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weakening me. With my forehead on the floor I shout, ‘Why did Mother Nature do this to us?’ I take some long, deep breaths.
    ‘Ahhh, babe. You’ll be OK. It’s OK,’ repeat Carla and Gem. The urge to scream ‘DO I LOOK OK, YOU PAIR OF PERFECTS?’ at them is almost impossible to control. I pant it out, by instruction of Charlotte. Then I feel a threatening presence hovering over me.
    ‘Why are you always trying to get attention? Periods aren’t that painful.’ It’s Sally, her feet close to my head. ‘Attention is all you care about, isn’t it? Maybe if you cared about school and did some work then you’d get attention for being clever rather than a thick show-off.’
    I try to ignore her, but I’m not in the most pleasant of moods.
    ‘A school full of girls and I’ve never seen anyone else with their head on the floor at the back of a classroom because of a little period pain. Only you, Renée.’
    Focus on the breath, focus on the breath.
    I look up. Her smirking face is looking down at me. Flo is sitting at her desk pretending to read a book. It’s upside down. Being beneath Sally, no matter what the reason, is not something I’m comfortable with. She steps closer to me and kneels down.
    ‘Poor Renée,’ she whispers. ‘No one loves you. No friends, a mad family. It’s hardly a wonder, really.’
    I feel a power surge in my belly. My muscles are tightening around the pain. One swift thrust up with my head and I’ll probably remove one of her teeth. I inhale deeply, ready to throw my head back and remove the smirk right from her face. One, two, thr—
    ‘Good morning, ladies. What is all this?’
    Sally jumps up. Miss Anthony is now standing over me.
    ‘Renée, is there any particular reason you are on the floor?’ Miss Anthony asks with an assertive tone.
    ‘Period pain, miss,’ offers Margaret.
    ‘Oh dear. Well, you shouldn’t be on the floor. Come on, Renée, up to your feet. Do you think you can make it to the sick room to lie down? There’s a hot water bottle there. It will pass in a little while if you just lie still,’ Miss Anthony says, helping me up.
    ‘WITH YOUR LEGS OPEN,’ shouts Charlotte from across the room.
    ‘Just a water bottle will do fine, thank you, Charlotte. Do you think you can make it downstairs on your own or would you like someone to go with you?’
    I nod, embarrassed that everyone in Year 11 now knows I have my period. I hold onto the wall the whole way.
    Inside the sick room both bunk beds are empty. Good, there’s nothing worse than having to share the sick room. I always regret skiving when I have to lie there pretending to be ill with someone puking into a bowl underneath me. I lie down on the bottom bunk and wait for whichever member of staff is on duty to come and make me a hot water bottle. My tummy is already feeling a little better.
    After ten minutes no one has come and I start to feel anxious. I need to change my panty pad. Knowing that the middle drawer in the office just off the sick room is full of them, I get up and creep in. This is where I’ve been getting them ever since I started my periods over a year ago. As I stuff as many as I can into my waistband, my bra and even a couple in my socks, I hear the door open.
    Oh, SHIT!
    ‘What on earth are you doing stuffing sanitary towels into your bra, Miss Sargent?’
    It’s Miss Trunks. She is taking up the entire doorframe. Even if I had wanted to escape I couldn’t have. She looks angry, but equally as pleased to have caught me. Catching people break school rules is why I think Miss Trunks became a teacher.
    ‘Stealing school property is a serious crime. Put those back. NOW,’ Miss Trunks says, spitting all over the place.
    I start to unload my bra and waistband. Of all the things to get caught stealing, at least good stationery has some level of kudos.
    ‘So what is this about? I suppose you sell these for money to buy cigarettes, don’t you?’
    ‘No, Miss Trunks. I just needed