Teen Queens

by Cathy Hopkins

  ‘Now,’ said Mrs Ashton, going back to her quiz. ‘Kaylie O’Hara. Here’s one for you. Shakespeare . . .’ She adjusted her glasses and began to read. ‘When was William Shakespeare born?’

  ‘On his birthday,’ said Kaylie as if it was absolutely obvious.

  Once again, the class cracked up and I glanced over at Kaylie and noticed that she was blushing slightly. Unlike Mark who had given his answer for a laugh, I got the feeling that Kaylie thought that she’d given the right answer.

  ‘Of course he was born on his birthday, Kaylie,’ said Mrs Ashton. ‘Anybody like to give me the actual year?’

  Joss Peters put his hand up. ‘1564,’ he said.

  ‘Correct,’ said Mrs Ashton, who then turned back to Kaylie. ‘OK, Kaylie. Here’s an easy one for you. We’ve been doing Romeo and Juliet this term. What was Romeo’s last wish?’

  ‘To be laid by Juliet,’ said Kaylie.

  This got a huge laugh especially from the boys. Kaylie looked over at me with a hard expression in her eyes, as though daring me to join in the laughter. I kept my face straight.

  ‘I think what you meant to say was that Romeo’s last wish was to die alongside Juliet, Kaylie. Like Frances, try and pay more attention to how you express yourself.’

  Kaylie nodded and looked bored. ‘Yes, Miss,’ she drawled.

  ‘And now for the last question,’ said Mrs Ashton. ‘Jackie Reeves, I think you can have this one.’

  Kaylie looked over at her mate and sighed as though Mrs Ashton’s comments were all a great waste of time.

  ‘The most famous composer in the world is?’ asked Mrs Ashton.

  ‘Um . . . Bach. Um . . . Handel,’ drawled Jackie.

  There was a snigger from the back of the class as Mrs Ashton sighed. ‘Anyone like to tell us what’s wrong with that?’ she asked.

  This time I kept my head down. Luckily, Sunita Ahmed put her hand up. ‘It’s got to be either one or the other, Miss. Either Bach is the most famous or Handel. Not both.’

  Jackie gave Sunita a really filthy look and I could see that, like me, Sunita suddenly felt as though she wished she’d kept her mouth shut.

  ‘Exactly,’ said Mrs Ashton with a weary sigh. ‘But I’ve heard worse. One pupil once told me that Handel was half German, half Italian and half English . . . Anyone like to comment?’

  A few people tittered, but no one spoke. ‘Come on class, it’s not difficult. Wake up. Who can tell me what’s wrong with that? Cat Kennedy?’

  ‘Um, the maths aren’t quite right. If he was half German, half Italian and half English, he’d be one and a half people.’

  ‘Correct,’ said Mrs Ashton. ‘Now all of you, I don’t want to see any of you making these types of mistakes, not in my class. It shows you’re not thinking. We have pupils like George, Sunita, Nick and Lia in the class setting a standard. Try and learn from them.’

  The Clones all started sniggering at this and Mrs Ashton saw them. ‘Seeing as you find the whole thing so amusing, Susie Cooke, you can answer the next question. Who was it Salome danced naked in front of?’

  Susie shrugged her shoulders like she didn’t care.

  ‘Come on, Susie,’ said Mrs Ashton. ‘We only did it last week.’

  I could see Kaylie mouthing an answer to her mate. Susie screwed up her eyes to try and read Kaylie’s lips then she nodded.

  ‘Harrods,’ she said.

  Mrs Ashton looked up at the ceiling. ‘Herod, Susie. Not Harrods. Harrods is a shop in Knightsbridge.’

  I glanced over at Kaylie and she was staring at me again with narrowed eyes. It was hard not to laugh at what her and the Clones had said, especially as most of the class was giggling away. Becca and Cat may be right, I thought. Kaylie and her mates may be popular and trendy, but they’re not very bright. I stared back at Kaylie thinking, two can play at this game and I’m not going to be intimidated by you. After a few minutes, she leaned back in her chair and whispered something to Fran behind her. Fran glanced over at me and laughed. I turned away. She wasn’t worth it and I didn’t want to get into playing stupid games. All I wanted was to go to school, do my lessons and get on with everyone without any aggro. Sadly, though, by the look on Kaylie’s face, she wasn’t going to let that happen.

