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Chapters (88)
  1. Cover
  2. Title Page
  3. Dear Reader …
  4. Also by Robert Muchamore
  5. PART ONE
  6. Walter J Freeman Adolescent Mental Health Unit – East Grinstead, UK
  7. ONE
  8. TWO
  9. THREE
  10. FOUR
  11. FIVE
  12. SIX
  13. SEVEN
  14. EIGHT
  15. NINE
  16. TEN
  17. ELEVEN
  18. PART TWO
  19. TWELVE
  20. THIRTEEN
  21. FOURTEEN
  22. FIFTEEN
  23. SIXTEEN
  24. SEVENTEEN
  25. EIGHTEEN
  26. NINETEEN
  27. TWENTY
  28. TWENTY-ONE
  29. TWENTY-TWO
  30. TWENTY-THREE
  31. TWENTY-FOUR
  32. TWENTY-FIVE
  33. TWENTY-SIX
  34. TWENTY-SEVEN
  35. TWENTY-EIGHT
  36. TWENTY-NINE
  37. THIRTY
  38. THIRTY-ONE
  39. THIRTY-TWO
  40. THIRTY-THREE
  41. THIRTY-FOUR
  42. THIRTY-FIVE
  43. THIRTY-SIX
  44. THIRTY-SEVEN
  45. THIRTY-EIGHT
  46. PART THREE
  47. Walter J. Freeman Adolescent Mental Health Unit – East Grinstead, UK
  48. THIRTY-NINE
  49. FORTY
  50. FORTY-ONE
  51. FORTY-TWO
  52. FORTY-THREE
  53. FORTY-FOUR
  54. FORTY-FIVE
  55. FORTY-SIX
  56. FORTY-SEVEN
  57. FORTY-EIGHT
  58. FORTY-NINE
  59. FIFTY
  60. FIFTY-ONE
  61. FIFTY-TWO
  62. FIFTY-THREE
  63. FIFTY-FOUR
  64. PART FOUR
  65. FIFTY-FIVE
  66. FIFTY-SIX
  67. FIFTY-SEVEN
  68. FIFTY-EIGHT
  69. FIFTY-NINE
  70. SIXTY
  71. SIXTY-ONE
  72. SIXTY-TWO
  73. SIXTY-THREE
  74. SIXTY-FOUR
  75. SIXTY-FIVE
  76. SIXTY-SIX
  77. SIXTY-SEVEN
  78. SIXTY-EIGHT
  79. SIXTY-NINE
  80. SEVENTY
  81. SEVENTY-ONE
  82. SEVENTY-TWO
  83. SEVENTY-THREE
  84. EPILOGUE
  85. Discover more books and sign up to the Robert Muchamore mailing list at muchamore.com
  86. Have you read KILLER T?
  87. 1 SLASHED RUBBER
  88. 2 NOT HARRY POTTER

Wendy laughed. ‘Do you really think your balcony leap would have made the front page of every newspaper if you were twenty kilos overweight and had spots?’

Georgia knew her looks were a factor in everything that had happened. But Wendy holding it up to her face, and the contrast with nobody caring about what had been happening in Akure, made her feel awkward and angry. She felt like storming out of the publisher’s office and telling the entire world to bugger off, but Wendy’s eye caught one of the photos in Georgia’s messenger conversation.

‘What’s that?’

‘That’s Duke,’ Georgia said. ‘I showed Julius old pics of me with Sophie, and he sent me some of Duke, and his brother Gabe.’

Wendy waved her hand. ‘Behind Duke, in the cage.’

‘Oh,’ Georgia said. ‘It’s this weird thing in Akure called Arctic Zoo. It’s falling down, and most of the animals died or got sold. But there’s a one-eyed polar bear called Eddie that nobody wants.’

Wendy laughed. ‘If you want people to take an interest in Akure, a one-eyed polar bear that nobody wants is definitely a story.’

‘Julius said the other bears got sold to a zoo in Japan, or something. They didn’t want Eddie, because his manky eye socket scares kids.’

‘That’s golden,’ Wendy said brightly. ‘Tweet the one-eyed bear. Don’t make a statement. Give your message a hook, so people have something to chew over.’

‘What’s a hook?’

Wendy shrugged. ‘Something like, My heart goes out to my good friend J and the long-suffering people of Akure, Nigeria. Especially Eddie, the one-eyed polar bear who nobody wants. Chuck in a few broken-heart and crying-face emojis and everyone will be desperate to know what you’re on about.’

‘Say that line again,’ Georgia said as she opened her keyboard and started to type, My heart goes out …

She’d just finished editing the photo when a tall woman with dangly yellow earrings rushed out and introduced herself.

‘Sorry to keep you both waiting – my last meeting dragged,’ she gasped, as she leaned in to kiss Wendy. ‘I’m Verity Starling-Cole, editorial director for non-fiction. The rest of the gang is in the conference room, and, Georgia, everyone on the Walrus Books team is soooooo thrilled to meet you …’

SIXTY-FOUR

Walrus Books was offering £600,000 for a ghost-written autobiography and another £200,000 for a Georgia Pack Christmas Annual and a guidebook aimed at teen readers, to be called Georgia Pack’s Guide to Revolution. There was also the possibility of a Georgia Pack calendar and diary. The whole package would be publicised with a newspaper serialisation, a Georgia Pack YouTube channel, TV interviews and a nationwide book tour.

Everyone in the meeting kept telling Georgia about her potential, and how she would set the Christmas book market ablaze. But Georgia felt grumpy as she rode home in Wendy’s Audi, staring at the offer sheet.