A Year in Girl Hell

by Meredith Costain

  There’s a chorus of sniggers. Jane taps my shoulder. ‘I need a word to rhyme with Michi.’

  ‘Hmm, let me see,’ says Amira. ‘Itchy, twitchy, witchy …’ ‘Something starting with B maybe?’ suggests Jess.

  ‘Now, why didn’t I think of that?’ says Jane. ‘It’s perfect.’

  The bell rings and there’s a flurry of footsteps as everyone hurries off to class. ‘Thanks for the invite, Amira,’ I hear someone say.

  ‘Yeah, your party sounds wicked. I’ll be there for sure.’

  When I finally pull my head out of my locker, the corridor is empty. So, Amira’s having a party? That must be what those envelopes were all about. Party invitations.

  Guess I got left off the invitation list.

  Where are you, Mia???

  My phone beeps twice as I’m trudging over to the portables. I make a hasty detour into the toilet block so I can check the message. We’re not supposed to have our phones on once the starting bell’s gone.

  It’s from Mia.

  sorry mich wont be coming

  in 2day cramps from hell :(

  c u aftr skl in pink hq?

  m x

  Oh no no! This can’t be happening to me! How am I supposed to face the evil witches without Mia?

  I go into a cubicle, pull the lid down and sit on it, making sure the door’s firmly bolted. Then I quickly text Mia.

  c u ltr get betr m x

  I switch off my phone, trying to make myself comfortable on the hard plastic toilet lid. Boy, does this place stink. But no way am I going to class now. We’ve got English first up. What if my name gets pulled out of the hat and I have to give my oral report? I’d stuff it up big time.

  I’m just going to have to tough it out in here till the bell goes for the next class.

  Chapter 15

  wednesday morning … lesson two

  I double-check the timetable in my school diary. The next class is PE. Just my luck. Why couldn’t it be something nice and passive, like maths, where I could just sit at my desk and disappear? But there’s no way I can stick it out in this stinky toilet cubicle a moment longer.

  I stand up, stretch, then unbolt the door. A couple of girls standing near the sinks check me out in the mirror as I walk stiffly towards the door. One of them whispers something to the other, then they both laugh. Looks like I was right. By the end of the day, everyone at school’s going to know just what a reject I am.

  I double back to my locker, grab my sports uniform, then head for the change rooms. Amira’s holding court when I walk in, answering questions from our classmates about her party. She raises her eyebrows and gives me a cruel little smile but doesn’t say anything.

  I turn my back on her and change into my sports gear, trying to ignore the sniggers and comments about how ‘ugly’ I am. Party chit-chat floats in the air around me. Seems like it’s going to be held at Amira’s house, out by the pool. There’s going to be music and fancy food. And lots of guests. Anyone who’s anyone will be there. Apart from me, obviously.

  Mr Makris blow his whistle and I follow everyone out to the courts. He hands around a bunch of netballs and tells us to get into pairs to practise our passing skills. Jess immediately pairs up with Amira, and Jane with Tara. There’s an odd number of students and without Mia there to hold my hand, I’m left standing on my own.

  Mr Makris misreads the expression on my face. ‘Don’t worry, Michi,’ he tells me, ‘I’ll be your partner for today.’

  ‘That’s okay, Mr Mak,’ Jess calls out sweetly. ‘Michi can come in with Ami and me. We can have a three-way.’ She turns to me triumphantly, her eyes glittering like a snake’s. ‘We wouldn’t want her to feel left out.’

  ‘Great idea, Jess,’ Mr Makris commends her. ‘That’s the way. Real team spirit.’ He holds up his whistle. ‘Right, everyone. When you hear me blow this, I want you to all start passing, okay?’

  Bleeep!

  Amira throws the ball at me, hard. It hits me on the soft part of my upper arm, then bounces off, leaving a red mark. ‘Hey!’ I protest, looking around to see if Mr Makris has seen what just happened. But of course he’s up the other end of the court by now.

  ‘What’s the matter, Twitchy, can’t you take it?’ says Jess. I give her a dirty look then put my hands up, ready to catch the next pass. She rolls her eyes and passes the ball to Amira, who throws it at me again, this time at my chest. But I’m ready for her. I neatly catch the ball before it can hit me and send it winging back to Jess. We play on in silence, the passes getting faster and faster until Mr Makris blows his whistle again.

