by Ann Bryant
Lydia rolled her eyes. “You are sooo immature, you two.”
“What about running club?” Naomi asked me. “I’ll do it if you will. We’re both about the same standard, aren’t we?”
“But what if all the fastest runners in the school turn up?” I said, with a shiver. “I don’t want to feel totally unfit.”
“Don’t be silly! You’re really good,” said Naomi. “But seriously, we could go down after school with Grace and get some practice in.”
So that’s what we decided to do, and the moment the quarter to four bell went, Grace, Naomi and I raced over to the changing rooms.
“I’ll time us all,” said Grace, pulling out her stopwatch when we were down on the athletics field. “If we all set off exactly together we can see how long we take.”
“And see if we can beat it next time,” added Naomi.
Of course Grace was the fastest, but I was quite pleased that Naomi and I stayed together all the way round so we made exactly the same time.
“That’s because you’ve got the same stride and the same style of running as each other,” said Grace, sounding very knowledgeable. “You’re pacing each other, you see.”
After that we took turns to clip the stopwatch onto our tracksuit bottoms so we could see how the pedometer worked.
“It’s really brilliant, Grace,” I told her, and she looked suddenly sad.
“It’s one of my most precious possessions… My great-granny bought it for my birthday before she died.”
“How lovely that you’ve got this memory of her,” Naomi said straight away, coming out with exactly the right words to make Grace feel better. That’s what I like about Naomi, she seems very wise, but it doesn’t stop her being good fun.
At supper Lydia marched up to me in the queue and asked where Naomi was.
“She’s just gone to the loo.”
Lydia put her hands on her hips. “So where did you two get to after school?”
“We wanted to get in training for running club.”
“Well thanks for telling me! I was looking everywhere for Naomi.” Lydia looked for a second as though she was going to explode, but then she tipped her head to one side and smiled sweetly because Naomi had appeared.
“You didn’t tell me you were doing running club.”
Naomi shrugged. “I like running,” she said simply. “And it was fun trying out Grace’s pedometer.”
“It sounds really clever, Grace,” said Mia. “Why don’t we see how many steps we take in one day?” she went on excitedly. “I read that you’re supposed to take ten thousand to keep fit.”
“That’s loads!” squealed Georgie. “I’d be dead if I did that many.” Then she suddenly looked excited and turned to Grace with praying hands. “All the same, bags I wear it!”
Grace laughed and I wondered if she’d mind Georgie wearing it all day, now I knew how precious it was to her. She didn’t have to make a decision then and there though, because typically Georgie had already changed the subject.
“I wish it would hurry up and be prep!” she said.
We all stared at her. “Turning into a bit of a geek, George?” laughed Jess.
Georgie rolled her eyes at Jess. “Work it out! The sooner we get started on prep, the sooner we finish, and the sooner we get to watch you-know-what!”
“The Fast Lane! Yay!” said Mia. “I’d forgotten about that.”
My heart skipped a beat. I’d managed to forget it too, but instantly my mind filled up with emotion and little bursts of nervousness kept on hitting me all through prep.
Afterwards we gathered in the main common room and when Miss Carol came into the room and saw how many girls were wanting to watch The Fast Lane, she said that the Year Tens and Elevens could watch it in her flat as she was planning on watching it herself. Miss Fosbrook came and sat with us though and everyone immediately started talking to her because she’s so friendly and easy to talk to. She’s not really like a teacher at all.
“I didn’t know you liked The Fast Lane, Miss Fosbrook.”
“Oh yes, I’m a big fan! In fact I’ve got the DVD of the first series in my room.”
Georgie was sitting quietly for once, glued to the adverts, but then she flicked her eyes over to Mia. I think she was checking that Mia was okay as she’d been homesick at night quite a few times lately. Georgie’s such a sweet person, even if she is a bit mad. She’s always the one to give Mia hugs and brighten her up.
And that was the thought I was having when she suddenly shushed everyone in the common room very dramatically. “Silence in court! It’s on! It’s on! The Fast Lane is about to begin!”
