Frozen Charlotte
Page 22
It was Tigs who broke the silence. She was standing in the doorway, holding a small white paper bag. “As I was saying. I might be able to help with the whole … revision thing.” She rummaged in the bag and pulled out a stack of white oblong packets, tossing them to each of the group in turn.
The box rattled slightly as it landed in Izzy’s hands. It was made of thick, glossy cardboard, embossed with the words FokusPro in heavy bold lettering. Nothing else. Inside were three silver blister-strips of tablets, glittering as they caught the light. They felt cold to the touch as she shook them into her hand, almost as though they were sucking the heat from her skin.
“You can thank me on results day,” said Tigs smugly. “They’re the new thing in the States. All the college kids are taking them for finals.”
“A study drug?” Noah stared at the box resting on his palm. “Are you sure that’s a good idea? Won’t we get in trouble?”
“It’s fine. I swear. They’re just a bunch of vitamins and supplements or something. They’re meant to help you work for longer, remember stuff better. All that. And it’s not like anyone’s going to know, is it?”
“Where’d you get them?” Izzy poked a hole in one of the blisters with her nail and popped out a tablet. It was bright yellow, stamped with a small circle. It smelled awful – like something rotten. She frowned at it, then glanced at the others. No one else seemed to be bothered.
“Internet. Obviously.”
“The internet?”
“It’s fine! I used the Maternal’s account. She gets all her stuff from this pharmacy. Noxapharm or something.”
“Well, that fills me with confidence…” Izzy couldn’t tear her eyes away from the pill in her hand. Something about it felt … off. Like that smell. Nothing good could smell like that, surely?
“Oh, come on. It’s called ‘FokusPro’. They wouldn’t be allowed to call it that unless it had been tested and everything. It’s literally just a bunch of algae and stuff. That’s all it does. Helps you concentrate.” Tigs scrunched up the paper bag and lobbed it across the room. “I mean, what’s the worst that can happen, right?”
Copyright
STRIPES PUBLISHING
An imprint of Little Tiger Press
1 The Coda Centre, 189 Munster Road,
London SW6 6AW
First published as an ebook by Stripes Publishing in 2014.
Text copyright © Alex Bell, 2014
Extract from Sleepless © Lou Morgan, 2014
Cover copyright © Stripes Publishing Ltd, 2014
eISBN: 978–1–84715–504–7
The right of Alex Bell to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988.
All rights reserved.
Apart from any use permitted under UK copyright law, this publication may only be reproduced, stored, or transmitted, in any forms, or by any means, with prior permission in writing of the publishers or, in the case of reprographic production, in accordance with the terms of licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
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