A Hole in the World Read Free Page B

sure you didn’t dream it?’ Scotty says, with a raised eyebrow. ‘Seems like something you’d dream. I know what your subconscious is like!’
    She shakes her head, ignoring the jab at an incident years before. ‘No. No, I didn’t dream it... It was real. It just happened a long time ago...’
    Scotty checks his watch. ‘Biancs, as much as I like and have missed your random trips into insanity, we should go before we miss form. You don’t want to be late, do you?’
    ‘No,’ she says, distractedly. ‘No, I don’t want to be late...’
    ‘C’mon then.’ He grabs her by the wrist, towing her off down the street before she can argue or resist. ‘We can have a look at your hole on the way home if you want.’
    There’s a pause, a beat in which what he said sinks in as the two of them laugh, and then they’re both laughing, the immature hilarity carrying them all the way to school.
    *
    ‘So, is it true you burned down the school gym like Buffy?’
    Bianca looks up at Cory, a shaggy haired brunette boy sitting opposite her in form, the same boy who hugged her like crazy upon her arrival, announced she felt like his best friend he’d heard so much about her and then turned to Scotty and hugged him until they had to go into form and sit down. ‘No, it was the library and I didn’t do it, anyway.’
    He looks horribly disappointed. ‘So, you’re not a vampire-killing cheerleader?’
    ‘I’m neither a vampire slayer nor a cheerleader, no. I’m just a normal girl who didn’t even burn down the library. I’m nothing special. Can we move on now?’
    Lewis, a tall ginger kid, is eyeing her across the table. She meets his gaze with a steely glare that doesn’t at all deter him. ‘You don’t look like an arsonist,’ he says, slowly, appraising her.
    ‘Gee, how kind of you to say so,’ Bianca replies, coolly.
    ‘Come on, Yanks, make an effort,’ Scotty says, from beside her. ‘These guys are my friends and they could be your friends, too, if you tried hard enough.’
    She sighs. ‘Fine.’ She looks at Cory. ‘My friend Angela is the one who burned down the library. I was in bed at the time. I’m sorry to disappoint you. She just... used my lighter. So, everyone thought it was me.’
    ‘Oh. You should get some kind of CSI guy in to prove it wasn’t you.’ He nods at her. ‘Then you could go back.’
    ‘She’s not ever going back, Cory,’ Scotty says, quickly. ‘So, don’t even suggest that. It’s a dumb, dumb, dumb idea.’
    ‘Sorry.’
    The teacher walks in at that moment, preventing Bianca from basking in the love of her best friend and Lewis from saying anything more. Instead, everyone falls silent as the teacher shuffles her papers and says, ‘I hear we have a new student today.’ She smiles warmly across at Bianca. ‘Would you like to stand up and introduce yourself?’
    Bianca sighs and stands up. ‘I’m Bianca. I’ve been going to a girl’s boarding school since I turned eleven. I got expelled for burning down the library, but I didn’t do it. Anyone who calls me ‘Buffy’ will be taken outside and shot by my best friend.’ She gestures at Scotty, who takes this cue to stand up and bow at the class. The teacher glares at Bianca, lips pursed.
    Bianca just grins at her new classmates, some of whom are chuckling, while the others seem to be considering the best way of bullying her into submission, and sits back down, perfectly synced with Scotty.
    ‘ Thank you, Bianca,’ the teacher says with a sigh.  She holds up the register. ‘Register time, everyone. So stay quiet and answer when your name is called.’
    *
    ‘How’s your maths, Bianca?’ Mister Sands, a young, handsome maths teacher asks, once everyone else has started their work.
    ‘About as good as my German,’ Bianca replies, with a smile, ‘which I cannot speak.’
    The teacher laughs. ‘Well,’ he says, with a smile and a twinkle in his eyes, ‘lucky for you, I can do both!’
    She laughs back, he grins