My heart started pounding and I wished I wasn’t sitting wedged in between Naomi and Georgie because surely they’d feel how tense I was. And of course that thought made me even tenser. Then the music started and the very first picture was a close-up of Mum laughing hysterically, and the whole common room burst out laughing and didn’t stop all through the opening, it was so funny. I didn’t have to worry about the little tears of pride that pricked the corners of my eyes, because no one was paying any attention to me at all and even if they had been, they’d just think I was crying with laughter.
Once the opening sequences stopped and the actual story began there was no sound in the common room apart from explosions of laughter erupting all over the place. But I had another shock when I suddenly recognized some of the lines that the characters were saying, and realized that I’d actually tested Mum on parts of this programme during the summer holidays. That made me hot and tense, so it was quite a relief when it came to the adverts.
“I’d love to be like Lee,” sighed Mia, which started everyone else off saying who their favourite character was.
“But Lee’s definitely the best actress,” said Georgie, which made me feel really proud of Mum. “She’s just so totally believable. Can we borrow your DVD tomorrow afternoon, Miss Fosbrook?”
“There’s a shopping trip tomorrow afternoon, remember,” Lydia cut in. “Why don’t you just buy the DVD?” she asked in her loud voice. She was looking at Georgie as if to say, How can you not have worked that out?
“Because we’re not all made of money,” Georgie answered.
“They only cost—” began Lydia, but she was interrupted by a huge “Sssshhhhh!” from just about everyone in the room as The Fast Lane was back on again.
The second half was even better than the first half and I got so wrapped up with the storyline that I actually managed to relax. After it had finished, while everyone was chatting excitedly, I went off to text Mum.
U were brill! Big hit at SS! Miss u. Luv u K X
And the reply came back almost immediately.
Bet ure the only girl at SS who gets to see her Mum once a week! Love you. X
I was smiling to myself about that as I went back into the common room. Quite a few girls had gone off to their dorms, but the rest were still buzzing about The Fast Lane and Georgie told me she was planning on saving up for the DVD.
“Well I’m going to get it tomorrow,” said Lydia, “and if you’re really good I’ll let you watch it with me!”
“Yay!” said Georgie, waltzing Mia round the common room. “Just think, only Saturday morning school to get through, then lovely shopping and freedom right till Monday morning. Brilliant!”
Naomi suddenly looked really fed up. She beckoned us all to come closer and spoke in a whisper. “My parents have arranged for me to do an interview for a magazine on Saturday afternoon, so I can’t come on the shopping trip. I tell you, I’m furious with them.”
“Oh, you’re so famous, Naomi!” hissed Georgie.
“Shh!” I quickly said.
Georgie glanced round. “No one heard.”
“Is it at school?” asked Mia.
Naomi nodded. “In Miss Carol’s flat. That’s the trouble. Mum and Dad just don’t realize how important it is to me that no one finds out I’m a princess.”
“What’s the magazine?” as
ked Lydia.
“It’s called Family, so it’s not one that anyone here is likely to read, thank goodness.”
“Will they take photos?” asked Georgie, her eyes getting bigger by the second.
“S’pose so. They usually do,” said Naomi, looking more fed up than ever. “I just wish I wasn’t missing the shopping trip, but the interview was arranged ages ago so I’ve absolutely got to do it.”
Lydia put her arm round Naomi. “Don’t worry, I’ll stay behind so you’re not all on your own. I can get the DVD next week.”
“That’s really nice of you, Lydia, but you don’t have to, honestly. It’ll be boring for you.”
“It’s okay, really. I’ll just sit in the corner and be as quiet as a mouse…” She put on a naughty smile. “…unless they want any photos of Princess Naomi’s friend!”
“Oh yes!” squeaked Georgie. “Group picture! Group picture! We’ll all be in it!”
Naomi rolled her eyes. “No way! People might start asking questions about why you’re not going shopping, when you’ve been on about it all week.”
“One friend would be okay, though, wouldn’t it?” said Lydia, looking very serious now.
I could see Naomi hesitating. “Well…”
Lydia grabbed her hand excitedly. “Let’s ask!”