  THE NEXT day, I went into school determined not to let Kaylie and the Clones phase me. I’d toug]h it out, be all smiling and friendly. But they decided to try a new tactic. They just plain ignored me. When I saw them in the corridor before assembly, I said hi, and they all turned the other way like they’d smelled a bad smell. It was weird, I felt like I was invisible or something.

  ‘What’s up with them?’ asked Becca, when she noticed them give me the cold shoulder.

  ‘Oh nothing,’ I said. ‘I think Kaylie’s got it in for me because of Jonno.’

  ‘God. How pathetic,’ said Becca, giving them a scornful look.

  Suddenly Kaylie came bustling over and stood between Becca and me with her back to me. ‘I hear you’re going to be helping Miss Segal produce the end-of-year show,’ she said.

  ‘That’s right,’ said Becca moving to the right to include me in the conversation.

  Kaylie moved, obscuring my view again. ‘Do you know what it’s going to be yet?’

  Becca nodded. ‘Nothing official, but I’m pretty sure we’re going to be doing The Rocky Horror Picture Show.’

  ‘Oh, top!’ said Kaylie then beckoned to her mates and began to sing, ‘Let’s do the time warp again.’

  Fran, Susie and Jackie came over to join us. ‘Rocky Horror. Excellent. Can we be in it?’ asked Fran. I moved to stand with them, but Susie stepped to the left once again keeping me out of the circle.

  Becca glanced at me with a worried expression. ‘Casting is in the main hall on Saturday afternoon,’ she said.

  ‘Cool,’ said Kaylie, then she took a step back and stood on my toes.

  ‘Ow!’ I cried.

  ‘Oh, sooo sorry, Ophelia. I didn’t see you there.’ Then she gave me a snooty look and turned back to Becca. ‘I suppose some people wanting a part will be taking advantage of the fact that their mate is the producer.’

  ‘I doubt it,’ said Becca. ‘Best man wins, as always.’

  ‘Good,’ said Kaylie. ‘Because we don’t want anyone getting in for the wrong reasons or because their dad is in the music business or anything.’

  ‘Knock it off, Kaylie,’ said Becca. ‘You know people get in because of their individual performances. Who’s right for the part and so on.’

  ‘Yeah right,’ said Kaylie. ‘Well, we’ll see shall we?’

  ‘What’s going on?’ asked Becca when they’d gone. ‘They were, like, totally blanking you.’

  ‘I know,’ I said. ‘They were a bit weird with me yesterday as well, to be honest, but I’m not going to let it get to me.’

  ‘Good. They’re not worth it. So you’ll be at the casting session, won’t you? I think it will be a total gas doing The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Mac will do the scenery and, of course, Squidge will film it, so it will be a laugh, all of us together.’

  I hesitated. I had no illusions about my singing so wouldn’t expect to get a lead role, but I can dance and had hoped that maybe I could be in the chorus. Plus, Miss Segal is my favourite teacher. It’s like she’s really tuned in to people and can bring out the best in them. But if Kaylie was going to be there making jibes at me at every rehearsal, maybe it wouldn’t be much fun.

  ‘Not sure yet,’ I said.

  Becca grimaced. ‘If you let them put you off, I’ll . . . I’ll . . .’

  ‘You won’t speak to me either,’ I laughed. ‘Then no one will be speaking to me.’

  Becca linked her arm through mine. ‘I’d never do that,’ she said.

  I decided to confide in Becca. If anyone would understand how mean girls can be, it would be her. Recently, she’d had a run-in with Mac’s sister, Jade, when both of them went up for a national singing competition to find a ‘Pop Princess’. Jade can be a total cow when
she wants and she acted really unfriendly and unsupportive. She even tricked Becca into saying something negative on the phone about one of the competitors when, unaware to Becca, the girl was listening in on an extension.

  ‘Only reason I’m hesitating is that . . .’ I started. ‘Look, I know people gossip about my dad and our house and stuff locally, but I don’t want that to affect things here at school. I just want to be normal. To fit in with everyone else and for now, until Kaylie’s got over whatever’s bugging her, that’s more important than having a role in the school show. Do you understand?’

  Becca nodded, then shook her head. ‘I do, but don’t let them walk all over you. I’ve seen them do it to girls in our year before. You have to stand up to them. Don’t let them win. They don’t bother me, I can tell you that. Do you want me to have a word with them?’

