it.”
Caroline went to get some ice and some painkillers, which helped a little. She snarled at Beatrice when she returned. Ignoring the mousy girl’s spluttering protests that it was her room, Caroline shut the door in her face.
I was glad. I couldn’t believe Beatrice had left me to get beaten up by four girls. She may have been too afraid to stand up to them herself, but she could have gone to get someone to help.
The following morning, some of the swelling had gone down, but the bridge of my nose was badly bruised. I covered the bruises with foundation, set with a little translucent powder. I wore my hair down. If no one scrutinized me closely, I thought I might get away with it.
The conversation hushed as I walked into the dining hall. Obviously, I had been the subject of gossip this morning. I felt a hundred eyes follow me as I walked up to the serving counter and picked up a bowl of fruit salad.
Caroline sat at a table near the window. She waved me over. The level of conversation in the dining hall gradually returned to normal, and neither of the two teachers on supervision duty noticed my bruise.
Unfortunately, the bruise darkened as the day continued, and the makeup wore off. Every teacher, for every one of my lessons, asked me what on earth I’d done to myself. I kept my head down and muttered an excuse, involving walking into a door.
Over the next few days, the bruise went from dark purple, to brown to yellow. Caroline had been right, none of the glitterati dared do anything else to me. I did hear some gossip about Mary, though. A rumour spread around the school that someone had broken into Mary’s room and cut up all her leisure clothes. Apparently, every item of clothing that wasn’t part of her St. Catherine’s uniform had been cut into little pieces. I knew from the looks some of the other girls gave me they suspected I had a hand in it, but I hadn’t. My money was on Caroline.
Chapter 10
Caroline and I sat side by side on the train to Devon with our heads bent over a piece of paper, giggling.
“He’s got it bad,” said Caroline, shaking her head. “You’re so lucky.”
I smiled and looked down at the note from Jason. “It’s understandable,” I said, fluttering my eyelashes. “I am irresistible.”
At that, we both dissolved into giggles again.
A business man dressed in a navy-blue, pinstriped suit, peered over the top of his newspaper at us. He scowled and snapped his newspaper shut. He got to his feet, grabbed his briefcase and stalked into the next carriage.
“We weren’t making that much noise,” I said.
Caroline yawned and settled back against the seat. “It’s what happens when you get past forty, you forget what it is like to have fun.”
I fingered the note from Jason, a smile playing on my lips. He wanted to meet up this summer, which was impossible. I’d be in Devon this week, then Scotland for the rest of the summer break, but it was nice to be asked. I glanced over at Caroline whose eyes were closed.
I angled my face to feel the warm breeze coming through the train windows. The air-conditioning wasn’t working, and the passengers had opened all of the windows on the train to keep cool. Despite the breeze, the sun shone relentlessly into the carriage, and my tee-shirt, damp with sweat, stuck to my back.
Caroline’s head lolled to the side. Breathing deep and steady, she nodded off to sleep.
I stretched out. The sun beating through the windows made me feel sleepy. I closed my eyes and wondered what Freddie would be doing right now. I smiled. I would see him in a couple of weeks, and then a few weeks later, I would be enrolling in university. The year had gone by so quickly. It was hard to believe a year had passed since my parent’s accident. They would have been pleased I’d gone back to St. Catherine’s, and I was sure they would be proud of my university acceptance.
All I needed to do now was get the grades.
I leaned over until my head rested on
Caroline went to get some ice and some painkillers, which helped a little. She snarled at Beatrice when she returned. Ignoring the mousy girl’s spluttering protests that it was her room, Caroline shut the door in her face.
I was glad. I couldn’t believe Beatrice had left me to get beaten up by four girls. She may have been too afraid to stand up to them herself, but she could have gone to get someone to help.
The following morning, some of the swelling had gone down, but the bridge of my nose was badly bruised. I covered the bruises with foundation, set with a little translucent powder. I wore my hair down. If no one scrutinized me closely, I thought I might get away with it.
The conversation hushed as I walked into the dining hall. Obviously, I had been the subject of gossip this morning. I felt a hundred eyes follow me as I walked up to the serving counter and picked up a bowl of fruit salad.
Caroline sat at a table near the window. She waved me over. The level of conversation in the dining hall gradually returned to normal, and neither of the two teachers on supervision duty noticed my bruise.
Unfortunately, the bruise darkened as the day continued, and the makeup wore off. Every teacher, for every one of my lessons, asked me what on earth I’d done to myself. I kept my head down and muttered an excuse, involving walking into a door.
Over the next few days, the bruise went from dark purple, to brown to yellow. Caroline had been right, none of the glitterati dared do anything else to me. I did hear some gossip about Mary, though. A rumour spread around the school that someone had broken into Mary’s room and cut up all her leisure clothes. Apparently, every item of clothing that wasn’t part of her St. Catherine’s uniform had been cut into little pieces. I knew from the looks some of the other girls gave me they suspected I had a hand in it, but I hadn’t. My money was on Caroline.
Chapter 10
Caroline and I sat side by side on the train to Devon with our heads bent over a piece of paper, giggling.
“He’s got it bad,” said Caroline, shaking her head. “You’re so lucky.”
I smiled and looked down at the note from Jason. “It’s understandable,” I said, fluttering my eyelashes. “I am irresistible.”
At that, we both dissolved into giggles again.
A business man dressed in a navy-blue, pinstriped suit, peered over the top of his newspaper at us. He scowled and snapped his newspaper shut. He got to his feet, grabbed his briefcase and stalked into the next carriage.
“We weren’t making that much noise,” I said.
Caroline yawned and settled back against the seat. “It’s what happens when you get past forty, you forget what it is like to have fun.”
I fingered the note from Jason, a smile playing on my lips. He wanted to meet up this summer, which was impossible. I’d be in Devon this week, then Scotland for the rest of the summer break, but it was nice to be asked. I glanced over at Caroline whose eyes were closed.
I angled my face to feel the warm breeze coming through the train windows. The air-conditioning wasn’t working, and the passengers had opened all of the windows on the train to keep cool. Despite the breeze, the sun shone relentlessly into the carriage, and my tee-shirt, damp with sweat, stuck to my back.
Caroline’s head lolled to the side. Breathing deep and steady, she nodded off to sleep.
I stretched out. The sun beating through the windows made me feel sleepy. I closed my eyes and wondered what Freddie would be doing right now. I smiled. I would see him in a couple of weeks, and then a few weeks later, I would be enrolling in university. The year had gone by so quickly. It was hard to believe a year had passed since my parent’s accident. They would have been pleased I’d gone back to St. Catherine’s, and I was sure they would be proud of my university acceptance.
All I needed to do now was get the grades.
I leaned over until my head rested on
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