Secrets and Spies. Sienna Mercer

oblivious to Ivy’s gaze.

      Biting her lip, Ivy made her way to an open space on the bench at the very back of the bus.

      ‘Hey, where’s your boyfriend?’ an older goth girl called out as she passed. ‘You guys have a fight?’

      Gritting her teeth, Ivy ignored the question. The bus started up with a lurch just as she reached the back, and she was half thrown into the empty seat. With no space to move, she found herself crunched between a set of happily talking bunny girls and two goths busy arguing about whether the Pall Bearers’ new album was better than the one before. For once, she was too distracted to even join in.

      As the bus pulled away from Franklin Grove High, she turned to look back at the school through the window. Her gaze caught on an all-too-familiar figure.

      Maya stood at the bus stop, staring right at the school bus as it passed her.

      No, Ivy realised, her eyes narrowing. Maya wasn’t just staring at the bus. She was staring straight at Brendan, right in the front of the bus. Her head swivelled to follow him as the bus moved, and she lifted one hand in a half-hearted wave.

      Suddenly, Ivy had a horrible certainty that she knew exactly who Brendan had been talking to. But how did he even know the new girl?

      And why was he keeping it secret from her?