Georgia.
âCourse not,â said Holly.
And the moment became defined. Holly had her ATM card with her. The Plastic Surgery Emergency Fund was ready and waiting. And when she thought about it, that was what the fund was for. To transform her. She could see a new, bright Holly Holley emerging as if from a chrysalis.
Yeah, her mum would be angry. If she found out. But there was a possibility she wouldnât. And anyway, even if she did, this was something Holly was owed. She was tired of being good. Giving up her bedroom, giving up her social life. For what? It wasnât even as if she was being treated better. Just good old Holly, you can rely on her to give up everything for nothing in return. Well, not this time.
When Holly spoke again it was a smooth transition from her last words.
âWhat are we waiting for?â she said. âLetâs hit the shops.â
Demi laughed.
âYouâre bad,â she said. âMeet us in twenty minutes, okay? By the basketball court. Itâs easy to slip away from there.â
Holly nodded. As she left the girlsâ toilets, she was conscious of her nerves tingling. She wasnât sure whether this was due to fear or excitement.
Or a combination of both.
Cassie
My nerves tingle.
New school. New patterns.
Lunchtimes are full of fear. I sit in a staffroom, surrounded by old voices. Someone feeds me. She is kind but doesnât know the rhythms. A spoon scrapes the side of my mouth, clinks on teeth. She talks, yet all her words are fillers. They fill the gap of my silence.
This is the hardest time.
New school. New patterns.
My nerves tingle.
Amy found an unoccupied table in the canteen, tucked behind a pillar.
Sheâd thought about taking up her usual spot on the bench outside, but couldnât bring herself to do it. She needed space.
Amy ate her sandwich and flicked through the section on quadratic equations in her maths textbook. She was so absorbed that, for a minute or two, she wasnât aware of the girls talking. It was only the name âHollyâ that tugged her attention away from the symbols on the page. She couldnât see who was speaking. The pillar hid everything. But she recognised the voices.
âWell, I think itâs amazing of you to give her another chance. Especially after the disaster of the sleepover.â
âI told you,â came the voice of Demi Larson. âIâm bored. I need a project. And what better, more challenging project than Holly Holley?â
There was laughter. Amy leaned back against the pillar, the book forgotten.
âTake the daggiest, dullest girl in the entire school and transform her. Itâs just like Extreme Makeover . Our own reality program. I wonder if we could get a TV channel interested . . .â
âMy parents do a heap of charity work for disadvantaged people.â Was that Kari Williams or Georgia Glasson? It was difficult to tell. âAnd I guess this is similar. Help out the unfortunate among us. Itâs kind of noble.â
âExactly,â said Demi. âMind you, we can probably turn that ugly duckling into something resembling a swan through clothes and make-up alone. But Iâm not sure if thereâs anything that can be done with the personality.â
Laughter again.
âA character implant?â
âCharisma infusions?â
âWhat Personality Not To Wear?â
âToo difficult,â said Demi. âEven for me. Hey, guys, weâd better get moving. This is where the hard work starts.â
Amy waited until the sounds of retreating footsteps faded. Then she headed quickly into the bright sunshine of the schoolyard. Her maths textbook remained on the canteen table among crumpled clingwrap and scattered crumbs.
Although Cassie was in mainstream classes most of the time, there were exceptions and Friday afternoon was one. Fern had insisted that Cassie be treated the same as other students, with the same
âCourse not,â said Holly.
And the moment became defined. Holly had her ATM card with her. The Plastic Surgery Emergency Fund was ready and waiting. And when she thought about it, that was what the fund was for. To transform her. She could see a new, bright Holly Holley emerging as if from a chrysalis.
Yeah, her mum would be angry. If she found out. But there was a possibility she wouldnât. And anyway, even if she did, this was something Holly was owed. She was tired of being good. Giving up her bedroom, giving up her social life. For what? It wasnât even as if she was being treated better. Just good old Holly, you can rely on her to give up everything for nothing in return. Well, not this time.
When Holly spoke again it was a smooth transition from her last words.
âWhat are we waiting for?â she said. âLetâs hit the shops.â
Demi laughed.
âYouâre bad,â she said. âMeet us in twenty minutes, okay? By the basketball court. Itâs easy to slip away from there.â
Holly nodded. As she left the girlsâ toilets, she was conscious of her nerves tingling. She wasnât sure whether this was due to fear or excitement.
Or a combination of both.
Cassie
My nerves tingle.
New school. New patterns.
Lunchtimes are full of fear. I sit in a staffroom, surrounded by old voices. Someone feeds me. She is kind but doesnât know the rhythms. A spoon scrapes the side of my mouth, clinks on teeth. She talks, yet all her words are fillers. They fill the gap of my silence.
This is the hardest time.
New school. New patterns.
My nerves tingle.
Amy found an unoccupied table in the canteen, tucked behind a pillar.
Sheâd thought about taking up her usual spot on the bench outside, but couldnât bring herself to do it. She needed space.
Amy ate her sandwich and flicked through the section on quadratic equations in her maths textbook. She was so absorbed that, for a minute or two, she wasnât aware of the girls talking. It was only the name âHollyâ that tugged her attention away from the symbols on the page. She couldnât see who was speaking. The pillar hid everything. But she recognised the voices.
âWell, I think itâs amazing of you to give her another chance. Especially after the disaster of the sleepover.â
âI told you,â came the voice of Demi Larson. âIâm bored. I need a project. And what better, more challenging project than Holly Holley?â
There was laughter. Amy leaned back against the pillar, the book forgotten.
âTake the daggiest, dullest girl in the entire school and transform her. Itâs just like Extreme Makeover . Our own reality program. I wonder if we could get a TV channel interested . . .â
âMy parents do a heap of charity work for disadvantaged people.â Was that Kari Williams or Georgia Glasson? It was difficult to tell. âAnd I guess this is similar. Help out the unfortunate among us. Itâs kind of noble.â
âExactly,â said Demi. âMind you, we can probably turn that ugly duckling into something resembling a swan through clothes and make-up alone. But Iâm not sure if thereâs anything that can be done with the personality.â
Laughter again.
âA character implant?â
âCharisma infusions?â
âWhat Personality Not To Wear?â
âToo difficult,â said Demi. âEven for me. Hey, guys, weâd better get moving. This is where the hard work starts.â
Amy waited until the sounds of retreating footsteps faded. Then she headed quickly into the bright sunshine of the schoolyard. Her maths textbook remained on the canteen table among crumpled clingwrap and scattered crumbs.
Although Cassie was in mainstream classes most of the time, there were exceptions and Friday afternoon was one. Fern had insisted that Cassie be treated the same as other students, with the same
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