Dodging Disasters ✔

Chapter Twenty

Photograph won with the most votes! Fight Song came close second! Thankyou to all who voted! :)

20. It's Gonna Be Legen-Wait-For-It-Dary!

"I still can't believe this," Anna says, digging into the second packet of chips that Tyler's mom had sent for me. "I wouldn't have ever imagined that woman to have kids. She's terrible."

I sigh. I'd finally told Anna the truth. Mom's constant threats kept coming to me but I ignored all of them. Only when I finished did I realise how bizarre my story was. But Anna somehow knew that I wasn't lying this time. And the fact that Jason had reminded her of mom the first day she'd seen him, helped convince her that I was actually Georgia Fray's daughter and not some attention seeker who liked to pretend that they were some celebrity kid.

"I never knew she could be so cruel." Anna shakes her head and I manage a smile.

"There's a reason we refer to her as Umbridge." I shrug.

Anna grunts. "Oh I hate that woman!"

I laugh."Me too."

Anna places her hand on top of mine and says, "Your secret is safe with me,you know that right?"

I nod. "I'm sorry for having hidden it, I didn't have any other choice."

She gives me a sad smile. "I understand Mads. I know what kind of woman Georgia is." She shakes her head. "I can't believe Kay bought the lie."

I slowly let out a breath. "Me neither. But let's keep it that way. I can't risk telling anyone else this secret."

"Of course you can't!" Anna says and taps me on the shoulder. When I look up, she smiles broadly and whispers, "Now we are each other's secret keepers, Mads!"

■ ■ ■

The next week goes by in a blur. Matilda, the librarian hasn't spoken to Pigeon eggs about reducing our punishment and I know for sure that she wasn't going to either. Not a lot of people voluntarily worked at the library and she needed all the help that she could find.

I try to avoid Tyler but it isn't possible because we have to practice for the music competition and we also work at the library together. He keeps winking at me and it only reminds me of the video in his phone that I'd do anything to get my hands on to delete it.

We had narrowed down to Photograph, finally, and we would practice in the morning everyday, when the music room would be vacant. Not a lot of people woke up early to practice music so we'd always find the room to ourselves.

I hadn't had the guts to tell any of the girls about Tyler and the video so every time I complained about him for no apparent reason, Susan and Kay would giggle and wiggle their eyebrows while the others insisted I was just being a whiny bitch.

Also, as Kay and Alex had started dating, the boys would always hang out with us every now and then and I'd find myself staring at Travis a little too much. He had the same twinkle in his blue eyes that Finn had once had and though my heart ached at the thought of it, the talk I had with Professor Woods would come back to me and I would successfully be able to hold back the tears now.

I hadn't talked to Travis about Finn, so on Friday morning when I enter the music room for practice with Tyler, ten minutes early, I'm surprised to see Travis seated on one of the chairs, busy on his phone. He doesn't notice me so I awkwardly stride to the door at the far end, and open it.