by Maria Grace
The beautiful white roses glistened in the damp winter air. I touched them as I walked past, for reassurance.
I approached the swings.
Karra ignored me.
I perched on the swing next to her.
The swings swayed gently in unison as we sat side by side.
‘Alright?’ I greeted her.
‘Alright?’ she replied, but didn’t look at me.
‘I’m so sorry about what I said.’ My voice broke as a tear caught in my throat. ‘There’s no excuse for it. I was a really bad friend to you.’
‘You screwed me over, Em,’ she said. ‘In front of everyone.’
‘I know,’ I replied. ‘And I swear to you, if I could take it back, I would.’
‘You know that I’m insecure because I’m not very brainy.’ She made eye contact with me for the first time, and I could see that she was trying not to cry. ‘And you took that insecurity, and used it to humiliate me. I would never do that to you. I might be a lot of things, but disloyal isn’t one of them. I don’t screw my mates over like that, because screwing your mates over is not cool.’
I nodded my head. ‘I would never deliberately hurt you. Since I’ve been at the children’s home, you’ve been my best friend.’
‘HA!’ Karra pointed at me, triumphantly. ‘“SCREWING your mates over is not cool!” See! You’re not the only one who knows what a stupid GERUND is! So you can stick your fancy grammar up your arse!’
I stared at her for a moment, not knowing how to respond. And then we both fell into fits of giggles.
‘I’m sorry!’ She threw her head back, laughing. ‘I just remembered what a gerund was! I got excited, that’s all!’
‘Well, at least you’ve learned your grammar!’ I grinned. ‘That’s the best example of a gerund that I’ve heard.’
‘Come on.’ Karra got off the swing. ‘We’d better get back. The others will be wondering where we are.’
‘Don’t you know about the search party?’ I asked.
‘Search party?’ She looked shocked. ‘What search party?’
‘The search party for you.’
‘Why would they organise a search party for me?’
‘Uhhh… Maybe because you ran away,’ I replied.
Karra looked puzzled. ‘What are you talking about, Em?’
‘You didn’t sleep in our bedroom last night,’ I said. ‘You didn’t sleep in Quinn’s room, either. And you weren’t at breakfast this morning. Everyone thought you had run away!’
Realisation dawned on her. ‘I fell asleep in the pool room! When I woke up, there was nobody around so I went to town to grab a breakfast roll. After that, I went back home and there was still nobody there, so I just came here for a while.’
‘Oh,’ I said. ‘We’d better let everyone know, so they can call off Operation Find Karra.’
‘Operation Find Karra!’ She laughed out loud. ‘Operation Epic Fail, more like!’
TWENTY-NINE
The whole school was standing in the yard, freezing our bums off in the December air while the fire alarm screamed through the buildings. Megan and I had been in the middle of an unfortunate game of netball outside, so we were grateful when the fire alarm mercifully saved us. The downside was that we were now standing in a fire drill line wearing our P.E. kit and jumping lightly from foot to foot, because we were so cold. The P.E. teacher told us that if we kept moving, it would keep us warm. And even though it’s a well-known fact that teachers lie, we followed her advice out of desperation.
Ollie made his way over, mocking us as he hopped dramatically across the yard.
‘You two are a right pair of nerds!’ he laughed.
‘Shut up, Ollie,’ said Megan. ‘I wish this bloody fire drill would hurry up. I don’t understand why they insist on having a fire drill outside in the middle of December. Actually, I don’t understand why they insist on having anything outside in the middle of December! Haven’t they ever heard of influenza? They’ll have a school full of people suffering from it, if they carry on.’
‘What’s influenza?’ Ollie asked.
Megan rolled her eyes. ‘It’s the proper term for flu.’
‘Why don’t you just say flu?’
‘Because she likes things to be done proper,’ I said.
‘Properly,’ Megan corrected me. ‘I like things to be done proper-ly.’
The fire alarm had been going off for ages and the noise was starting to hurt my ears. I pressed my freezing hands against them, but the whistling pain in my eardrum wouldn’t go away.
‘That’s so loud!’ I frowned.