  Finally the session finishes. Jane comes back over, cold victory in her eyes. Mr Makris sends the four of us off to collect all the netballs and put them away while everyone else heads back to the change rooms. By the time we’ve done that the rest of the class has already changed back into their uniforms and gone off to recess.

  Jane watches with interest as I silently slip my sports tunic over my head.

  ‘What’s that?’ she says, pointing at the chain around my neck.

  ‘Nothing,’ I say, my hand moving protectively to cover Batty.

  ‘Come on, Twitch, give us a look,’ she insists, her fingers poking at the chain.

  ‘Yeah, come on, Twitchy,’ Jess joins in. ‘Let’s see what you’ve got there. Did your new boyfriend give it to you?’

  ‘Get off,’ I say, backing away from them. ‘I haven’t got a boyfriend!’

  ‘Not what we’ve heard,’ says Jess.

  Jane’s fingers pull at the chain again, twisting it until it snaps. I take a step back and Batty comes flying off the broken end onto the floor.

  Amira stoops down to pick him up. ‘Oh look,’ she says, stroking his red eyes. ‘It’s your little good luck charm. Shame you won’t have it for your music exam tomorrow, Twitchy.’

  ‘Give him back!’ I shriek.

  Amira holds up Batty at arm’s length, just out of my reach.

  ‘Sorry, Twitchy, no can do.’ She plays with me as I make hopeless little jumps, trying to retrieve him, then throws Batty over to Jane. Jane neatly catches him then slips him into her pocket. Then the three of them walk off, cackling like evil hags.

  I slump down onto the change room bench, my head in my hands.

  How do they know he’s my good luck charm? Are they spying on me now?

  And how am I going to survive my exam without Batty?

  Chapter 16

  wednesday afternoon

  Mia’s an angel. Even though she’s been feeling really lousy all day, she’s managed to work her organisational magic and get Leesh and Lexi over to Pink HQ after school for ‘Operation Cheer Up Michi’.

  I flop down on the couch beside her and grab a handful of chocolate buddies. ‘I can honestly say this has been the worst day of my life,’ I tell them.

  Lexi’s sitting cross-legged on a cushion at my feet. ‘Mich, I’m so sorry I wasn’t there for you today. I looked for you at recess but couldn’t find you, and then at lunchtime I had a magazine committee meeting, and …’

  I give her a wan smile. ‘Hey, don’t worry about it, Lex,’ I tell her. ‘At least I know you were thinking about me.’

  I sneak a look at Alysha, who’s studying her fingernails. ‘Oh, me too,’ she adds brightly, when she catches me looking at her. ‘Especially after all that stuff about the website. Majorly nasty. But I got kind of tied up at lunchtime too. Paige wanted me to –’ ‘Don’t worry about it,’ I say, letting her off the hook. It’s obvious she doesn’t really mean it. ‘I was fine, really.’ Except I hadn’t been. Without Mia or anyone else to talk to, I spent most of lunchtime hanging out in Loserville, round the back of the dumpsters in the teacher’s car park, where nobody could see me. I couldn’t quite face sitting on the library steps with the other no-mates kids.

  ‘Well, anyway, we’re here now,’ Lexi says, passing me the chocolate bowl. ‘Anything you want us to do, just let me know.’

  ‘Well, I can think of one or two
things,’ I laugh. ‘But they’re probably illegal.’

  ‘Mia says those witches took your charm,’ Lexi says. ‘I can’t believe they did that!’

  Alysha stares at me. ‘Seriously? What happened?’ ‘They ganged up on her in the change rooms after PE,’ Mia tells her. ‘And broke the chain.’

  Alysha’s eyes narrow. ‘That is so mean.’

  ‘Yeah,’ says Lexi. ‘I know how much you love little Batty.’

  Mia rubs my arm. ‘Maybe we can get you another one.’

  ‘Maybe,’ I say, though it won’t be the same. And no way will they be able to get it for me in time for my music exam tomorrow … ‘What else did they say to you?’ Lexi wants to know.

  ‘Nothing, really,’ I say. ‘Everyone was too busy talking about some party Amira’s having. I saw her giving out invites for it this morning. Hey, do you guys know anything about it?’

  Alysha looks a bit uncomfortable. ‘Yeah. Kind of.’

  Mia stares at her. ‘How come? Did she invite you?’

  ‘Nah. But Paige and Jayde both got one. And a few of the other people out of our class. You know. The … ah … the …’ ‘Shiny ones?’ I suggest, my stomach tightening. It’s our pet name for the popular people at school. Alysha was trying to fit into that group all last term.

