's all right,' she insisted. 'Everyone does daft things I know I've done-'

Amy broke off mid-sentence, because she'd now seen something really worrying. She ducked down behind the make-up counter mirror, but then couldn't resist taking a furtive little peek.

Was that Jason? Had he just walked in through the front door . . . with another girl?

Amy put her hand on Rosie's arm and ushered her quickly round the corner at the foot of the escalators so they wouldn't be spotted.

'What's the matter?' Rosie asked, realizing that something other than having a devoted fan was on Amy's mind.

'Shhh tell you in a minute,' Amy whispered. She was too busy trying to take sneak peeks at her supposed 'boyfriend' and the girl he was with to be able to give a full explanation right now.

She'd seen this girl before the tall, enviably lovely-looking one. It was the gazelle, wasn't it? It was the girl he'd kissed on the cheeks that day at the cafe. Well, here he was all cosied up with her. Look! They were holding hands and he was guiding her upstairs. On the escalator, he slid his hand into her back pocket and he must have squeezed her b.u.m because she gave a little shriek.

Amy quickly turned away and hid behind a handbag display.

They were probably going up to the top floor together to sip cappuccinos while gazing into each other's eyes, she thought. Or maybe they were going to wander through the racks of clothes, picking out lovely things for each other to wear on all their many future dates . . .

'What's the matter?' Rosie asked with concern. 'You look like you've seen a ghost.'

'Yeah!' Amy replied bitterly, feeling a lump at the back of her throat. 'The ghost of my supposed relationship.'

'That was Jason, wasn't it?' Rosie asked next.

'Yeah.'

'He's so good looking,' Rosie told her admiringly. 'Who was that g-?'

Before Rosie could finish her question, Amy said emphatically, 'Yeah, soooo good looking, but such an a.r.s.e.'

'Are you OK?' Rosie wondered.

'I'm fine, I'm going to be fine,' Amy replied, trying to pull herself together. 'How about you?'

'Yeah not too bad.'

'I'd suggest a coffee, but I really need to get out of here and I still have to get something to wear to the party tonight. Shall we go somewhere else?' Amy offered with a smile.

Rosie smiled back. 'Yeah,' she agreed.

'C'mon then, stalker,' Amy added well, she couldn't resist.

It was 2.15 when they walked into the Arts Cafe, Amy weighed down with the bulging bag containing her costume. She hadn't heard a word from Jason, so if he was still going to show up for their date, she wanted to make sure he'd have a nice long wait for her, so she was a full thirty minutes late.

Sweeping her eyes around the busy room, she could see Gina, she could see Min, both waving in her direction. She could see Dermot rushing towards a table with a tray full of drinks. But no sign of Jason.

If Jason had been here, well, then, there might have been a chance that the gazelle wasn't anyone important. That maybe she was a friend or his best friend's sister, or- Ha! Who was she trying to kid?

Jason wasn't here because he was with the gazelle. You'd have to be a complete idiot not to work that out. And Amy was not an idiot. Definitely not.

'Hi, Gina! Hi, Min.' Amy stuck her most cheerful smile onto her face and walked over towards their table.

'You're so late,' Gina complained. 'We'll have to go in about five minutes to get everything ready. Wait till you see my bugs!' she added.

'Hi, Rosie!' Min said, surprised that Amy had come with her Year Four friend.

'What bugs?' Rosie asked, settling into a chair.

Gina delved in her handbag and brought out a small plastic tub. She lifted the lid and, to Rosie and Amy's horror, revealed a selection of dead insects: fat black beetles, a gangly-legged spider, a centipede.

'Eeuww!' Rosie exclaimed, jerking back from the tub.

'They're not real,' Min explained. 'Gina spotted them in this deli.'

'Liquorice,' Gina confirmed. 'So I'm not eating one, but I thought we could decorate the food with them have a beetle or two in the slime soup.'

'Disgusting . . . but brilliant,' Amy had to admit.

'So where is Jason?' Gina asked, putting her tub away. 'He's not coming then?'

