North of Nowhere Read Online Free PDF Page B

that here, too?”
    The man shook his head. “Not this week, my dear. Auctioneer’s sick. It’ll be back on next week.”
    I turned to leave. “Oh. Sorry. Thanks.”
    Flake and I tromped back around to the beach. Dee had probably heard that the market was off and hadn’t bothered coming. So much for my new best friend. So much for the wonderful day I was going to have. All I’d managed to do was wake up so early that there was even more day to get through!
    I moped along the beach while Flake picked up every bit of wood he could find and dropped each piece at my feet. I threw them for him, but my heart wasn’t in it anymore. Soon, we were back at the arches. The tide was a bit higher than the last time I’d been down, and there were pools of water under the arch. I rolled up my pant legs over my boots and waded through to the other side. I wasn’t even sure why I was bothering, as the boat obviously wasn’t going to be there. But I couldn’t resist having a look, just in case.
    We came out on the other side of the arches and crossed the spit of sand to the jetty.
    It was there! The boat was there! Dee
was
in Porthaven after all! But where was she? And if the market wasn’t on, why had they come?
    I looked around, searching for anything that might answer my questions. A soft wind blew across the sand in reply.
    There was only one thing to do: only one way to find out what she was up to and where I might find her. I was going to have to read her diary again.
    I felt bad doing it, and I sneaked aboard the boat feeling more like a burglar than ever, but the mystery was making me even more eager to find her.
    The diary was in the locker. I opened it at the most recent entry. It was today’s date!
    Hooray! We’re going to the Sunday market today! Father gave me extra pocket money. He says I can spend it on whatever I like. I’ve been saving all this month, so I’m hoping that I’ll have enough for the dress I saw last time. I’m going to see if I can meet up with some of the girls from school.
    A whole group of them have arranged to meet. They didn’t actually invite me. I’m used to that. After letting them down so many times because of the tides or the weather doing the wrong thing, I don’t blame them for giving up on me. Hopefully they won’t mind me tagging along, though. And if I can’t find them, there’s always Richard from the year above us who works at the café at the back of the auction house. He smiled at me this week, and I’m sure he would have spoken to me if he hadn’t been with his friends. Maybe he’ll speak to me today.
    I don’t even know if I really like him. I hardly know him! But I’d rather have someone to talk to than wander around on my own all day. I’m desperate to have some fun. I can’t remember the last time I laughed. It’s been a hard month. People are saying it’s the worst February they can recall, with all the bad weather we’ve had. I’ve missed ten days of school because of it.
    I hope it will get better now. And I hope I’ll have a wonderful time at the market. I’m sure I will! See you later, diary. I’ll come back later and tell you all about my day.
    Love,
    D
    I stared at the page, tracing the date with my finger. It was definitely today’s date. And she definitely sounded like she had come to the market. Maybe she hadn’t realized it had been canceled, after all. Which meant she was around somewhere — but where? And if she
was
here with her friends, would I really have the nerve to butt in and introduce myself?
    I sat on the side of the boat and tried to figure out how I was going to make contact with her, while Flake ferreted around the crab pots.
    And then I had a thought. Probably a very bad thought, but once it had come into my mind I couldn’t get it out.
    There was a black pen hooked onto a thin leather ring on the spine of the book. Without stopping to think about the ins and outs of it too much, I took the pen and opened the book at the