  ‘Yeah. I guess you could say that.’

  ‘Did you get one, Lex?’ Mia asks her.

  ‘Nuh-uh. Why would I? They’re not my friends.’

  ‘So, when is it, anyway?’ I sigh. ‘This famous party.’

  ‘Saturday night.’

  ‘This Saturday night?’ I say, then laugh. Oh wow, this really sucks. It’s my birthday on Saturday. There I was thinking my lovely friends, I mean my lovely ex-friends, were planning to throw me a surprise party for it. Yeah, well, they’re having a party that night, all right. Just without me.

  There’s a rustling sound as Mia’s dad sticks his head into the room.

  ‘Mia? Are you in here? Did you and the girls order some pizzas?’

  Mia crinkles her forehead. ‘No. Why?’

  Mia’s dad comes into the room, holding four family-sized pizzas. ‘Well, these just arrived and I had to pay for them. We’ll talk about this later, Mia.’ He checks a piece of paper. ‘It says here they were ordered by Michi?’

  Alysha jumps up to grab them from him. ‘Hey, thanks, Mich. I’m starving!’

  I stare at her, puzzled. ‘But I didn’t –’ Alysha puts the pile on the table, then opens the lid of the first box. A heady smell saturates the room, making my stomach turn. I stare at the pizza inside. It’s laden with every type of meat topping you could think of: ham, salami, chicken, beef, bacon, sausage, pepperoni … Mia stares at me. ‘But this is a meat-lovers’ pizza. Why would you order that?’

  ‘I told you, I didn’t,’ I wail. I push the horrible thing aside and open the lid of the next box, and the next, and the next. They’re all the same. Giant greasy pizzas, covered with disgusting, stinking meat.

  Mia looks up at her dad. ‘I think there’s been a mistake, Dad. Can you take them away, please?’

  ‘But –’ begins Alysha, jumping up to grab one of the boxes from the table. Mia glares at her and she sits back down again. ‘Sorry,’ she whispers, as she realises what she’s just done.

  Mia’s dad, sensing something is wrong, scoops the boxes up. ‘I’ll put these away for later,’ he says quietly to Mia, then heads back to the house.

  I break down then. I can’t help it. ‘It’s them, isn’t it,’ I sob. ‘Why are they doing it? How did they even know I was here? Have they got my mobile bugged now or something?’

  Mia [stroking my hair]: I don’t know. I just don’t know.

  Alysha [moving closer]: We-ell, I reckon … I may be wrong … but I reckon this Ben guy I’ve been hearing about might have something to do with it.

  Me [surprised]: Ben?

  Alysha: Think about it. Those messages on the website. Lots of them were about you stealing people’s boyfriends. You know, how you couldn’t be trusted around guys?

  Me: But I haven’t stolen anyone’s boyfriend!

  Alysha: Yeah, well, Amira or whoever’s doing this seems to think you have.

  Lexi: Isn’t Ben the guy Amira likes?

  Me: Yes, but so what? I hardly even know him. He’s in orchestra with me, that’s all. It’s not like I spend my life texting him or hanging around him.

  Mia: He likes you though.

  Me: As if! Just because you keep saying it doesn’t make it true. Besides, he’s only ever spoken to me twice. And that was for about five seconds.

  Alysha: Did Amira see him talking to you? And get the wrong idea maybe?

  Me: No way. There was that time at her sleepover last Friday night, but she wasn’t even in the room. None of them were, not the Js, not Tara, none of them. Only Joe, her brother.

  Lexi: Maybe he told her?

  Me: But there was nothing to tell! Honest! Then at orchestra yesterday he came over to wish me good luck for my exam tomorrow. That’s it.

  Alysha: No touching, no kissing …

  Me [startled]: Get real, Leesh. We were at orchestra practice!

  Alysha: Yeah, well someone must have seen you two together, whatever you did. Someone who knows Amira. And they’ve told her all about it.

  Mia [sighing]: Looks like it. Maybe that girl I bumped into at orchestra? She was, like, really upset … Me [gloomily]: Maybe. With my luck she was probably Amira’s or Jess’s long-lost sister or something …

  Lexi: So, what are you going to do about it, Michi? I mean, you can’t keep letting them get away with all this stuff …

  I shrink back into the sofa. I don’t know. I just don’t know. Then Mia gets an idea.

  ‘This party on Saturday night,’ she says. ‘At Amira’s place.’

