Page 85 of Christmas at the Movies
‘I didn’t mean you, loser, I meant her,’ said Damon. ‘Goth Girl.’
Julia stood up and scowled at Damon. ‘Give it back, dickhead!’
‘OK, then. Have it your way.’ Slowly, deliberately, Damon tore Nick’s sketch up into tiny pieces and sprinkled them over Nick’s head. ‘Oh, look.’ He sniggered. ‘It’s snowing. Or is that Nick’s dandruff.’
Julia slammed her Doc Martens down on Damon’s foot.
‘Ow!’ Damon wailed. He hopped around, clutching his foot. Then, his eyes narrowing, he lunged at Julia.
With courage that he didn’t know he possessed, Nick jumped in front of his friend, to shield her from Damon. ‘Don’t hurt her!’
‘Get out of my way, freak,’ hissed Damon. Nick could smell cheese-and-onion crisps on his breath. ‘I’m going to teach your girlfriend some manners.’
Nick stood his ground, refusing to budge.
‘Don’t you dare lay a finger on my sister!’ shouted Adam, pulling Damon back. ‘Or her friend.’
The commotion brought Mr Wu hurrying over. ‘All of you – out! This is no way to behave in the library. I’m giving you all a detention.’
‘But if I get another detention I’m off the football team for the rest of the season,’ whined Damon.
‘You should have thought about that before you tore upNick’s drawing.’ Mr Wu reprimanded him. ‘This school has a zero-tolerance policy about bullying.’
Nick hastily shoved his belongings into his backpack.
Outside of school, Damon and his football friends hurried off, muttering darkly. But Adam stayed behind with Julia and Nick.
‘Your friend is a jerk,’ said Julia.
‘He’s not my friend,’ replied Adam. ‘We’re just on the same football team.’
‘Thanks for sticking up for me,’ said Nick.
‘That’s OK. Any friend of my sister’s is a friend of mine.’ Adam held out his hand to Nick. ‘I’m Adam, by the way. Julia showed me the drawing you gave her – it’s really good.’
Nick had been brave once today. He decided to be brave again.
‘Do you guys want to come and see an anime Christmas movie with me on Saturday night?’ he asked them.
‘Where?’ asked Julia.
‘The Plumdale Picture Palace,’ said Nick. ‘You don’t need to pay – my parents own the cinema.’
‘That’s awesome, man.’ Adam fist-bumped Nick. ‘We love it there.’
‘No wonder you know so much about movies,’ remarked Julia. ‘Of course we’ll come.’
Nick grinned as the twins waved goodbye and headed home to Stowford. He’d never got a detention before, but it had been worth it. His tally of new friends had just doubled – from one to two.
Nick stood at the bus stop. He didn’t want to go home, as his mum would be working on the script. That’s all she seemed to do these days. He didn’t want to go to the cinema, either, as the film crew had already startedmoving in. This stupid movie was ruining everything. He wished he had dragon claws like his manga character so he could rip a portal to a new dimension and hide there until the filming was over. But short of that, his gran’s flat would do.
There was something he wanted to talk to her about.
He got off the bus and walked to Valley Vistas. The lobby had paintings on the walls, comfy-looking sofas and a lift, which he rode up to the second floor. As he knocked on the door to his grandmother’s flat, he could hear noise coming from within. It sounded like she was having a party.
‘Oh, hello, Nick, dear,’ said Grandma, opening the door. He went inside and found her flat packed full of people and smelling deliciously of cinnamon and ginger. ‘What a pleasant surprise.’
The living room and kitchen were open plan. Nick could see Roger in there, as well as a few of the ladies who went to the Golden Oldies screenings. Everyone seemed to be baking and there was a rack of homemade gingerbread biscuits cooling on the table. Roger was mixing up ingredients in a bowl, while Olwyn pressed out shapes and Vi slid a tray into the oven. His grandmother, who had never baked anything in her life as far as Nick knew, seemed to be bossing everyone about.