“No, sorry,” said Naomi firmly. “I really want to keep it quiet. I’ll just do it on my own.”
Miss Fosbrook suddenly appeared and everyone looked over, so I think I was the only one who noticed the sour look on Lydia’s face.
Later, when I was cleaning my teeth with Naomi, she suddenly did a huge sigh and spoke to me in the mirror. “If I was going to have anyone in a magazine photo with me, I’d have chosen you, Katy…”
I felt so happy at that moment. “Thank you, Naomi! That’s really cool.”
“To tell you the truth,” she went on thoughtfully, “I don’t know what to think about Lydia. Sometimes she’s really nice and friendly, like she was just then, offering to stay back from the shopping trip to keep me company, but then I wonder whether it’s just so she can have her photo taken with me.”
I thought about the way Lydia is only ever nice to Naomi and isn’t interested in being friends with the rest of us at all, and I felt like blurting out, I’m sure it’s only because you’re a princess, but I managed to stop myself. It might have been hurtful to Naomi to hear someone actually saying what she was suspecting. So instead, I put my arm round her and told her I’d bring her a surprise back from the shopping trip.
“Hey, cool! I love surprises!”
And that’s another thing I’ve got in common with Naomi, I thought to myself as I lay snuggled up in bed that night, planning what to get her.
Chapter Six
I was so excited about going shopping – all those lovely new clothes shops to see. But it felt a bit weird going in a minibus. There were two school buses, because so many Year Sevens wanted to join the shopping trip. The older girls were allowed to catch the bus on their own and I was looking forward to when that would be me. Miss Fosbrook came in our minibus with the housemistress from Oakley, Miss Bromley. They sat at the front near the driver and chatted all the way into town, apart from turning round occasionally to tell everyone to quieten down. Georgie, Mia and Grace were right at the back, and Lydia was somewhere in the middle, but Jess and I were only just behind the housemistresses. We were probably the only quiet ones on the bus, because I was concentrating on trying to draw a pair of shoes and Jess was watching.
“You’re really good at art, Katy,” she said after a while.
“No I’m not. I can only draw clothes and shoes! And on this bumpy ride I can hardly draw anything!”
Then we both clearly heard Miss Fosbrook say to Miss Bromley, “They’ve been caged up all week, it’s no wonder they’re going a bit berserk!”
“Caged up?” said Jess quietly to me. “Anyone’d think we were animals! Can I borrow a page of your sketchbook? I want to try something out.”
“Who’s that girl sitting on her own staring out of the window?” I heard Miss Bromley asking quietly. “She doesn’t look very happy.”
Miss Fosbrook turned round. “That’s Lydia Palmer.” She lowered her voice. “Miss Carol had some visitors this afternoon and I saw Lydia talking to one of them. She was all smiles at first but then she turned scowly and now she’s just plain sulking. I don’t know what that’s about!”
Jess looked at me wide-eyed and whispered, “Do you think Lydia actually went and talked to the magazine people, even after what Naomi said last night about wanting to do the interview on her own?”
I nodded, thinking that would explain why Lydia had gone rushing off after lunch.
“I knew she was lying about wanting to do her hair when she had loads of time to get ready for the shopping trip,” hissed Jess. She dropped her voice. “Hey, do you think she had the cheek to ask to be in the photo with Naomi?”
I shook my head. “No. That would have made Naomi mad.”
“So why was she looking scowly then?”
I shrugged. “Maybe the magazine people were too busy to talk and told Lydia to go away or something.”
Jess nodded and we fell silent for the rest of the journey. When we got to the town centre Miss Fosbrook shushed us all and explained the rules. “Now, girls, you need to show me that you can behave responsibly and sensibly. We’ll meet up here in an hour and a half by the fountain. Make sure you always stay with at least one other person, and phone me if you have any problems.” Then she smiled, and added, “And don’t spend too much money. This is only the first weekend of term, remember!”
Two minutes later I was in a shoe shop, trying on the best pair of shoes ever.
“They’re totally fab, Katy!” said Georgie. “Why don’t you buy them?”