  ‘What about it?’ I say.

  ‘I reckon we crash it. The four of us. Dad’ll drive us over there, no worries. If we all stick together, what can they do?’

  ‘Sounds like a plan to me,’ says Lexi.

  ‘Leesh?’

  Alysha looks down at her feet. ‘I was … uh … kinda planning to go already. With Paige and Jayde.’

  Mia rolls her eyes. ‘Silly me. Well, do you think maybe you could change your plans, just this once?’ She reaches over to squeeze my arm. ‘Michi needs us. All of us.’

  Alysha shrugs. ‘Guess it wouldn’t kill me.’ Then she grins at me. ‘But if any hot boys turn up, I’m out of there, okay?’

  ‘So, that’s settled then,’ Mia says. ‘Now, if we all meet up here at –’ This is all going too fast. Way too fast. ‘Are you joking?’ I say. ‘You seriously think I’m going to turn up at Amira’s party? Without an invite?’ I shake my head. ‘They’ll come at me even harder.’

  ‘It’s the best way,’ Mia says gently. ‘We need to confront her. In front of all her friends.’

  ‘Yeah,’ agrees Lexi. ‘Find out what’s really going on. Come on, Mich. You’re really tough. Bet you’d be suggesting this if it was me they were picking on!’

  The room blurs as my eyes fill with tears. ‘You’re right,’ I whisper. ‘Thanks, guys. It means a lot.’

  But nothing’s really changed, I think, remembering the foul-smelling pizza boxes and the horrible scene in the change rooms this morning. I’ve still got tomorrow to get through yet. And the day after that …

  Chapter 17

  thursday afternoon

  Ms Hayes shakes the hat, making the scraps of paper inside rattle around. I cross my fingers as she reaches in to pull out another name. Please don’t let it be mine …

  ‘Jessica Costello,’ she announces. There’s a collective outlet of breath. Everyone else is safe for another five minutes.

  Jessica jumps up and almost skips to the front of the room. She waits for the class to quieten down, then launches confidently into her speech.

  ‘Today I am going to talk about cows,’ she announces, shooting me a look of triumph. ‘There are many different kinds of cows.
Some cows are used for milk production, and other cows for meat. Farmers keep their cows in paddocks with …’

  Jess manages to fit ‘cow’ into every sentence. I sneak a look at Amira and Jane. Their faces are masks, but I can tell they’re working hard to keep their sniggers under control. Other kids are trading quiet smiles. Surely Ms Hayes can see what Jess is doing? Then again, why would she? She has no idea what’s been going on in my life.

  I try to block out Jess’s speech by focusing on my music exam instead. But it’s hopeless. My mind’s a blank. How am I supposed to play well after this? I don’t even have Batty to help me get through it!

  ‘And that’s why I love cows so much!’ Jess finally announces. There’s wild clapping from the middle of the room, and Jess gives a little curtsey.

  Ms Hayes smiles at her. ‘Thank you, Jessica, that was most informative. And full marks for presentation.’ She turns to the class. ‘You could all learn a lot from Jess about delivery.’

  Especially when you’re on the receiving end of it, I think.

  ‘She could at least have chosen a different animal for a change,’ I whisper to Mia.

  ‘Just shows how boring and predictable she is,’ she whispers back. ‘Don’t worry, Mich. Not everyone thinks you’re a cow.’

  I wish I could believe her.

  Ms Hayes looks at the clock. ‘Okay, we’ve just got time for one more before the bell goes.’ More groaning. She dips her hand into the hat again. ‘Michi Kano,’ she announces.

  The blood in my veins turns to ice. Me? No way! Not today. I’m not ready!

  Ms Hayes is insistent. ‘Come on, Michi. Everyone’s got to do it some time.’

  Mia gives my arm a reassuring squeeze. ‘You can do it, Mich. Pretend that you’re talking to me, ’kay?’ Yeah, and a roomful of other people who think I’m a loser, including my three worst enemies. Should be a piece of cake. Dragging my heels, I force myself to the front of the room. I try to remember the guidelines Ms Hayes gave us for presentation. Stand tall. Focus on a point in the middle of the room. Speak slowly and clearly.

  I take a deep breath and straighten my spine. I move my focus to the middle of the room. Big mistake. Amira and Jess are sitting there, grinning at me like circus clowns. Jess makes goldfish kisses with her mouth. I look away, searching for Mia’s face instead.