Keeping it Real by Annie Dalton Read Free Book Online Page A

little motherless puppy, man!”
    Jools suddenly looked horrified. “My manners! Did we even introduce you?”
    I shyly shook my head.
    “We’ve given you such a terrible welcome,” she wailed. “First the guys kidnap you off the street then we tell you have stinky boots, and then we don’t even— OK, let’s do it now. This is Delphine, this is Tallulah, and Sleeping Beauty here answers to Dino.”
    I stood there in my socks, nodding and smiling, but absolutely no info was going into my brain.
    “When did you last eat, angel girl?” Brice interrupted.
    Hendrix had reappeared with my decontaminated boots. “I could murder a pizza personally - how about you guys?”
    “You get pizza?” I said amazed. “You don’t just live on trail mix?”
    “Don’t talk to me about that stuff!” said Jools with feeling. “Girl, it gives me the worst wind!”
    I creased up laughing. “Doesn’t it!”
    Minutes later Jools and I were in the shared kitchen, hungrily tearing up pizza. The boys were eating theirs in the TV room.
    “I’m so grateful I ran into you guys,” I told her happily.
    “It’s great cosmic timing,” she smiled. “My room mate is actually away on a course, so you can have her bed - if you don’t mind sharing,” she added quickly.
    “Are you kidding ? I was worrying I’d have to sleep in a doorway!”
    Jools was carefully picking off her sweet corn. “Is it OK to ask what you’re doing here?”
    “You can ask,” I mumbled through too-hot pizza. “All I know is my mates are in some kind of trouble.”
    “Have you managed to hook up with them yet?”
    “Not hooked up, exactly,” I sighed. “I’ve seen two of them.”
    Jools was a natural-born listener, giving me her total attention as I described the disturbing changes in my friends.
    “You’re sure they’ve broken up finally and for ever?”
    “It certainly feels pretty final,” I sighed.
    Jools looked sympathetic. “It happens.”
    I nodded unhappily. “I know, I know, people move on.”
    “Is that how it feels? Like they just moved on?”
    I bit my lip. “Actually it doesn’t.”
    While we were talking, Brice wandered in with Hendrix and a couple of boy EAs.
    “So where are we going, girls?” Hendrix demanded. “It’s Friday night! We can’t just stay in eating pizza!”
    “There’s that new club down the road,” Jools suggested. “They’re getting that DJ - what’s his name again?”
    “Ruff Justice?” Brice said unexpectedly.
    “How come you always know this stuff?” I marvelled. “You only got here like about sixty minutes before me!”
    “You’ll come with us, won’t you Mel?” Jools asked hopefully.
    I shook my head. “It’s been a really long day.”
    Brice patted my head. “Mel’s going to curl up in her jammies, aren’t you, and reread the intro to the Angel Handbook?”
    I swatted him. “I got to chapter two, for your information!”
    “You did well!” Jools laughed. “That book is so heavy going.”
    This is exactly why Lola and I are going to write our Cosmic Survival Guide, but this is still a big secret between me and my soul-mate, so I kept my lips v. firmly sealed.
    Jools slung an arm round my shoulder. “Come on Mel, don’t you want to see how earth angels party?”
    “Actually, yeah!” I decided.
    In the end a whole gang of us went down in the angel carrier, including Tallulah and Dino, the Sleeping Beauty boy.
    You could feel the bass line pumping from the other side of the street. I felt a naughty buzz as we waltzed past security. I thought we all looked quite groovy. Brice had put on a fresh T-shirt under his leather jacket (I know !). I’d borrowed a sweet skirt from Jools and a cute top which said SHINE ON.
    The club was already packed out.
    Hendrix gave me his flirty smile. “Want to show the humans some real dancing?”
    Next to flirting with good-looking earth angels, dancing is one of my all-time favourite activities! But when angels and humans dance in the same