Free The Time of Your Life by Isabella Cass

but I'm in love with
Ethan already!' Cat laughed, pulling the lid off the tub
of Rocky Road.
    'And for my next trick' – Holly whipped an envelope
out of her bag like a rabbit out of a hat – 'Mamma Mia! Mum posted me the DVD.'
    'Girls' night in!' Cat shouted, jumping on her bed
and sweeping aside piles of clothes and books to make
seating room.
    'Way to go!' Holly was a genius, Belle thought. This
was exactly what they all needed. 'Er, let me help you
with that, Cat,' she added.
    Cat's attempts to tidy up were just spreading the
chaos around the room. Pairs of tights were now
dangling from the curtain rail, and a Spanish dictionary
was splayed across the dressing-table mirror.
    'Is this that Macbeth script you were looking
for?' Belle asked, holding up a sheaf of papers she'd
excavated from under Cat's bed.
    'My baby!' Cat cried, kissing the script. 'You've
come back to me!' But suddenly her face fell. 'Eugh!
I've just remembered: homework – I had a date with
Henry the Eighth tonight . . .'
    Holly grinned. 'Dump him! This is a girls-only
zone!'
    'And you can borrow all my Tudor notes tomorrow,'
Belle offered.
    Cat didn't need any more convincing.
    Belle snuggled up among the cushions on Cat's bed,
took her first mouthful of Very Berry Swirl and sighed
contentedly. Cat was settling in next to her, with
Shreddie purring on her lap, and Holly was starting
up the DVD on the laptop. This is perfect, Belle
thought. In fact, maybe it was the perfect moment to
share her big secret. 'I have this kinda . . . secret . . .' she
started hesitantly.
    Holly pressed the Pause button. 'Ooh, I love secrets!'
    'Er, you know that new boy, Jack Thorne . . . ' Belle
went on.
    'Mm-mm,' Cat mumbled through a recklessly large
mouthful of Rocky Road.
    'What do you think of him?' Belle asked, trying to
sound casual.
    Holly giggled. 'Not as much as you do!'
    'Is that it? Your deep, dark secret?' Cat laughed. 'That
you fancy Jack? I thought you were going to tell us
something we didn't know!'
    'You mean you could tell?' Belle asked, watching in
horror as Cat and Holly both nodded, grinning. She
squirmed with embarrassment; she'd been so sure
she'd kept all her emotions safely under wraps. What
if everyone knew? 'Oh, no, is it that obvious?' she
stammered.
    'Only to us,' Holly said reassuringly. 'With our
finely honed powers of observation. Oh, and I'm sure
Bianca suspects—'
    'And Nick Taggart, of course . . .' Cat added.
    'Oh yes, Nick,' Belle said. 'I thought I'd really hurt
his feelings in Mr Garcia's class today – but then he
was acting his usual goofball self in the common room,
so I think we're OK again.' She sighed. She'd been so
relieved when Nick started poking fun at her about the
armour; he obviously wasn't mad at her. Maybe it'd
been worth making a fool of herself after all, if that's
what it took to get their friendship back on track.
    Cat smiled. 'Don't worry about Nick,' she said. 'He's
got other things on his mind—'
    'Like Lettie Atkins,' Holly interrupted.
    'Argggh! Brain-freeze!' Cat yelled, clapping her hand
to her forehead.
    Of course! Belle thought. Now it's starting to make
sense. When Nick insisted that he wanted to work with
Lettie in the singing class, he wasn't just covering up his
injured pride. He really did want to work with Lettie.
He was probably annoyed because Bianca was teasing
him and Belle, not because he was heartbroken that
Belle might want to work with Jack!
    'So, do you think I stand a chance with Jack?' Belle
blurted out.
    'Hmm . . .' Cat murmured, scrunching up her
forehead as if pondering a fiendishly difficult question.
'Is he likely to be interested in the most elegant, tall,
blonde and gorgeous girl in the year? She's clever,
funny, loyal, generous . . . What do you think, Hols?'
    Holly grinned. 'It's a no-brainer! But,' she added
seriously, 'he's going to have to have the operation
first . . .'
    'Operation?' Belle winced. 'What operation?'
    Holly laughed. 'The one to have Bianca surgically
removed