Free Olivia and the Great Escape by Lyn Gardner Page A

possibilities.”
    “That would be lovely,” Aeysha was saying as Olivia popped her head round the door.
    “Are you two finished?” she asked. “I wondered whether either of you wanted to pop down to the river and see Dad.”
    “Love to,” said Aeysha, “but I can’t, I’ve got an English essay to finish over lunch break.”
    “Me neither,” said Kasha. He sighed loudly. “I’m due in the recording studio. I can’t say I’m looking forward to it.” He looked really sad.
    “Have you managed to write a song?” asked Olivia curiously.
    “Yes,” said Kasha, sounding pained, “but I know it’s rubbish. It’s not nearly as good as Aeysha’s song. That’s in a different league.”
    “You can have mine if you like,” laughed Aeysha. “After all, it wouldn’t be half as good without your contribution. I’ll give it to you.”
    “No, Aeysha. That’s really generous of you. But it’s your song. It belongs to you. I couldn’t take it.”
    Olivia and Kasha walked to the entrance to the Swan together, where Kasha got out his cap, pulled it down over his head and put on a pair of dark glasses.
    Olivia laughed. “You draw far more attention to yourself looking like that than if you just walked down the street as yourself.”
    “You don’t know what it’s like,” said Kasha gloomily. “It’s not funny being chased by loads of twelve-year-olds.”
    “Goes with the territory,” said Olivia unsympathetically. “You’d be nowhere without them.”
    “I know, I know,” said Kasha. “Lots of people would envy me my position, and I know I owe to it to the people who buy my music.” He looked pensive. “But being a pop star just isn’t as much fun as I imagined it would be.”
    “Nobody’s forcing you to do it,” said Olivia quietly.
    Kasha burst out laughing. “Olivia Marvell, you don’t hold back, do you? But you’re right. I’ve got what I always wanted and I shouldn’t moan. I’m the luckiest boy in the whole world.”

Chapter Sixteen
    Olivia and Tom stood on the edge of Tower Bridge, shivering in the icy wind that whipped their cheeks until they turned pink. The sky was heavy and grey. The electronic screen on the riverbank said day seven.
    “Phew, it’s cold,” said Tom. He stared at the figure of Jack who was sitting huddled on the wire like a small, unhappy gnome. The wire swung in the high wind. “But it’s nothing compared with what it must be like for Jack.” He looked at Olivia’s intense, anxious face. “Do you think he’s all right out there?”
    Olivia shook her head. “I don’t know. In these conditions it would take all your strength and concentration to stay on the wire, but to have done it for over a week is truly superhuman. It’sreally going to take its toll. The real dangers are exhaustion and hypothermia.”
    They saw Pablo beckoning to them and they ran over. It began to sleet heavily.
    “I’ve just spoken to Jack. He’s coming in for a ten-minute break. You can have a quick word. It’ll cheer him up. He needs a boost.”
    He sent them off to greet Jack while he went to check that the team were at the ready with hot soup, a fresh thermos of tea, hot water bottles and dry clothes.
    Jack walked along the wire towards Tom and Olivia carrying a load of waterproofs and wet bedding. Or rather he shuffled like an old man. He looked as if he was a hundred years old and every muscle and bone ached. But he smiled when he saw the children and raised a hand in greeting. It was a mistake. It coincided with a sudden vicious gust of wind and the gesture threw him off balance. For a moment, he teetered and Olivia thought that he was going to topple off the wire. Both she and Tom gasped, and she heard Pablo shout behind them, but just in time Jack recovered himself and stayed on the wire.
    He grinned sheepishly and continued towards them but when he got up close, Oliviacould see how pale, tired and vulnerable he looked. She couldn’t tell if he was shaking or just