  ‘No,’ I said. ‘Please. That would only make an issue of it, and they’ll get all sniffy about me talking to you about them. No. Please, don’t get into it. Let me sort it my way, OK?’

  ‘OK,’ said Becca. ‘But you know that whatever they do, I’m on your side. Right?’

  ‘Right,’ I said.

  On my side, she said. Though I appreciated the support, I felt sad. Already, it was about taking sides. Oh, why can’t I just fit in? Have my mates and not be noticed? All I want is to be accepted.

  In the changing rooms on Wednesday, things took a turn for the worse. The Clones all stood in one corner and were whispering and looking at me as I was getting changed for gym. It was awful. Everyone seems to have got boobs except me. I’ve shot up to five-foot-seven, yet still have the shape of a nine-year-old boy. Becca’s really sweet about it. She says I’m the perfect shape to be a model and she wishes she was like me, but I think she’s just being kind. I wish I was more like her. She’s got a great figure – really curvy, although she thinks she’s fat. I guess no one’s ever happy with their body. Even Cat, who is perfect, thinks she’s too short.

  As the Clones continued staring, I began to think I’d grown an extra breast or something. Then I remembered what Becca had said about standing up to them so I turned around and asked, ‘What are you looking at?’

  Of course, they all turned away and looked at the floor or the wall – except Kaylie, that is. She leaned on her right hip, stuck her chin out at me and said, ‘Think a lot of yourself, don’t you?’

  ‘No,’ I replied. ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘Like, why would we be staring at you? You’ve a problem you know, Lia. You think everything is about you when it isn’t. People do have their own lives you know.’

  I didn’t know what to say, so I looked away. I felt confused again. They had been staring at me, I’m sure of it, but Kaylie had managed to turn everything around and make out that it was me who had the problem. Maybe she was right. Maybe I am getting obsessive about them. I had certainly spent a lot of time thinking about them and how to handle them over the past few days. Maybe I do spend too much time thinking about myself and what people think of me. Maybe it is me. Maybe I do have a problem.

  As the week went on, I tried to tell myself that it didn’t matter, but by Thursday, I felt more confused than ever and I dreaded going into school for fear of what they were going to do or say.

  I’ve always been happy enough at school, but suddenly, it felt like some ordeal I had to endure. All I wanted was just to get to the end of the day so that I could go home. I tried my best to stay out of their way, but it’s hard when we have so many classes together. I was sure I wasn’t imagining it. Every time I saw the Clones, it seemed like they’d been busy chatting to people, but as soon as I arrived, everyone would go quiet for a moment in a guilty sort of way and sometimes they’d laugh. I wondered what they were saying about me, but I daren’t ask for fear that Kaylie would tell me that I was self-obsessed again and that people had other things to talk about besides Lia Axford.

  Friday was the final straw. At break, I met up with Cat and Becca and both of them were holding little pink invitations cards.

  ‘Invite to Kaylie’s tomorrow night,’ said Becca. ‘Shall we go after the casting session?’

  ‘Dunno,’ said Cat. ‘I mean, those girls aren’t exactly our best mates and she’s never asked us before.’

  ‘All the more reason to go and see what it’s like,’ said Becca. ‘I bet loads of people will be going and there’s nothing else happening.’

  ‘I think that may be another reason that Kaylie is jealous of you, Lia,’ said Cat. ‘Before your family arrived, the do’s at Kaylie’s house were legendary. I think your mum’s parties have stolen her thunder a bit.’

  ‘Understatement,’ said Becca. ‘I bet she’s seething, mainly because you’ve never invited her. In fact, she’s probably jealous of every aspect of your life. A glam rock star dad, an ex-model mum, a fab mansion to live in, latest clothes . . .’

  ‘Gorgeous brother, gorgeous sister . . .’ said Cat. ‘The list is endless.’

  ‘But it’s not my fault,’ I said. ‘I didn’t choose my parents or my family . . .’

  ‘Yeah, but she would have, given half the chance,’ said Becca. ‘And she hasn’t even got a look-in to any part of it.’

  ‘How come she holds so many parties?’ I asked.

  ‘Partly because she likes to be popular and being “hostess with the mostest” gives her a chance to surround herself with people,’ said Becca. ‘Plus, her mum works night shifts in a hospital over in Plymouth, so she has a free reign of her house most evenings.’

