Keeping it Real (3 page)

Jax blew bubbles rudely in her Coke, and Sky went into fits of giggles.

“Stop it, you big pig! Tell her, Mel! She’s ruining your big moment!”

“Your big moment, you mean,” Jax snorted. “Look, just make your stupid speech then we can go and see the movie!”

Sky self-consciously shook back her hair. “OK, um, I just want to say, don’t think the Shocking Pinks are cheapskates, but we decided it would be better to club together so we could buy you something fabulous.”

“I offered to just nick it,” Jax said shamelessly. “But Sky said nicking a birthday present would be bad karma.”

Karmen put a gift-wrapped box on the table. “Tada!”

My friends watched expectantly as I unwrapped the exact twin to the lamp Lola had just given me in Heaven.

And just like now I was so amazed I didn’t know what to say…

“You hate it, don’t you?” Lola was saying tragically.

I finally found words. “Lola, It’s PERFECT! I can’t believe you got it for me.”

“Step aside Sanchez, my turn to amaze the birthday girl!” Reuben shoved a tiny package into my hand. “As you can see, wrapping presents isn’t really my thing,” he added cheerfully.

This was an understatement. Reubs’ present was virtually unwrapping itself as he was talking; I just caught the glimmering crystal charm bracelet before it fell on the sand.

“It’s totally luminous,” I breathed. “Where ever did you find it?”

He looked a bit embarrassed. “Millie made it. I had to give her all your personal info then Millie picked charms which fitted. See there’s a shell because you have this thing about the sea. This charm’s an ancient angelic symbol for protection, and this star - but I guess you don’t want to hear about every little bead, right?”

“Thanks, Reubs, I love it.”

There was a slightly awkward pause.

“Well, better get back to my DJ duties,” he grinned.

When he was out of earshot, I said, “Um, I don’t think I’ve met Millie?”

“Oh, she and Reubs have known each other for ever,” Lola said.

It has to be her
, I thought. During a late-night talk on our Limbo mission, Reubs had let slip that he had a major crush then flatly refused to give any more information. But a childhood sweetheart who made her own jewellery sounded exactly up Reuben’s street.

Until a few weeks ago, I’d always thought of him as like my angel big bro. But since our soul-retrieval assignment we’d become unusually edgy with each other - in fact lately Reuben had seemed to be going out of his way to avoid ever being alone with me. I was worried I’d upset him. I kept asking Lola if he’d said anything to her. She insisted he hadn’t, but I noticed she didn’t deny he was upset.

My party had been going for over an hour when I heard someone calling my name. I left the lights and the music without a thought, and ran down to the water’s edge, where Michael was waiting.

“I can’t believe you made it to my party!” I bubbled. “I heard you were away.”

I was so happy to see him, I barely registered that our headmaster wasn’t smiling.

“I just got back,” he said in a quiet voice. “Melanie, I realise this is unfortunate timing, but I need you to come with me.”

When I’m shocked, I sometimes do this silly high-pitched giggle. “You actually want me to leave my own birthday party—?”

Then I saw Michael’s expression and my voice trailed off.

He looked unbelievably sad. “I’m afraid so. You see we’ve got to send you back home.”

Chapter Four

R
eflections flickered over my headmaster’s face as he drove us downtown to the Agency building.

We’ve got to send you back home
. The words went round in my head like a sound loop. I was too scared to ask him what was going on. Was I going to be kicked out of school? I’d come dangerously close to being expelled in my first term. Had I crossed another line with my cheeky DIY birthday?

Without taking his eyes off the road, Michael said, “You didn’t do anything wrong, Melanie.”

Still freaked from being snatched from my party, I wasn’t sure I believed him. “Honestly?” I asked tearfully.

He nodded. “You simply weren’t ready for this until now.”

Now I was even more confused. “Sorry to be dense, but what’s changed exactly?”

Michael managed the glimmerings of a smile. “Have you forgotten what day it is already?”

“Oh
right
! You mean because of the upgrade!”

