Going for Gold by Annie Dalton Read Free Book Online Page B

shocked, I won’t deny it. Then I thought, Get real, Mel! Did you honestly think Brice was the only cosmic dropout in the Universe?
    If I’ve learned one thing from knowing Brice, it’s not to judge anybody ever again.
    “I would be proud to be your friend, Maia,” I told her. “I think you’re really brave to be so upfront. Everyone deserves a second chance, no matter what they did.”
    Maia’s eyes filled with a sudden strange longing. “You don’t mean that?”
    “I do mean it, Maia! If I get the chance I’m going to tell those pinheaded angel girls at your school what I think of them! They should be supporting you, not treating you like a cosmic outcast!”
    Maia let out a half-sob. “You’re amazing, you know that? No wonder Indigo thinks you’re lovely.”
    I felt my heart skip a beat. “Indigo thinks I’m /ove/y?”
    She giggled tearily. “Are you kidding? Know what he told his best mate?”
    We were getting to know each other so fast, I felt almost drunk. As we talked on into the night, I started to feel strangely blurry at the edges, as if I couldn’t tell where I ended and Maia began. She’d taken such a risk, sharing her dark secret, it seemed like I owed her one in return.
    So I told her about my biggest ever failure as an angel. I told her about me and Sky.
    When I got back to our room, Lola was sitting up in bed reading.
    “Didn’t you get my texts?” she demanded. “You should have got one. I sent about a zillion.”
    My excitement fizzled out like a dud firework.
    I was such a bad friend. Not only had I abandoned Lola in a strange country two nights in a row, I’d shared personal info with Maia that I was still keeping back from my best friend.
    I didn’t say any of this. That would have been the sensible thing to do. I just tried to laugh it off. “I didn’t get any texts,” I said brightly. “We must have been in a cosmic black spot.”
    “What were you doing though, wandering around all by yourself at this time of night?”
    “I wasn’t alone,” I protested. “I ran into Maia, that angel girl I told you about. She took me to the coolest place. You’d love it!”
    Lola shut her book with a snap. “Is that right?”
    “She goes to Indigo’s school. Apparently she knows Brice really well.”
    I didn’t explain how Maia came to know Brice. That was Maia’s secret, plus she’d made me promise faithfully not to tell.
    “Seems weird I haven’t seen her about.” Lola was punching her pillow with more force than strictly necessary.
    “Why’s it weird? Maia doesn’t like crowds that’s all. Not everyone is a big show-off like you, you know!”
    The cruel words just burst out. Lola quickly switched off her lamp. Her voice sounded incredibly hurt. “You should get some sleep. We’ve got another early start.”
    No fun always being the understudy, is it, sweetie? whispered Maia’s voice in my head.
    “It’s not really up to you when I go to sleep, is it?” I snapped. Pointedly switching on my lamp, I picked up my shiny new paperback and settled down to read.

Chapter Eight
    M y book was still lying open on my face when Lola’s alarm clock jangled us awake two hours later.
    I managed to get myself washed, dressed and on to the tour bus, by telling myself my new friend would be there.
    She didn’t show. As the bus doors slid shut, I felt really confused. I’d assumed she’d be as keen to see me as I was to see her. I didn’t know what to think. Was it something I said?
    I thought of calling Maia back on her mobile but Lola was beside me, stony faced. She hadn’t said a word since we got up. It wasn’t such a long drive to the time site, but with my friend giving me the big silent treatment, it seemed a LOT longer.
    It was technically morning by the time we arrived at the temple, but the sun stayed stubbornly behind yellowish cloud.
    We climbed up crumbling steps between rows of weather-beaten statues depicting Egyptian gods wearing that bizarre headgear that