getting out of bed was a challenge.
âMum,â I say, later that day, when sheâs calmed down about me being out for so long. âI donât want you to drive me to school any more. I want to meet my friends and walk with them, like I used to.â
âI donât mind giving you a lift, Becky. Itâs on my way to work.â
âMum, please, Iâm fourteen!â
She glances at Joe who pulls a face. Suddenly she looks doubtful. I try not to glare at Joe.
âLook what happened today,â she says hesitantly.
âNothing happened today! I just . . . forgot the time, thatâs all. Iâm sorry I scared you. But you can trust me. Honestly. Iâll be all right on my own.â
âI suppose walking will be good exercise,â Mum says finally, âand if youâre meeting your friends, thereâll be someone with you. But you must keep your phone charged, Becky.â
âI will. Promise.â I hug her.
Itâs time to start getting my life back again, I think, as I hurry off to text Leah.
Monday morning, I set off to walk the mile or so to school. Since meeting Sam, Iâm feeling braver and stronger. Maybe Iâve turned a corner, I think happily. Maybe things are going to finally settle down.
Ahead of me, by the parade of shops, I see Jodie and Alesha, waiting for me by the newsagentâs, so I call to them and wave.
We head off down the road towards the estate where Leah lives, chatting about her party next month and the nerdy boy Jodie fancies (but swears she really, really doesnât, OK?), and it feels just like old times, before I got sick.
âSo, how you doing then?â asks Jodie as we approach the block of flats where Leah lives. Iâm just getting ready to tell them about Sam when I see Jodie glance at Alesha, who makes a face back at her and shakes her head slightly as if to say, âDonât.â
âWhat?â I ask.
âNothing,â says Jodie. But theyâre both staring at me now.
âWhatâs wrong?â I ask, forcing a grin. They exchange looks again. âWhatâs going on?â
âWell . . . We were just wondering . . .â Alesha begins.
âLeah told me . . .â Jodie canât meet my eye.
My heart sinks. âWhat did Leah tell you?â I ask hesitantly.
Jodie flushes bright red and starts biting her bottom lip â she only does this when sheâs nervous, or Mr MacNamara tells her off.
Alesha threads her arm through mine. âItâs nothing, Becky . . . Leah just told Jodie that since you got your new heart youâd been sort of . . .â
âSort of what?â
âWell . . . seeing things . . .â
âReally weird stuff,â interrupts Jodie.
âLeah promised me she wouldnât tell anyone,â I blurt out anxiously.
âShe only told me,â says Jodie lamely.
âAnd you told Alesha.â
The pair exchange guilty looks.
âYou didnât tell anyone else though, did you?â I ask, dreading the answer.
âNo . . .â Jodie still wonât look at me. âNot really.â
My stomach starts to churn. âOh Jodie . . . Who?â
âI only sort of mentioned it to . . . Sophie Morgan.â
â
Sophie Morgan
? You told Motormouth Morgan?â I yell at her.
âYeah . . . but she promised on her sisterâs life not to breathe a word to anyone . . .â
Iâm feeling sick. By now, all our year, if not the whole school, will know that Becky Simmons â that girl whoâs had the heart transplant â is seeing weird stuff. I spin around as two girls from Year Eight walk past us. One glances at me then whispers to her friend, who eyes me warily.
âI . . . Iâve got to go,â I mumble.
âBecky?â
âArenât you coming with us to Leahâs?â
âIâll see you at school,â I tell them, and rush off downthe street, feeling their stares