by Stuart Boyd
***
The next day, Stella dreaded what Shane and Tom would be telling everybody at school. She had tried to convince her mum that she was sick. Her stomach certainly felt as if it was doing somersaults, but her mum took her temperature and found nothing wrong.
“You don’t look unwell,” she said. “In fact, you look very bright eyed and bushy tailed this morning. You’re not wearing make-up, are you? I told you, not till you’re fourteen!”
“I’m not wearing make-up. I just feel sick.”
“Hmm. Well, go in and get the school to give me a call if you start to feel worse. Okay?”
It wasn’t okay, but Stella had no choice. She deliberately walked slowly to school, in the hope that she’d be so late that nobody would have the chance to speak to her before lessons. She was dawdling so much that Helix started to grumble. When she eventually neared the school gates, she was relieved to see that the playground was clear and everyone had gone inside. It was an unpleasant shock when she found herself face to face with Tom Warner, who had been anxiously hiding by the side of the gates. When he spotted Stella, he rushed to meet her.
“Hey, Stella. Thanks for helping me out yesterday.”
“I told you, I didn’t do anything,” Stella said, walking past him as quickly as she could.
“Yeah, you did. I saw it,” Tom insisted, running after her.
“Saw what?” she asked, turning round to face him.
He stared at her in disbelief. “Light coming out of your hands. Shane Biggs flying through the air. Does any of this sound familiar? How did you do it?”
Stella tried to laugh sarcastically, but it sounded weak even to her. “I don’t know what you mean. If this is a joke, it’s not very funny.”
She strode past him and into school. The corridors were still busy, with people going to class.
“Joke? I know what happened, Stella. I saw it,” Tom shouted.
His voice was loud enough to be noticed, and Stella cringed at the looks they were getting. She realised that the whole of her year were waiting for a class in the hallway, and all of them were looking at them with curiosity. She walked back to Tom and grabbed hold of the front of his jumper.
“I don’t know what you think you saw. But just forget it, right?” she hissed to him.
“Look, it’s Smella Mayweather and that cry baby Warner. What’s the matter, having a lovers tiff?” somebody shouted.
Stella swiveled her head around to find herself face to face with Shane Biggs. His hair had been cut really short, although there were still places where you could see that it was singed. When he realised how close he was to Stella, he went pale and took a step back, but then he recovered, and his lips curled into a sneer.
“Go on, Smella, make up with your boyfriend.”
There was a lot of giggling in the corridor, and she heard somebody from her class whisper loudly to her friend, “A match made in heaven, the cry baby and the freak.”
Stella felt her face flush red. She quickly let go her grip on Tom’s jumper, causing him to stagger forward. He stretched out his arms and grabbed hold of Stella for balance. The giggling in the corridor got louder, and somebody called out, “Ah, isn’t that sweet. They’re having a cuddle.”
Desperately, Stella pushed Tom upright. “Just keep away from me, Tom. Keep away!”
***