  ‘What about her dad?’ I asked. ‘Surely he’s home.’

  Cat shook her head. ‘Disappeared years ago. Rumour has it he ran off with the barmaid from the Crown and Anchor. Anyway, it’s an empty house at the weekend and where else is there for teenagers to go round here in the winter? Weekends, a lot of people hang out at Kaylie’s.’

  ‘I wonder if her mum knows that she uses the house,’ I said.

  ‘Doubt it,’ said Becca. ‘She probably gets her little clones to tidy up for her afterwards. So shall we go? It might be a laugh if we all go together. What do you think, Lia. You up for it?’

  ‘She hasn’t invited me,’ I said.

  ‘Are you sure?’ asked Becca. ‘Why would she invite us and not you? Look again. I saw her putting cards on everyone’s desk. Maybe yours fell off, go back and look.’

  I didn’t have to. Not after the week I’d had. I had a feeling that she’d excluded me on purpose. It was weird, because she hadn’t done anything major, not like when a boy bullies another boy. That might be simpler to deal with, I thought. If someone kicks or smacks you about, there’s no doubt about it – you’re being bullied. But this? I wasn’t sure what was going on and wondered if it was all in my imagination. What had been happening was so subtle. Almost unseen. Secret looks between Kaylie and her mates, or whispers or sniggers, and now, no invite to her party. Plus, I felt there was no way I could go to the casting session. No big deal, not really. But inside, I felt like Kaylie had got it in for me and I felt miserable.

  ‘PENNY FOR them,’ said Dad, making me jump as he came up behind me.

  ‘Oh, sorry, I was miles away.’

  It was Saturday morning and I was sitting in the kitchen, gazing out of the window and going over the week in my mind.

  ‘I could see that,’ said Dad. ‘So what’s going on in that head of yours? How’s your week been?’

  ‘Oh . . . fine.’

  ‘Hmm. You sure? You don’t look your usual bright self and you’ve been quieter than usual this week.’

  ‘No, honest. I’m great.’

  ‘Everything OK at school?’

  Yeah.’

  ‘Everything OK with Jonno?’

  Yeah, in fact, he’s coming up tonight. We’re going out somewhere.’

  ‘You don’t sound too excited. Tonight’s a first date, isn’t it?’

  I nodded. He was right. I wasn’t too excited. It was as if, in putting up a wall in my head to keep Kaylie out, I’d kept everything
else out as well.

  ‘So what is it, pet?’ asked Dad. ‘Come on, spill. You don’t live in the same house as someone and not notice when something’s going on.’

  ‘Honest, Dad. It’s nothing. Just . . . do you think I’m self-obsessed?’

  Dad laughed. ‘What kind of question is that? What do you mean?’

  ‘You know, always thinking about myself?’

  Dad laughed again. ‘All teenagers are self-obsessed. It’s part of the package. And, to a degree, so is everyone else. I mean, you live in your body, in your world. You’re the only one who sees things through your eyes, so you’re bound to be a little self-obsessed.’

  I laughed.

  ‘Maybe we need another word,’ said Dad. ‘Not “obsessed” . . . um, self-motivated. That sounds better, more positive. But why did you ask that, Lia? Is something worrying you?’

  I sighed and tried to decide how much to tell him. Sometimes if you get parents involved, they worry. Then they end up becoming more of a problem than the problem itself. I decided to tell him part of the story.

  ‘It’s like . . . well, there’s this girl and her mates at school, and I don’t think they like me very much. I haven’t ever done anything bad to them, but they seem to have it in for me.’

  Dad pulled up a stool, took my hand and looked me directly in the eye. ‘Are you being bullied, Lia?’

  ‘No. No. That’s exactly it. I’m not. But it almost feels like I am. But then, I don’t know if it’s me being paranoid or self-obsessed. Thinking too much about what other people think of me, when they’re not even thinking about me at all . . . Oh, I don’t know. It’s OK, Dad, really. I know I’m not even making any sense. It’s just, I want to fit in. You know, new school. But it’s like some people won’t even give me a chance.’

  ‘Could be they’re jealous,’ said Dad, indicating our vast, top-of-the-range kitchen with his hand. ‘We do live very well compared to most. And, you are a very pretty girl . . .’

  ‘Yeah, yeah . . .’

  ‘Seriously. It could be that.’