Part 25 (1/2)

James grinned. 'Will you be coming down to breakfast with me, or are you too tough for food as well?'

There were about sixty cherubs in the dining-hall when James and Lauren arrived. It took a couple of seconds for the room to go quiet, then chairs grated backwards and everyone stood up and started clapping and banging cutlery on the table. There were shouts of Lauren and whistles as well.

Shakeel was standing nearby; James looked over at him.

'What's this all about?'

'Your sister,' he said, as if James was some kind of idiot. 'She's the biggest hero in the history of CHERUB. Everyone dreams of getting revenge on Mr Large, but I never imagined any kid would really have the guts to do it.'

Kids piled in from all directions, until Lauren stood in an ocean of hugs and handshakes. A couple of stocky teenage boys hoisted Lauren off the ground, balanced her on their shoulders and took her on a victory parade around the dining-room. She had a mix of emotions on her face; happy, freaked out and afraid of getting her head smacked on a light fitting. As Lauren was galloped around the room, the kids at the dining tables were all pledging to help her dig.

'Dig what?' James asked.

'We heard Lauren's got to clean out the ditches at the back end of campus,' Shakeel explained. 'Everyone is putting on their wellies and going up there Sat.u.r.day morning to help her out. We reckon with a hundred or more kids on the job, we'll get the whole lot cleared out in a day.'

'Cool,' James said. 'That's really great of everyone.'

'It's what she deserves,' Shakeel said. 'I wish I'd belted Mr Large one. There's a collection going around as well. Everyone's putting money in and we're gonna get her something from that shop in town that does trophies.'

Amy came up to James as Lauren was on her third circuit of the dining-room.

'We had a whip round up on my floor,' Amy said. 'We got seventy quid. What's Lauren's favourite shop?'

'She gets a lot of stuff from Gap Kids,' James said. 'Why?'

'There's already more than enough for the engraved tankard,' Amy explained. 'We were thinking of getting her some gift vouchers, or maybe a humongous teddy bear ...'

26. SOCKS.

'You're such a jammy little git,' Kerry said. 'You realise me and Kyle are stuck here on Thornton until this mission is finished?'

It was Friday night. They were in the boys' bedroom and James was packing a hold-all for his flight to Miami in the morning.

'That's the wrong att.i.tude,' James said, grinning. 'We're all equally important members of a team. It's just that my role is toasting on some beach in Florida, while you get to spend half-term here. If you're lucky, someone might start a fire and you can watch one of the derelict houses burn out.'

'You're such a funny guy,' Kerry sneered.

'How many socks do you reckon?' James asked.

'At least one pair for each day.'

James looked in his underwear drawer and realised he only had two clean pairs. He started hunting around the floor and balling odd socks together.

'Aren't those dirty?' Kerry asked.

'A bit,' James said. 'But I've only worn most of them once. They don't smell that bad.' He put one of them under Kerry's nose. 'See.'

'For G.o.d's sake,' Kerry said angrily, pus.h.i.+ng James' arm away. 'They're appalling.'

James gave them a sniff.

'Phew,' he gasped. 'Those ones are a bit ripe. I think they're what I wore to boxing club last night. But most of these are OK.'

Kerry shook her head. 'You're an animal, James.'

She slid off the bed and walked across the hallway to her own room. James' mobile rang.

'Hey, April,' James said. 'Where are you?'

'I'm at the airport with Erin and my mum,' April said. 'We're sitting here waiting to board the plane and I thought I'd say hi.'

'I only saw you a few hours ago,' James said.

'Don't you want to talk to me?' April said, with a hint of acid in her voice.

'Of course I want to talk to you,' James lied. 'It's just ... I'm really busy, packing and stuff.'

'I'm wearing your Nike watch,' April giggled. 'So I can think about you whenever I look at the time.'

'Don't forget to give that back,' James said. 'It's my only good one.'

'Blow me a kiss,' April said.

James shook his head before doing a couple of quick smooches into his phone.

'I think Zara's calling me downstairs, April. I've got to hang up. Have a wonderful trip, bye.'

'James. I-'

'Gotta go, April, sorry.'

James ended the call and tutted. Kerry had walked back in behind him. She was holding four pairs of clean sports socks.

'Girl trouble?' she inquired.

'Don't ask,' James said.

'Borrow these,' Kerry said. 'My feet aren't much smaller than yours. Just make sure you wash them before you give them back.'

'Cheers,' James said, tucking the socks into his hold-all. 'You know, April's driving me round the bend.'

'Why?' Kerry asked. 'She seems like a really nice girl.'

'She is,' James said. 'But she's too intense. She phones me allthe time. She follows me everywhere at school and starts putting her arm around me. If I'm talking to someone else, she pulls me away and whispers stuff in my ear.'

'She's got a crush on you,' Kerry said. 'You should be flattered.'

'It's more than a crush,' James said. 'I bet she's already picked out the wedding dress, and now she's working out the names of our kids.'