Hollow Pike Read Free

was a pregnant silence before an electric ripple of hushed giggles, lowered voices and meaningful glances ran down the
bus. The newcomer’s presence was intense. Lis watched, fascinated, as the new arrival made her way down the aisle towards the back seats.
    She was a fearsome Amazon of a girl, approaching six feet tall and with a shock of spiky black and purple hair that only added further inches. Lis couldn’t even think of a word to describe
her futuristic style: her skirt was the shortest Lis had ever seen dared as part of a uniform, and massive black construction boots finished off endless legs. Oh, and safety pins were lined neatly
up the side of each ear. But by far the most striking feature was her face. Lis kind of thought of herself as pretty, but this weird girl was beautiful – mixed race, with flawless
brown skin and twinkling blue eyes.
    Lis knew she should look away but she was mesmerised. Craning her neck around, she saw the girl join two other oddities already tucked away at the very back of the lower deck. How had she not
noticed them ? The second girl was much shorter than the first, although equally stunning – a living china doll. Lis had never seen such a mass of bright red curls. They tumbled down
almost to her waist. Red had also managed to radically reinterpret the dress code, swapping the regulation skirt for a flowing floor-length one. She had tiny ballet flats on her feet and thick NHS
glasses balanced on her petite nose.
    Their male companion was a stark contrast. A pale young man, he huddled in the corner by the fire escape, his uniform almost as immaculate as Lis’s own. His hands were thrust tightly into
his duffel coat and his eyes were fixed on his lap. He was neither handsome nor un attractive, but next to his outlandish female companions, his neutrality was shocking in itself.
    Lis tuned into the nearest whispers and, although much was lost in the roar of the bus pulling away, she was able to make out the occasional word such as Freaks! or Gay! .
    Lis was suddenly haunted by a familiar dread. The same sensation she’d fought every morning on her old school bus when Bronwyn and her mates had been whispering about her . Oh God,
what if Fulton was no different? The dread intensified and Lis gripped the edge of her seat. One day , she thought, I’ll be living in New York or Paris and none of this will matter.
Just hang on in there .
    She stole another glance, and was surprised to see the ‘freaks’ staring at her . Apparently, no one was above glaring at the new girl. The shy young man gave her a half-hearted
smile that said I know . Red grinned and whispered something in his ear, giving Lis a coy wave. Lis returned the smile. In Hollow Pike, she was determined to rise above the ridiculous social
pecking order that had blighted her time at her previous school. That school had had its own group of freaky outsider kids. They had been mocked and harassed, a shared punch-bag for the whole
school. Once upon a time she had figured they’d brought it on themselves by dressing so crazy. She knew better now.
    Turning to the front, Lis found herself looking straight into the face of a delicate blonde girl with slightly pointed features.
    ‘You don’t wanna go talking to them,’ she said in a low, genuinely concerned voice.
    ‘No?’
    ‘No. That tall girl is like a proper lesbian. She’ll totally try to rape you. It happened to our friend, Laura.’
    ‘Oh, right. Thanks for the advice,’ commented Lis with mock gratitude. The first blonde girl (‘Platinum Blonde’) and her equally blonde companion (‘Honey
Blonde’) nodded earnestly, flicking poker-straight hair out of their eyes. ‘You are so welcome. We were all new once.’
    OK, so the blonde girls seemed vacant, but at least they’d deigned to speak to her. Lis knew she probably shouldn’t shun prospective friends at such an early stage. Anyway, for all
she knew the tall girl could have attacked someone. She was