Megan and Ollie looked at each other and then back at me.
‘Em,’ said Megan. ‘The fire drill has already finished. It stopped about a minute ago.’
‘I must still have some leftover ringing in my ears.’ I shrugged. ‘It’ll probably wear off when I get used to the quiet again.’
‘Maybe you have something wrong with your ears,’ said Ollie. ‘What’s that condition called? My grandfather gets it – like a ringing in your ears… Oh, what’s the name of it?’
‘Yes!’ Megan held her forehead, trying to think of the word. ‘I know what you mean! It begins with T. What’s it called? What’s it called?’
I shook my ear out with my little finger.
I had a feeling to look around. Stacey Lock was standing two rows down, giving me stinkers across the yard. Oh, boy. She looked in a real grim mood.
‘Tinnitus!’ Megan and Ollie shouted the answer together.
Stacey said something to The Clones. Then all three of them looked in my direction.
‘What’s her problem, today?’ Megan had seen the three girls casting menacing glances my way.
‘I don’t know,’ I replied. ‘But I don’t have a good feeling about it.’
‘OK!’ The P.E. teacher yelled across the yard. ‘My class – back to your netball positions! The rest of the school, make your way back to your classes in a timely, orderly manner!’
The lines started to move towards the school entrance.
The ringing noise was still in the background of my mind, and I was starting to get a headache.
Megan walked back to her side of the netball pitch and I headed for mine. As we parted ways, a force hit me from behind.
‘Sorry, Smellmeline.’ Stacey Lock smirked. ‘I must have bumped into you by accident.’
The Rudeness!Why was she such a knob? What had I done this morning to wind her up? Nothing whatsoever! Yet she still felt the need to hassle me. The girl had issues.
I ignored her and carried on to my position as the game picked up where it left off. As usual, I was Goal Shoot because I was rubbish at everything else so it was safer to keep me in the circle by myself, where I couldn’t injure or embarrass anyone else.
On the bright side, I was never lonely because if I needed someone to cheer me up, all I had to do was look across to the circle at the other end of the pitch and I could see Megan. We may be on opposing teams, but we played the same position because we were both as rubbish as each other.
I waved to her and smiled.
She gave me the thumbs up.
‘FOUL!’ The teacher blew her whistle. I looked across to see who had done what and I could see Stacey Lock pushing another girl. She was a right grump today.
‘Go!’ The teacher blew her whistle again.
It was so loud. What was with all the noise? My headache was getting worse.
I closed my eyes because the ringing was still there – a constant high-pitched buzzing in my mind. I rubbed my forehead with both hands, but it just wouldn’t ease up at all. It seemed to be getting louder; it was like someone scraping a fork down a china plate inside my head. Everything around me had faded into a haze of muffled voices. I couldn’t focus on anything, because the piercing sound was so dominating.
I closed my eyes again and breathed out slowly. Ground yourself, Em.
I pressed my feet firmly on the floor and I imagined tree
roots coming from them, like Mum had taught me.
The ringing noise started to settle a little.
It was working.
I allowed my eyelids go heavy.
I just needed a minute to relax.
‘EM!’ I heard Megan shout my name. The shock made me jump. I opened my eyes and…
SMACK!
I sat in the nurse’s office, holding a tissue to my nose. Again.
‘We should have a bed with your name on it, Emmeline.’ The nurse winked at me.
I smiled politely.
‘I’m just popping to the staffroom for a minute. Will you be OK in here with Megan?’
I nodded.
As soon as she left, Megan started kicking off. ‘I’m telling you now, Em. She did it on purpose!You should have seen her face. The girl is messed up.’
I knew that Stacey had deliberately thrown the netball at me. But I couldn’t understand why. I had to figure out what I had done to wind her up again.
‘Please tell those girls at the children’s home,’ Megan pleaded. ‘They would sort her out in a second.’
‘Exactly,’ I said. ‘I don’t want that. I have to learn to fight for myself. Besides, I’ve only just made up with Karra. I don’t want to risk cocking things up with her again.’
