"Promise me you'll send it without watching it!" I said quickly, handing Jamie his phone so he could send my vlog into the competition.
He looked at me and raised an eyebrow. "What did you say in it?"
"Just stuff about football and school and stuff." I muttered and he smiled.
"Ok, sure I won't watch it." He said, still gazing at me with a smile. "Now c'mon. We've got classes."
"Jamie, I need to talk to you." I said, finally getting the courage to speak to him.
"Sure? What's the matter?"
"I found this. On our table this morning." I said, pulling out the letter.
He took it and I watched nervously as his eyes scanned over it. "What's this?!"
I sighed. "I can't really explain it, but basically I... I mean, my mum owes some money to pay back something I...well, she just owes some money that we basically don't have." I explained.
"Ok, well that's mysterious." He replied, looking anxious. "What does she have to pay back?"
"I can't tell you, I'm sorry. But Jamie I don't know what to do! It's all my fault and..." I trailed off, biting my lip. It took all my strength to not tell Jamie everything there and then.
At that minute, the bell went - I didn't see someone lurking behind the steps.
_____________________
The next Saturday, I made my way with Indira down to Vicar's Common to help set up for the Fun Day. I was trying to be cheerful, but inside I was anxious about something that I needed to talk to Jamie about.
When we arrived, the first person I saw was Jamie, but he was talking to someone who I hadn't expected to see: his Dad. I only recognized him from that time over a year ago when I had to watch one of his arguments with Jamie's mum. Although this time, it looked as if they were trying to be civil.
"Bella!" He said, running over to me.
"Hey! So, your dad's back?" I said cautiously, remembering how he left last time.
"Yeah." He said, nodding.
"Are you...ok? About it?" I asked carefully.
"Yeah, course. He's my dad." He said with a smile. He seemed genuinely pleased that his dad was back and I didn't want to ruin that, so I put on a smile.
"Did you send my video in?" I asked.
"Yep, they're announcing the winner today." He replied with a side smile. "Did you sort things out with your mum and the money?"
I shook my head. "Jamie, the letter's gone." I whispered.
"What?"
"I put the letter in my bag after we talked but when I got home last night I couldn't find it!" I whispered, starting to panic now I was saying it out loud.
"OK, don't worry, I'm sure it can't have gone far." He assured, grabbing my hand, startling me and I looked up in surprise. "Sorry." He muttered, and I smiled.
"It's okay."
The rest of the morning I helped set up chairs and got equipment out of the storeroom with Jamie, before more people started arriving just in time for the start of the Fun Day.
"Excuse me?! Everybody! Can I have your attention please?!" Jack's dad shouted to grab everyone's attention.
"Nice one dad." Jack said, stepping up on the bench to talk to everyone. "Thanks everyone for coming down. We've got a lot of fun events lined up for today, and yes, it is a competition, and yes, we will be using one of these." She said, holding up a football, which was met with a few laughs from the participants. I tried to smile, but I couldn't stop worrying about the letter. "Boggy's our official stats man for today, and will announce the winner at the end of the day." Jack said. "The first event is the penalty shoot out." She continued, pointing at one of the goalposts neatly decorated with bunting.
I only missed one penalty in the whole game, which was pretty good, although I noticed Zoe didn't miss a single one; she seemed determined.
The next event was the three-legged dribble. I picked up a ribbon and made my way over to Jamie. "You and me?" I asked, holding it out.
He raised his eyebrows and grabbed the ribbon. "Sure-"
But he was interrupted as his dad came over and put his arm round his son. "C'mon then Jamie, let's do this thing!" He said, and Jamie looked at me apologetically.
"Don't worry about it." I said with a fake smile. "Maybe next time."
When I walked over to a seat to watch, I noticed Zoe grabbing Dillon's arm, muttering "You're with me. I want an Academy player on my team." But Dillon looked like he was hiding something.