Worse Than Boys(57)

‘What’s all this about?!’ She plucked at the sweater. ‘Pastel shades and a ponytail? Have you been taken over by the bodysnatchers?’

And I remembered Wizzie’s words – I was turning them into the Lip Gloss Girls.

We seemed to be seeing less of Wizzie too. In the evenings she sometimes didn’t come to the Mall. Me and Sonya and Grace would meet up, but not Wizzie.

‘She wasn’t in when I phoned her,’ Sonya would say.

But she never answered when any of us phoned her. Phone always turned off.

‘I’m worried about her,’ I told them.

It was my mother who surprised me most. ‘I’m so happy about Lauren getting that part,’ she said. ‘You must get me tickets to see that show.’ Was Lauren turning into the next Erin? I hoped not.

‘I see Erin Brodie’s still mad at you,’ Wizzie said one day in the canteen when we caught Erin doing her glaring act at me.

‘She’s waiting for me to get her,’ I said. ‘Well, she’ll have to wait.’

‘As long as she doesn’t have to wait too long,’ Wizzie said. ‘Then she might think you’re talking through your hat.’

There was something in that. So as Erin walked past our table I called out to her, ‘Don’t worry, I haven’t forgotten about you … I’m still going to get you.’

Everyone heard me. They turned to watch, waiting for me to ‘get her’ right now. Waiting for me to jump at her, start a fight.

Sonya was ready to do just that, but I held her back. ‘I’ll get her some other way. I’m thinking about it.’ Then I laughed. ‘Although, I think I’ve had a pretty good revenge just watching her squirm when Hammond shouted, “I think we’ve found our Sandy!” and the whole place went wild!’

Erin glared at me and walked on. We all giggled, all except Wizzie.

‘Lighten up, Wizzie,’ I said. ‘What’s wrong with you lately?’

‘Is that what you really want … to get your own back on Erin?’

‘What’s wrong with that? You do it all the time. Revenge.’

‘Her pal didn’t get a part in a show. You call that revenge? I’m beginning to think I’m too grown up for you lot.’ She was angry, but she was angry at me.

‘And what would you call revenge?’

‘Something a bit better than that.’

‘When you come up with something let me know. And I’ll decide what I think about it.’

Wizzie’s face went red with rage. ‘You’ll decide? You’re only in this gang five minutes and you think you make the decisions! Not for me you don’t.’

I had taken over from Wizzie, everyone seemed to think that, and Wizzie wasn’t happy about that at all. But I had meant to make her laugh, not shout at me. ‘Lighten up, Wizzie,’ I said again.

‘Yeah, Wizzie. It was a joke,’ Sonya said.

Wizzie turned on her too. ‘What’s happened to you lot? You stick up for her! You back her up. You do what she wants. She’s changing us!’

‘No, she’s not,’ Grace said. ‘We’re still the Hell Cats, Wizzie.’

‘The Hell Cats? More like the Pussy Cats now.’ Wizzie’s little face was tight with anger. ‘Maybe it’s me that’s changing then. Maybe I’m just a bit too cool for you lot.’ She turned back to me angrily. ‘You want revenge? I’ll show you what getting your own back on Erin Brodie is.’





Chapter Fifty


Did I hear the siren that night? I imagine now that I did – that it wailed in and out of my dreams. Mum told me next morning at breakfast that she had heard it during the night, but it was when I got to school that I knew the worst.

Rose came flying at me like a wild woman. Running out of the school gates and down the road towards me, screaming. At first, I thought she was heading for someone behind me. I even looked round, and by the time I looked back she was on me, grabbing me by the lapels of my blazer, shaking me. ‘You’d g-get her. You said that. You’d g-get her!’

She was sobbing so hard she could hardly get the words out. Stuttering like Sonya.

‘What are you talking about?’ I asked.

I glanced toward the school gates. Heather stood there, crying her eyes out, being comforted by some other girls. What was happening?

‘I could kill you!’ Suddenly, Rose butted me so hard I fell back. It hurt her as much as it did me for she stumbled too. The blow made me feel sick.

‘What’s happened? I don’t understand.’

‘Don’t pretend you don’t know!’ There were people around her now, holding her back from leaping at me again.