‘Fair enough.’ Megan sat next to me. ‘But if anything else happens with Stacey Lock, I’m warning you … if you don’t tell those girls, then I will.’
I groaned as I held the tissue to my nose for the second time that term. ‘It HURTS!’ I whined.
‘You wait, Em…’ Megan paced up and down the room. ‘When I’ve got my black belt, Stacey Lock will be sooo sorry.’
I nodded to show my gratitude.
‘I think I’m a natural at martial arts,’ she said. ‘I even make up my own moves.’ She started lowering herself to the floor and leaning forward in a weird position. ‘This is called Crouching Tiger,’ she announced.
‘That’s very…’ I took a moment to think of the right word. ‘Impressive.’
She bent over with her arms waving at the sides. ‘And this one is called … Octopus Death.’
I tried not to laugh. ‘How long have you been going to karate now, Megan?’ I asked.
‘Two years,’ she said.
‘I didn’t realise you’d been going so long. What belt are you now?’
‘White,’ she replied.
•••
Lunchtime came around.
Ollie joined me and Megan in the dinner queue.
‘Ooof!’ He cringed at the sight of my nose. ‘What happened to you?’
‘Stacey Lock happened,’ I replied.
‘WHAT?’ Ollie was outraged. ‘Has she done something to you again? What the hell is that girl’s problem?’
The three of us waited for our curry and chips, and the ringing in my ears started up again. I was really frustrated with it now. It had stopped when I managed to ground myself, but then I was smacked in the face with the flipping netball. Where’s the justice in that? Every time Stacey Lock was anywhere near me today, my ears started playing up terribly. Maybe it was because she was in such a bad mood. Perhaps my ears responded to the energy she was vibrating and that was why they were hurting me so much.
We paid for our food at the till, and walked to a table near the ketchup stand. We had to pass Stacey Lock again. She was sitting with The Clones. They all smiled sweetly at Ollie.
As we walked past them, I heard Stacey’s voice. ‘Stupid skanks!’ She spat her words out. ‘Why does he spend so much time with them? It’s doing my head in, watching him flirt with Smellmeline. All the effort I make, and he doesn’t even notice that I’m here.’
She’d been bumping her gums about some boy flirting with me the last time she had tried to trip me up, but I hadn’t realised who she was talking about.
‘Well,’ she said, ‘whatever floats your boat, Ollie. If you want to get off with some weirdo, then be my guest. It’s your loss, not mine.’
AH-HA!Stacey Lock fanciedOllie Hart! And she was jealous because he always bothered with us, instead of her! That’s why she tried to trip me up in the hallway the other day – because Ollie was talking to me at the time. And that must have been why she was so angry this morning – because Ollie was chatting to me and Megan during the fire drill.
Oh-My-Donald-Duck! Ollie Hart was of no interest to me. I was no threat to Stacey. Where Ollie was concerned, Stacey was her own worst enemy. Ollie Hart liked nice girls, not nasty ones who threw netballs at people’s faces.
Why hadn’t I figured this out earlier? It was so obvious!
Well, at least now I understood what the trigger was for Stacey’s bullying. Should I have a chat with her? I suppose I could reassure her that she didn’t need to worry about me getting in her way if she liked him. Maybe then, she’d back off and leave me alone.
Then again, after today’s antics during the netball game, I could play some dirty tactics of my own. Why should I show any mercy to Stacey Lock? She certainly never showed any mercy to me.
What should I do?
I felt like I had two different sides to myself. Two different heads.
One was nice.
One was naughty.
One was telling me to be kind.
The other was telling me to be cruel.
One was telling me to let it go.
The other was telling me to make the most of this situation.
Either way, whichever side of myself I listened to, I knew that this new information meant two things:
1 – I now understood what Stacey Lock’s problem was.
2 – This was a great opportunity for revenge.
THIRTY
‘Oh, Ollie! You’re so funny! Ha-Ha-HAAA!’ I laughed and brushed against Ollie’s arm. I glanced over to Stacey Lock and she looked like she wanted to murder me, so the plan was working.
