7
Best Friends Now and Forever
Edwin stood at the end of the lane, wincing as he adjusted his skirt. It wasn’t a bad fit, considering he’d made it out of a black bin liner and sticky tape, but with hindsight he’d have preferred to show a little less leg, especially as there was an unseasonable chill in the morning air.
All in all, Edwin had mixed feelings about his disguise. He felt awkward and self-conscious in the homemade skirt, but the wig he’d crafted from strips of black painted string was a work of genius.
And thanks to hours of overnight practice, he’d mastered Bryony’s bored-hands-on-hips stance, although he hadn’t yet got the hang of her trademark sulky pout.
Now he had the Tome Terriblis at his disposal, Edwin could have actually turned himself into Bryony, but that idea made him feel physically sick. So he had settled for a compromise, writing a spell to make people think he was Bryony, without having to alter his physical appearance.
Edwin felt another gust of cold wind, and tried to pull his skirt down a fraction. If the spell had worked (and it had, judging by the reaction of Mum to his appearance that morning), Edwin didn’t need a disguise. But he didn’t want to take any chances, the stakes were way too high.
Edwin had also taken Bryony’s school bag. It wasn’t as big as his own, and it had been a tight squeeze to fit the Tome Terriblis inside, but he wasn’t going to leave the spell book at home, not where Bryony could get her hands on it after she’d twigged what had happened. Because she would, sooner or later. Edwin hoped it would be later, and by that time he’d be at the Schrunkopf Institute and there would be nothing his cheating stepsister could do about it.
In the end, it hadn’t taken Edwin long to solve the mystery of Bryony’s exam success. To begin with he’d accused Inglenook of helping her, but the Keeper of the Ancient Wisdom had reminded him that Wychetts’ magic could not be used for personal gain. That had stumped Edwin, because he couldn’t think how Bryony did so well in her exams without magic.
In the end it was a chance remark from Inglenook that had put Edwin on the right scent.
“Although I did not use magic to help the young Mistress in her exams, I was happy to let her borrow some books from the library.”
Library? Edwin hadn’t known Wychetts had a library.
“The Library of the Wise Ones,” Inglenook had explained. “And the books are all due back today. Perhaps you could remind her to return them before I am required to enforce a fifty pence fine.”
“Fifty pence?” Edwin had snorted. “She won’t be bothered about that now she’s going to be Prime Minister. I doubt if you’ll ever see those books again.”
“There is only one book I am truly concerned about. It is called the Tome Terriblis. The young mistress must have accidentally removed it from the library with the other books.”
Edwin had asked what the Tome Terriblis was, and why Inglenook was worried about it.
And then, as he listened to the answer, everything had clicked into place.
Bryony had stolen the Tome and used its power to pass all her exams!
Now he’d found out how she’d done it, the next step to bringing Bryony to justice was to retrieve the spell book from her grasp. Because Inglenook had asked him to collect all the library books, Edwin had a valid excuse when she’d found him in her bedroom after supper, so she could do nothing to stop him taking the Tome.
Of course, Edwin intended to return the Tome to Inglenook. He’d just borrow it for the day, use its magic to set the record straight and ensure he was admitted to the Schrunkopf Institute instead of his double-crossing worm of a stepsister.
Edwin glanced behind him to check if there was any sign of his mother’s car in the lane. The bus was due to pick him up from outside the house, but he didn’t want to run the risk of being there when Mum drove out on her way to school.
No sign of Mum. Or the bus, either. The weather didn’t look promising; the sky was an ominous shade of grey, and he’d already heard the odd rumble of thunder. Edwin prayed the bus would turn up before there was a downpour and his painted hair started running.
There was another rumble of thunder. And then another noise, the throaty growl of an engine. Edwin looked down the lane and saw a bus approaching. It had the letters S.I.K emblazoned on the front, below a black silhouette of a human skull.
Edwin was momentarily puzzled, until he realised what the letters stood for: Schrunkopf Institute of Knowledge. At last, his school bus had arrived.
