Katy Birchall - The It Girl - Don't Tell the Bridesmaid

For anyone who has ever felt they’re not cool enough.

You’re wrong.

First published in paperback in Great Britain 2017

by Egmont UK Limited

The Yellow Building, 1 Nicholas Road, London W11 4AN

Text copyright © 2017 Katy Birchall

The moral rights of the author have been asserted

First e-book edition 2017

ISBN 978 1 4052 7827 0

eISBN 978 1 7803 1702 1

www.egmont.co.uk

A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library

Typeset by Avon DataSet Ltd, Bidford on Avon, Warwickshire

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Stay safe online. Any website addresses listed in this book are correct at the time of going to print. However, Egmont is not responsible for content hosted by third parties.

Please be aware that online content can be subject to change and websites can contain content that is unsuitable for children. We advise that all children are supervised when using the internet.

Cover

Title page

Dedication and Copyright For anyone who has ever felt they’re not cool enough. You’re wrong. First published in paperback in Great Britain 2017 by Egmont UK Limited The Yellow Building, 1 Nicholas Road, London W11 4AN Text copyright © 2017 Katy Birchall The moral rights of the author have been asserted First e-book edition 2017 ISBN 978 1 4052 7827 0 eISBN 978 1 7803 1702 1 www.egmont.co.uk A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library Typeset by Avon DataSet Ltd, Bidford on Avon, Warwickshire All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Stay safe online. Any website addresses listed in this book are correct at the time of going to print. However, Egmont is not responsible for content hosted by third parties. Please be aware that online content can be subject to change and websites can contain content that is unsuitable for children. We advise that all children are supervised when using the internet.

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

‘You can’t keep me trapped up here forever!’

Jess folded her arms, looking very pleased with herself. ‘Sure I can.’

‘Let me down at once!’

‘Let me think about that.’ She acted thoughtful for a moment, stroking her chin, and then shrugged. ‘No.’

I huffed as my best friend looked up at me, a victorious grin on her face.

‘You know, Anna,’ Jess began, ‘it’s not difficult. You tell me exactly what happened yesterday and I will put back the ladder so you can get down from the attic. Everyone is a winner.’

‘I don’t see how I’m a winner in this situation,’ I argued, shining my head torch about me just in case there happened to be a spare ladder handily up here somewhere. ‘I’m going to tell Dad to never open the front door to you again. I hope you have thought through the consequences of your actions.’

‘I have considered them deeply.’ She smiled, bending down to get her camera out of her bag. ‘I’m pretty sure this is worth it.’ She pointed the lens up and I heard a sharp click as I peered down angrily at her.

‘Well, that is definitely a keeper,’ she laughed, examining the image. ‘You look so cross! Also, you are very pale. Wow, like a ghost peeking out from the darkness of the spooky attic. Good thing we’re going on a school trip where you’ll see a bit of sun. You could really use some vitamin D.’

‘You know, you are being extremely insulting.’

‘I guess the head torch isn’t helping,’ she continued, completely ignoring me. ‘With that on you look like a mole. A ghostly mole.’

‘Seriously. Very rude.’

‘Actually, maybe more like a ghostly guinea pig. I can’t tell. Let me go ask your dad what he thinks. You wait there.’

‘WHY ARE WE FRIENDS?’

As Jess walked off to consult Dad on which rodent I resembled, I kicked myself for listening to him this morning when he insisted that my big suitcase must be stored away in the attic and then for thinking it would be a good idea to go and get the stupid suitcase myself instead of asking him to get it for me.

Of course, I couldn’t have guessed that while I was rummaging about in said attic, head torch attached, that my unfunny best friend would come over and steal the ladder, using it as a weapon to gain information because I had refused to tell her some minor details about a date.

Well, I wasn’t going to let her win, I decided as I heard Jess’s footsteps returning to the landing. I would have to find another way of getting down. There wasn’t much in the attic that could help me in this predicament but I’d have to be resourceful and think outside the box.

‘Your dad reckons you look more like a ghostly guinea pig than a mole, but I’m still undecided. How’s it going up there?’ Jess called as I tried not to sneeze from all the dust I was disturbing in the search for materials to aid my escape.

‘What is going on?’ I heard my dad ask, attempting to join in on the fun.

‘I’m refusing to let Anna down from the attic until she tells me all about her date with Connor yesterday,’ Jess explained.

‘Right,’ Dad replied as though that was totally a rational thing to do. ‘You haven’t read about it in the papers or online? I can show you if you like. It’s just awful.’

‘THANKS, DAD,’ I yelled.

‘I don’t trust reporters to give the whole story,’ Jess informed him. ‘But I can’t imagine it was as bad as they made it out to be.’

‘Oh,’ Dad said gravely. ‘It was.’

I groaned. ‘You’re not helping, Dad. Shouldn’t you be working on your book?’

‘I was actually doing some baking.’

‘Classic procrastination. And you always have a go at me when I have homework and I . . . Aha! ’ I cried victoriously, coming across some old curtains that Dad had never thrown away.

I shuffled eagerly back to the gaping hole in the floor with my new find and began to lower the curtains down. ‘I am just like those dudes in The Great Escape !’

‘Anna,’ Dad coughed, ‘did you just compare yourself getting out of an attic to British soldiers escaping from a German prisoner-of-war camp?’

‘I will simply tie this material to something up here and climb down it,’ I announced proudly to my audience, ignoring Dad. ‘And, Jess, you thought you were clever! You thought you could defeat me! HA!’

Jess reached out and yanked the curtain hard so that it flew out of my hands and landed in a heap on the floor next to their feet.