A Hole in the World by Sophie Robbins Read Free Book Online Page B

then?’ he says to her, with a grin.
    Bianca’s eyes widen. ‘You know Alexandra, Scotty!’ she exclaims, overly cheerfully. ‘From school ?’
    ‘No, I don’-’ He breaks off when Bianca’s foot impacts his shin under the table. ‘Oh! Alexandra. Of course. Yes. Of course I know Alexandra.’ He stuffs more toast in his mouth, pulls his phone from his pocket and starts thumbing through his text messages.
    ‘So, what lessons have you got today?’ Julia asks, sitting down again and pushing a mug towards Scotty, who accepts it with a grateful smile and fills it to its brim with black coffee. Bianca pulls a face at him, noting, with distaste, that Julia didn’t bring her one and stops Alexandra from reaching for the coffee. The last thing Bianca needs is a caffeinated princess on her hands.
    ‘I’ve got double maths.’ She groans. ‘Then, English, bio and chem...’ She sighs. ‘I miss fencing. I used to have fencing on Mondays.’
    ‘You did fencing?’ Julia says, her mug of coffee held in her hands by her mouth.
    ‘Yeah, Missus W.!’ Scotty exclaims. ‘At St Mary’s, she was one of the best in the fencing class.’
    ‘Actually,’ Bianca interjects, ‘I was the best. I beat the best, in fact.’
    ‘Which is why she’s not allowed near sharp objects anymore,’ Scotty announces. Bianca sticks her tongue out at him in return. He takes a long swig of coffee and sighs, happily. ‘Missus W., I do believe you make the best coffee in all of England.’
    Bianca rolls her eyes, but Alexandra points at Julia and says, quietly, ‘Missus W.?’
    Bianca nods. ‘Yeah,’ she says. ‘My mum; Julia Western. Missus W.’
    Scotty goes in for some more toast, coffee mug held in the same hand as his phone. He somehow manages to turn his hand over without spilling the coffee and glances at his watch. ‘Biancs, we should go if we want to get to school on time.’
    Bianca groans. ‘Okay, okay,’ she says, scraping back her chair and standing up.  ‘Come on, Alexandra.’ She reaches out and catches the other girl’s hand, pulling her to her feet and rolling her eyes when she dives in for once more slice of toast and marmalade. ‘We’ll get you more food at school.’ She shudders to think how much Alexandra will weigh by the time she’s returned to her kingdom.
    Scotty grabs his bag from beside Bianca’s and passes hers to her as well, with a smile. She accepts it, gratefully, and throws it over her shoulder, rifling through it as they walk outside. It takes her until the end of the path to realise her error. ‘I forgot my maths book,’ she says, with a sigh, grinding to a halt. She presses Alexandra’s hand into Scotty’s. ‘Look after her for a moment for me,’ she commands.
    ‘Bianca!’ Scotty shouts, apparently terrified of having hand-holding thrust upon him, but Bianca has already hurtled back into the house.
    By the time she comes back a couple of minutes later, Alexandra is in tears.
    ‘What the hell happened?!’ she demands, running over to her new friend and wrapping her arms around the blonde, throwing a dirty look Scotty’s way.
    ‘She just... just... she started shouting your name and burst into tears!’ Scotty exclaims, looking as horrified as Bianca feels.
    ‘It’s okay, it’s okay,’ Bianca whispers into Alexandra’s hair, one hand stroking it while the other holds her close. ‘Scotty’s a friend. He’s safe. Really!’
    Alexandra pulls back a tiny bit and looks at her with tear-filled eyes. ‘This world... it is big and frightening. I thought you had left me forever and I became anxious...’
    ‘I just went to fetch this,’ Bianca says, producing her maths book with a small smile. ‘I promise I’ll always come back for you, okay?’
    Alexandra nods and smiles. ‘O-kay,’ she says, cautiously.
    ‘Biancs, can I talk to you for a moment, please?’ Scotty says, grabbing Bianca by the elbow and towing her across towards the potted plants to the left of the path.