If I’d been thinking at all clearly, I might have asked why someone would need an angelic upgrade just to return to Earth. But I wasn’t thinking full stop.

An amazing possibility had just occurred to me.

“Will I be able to see my family!”

“Of course,” he said warmly. “You must see them while you’re there.”

“And my friends?”

Michael nodded.

“Omigosh, this is SO cool!” I almost kissed him! It wasn’t a punishment; the opposite of a punishment in fact!! I’d passed some big angelic test and for my reward I was going to see all the human beings I loved most in all the Universe.

As we drove into the underground car park, I sneaked a wary look at Michael. Why did he still look so sad ? Why would he be sad about such fabulous news? “This IS just a visit, right?” I asked anxiously.

He manoeuvred into a space and switched off the engine. The pause was just long enough to make my heart turn over.

Our headmaster is such a total sweetie that I tend to forget he’s also an archangel - a being so advanced you can’t even begin to imagine what goes on inside his head. As Michael met my eyes with his intense gaze, I felt like he was seeing deep into my soul.

“It’s not just a visit, Melanie, nor is it an assignment as yet -what we have here is an extremely delicate situation which could turn into your most challenging mission so far.”

Since ‘delicate’ is polite Agency code for ‘impossible’, and ‘most challenging’ is code for ‘really,
really
gruelling’, my mind immediately flipped into overdrive. My first thought was that someone in my family had had an accident or been taken ill. But then wouldn’t Michael just say so?

I followed him anxiously through two sets of swing doors and into a lift. The doors closed and we went humming up into the clouds.

I watched the glowing numerals flash up on the panel, without properly seeing them. I heard myself say, “It’s one of my friends, isn’t it?”

Michael gave a troubled sigh. “At this moment in time, all your friends are giving us cause for concern. I don’t think you realise what a wonderful effect you had on those girls.”

I almost fell over.
I’d
had a wonderful effect! Was Michael crazy? It was completely the other way round!! It was Jax who’d taught me to stand up for myself. And Sky -well, you couldn’t
not
be affected by Sky!

“I don’t think so, Michael!” I objected. “I had NO luck stopping Jax from shoplifting.”

He flashed me his soul-piercing look. “Melanie, until you befriended Eve Jackson, no one ever showed the first sign of caring what happened to her.”

My eyes filled with tears. “I didn’t know.”

“I thought perhaps you didn’t,” he said gently. “That’s why I’m telling you now.”

I was feeling rising panic. “Michael, I know I’ve had the upgrade and everything, but are you sure I’m up to this? Shouldn’t you send a real, grown-up agent? Not to mention someone who’s not so, you know,
involved
?”

He shook his head. “The Agency believes you know your friends better than any adult agent ever could. We have every confidence that you would quickly detect any, shall we say,
unsavoury
influences.”

The way he stressed ‘unsavoury’, I thought I’d sussed what he was telling me. “Don’t say Karms is in love again! That girl has the
worst
taste in boys!”

Michael took a breath, “Melanie, I think I should warn you that Park Hall is not exactly like it was when you left.”

“I’ve only been gone eighteen months in Earth time,” I teased. I was going to say, “Hopefully my mates won’t all be wearing silver jump suits!” But at that moment I caught sight of myself and gave a shriek of horror.

“You’ve got to take me back to school! I’m serious Michael! I can’t go looking like this!”

No way could I go back to the gritty inner city wearing a shimmery lilac slip dress and flip-flops decorated with sparkly stars!

This time Michael actually chuckled. “You won’t have to. I think you’ll find my assistant has already anticipated your needs!”

We hurried along gleaming corridors to Departures, where Michael’s assistant, Sam, was waiting.

He immediately handed me a large flamingo-pink carrier bag from one of my favourite heavenly department stores. “I’d heard you make a habit of going on missions in your party clothes,” he teased, “so I asked one of our stylists to pick out a few mix-and-match outfits. And of course you get our delightful Agency flight bag with all the usual freebies!” he added with a grin.

