Angel Creek Read Online Free PDF Page B

mad for long.

7
    the bullies
    Jelly and Gino climbed the apricot tree, searching for fruit that hadn’t been pecked by the birds. The good apricots were high up, near where the branches became too thin to hold them. From there they could see over the back fence, over the creek, as far as the school.
    Neither of them mentioned the angel but Jelly knew they were both thinking about it. She hoped it wasn’t too hot in the shed. There was a breeze at the top of the tree but Jelly was still sticky with sweat and apricot juice. Above them fine clouds like fairy floss scudded across the sky. The heat pressed down on their scalps and turned their faces pink. Gino threw an apricot stone into the vegetable garden in front of Nonna’s fl at.
    â€˜Careful,’ Jelly said. ‘Nonna will kill you if you touch her tomatoes.’
    Gino grinned, then his face fell. ‘Nonna’s not going to die, is she?’ he asked in a small voice.
    â€˜Of course not,’ Jelly said, but she heard the hesitation in her voice. The thought made her sick. She couldn’t imagine what it would be like if her grandmother was gone. Nonna had lived with them since Jelly was small. Since her nonno had died. Every day after school it was nonna who listened to all the intricate details of Jelly’s day: who was fighting, which girl had the nicest hair, which boys had been particularly annoying or smelly.
    Gino spat out an apricot stone and sighed. ‘I wish you had a pool.’
    â€˜Me too.’
    â€˜Can you swim in the creek?’
    â€˜Yuck,’ Jelly said. ‘Don’t think so. We could dunk our feet though.’
    â€˜Good idea,’ said Gino, and without another word they were out of the tree and over the fence.
    It was much cooler by the water. Jelly and Gino waded in the shallows and watched insects skitter across the glossy mud. In the tunnel, two boys were throwing stones into the water.
    â€˜They’re the boys who rode past last night.’ Jelly frowned. ‘They’re always in the tunnel.’
    â€˜From your new high school?’
    â€˜Yeah.’
    She watched as one of the boys picked up a big stone and hurled it at a duck, missing it by only a few centimetres. The boys laughed as the duck paddled away, quacking indignantly.
    â€˜They shouldn’t do that,’ Jelly muttered.
    â€˜Why don’t you tell them?’ Gino grinned. ‘Go on, I dare you.’
    Jelly faced him. She knew it was a stupid dare but she couldn’t resist the opportunity to impress Gino. ‘All right. I will then.’
    â€˜I was joking .’
    â€˜Just watch me.’
    Jelly strode towards the tunnel trying to hide her nerves. Even though she had seen the boys around the creek most days she had never been this close to them and had certainly never spoken to them. One of the boys was tall and lanky with a face like a pepperoni pizza. The other was short and stocky and looked like he hadn’t evolved much from his caveman ancestors. Both of them glared at Jelly as she entered the tunnel. Part of her, the sensible part, told her she should just keep walking—right through the tunnel and out the other side. Gino wouldn’t think any less of her. But the other part of her felt angry. Angry enough to say something without thinking of the consequences.
    She heard her voice come out smaller than she had hoped. ‘You shouldn’t throw stones at those ducks. You might hurt them.’
    Neanderthal Boy snorted.
    â€˜So?’ said Pizza Face.
    â€˜So…just that. You should leave them alone. They haven’t done anything to you.’
    Pizza Face’s eyes narrowed. ‘Who says?’
    â€˜Yeah, who says?’ Neanderthal Boy chuckled.
    Jelly chewed her lip while she considered her next move. Going back the way she came was looking like the best option. Walking straight ahead would require more confidence than her quaking legs could muster. Another boy