'Jason who?' Amy asked, pulling up a chair. 'Forget it!'

Just then Dermot appeared at her elbow. 'Jason?' he repeated. 'Uh-oh. Invasion of the posh boys due to happen any minute now then, is it? I'd better put on my flat cap so I can bow and doff it at them properly.'

'Oh, very funny,' Gina told him.

'Is he still coming to the Halloween party tonight?' Min asked Amy, wondering why Gina was pulling such a horrified face.

'Not if I can help it.' Amy was desperate to talk about something else. 'You've got to see Rosie's new bag,' she enthused. 'It's gorgeous! I helped her pick it out and it's subtly different from mine!' she teased lightly. 'Then there's my costume for the Halloween party, which is totally fantastic!' She pulled her shopping bag up onto her lap.

'Halloween party?' Dermot was craning over Amy for a little more information now. 'Party?' He looked at Gina. 'At your school?'

'Yeah,' Amy answered. 'At the boarding house. Gina's one of the organizers. Gina, you said you'd invited Dermot,' she added, not realizing what a blunder she'd just made.

Gina began to fiddle nervously with her hair and everyone noticed the unhappy colouring of her cheeks. 'Umm, well . . . yeah, but . . .' she began. How the h.e.l.l was she going to explain this?

Since their art gallery date, Gina had been playing it cool again. She'd told Dermot that she was too busy this weekend and had only offered to 'pop into' the cafe to say h.e.l.lo. It wasn't just the Scarlett note in the diary that had made her decide not to invite Dermot to the Halloween party; it was also because due to the 'prowler' Mrs Knebworth was policing the invitation list like a jailer: every boy invited was listed by age and school. It wouldn't have surprised Gina if they'd had to bring their birth certificates to the door to get in.

But Gina hadn't wanted to put Dermot's name down on that list. She knew he would be the only boy not from one of the private schools and she felt embarra.s.sed about it. The Neb was bound to raise her eyebrows, sniff and ask lots of nosy questions.

Nor did she want to make him feel awkward. She didn't want the Neb interviewing him; she didn't want the other snooty boys at the party looking down their noses at him either. Plus, she was going to have to ask him about Scarlett before she could ever kiss him or go on a date with him again. She was going to have to. No matter how scared she was of hearing the answer.

'Yeah but what?' Dermot asked Gina bluntly. 'Yeah but unfortunately I'm not from St Snooty's and I don't have a dinner jacket hanging in the cupboard, so why even bother asking me? Is that how it is?'

'No!' Gina protested.

'It's fancy dress, anyway,' Amy broke in.

'Oh well, I could have come to that, no problem, Gina!' Dermot insisted angrily. 'I could just have come as myself and everyone would have been totally horrified!'

A very uncomfortable feeling was building up in Gina. Everyone seemed to be looking at her; everyone seemed to be blaming her. No one knew the other reason the real reason why Gina just couldn't relax and enjoy Dermot's company; couldn't yet treat him like a real boyfriend.

'I know all about Scarlett,' she exclaimed, feeling her heart hammer in her chest. 'I know, Dermot.'

'What?' He sounded utterly astonished.

Gina was on her feet; with shaking hands she was scrambling for her bag and her jacket. She just wanted to get out of here. This was the most embarra.s.sing situation she'd ever, ever found herself in. Dermot's dad was coming out from behind the counter; in a moment he was going to tell them all off. Min, Amy and Rosie were all looking at Gina in complete astonishment.

'But what's that got to do with anything?' Dermot called after Gina.

'I think we should just get out of here,' Amy told her friends. They all began to collect their things together so they could follow Gina out.

'And if you see Jason,' Amy aimed at Dermot, 'can you just tell him that boys are a big fat waste of time?'

The moment they walked in the front door, Mrs Knebworth spotted Amy and called out to her.

'In my sitting room, Miss McCorquodale. I've a surprise for you.'

'Oh, brother,' Amy said in a low voice. The Neb's surprises were never usually good ones. What have I done now? she wondered.

