Page 28 - Earth Friends River Rescue

around.” Mr Finlay glared at them, mock-sternly. “We won’t!” Poppy promised, grabbing Izzy and steering her into the classroom, and the others
nodded, all trying to look saintly.
“As if we mess around,” Emily hissed indignantly,
back at their table. “Well. Hardly ever, anyway.”
Izzy and Poppy had both brought lunches from home, so they were sitting together in the dining hall, waiting for Emily and Maya to come back from the lunch queue.
“I can’t believe you thought we didn’t want you sitting with us,” Poppy told Izzy.
Izzy shrugged uncomfortably. It was hard to explain without sounding even more stupid. She just wasn’t used to people actually liking her any more. “I suppose I’m just used to being mostly on my own,” she said, going red again. She could feel her cheeks burning. That was such a feeble thing to say. She stared at her sandwiches (Dad had gone mad, there looked like half a cucumber in there).
“Well, you shouldn’t be,” Poppy said firmly. “Being on your own’s fine sometimes, but it can be bad for your inner harmony.”
“My what?” Izzy stopped trying to decucumberise 26