I dashed off to the cloakrooms to change. I was so impressed with my outfits. The Agency stylist had perfectly captured the inner-city vibe. For the outward journey I picked out a denim jacket, a cute flippy skirt and the most angelicious pink suede boots. Talk about going home in style!

I had a quick rummage through my flight bag. The contents seemed pretty standard - trail mix, Agency journal, comb, glow-in-the-dark pen, mobile - until I found the emergency flares. Why the sassafras would I need flares? I tinkered for a bit with the functions on my tiny Agency mobile, then had a naughty impulse and rang Lola.

She picked up at once almost like she’d been expecting my call. In the background it sounded like my party was really hotting up. I explained that I’d had to bail on my own celebrations because I was being sent back to my old human home.

“We had to zoom off to medieval France in the middle of mine, if you remember!” she yelled over the music.

“I wish you could come too,” I said wistfully. I’d always had this big fantasy of taking Lola round all my fave human haunts.

She gave a sudden shriek. “Omigosh! I only just heard what you said. You’re actually going
home
? That’s HUGE! But I know you’re gonna do great!”

Feeling suddenly tearful, I picked my way back through the crowds of celestial agents waiting for flights out of Heaven.

Eventually I spotted Michael chatting to one of the time technicians. This seemed like a good opportunity to sneak a word with his cute assistant.

“Nice boots!” Sam grinned when he saw me.

“I don’t suppose the Agency mentioned how long I’ll be staying?” I asked anxiously.

He shrugged. “As long as it takes basically, but I should think two weeks max. You’ll be arriving on Friday afternoon as everyone comes out of school. Should make it easy to track down all your mates.”

Sam handed me my angel tags, the little disk that tells everyone we’re on official heavenly business. “And don’t forget,” he reminded me with a grin, “you’re only a phone call away!”

“Yes, Dad,” I said, covering my nerves with a joky laugh.

Michael waved me over. “Any last minute questions or concerns?” he asked quietly.

Only about a billion
, I thought, gulping.

For the first time I was going to be travelling in one of the Agency’s super-slick, one-angel-only time capsules.

As I ducked inside, I gave myself a stiff pep talk.
Melanie, you have survived Ancient Rome!
I told myself severely.
You can surely cope with going back to Park Hall
.

Two weeks max. Three hundred and thirty-six hours of Earth time. I could handle that.

The glass door purred smoothly into closed position.

The maintenance guy held up both hands. Ten seconds to go.

I waved and was surprised to hear a tiny tinkling of crystals. I’d forgotten to remove my bracelet. I nervously fingered the charms.
The shell is because you love the sea. This one is an ancient angelic symbol for protection
…

THREE, TWO. My capsule lit up like solar flares.

WHOOSH! I was blasted out of Heaven.

Reuben has tried to explain angelic time-travel to me SOO many times. As far as I’m concerned it’s just magic!

Picture yourself hurtling through a vast nothingness, inside a fragile glass shell. Outside, starry streams of cosmic energy spiral off to form dazzling whirlpools, which get sucked into bigger, brighter whirlpools, and on into infinity.

You’re looking at something so huge, so mysterious, your mind can’t begin to take it in.

I seriously have to pinch myself sometimes - like,
I’m travelling in Time. I’m a real bona fide angel and I’m actually travelling in Time
!!

Yet this time, as I hurtled through eternity, I didn’t glance outside once. I had almost completely forgotten I was an angel. I only knew I was going home. I was suddenly overwhelmed with memories of my friends. These memories weren’t just like moving pictures in my head. I felt like I was literally living through my experiences again, complete with all the emotions and sensations I’d had at the time. That first day at high school when we all hated each other on sight. The first time everyone slept over at my place and Sky forced us to dye her hair with henna, only we left it on too long and it turned a screaming fire-engine red! The time my mates and I just took off to explore the city, without letting our parents know where we were going, then got back to find Karmen’s mum and dad had called the police…!