Yes, that’s right. I listened to my naughty side. I knew deep down that it was wrong, but Stacey had annoyed me so much today, and I won’t lie to you: revenge was sweet.
Megan and Ollie looked at each other and raised their eyebrows.
‘Em?’ Megan half-grinned. ‘What are you doing?’
‘Nothing, why? I’m just saying. He’s a funny guy, isn’t he?’ I smiled at Megan and then looked back to Ollie. ‘You’re a funny guy, Ollie.’
He looked confused. ‘Thanks. I suppose. I didn’t do anything funny though, Em. I just ate my chips.’
‘HA-HA-HAAAAA!’ I saw that Stacey was giving me the evil eye and I threw my head back laughing. ‘That’s awesome! You just ate your chips! You’re so…’ I made sure that Stacey could see me as I sat close to Ollie and rubbed his shoulder. ‘You’re so … smexy.’
Megan started giggling.
I frowned at her.
Ollie looked a bit frightened.
I could hear Stacey’s voice, but I couldn’t make out what she was saying because of all the noise in the cafeteria.
I looked adoringly at Ollie.
Megan laughed again. ‘Are you trying to flirt with Ollie?’
‘No,’ I said. ‘Of course not!’
‘You are! You’re trying to flirt with Ollie Hart!’ she teased, little squeals of delight coming out of her mouth through the giggles.
Ollie cast his eyes in every direction, except mine.
My face turned the colour of a cherry tomato.
Super Awks.
‘I’m sorry, Em,’ said Ollie. ‘I’m not really comfortable with you touching me up and stuff. I’ve known you since I was three years old. I don’t like you in that way. No offence.’
Megan screamed out loud, laughing and jumping a little bit in her seat. She was making sounds that could only be described as monkey noises.
I was mortified. I didn’t even fancy Ollie. I just wanted to make Stacey Lock jealous, that’s all. It had obviously worked, because she could have turned me to stone with her eyes. But I’d made a fool of myself in the process, and I’d also embarrassed Olli
e. Was there no end to my stupidity?
‘I’m sorry, Ollie. I didn’t mean to touch you up or make you feel uncomfortable,’ I said.
‘Ooo! Ooo! Oooo!’ Megan pursed her lips together and laughed wildly, still making her monkey noises. She clearly enjoyed the sight of her best friend squirming.
‘I know you don’t think of me in that way,’ I said. ‘I don’t think of you in that way, either. I was just…’
Stacey Lock started walking in my direction, with The Clones at her side. Stacey had a cup of pop in her hand, and she sipped it as she weaved through the tables. She frowned at me over the top of the cup.
Oh, no.
What was she going to do?
She got closer to me and I pretended I didn’t see her, while I tried to plan my escape. You utter pleb, Emmeline! I taunted myself. What do you think you’re playing at? Now look what you’ve done!
Megan was still laughing. ‘You are the worst flirt ever!’ She started making an impression of me. ‘Oh, Ollie… You’re soooo…’ She did her best seductive voice and copied what I had said to Ollie. ‘You’re so … smexy.’
‘Shut up, Megan!’ I snapped at her.
‘SMEXY!’ She screamed with joy. ‘Who in the world says SMEXY?’
I kept a subtle eye on Stacey as she moved closer to our table. I felt really uneasy. I had to get away, before Stacey got to me.
‘I need the toilet!’ I declared.
I got up from my seat, but Ollie stopped me.
‘Don’t be embarrassed.’ He gently sat me back down. ‘It’s OK, honestly. There’s no need to leave. Let’s just forget that it happened.’
‘Ooo! Ooo! Ooo!’ Tears of laughter filled Megan’s eyes. ‘This is too good!’
Stacey Lock was behind me. I panicked and jumped up from my seat, accidentally sending my chair flying backwards into Stacey. The cup that she was carrying went shooting all over her and The Clones.
All three of them gasped in shock as the drink hit their faces.
Megan covered her mouth with both hands, and you could just about make out the muffled sounds of a chimpanzee.
I looked at the three girls. ‘I’m so sorry!’ I said. ‘It was an accident, I swear! I was just getting up to go to the toilet.’