Edwin thought a skull was an odd emblem for a school badge, but put his critical thoughts aside whilst stretching out an arm to attract the bus driver’s attention.
The bus pulled over, and the doors opened with a hiss.
Edwin clambered onto the bus, taking care not to tear his bin liner skirt in the process whilst trying to avoid the curious stares of the passengers. He counted twenty of them, a mix of boys and girls his own age, and all obviously very clever. He’d never seen so many side partings and spectacles in his life.
Edwin had hoped to sit on his own, but the only spare seat was at the back next to a girl. Edwin knew it was a girl because she was wearing a dark blue skirt and purple leggings, but her face was buried in a book titled “Science for Beginners”.
Edwin walked down the aisle and sat next to the girl, who didn’t seem to notice his arrival.
Then he saw his mother’s car go past. He instinctively ducked, so couldn’t see whether Bryony was with her or not.
The bus started moving, and Edwin breathed a sigh of relief. So far so good. He was on his way. All he had to do was keep his head down and…
“Hello,” said a voice. “Sorry, I didn’t see you there.”
Edwin looked round, and saw that the girl sitting next to him had lowered her book.
He would have replied out of courtesy, but there was something about the girl’s appearance that made him gawp in astonishment.
She wore thick-rimmed glasses, which magnified her eyes so they resembled a pair of bright blue saucers. She had a dimpled chin, a snubbed little nose, and her tousled hair was a lurid shade of green.
Yes, green.
“My name’s Malady,” said the green haired girl. “But my friends call me Maddy. Who are you?”
“I’m Ed…” Then Edwin checked himself. “My name is Bryony. Bryony Platt.”
“I’ve heard of you.” The green haired girl nodded. “You came top of your school in the exams. I was surprised, because I thought your stepbrother Edwin was supposed to be the brainiest pupil in your school.”
“He is,” said Edwin. Then he thought about it. “But not as brainy as me.”
“I’m glad he isn’t here.” Maddy wrinkled her little snubbed nose. “We wouldn’t want a silly boy around, would we? And I hear he’s ginger. Yuck.”
“Yuck,” agreed Edwin.
He was still wondering about the girl’s hair. She could have dyed it that colour, but that wouldn’t explain why she also had green freckles.
“It’s been nice talking to you,” said Maddy. “But if you don’t mind, I need to catch up with my book.”
“Science for Beginners?” Edwin sniggered. “A bit basic, isn’t it?”
“I know.” Maddy held up a pen. “But everyone has to start somewhere. And when I’ve finished, I plan to write a more advanced work on the subject.”
Edwin’s jaw fell open. “You’re writing the book?”
“I’ve written several,” said Maddy. “Chemistry for Smart People. Advanced Quantum Physics for Everyday Household Use, and Einstein’s Theory of Relativity Explained in Third Dynasty Mongolian.”
Edwin’s jaw sagged a little wider. “Why Third Dynasty Mongolian?”
“Russian was too easy. Have you written any books?”
“Several,” lied Edwin, deciding not to mention that he’d spent most of last night manufacturing fake hair out of painted string. “But I’m not as clever as you. You must be a child genius.”
Maddy shook her head. “Most people think I’m a dweep. Although I’m not sure what that means, because I can’t find it in a dictionary.”
“I get called that as well,” said Edwin. “But don’t worry about it, Maddy.”
Maddy gave Edwin a curious look. “You just called me ‘Maddy’.”
“Yeah, you said that was your name.”
“I said my friends call me Maddy.”
“Sorry.” Edwin felt like he was being told off.
“But I was lying,” said Maddy. “Because I don’t really have any friends. You wouldn’t be my friend, would you?”
No one had ever asked Edwin to be their friend before, and he wasn’t sure how to respond.
“We could hang out together for the day,” suggested Maddy.
Hang out?