“No way. I’m not blowing my allowance on a pair of shoes!” I told her.
“You don’t even know how much they cost,” she said, bending down and lifting up my right foot, which made me lose my balance so I had to hop a bit. “Stand still, for goodness’ sake, Katy!”
“I’m trying!” I laughed.
“Stop being so immature, you two,” said Lydia, picking up an identical shoe off the display. “Fifty-nine pounds ninety-nine.”
Georgie let my foot drop. “Ridiculous!”
“Well that settles it,” I said, taking the shoe off. “It’s far too much.”
Lydia pulled a face. “Surely your parents would give you an extension to your allowance?”
“No, they’d tell me off for wasting money on something I didn’t really need.”
“That’s exactly what my parents would say,” said Georgie. “Come on, folks! Clothes shops next. Where shall we start? Topshop?”
But I’d spotted a charity shop on the other side of the precinct. “That’s where I’m going,” I said, pointing.
“Why?” asked Lydia.
“It’s good fun seeing if there are any bargains,” I explained.
I heard Lydia say “Weird” under her breath, and when the rest of us went in, she stayed outside. I found a beautiful dark-brown scarf with sequins on it that I bought for seventy-five pence, and as soon as we were out of the shop I wrapped it around my hips.
“That looks so cool!” said Jess.
Next we went to the bookshop and I spent ages finding a really good joke book for Naomi. “This’ll cheer her up after missing the shopping trip,” I said, giggling to myself as I read through the jokes on the first page. Georgie got a book for her little sister’s birthday, then we spent ages in the sweet shop where everyone except Grace bought sweets.
“I’m getting this for Naomi,” said Lydia, picking out an enormous box of chocolates. “This is the way to cheer her up. You’ll see.”
I couldn’t help feeling annoyed because I was sure she’d only thought of buying a present for Naomi because I had.
After that we went to a few more shops. Georgie bought a scrunchie and two hairslides, but Lydia
bought three things – the DVD of The Fast Lane, a pair of socks with toes in them and a sparkling silver and green scarf.
“I’ll wear this round my hips when I’ve got my shiny black trousers on,” she told us as we left the boutique. “It doesn’t really go with jeans.” She gave me a look, but I couldn’t tell whether the look was saying that I had no taste, for putting my scarf with jeans, or whether it meant that her scarf was better quality than mine so it needed to go with smarter trousers. I sighed to myself, wishing that Naomi could have heard what Lydia just said, so she’d realize that she’s not actually a very nice girl. But somehow, Lydia never makes comments like that in front of Naomi.
“Haven’t you spent rather a lot?” Jess asked Lydia, once we’d bagged the best table at the coffee shop and were sitting round it on the squishiest sofas ever.
“My parents said they’ll send me more money whenever I need it,” Lydia explained. “They just want me to be happy.”
“You lucky thing,” said Georgie. “Are your parents really rich then, Lydia?”
“Yes, they both earn loads.”
“My dad earns quite a lot,” said Georgie, “but Mum only works part-time. I think it’s taken all their money to pay for me to come to Silver Spires. They were hoping I might get a scholarship but we can’t all be gifted like Mia.”
“What, so you got a scholarship?” Jess asked Mia.
Mia went pink and looked down. “Only a music scholarship, not an academic one.”
Georgie put her arm round her. “You see, she’s modest as well as gifted. Which is something else I’ll never be, by the way.”
“But you are the wittiest person here,” I pointed out, and Georgie went all theatrical and blew me a kiss across the table as everyone laughed. “Well, thank you, Katy!”
“What about your parents, Grace?” asked Georgie. “I suppose they must be pretty rich sending you to a school in England when you come from Thailand.”
Grace looked embarrassed. “Well…er…actually… I got a sports scholarship.”
Georgie groaned. “Why is everyone so talented? It’s not fair!”
“Well Naomi and I aren’t particularly talented,” said Lydia. “We’re just lucky because we’re…” She faded off and flicked her eyes round the room as though she’d suddenly let out a secret by mistake.
