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we have to hurry,” she said. “Mrs. Counter’s handing out the essay subjects today. And I don’twant to be landed with research into the extent of the eastern delta of the river Ganges.”
    I glanced back at Raphael, who was looking rather stunned. He tried to put his hands in his trouser pockets, only to find out that there weren’t any in the school uniform.
    “Oh, Lesley, do look at him!” I said.
    “Or into ethnic groups with names I can’t pronounce!”
    I grabbed her arm the way Cynthia hadgrabbed mine just now. “What’s the matter?” I whispered. “A proper little ray of sunshine, aren’t you? Why do you have to go for Raphael like that? Is this part of some plan that I don’t know about?”
    “I’m only keeping on the safe side.” Lesley looked past me at the bulletin board. “Oh, great! There’s a new ad up on it—jewelry design! Speaking of jewelry,” she added, fishing inside the neck ofher blouse and bringing out a little chain, “look at this! I’m wearing that key you brought back from your travels in time as a pendant. Isn’t that cool? I tell everyone it’s the key to my heart.”
    Her diversionary tactics cut no ice with me. “Lesley, Raphael can’t help it if his brother is a bastard. And I believe him when he says he doesn’t know any of Gideon’s secrets. He’s new to this countryand this school, and he doesn’t know anyone yet.”
    “He’s sure to find plenty of people who’ll enjoy taking care of him.” Lesley went on staring straight ahead. The freckles on her nose danced in the sunlight. “You wait and see. This time tomorrow, he’ll have forgotten all about me, and he’ll be calling some other girl mignonne. ”
    “Yes, but…” Only when I spotted the give-away blush on Lesley’sface did light dawn on me. “Oh, now I get it! Giving his brother the cold shoulder has nothing to do with Gideon! You’re just shit-scared of falling in love with Raphael!”
    “Nonsense. Anyway, he’s not my type!”
    Aha. That said it all. Well, I was Lesley’s best friend, I’d known her forever, and that reply wouldn’t have thrown anyone off the right track, even Cynthia.
    “Come off it, Lesley. Who’sgoing to believe that?”
    Lesley finally looked away from the announcements on the bulletin board and gave me a grin. “So what? We can’t both afford to be suffering from hormonal softening of the brain at this particular moment, can we? It’s quite enough for one of us not to be responsible for her actions.”
    “Thanks a lot.”
    “But it’s true! You think of nothing but Gideon, so you simply don’t seehow serious the situation is. You need someone who can think straight, like me. And I’m not about to be taken in by that Frenchman.”
    “Oh, Lesley!” I gave her a big hug. No one, no one else in the world had such a wonderful, crazy, clever friend as I did. “But it would be terrible if you had to give up your chance of being lucky in love because of me.”
    “There you go, exaggerating again.” Lesleylowered her voice and breathed into my ear, “If he’s anything like his brother, he’d have broken my heart after a week at the latest.”
    “So?” I said, giving her a little tap on the hand. “It’s made of marzipan, so you can reshape it anytime you like!”
    “Don’t laugh at me. All that about marzipan hearts is a metaphor, and I’m really proud of it.”
    “Of course. One day you’ll be quoted all over theworld. ‘Hearts can’t be broken because they’re made of marzipan.’ From The Wit and Wisdom of Lesley Hay. ”
    “Wrong, I’m afraid,” said a voice beside us. It belonged to our English teacher, Mr. Whitman, who was much too good-looking for a teacher.
    I’d have liked to ask what he thought he knew about female hearts, but it was better not to answer Mr. Whitman back. Like Mrs. Counter, he was apt tohand out extra homework on way-out subjects, and casual as he might seem, he could be very strict.
    “Wrong about what?”