Edwin didn’t like the sound of that. He was going to the Schrunkopf Institute to learn, not to hang out with other kids. Edwin wasn’t the sort to hang out; in fact, he had never hung out with anyone in his life.
“Don’t you want to be my friend?” Maddy’s forehead puckered, and Edwin noticed her eyebrows were as green as her hair. “Is it because you think I’m strange?”
That was another question Edwin wasn’t sure how to answer. There was definitely something odd about Maddy. It wasn’t just the colour of her hair, that she seemed too brainy to be true, or even that she wanted to be his friend; there was something about Maddy that just didn’t seem right.
“You wouldn’t be the only one,” sighed Maddy. “Sometimes even I think I’m strange. Like I don’t fit in anywhere.”
“Me too,” said Edwin. “All the other kids seem to be able to have fun, but I’m always watching on the sidelines.”
“It looks like we have plenty in common.” Maddy smiled again. “So there’s no reason why we shouldn’t hang out together, eh?”
Edwin couldn’t dispute Maddy’s logic, but there was another problem.
“We’re supposed to be studying,” he reminded her. “We won’t have time to hang out.”
Maddy shrugged. “Then we’ll hang out whilst we’re studying. We can swap scientific theories and test each other on Latin grammar. It’ll be fun.”
Edwin thought about it and smiled. “Yeah. It does sound like fun.”
“That’s settled then.” Maddy grabbed Edwin’s hand and shook it vigorously. “We’ll be best friends for now and for ever.”
“Friends,” agreed Edwin, scarcely able to believe the word was passing his lips.
Edwin had a friend. For the first time in his life, he actually had a friend.
It was an odd feeling, and Edwin wasn’t sure he felt entirely comfortable with the idea. He had planned to spend the journey swotting up on algebra, but now he would have to talk to someone.
Still, he supposed that was all part of having a friend. And at least he could talk to Maddy about interesting stuff, not pop music and rubbish like Bryony did with Saffy and Jaz.
Maddy sat smiling at Edwin. Edwin smiled back. He thought he should start talking about something, but couldn’t think what.
Luckily Maddy saved him the trouble.
“Do you have any books with you?”
“Sorry no.” Edwin couldn’t help feeling a little bit of a let down.
Maddy peered beneath Edwin’s seat. “But I see you have one. What’s it about?”
“That?” Edwin glimpsed the Tome Terriblis poking out of his school bag. “Er…”
“Looks very old. Is it antique?”
Edwin hesitated. Should he tell Maddy about the book?
She was his friend. Of course he could tell her.
Edwin looked around to see if anyone was listening, and then leaned closer to Maddy.
“It’s magic,” he whispered. “A magic spell book.”
“A spell book.” Maddy burst out laughing. “Seriously?”
“Seriously.” Edwin pulled the Tome from his bag and laid it on his lap. “All the pages are blank, but that’s because you have to write the spells in the book for it to work.”
Maddy pulled a face. “There’s no such thing as magic. Surely an intelligent girl like you knows that. Unless you’re really very stupid. In which case, I don’t think we could ever be friends.”
Maddy turned away and lifted her book again, hiding her face from Edwin.
Her response surprised Edwin. But thinking about it, how else would she react?
“I was only joking.” Edwin closed the Tome and stuffed it back into his schoolbag. “Of course there’s no such thing as magic. Everybody knows that.”
Maddy lowered her book and smiled at him. “So what is the book really for?”
“It’s a diary,” said Edwin, after a few seconds thought. “I write everything I do in it.”
Maddy frowned. “But you said all the pages were blank.”
Edwin nodded. “It’s been a quiet year.”
“Well it won’t be quiet now we’re friends,” said Maddy. “I’m so looking forward to attending the Schrunkopf Institute. I’m a big fan of the Professor, been following his work for years.”
“Me too,” said Edwin, despite never having heard of Professor Schrunkopf until the day before. “I can’t wait to meet him.”
“You won’t have to wait for long.” Maddy pointed at something through the bus window. “Looks like we’ve reached our new school.”