The upright piano in Mrs Knebworth's sitting room was overwhelmed by a stunning bunch of pink flowers. Fat pink peonies, deep pink roses, luscious heads of sweet William, all beautifully wrapped in cellophane and tied with a broad satin ribbon.

'Those are gorgeous.' Amy pointed at the flowers, hoping to soften up the Neb for whatever was coming. Perhaps she was going to ask her to dress up as a pumpkin and greet people at the door?

'Aren't they just?' the housemistress agreed. 'I've taken the liberty of putting them in a vase. I hope you don't mind.'

'I don't mind?' Amy asked in confusion. 'Why would I mind?'

'They're for you, Amy.' The Neb gave Amy a rare smile. 'And it's not even your birthday! Lucky girl. There's a card.'

Amy couldn't believe it. Why would her dad send her flowers? Flowers just weren't really his thing. Diamonds, yes; flowers, no.

'Flowers?' Amy murmured in confusion as her friends crowded into the room behind her, eager to take a look at the blooms, not to mention the card.

She tore open the little envelope and read the words: So sorry to miss you. Got called to match at short notice. Will see you tonight. Jason xx.

She closed the card and stuffed it quickly back into its envelope. This was just the final straw. He didn't call. He didn't show up. But he still sent extravagant bunches of flowers! He just didn't have a clue! He was so confusing, she just didn't think she could take any more.

This was the second time Jason had sent flowers. The first time, last term, it had been incredible. But this time it felt like a stunt.

'They look really nice in here,' Amy told Mrs K. 'I think we'll just leave them where they are.'

Chapter Twenty-five.

As the party was due to start at seven thirty, by seven there was noisy, crowded chaos in the boarding-house dorms. Black netting and black maribou trims were unravelling, spider-web fishnets were ripping, witchy black and silver corsets were coming unhooked, black and purple hairspray cans were misfiring and causing all sorts of unexpected problems.

In the Iris dorm, Amy and Gina were surveying their costumes with a degree of contentment. Amy was a cute black cat in a long-sleeved cat suit and a headband with little black ears attached. Gina was wearing a witch's hat, a leotard and a short black tutu. Then she'd added black leggings so as not to give Mrs Knebworth palpitations.

Amy went to her chest of drawers and brought out a plastic box of her own. 'Do you want to see my bugs?' she asked Gina with a mischievous smile, and lifted the lid.

Inside was a small collection of very real insects: two spiders, one still moving, three black beetles, legs wiggling, and a moth.

'Eeek!' was Gina's reaction.

'I thought I'd try and create some fun. I mean, Dermot isn't coming, and if Jason turns up, I'll have to listen to a load of lies and excuses. So let's see who we can get to eat a real bug instead of a liquorice one.'

'Yuck! That is mean, Amy,' was Gina's verdict.

'C'mon, if I got Jason to accidentally eat crunchy Mr Beetle here, you'd laugh, wouldn't you?'

'Well . . . if it's Jason we're talking about-'

Just then the dorm door opened and in came Min. She'd been in the bathroom for some time and now the girls knew why.

Min who had never, to anyone's knowledge, been interested in boys and had never had a boyfriend slipped in with a shy smile, looking like the foxiest version of Morticia Addams ever.

Her slinky black dress had a slashed neckline and a side split that travelled all the way up to mid thigh. Her blue-black hair had been left loose, and the deep purple lipstick and black eyeliner made her look really grown up and gorgeous. But the mysterious thing was that she was fizzing with some sort of secret happiness; it kept bursting out with little giggles and smiles.

'What are you so pleased about?' Amy had to ask. 'Well, apart from the fact that you are going to be the most fabulous girl at the entire party.'

'Nothing!' Min insisted, but let out another giggle.

'You've got a crush, haven't you?' Amy asked. 'I can't believe I've not noticed who it is!'

Then she and Gina began working down the list of boys they knew were coming, with Min screaming out horrified denials at every single one of the names.

That was when they were alerted to a beeping noise coming from Gina's mobile.

'How come you've got your phone?' Min asked.