Pray for the Preacher's Daughter

Chapter 3

Tentatively, Bonnie took the hand in her own rather bland one. “Bonnibel Banner,” she replied. “Is she usually trouble?” she asked, referring to the girl who’d glared at her.

Pippa shrugged. “Not usually no, she just has a bad attitude and a penchant for getting into trouble. She’s a rebel and doesn’t like being pressured. She did punch her ex-boyfriend in the parking lot once and she’s been ‘relocated’ from two other schools. She keeps mostly to herself though.”

Bonnie nodded, she’d known people like that; the kind who do things just to be different. It seemed silly to her, but what did she know really?

“Don’t talk much do you?” Pippa asked, a smile tugging at her mouth. “That’s ok, you’re new. It gets better.”

Surprised by that, Bonnie queried, “You’re not from here?”

“Nope. My parents are European, but I was born in Korea, only moved here when I was ten,” Pippa told her happily. “But it’s good, really. My parents raise race horses and there’s a lot of room out here. I get to help them, it’s fun. And the locals are so friendly once you get to know them.”

The bell buzzed through the library, announcing the start of lunch. Bonnie took that as her cue to leave and waved at Pippa. But the other girl wasn’t having any of that. She grabbed Bonnibel’s arm and dragged her off in a different direction.

“No, no. Jake told me he was going to introduce you to everyone,” she chirped. “You’re not escaping me.”

Bonnie blinked. Jake? Oh yes. “You know Jake?” she asked.

Pippa just laughed at her. “It’s a small town. I know everyone.” They didn’t stop on their way through the cafeteria, merely skirted the throng and ducked out into the courtyard, ringed by walled gardens and sheltered from the sun by pale green shade cloth.

The school was uncommonly green, Bonnie noticed, peering around. Gardens were everywhere, floral murals adorned many walls, there was a lot of stone too. Sandstone, granite, marble, all kinds. She wasn’t used to it, the whole place had a homier feel to it than the last school she’d attended, as if there was more freedom.

With a little fidgeting, Bonnibel extracted her arm from Pippa’s grip, content to follow, less so about being manhandled. Pippa halted at a wooden table in one corner, right beside a pond in which swam a trio of large golden fish. Bonnie wasn’t brushed up on her fish breeds though and aside from colouration and a vague resemblance to koi, she had no idea what they were.

Seated at the table were three people, the first of which Bonnie recognised as Jake with his tawny hair and axe handle for shoulders. Beside him was a smaller blonde boy, but with his same broad shoulders and square jaw, although lithe, more of a runner or a swimmer to Jake’s wrestler. They were sprawled across the table, heads together with a girl dressed all in purple. It clashed a little with her sandy hair, that didn’t seem to bother her though.

When Pippa collapsed down beside the girl, pulling Bonnie after her, they all ceased talking and turned eyes on them – a dark brown in the case of the girl and blue-grey for both of the boys. Jake smiled when he saw her, the blonde boy looked confused and the girl bit her bottom lip. All of them seemed a tad anxious.

“Hey everyone,” Pippa enthused. “This is Bonnibel Banner, that new girl Ellen has been prattling on about.” Slowly, Bonnie waved at them, smiling wanly. “That’s Jake, you know him, his cousin Finn and this is Eleanor Scott-Parker.”