Living the Dream Read Online Free Page B

haunted.
    I didn’t know what to say. I gave her another rather awkward hug. “Babe, you’ve been away too long!”
    “Too long to live on trail mix.” Lola started pulling cartons out of the bag. “That’s why I stopped off at the Lychee. I went a bit mad though!” Delicious food smells were wafting around the room.
    “No, you got just the right amount!” I said greedily. We arranged everything on Lola’s coffee table and dived in with our freebie chopsticks.
    “I ran into Reubs as I was coming out of Arrivals,” Lola told me, shovelling in noodles. “So he finally told you! I was getting worried I’d have to tell you myself!”
    I stared at her. “Tell me what?”
    Lola looked thrown. “Oh, I thought he—”
    I felt myself blushing to the tips of my ears. “There was maybe something he wanted to say,” I confessed. “He gave me a CD, Lola. He’s written me a song!”
    Her hand flew to her heart. “Oh, that’s SO sweet!”
    “Then Mo interrupted, and Chase called to say they got the snow leopard gig, and then Brice rocked up, you know how it is…”
    “No, actually chica , how is it?” Lola suddenly narrowed her eyes. “You’ve obviously been crying. You look like you haven’t slept in a year, and who exactly designated your room as the ecology section of the school library?”
    That’s how it is with soul-mates. While I’d been reading Lola, she’d been reading me, and I’m telling you, when Lola Sanchez gets that look in her eye, she could squeeze a secret out of pure granite.
    “If I tell you, you won’t think I’m - what’s that thing trainees aren’t supposed to be - grandiose?”
    Lola helped herself to fried rice. “We’re best friends! If you go grandiose on me, I’ll pop your little bubble in a heartbeat!”
    “You might not say that when I’ve finished,” I said unhappily.
    I started to describe my night-time ordeals. Lola’s expression got more and more sphinx-like. I felt my palms begin to sweat. I burbled on desperately, having no clue what she was thinking.
    “Then today in the library he like, forced me into reading about American Indians for no reason!” I didn’t want to disrespect a divine being, but it had to be said. “Actually, Lollie, I think he might be a teensy bit deranged.”
    My friend set down her chopsticks with a click. “Want me to tell you what I think is going on?” She sounded v. fierce. I nodded, gulping. “I think the Creation angels tried everything they know to wake humans up and take responsibility. They came out of the few remaining wild places, places where you can still hear Earth’s heartbeat, and they visited humans in their homes, offices, universities, science labs. They sought out tribal people, scientists, artists, feisty grannies, teenage kids with tattoos, old hippies, anyone who might, just might, give a damn. It worked.”
    My heart gave a leap. “Seriously?”
    Lola quickly shook her head. “People are starting to wake up, but it isn’t enough, Mel. It’s too little too late. Then the angels heard about you saving your little buddha, chasing him through Time and Space, protecting him from the Dark Powers. They thought you were just the mad, gutsy kind of angel girl they needed.” She gave me an affectionate pat. “So your maverick angel volunteered to follow you home to Heaven, and plead with you to help. They must think you’re really something,” she added huskily.
    “Will you PLEASE not say that!” I wailed. “What I know about the environment would fit on the back of a teeny-tiny Post-it note!”
    “What does Michael say?”
    My hands drifted down from my face. “Actually—”
    “You HAVE told him?”
    “Not yet,” I admitted.
    “You told someone though?”
    “I told you,” I said in a small voice.
    Lola was appalled. “I don’t believe you, Mel Beeby. You’ve been sitting on this for - what - FOUR weeks now!”
    “You don’t know what it was like!” I burst out. “I’d just come back