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and slim, she had an air of confidence that was
almost tangible. Lis felt a strange cocktail of envy and admiration. Time seemed to move more slowly around this girl as she strutted into G2, her glossed lips curling into a sexy half-smirk. She
looked flawless, like something from Vogue.
    Harry dashed over to the newcomer and threw her arms around her. ‘Hi, babes!’ She air kissed her friend. ‘How was Thailand?’
    ‘Fabulous, babe. Wish I was still there.’
    The girl and her companion, a tall, thin Asian girl, quickly sat down in empty seats, crossing their legs in perfect synchrony.
    Harry literally pulled Lis over to where they sat. ‘Laura, Nasima. This is Lis London. She comes from Wales and she’s new.’
    Lis felt blood rushing to her cheeks. This Laura girl was obviously some sort of celebrity at Fulton High; self-assurance radiated from her as it would from a queen and Nasima had followed one
step behind her, almost as if she were a subordinate. Lis realised she hadn’t said anything in about three seconds. If she waited any longer they would think she was mental. Quick! Say
something! Anything!
    ‘Hi. Yeah, I’m Lis. Nice to meet you.’ Not great, but it was a start.
    ‘Hi, Lis. I’m Laura. This is Nasima.’
    ‘Hi.’ Nasima eyed her suspiciously through thick mascara.
    ‘I said I’d show her around a bit,’ said Harry, sliding into the row in front of Laura. ‘Can she sit with us and stuff?’
    Lis observed how Harry now seemed to be panicking. Maybe she and Fiona had made a terrible social mistake in allowing a newbie to join their hive without seeking permission from the queen
bee.
    ‘Duh, Harry, she can sit wherever she likes,’ laughed Laura. ‘Lis, ignore Harry; she’s being a freak.’
    ‘Thanks.’ Again, Lis wasn’t sure what to say in this supermodel’s presence.
    ‘I like your headband, it’s well cute.’
    ‘Thanks.’ Lis paused. ‘I keep saying thanks. Give me a minute; I can say other stuff too.’
    Laura laughed. A sweet, musical sound that seemed to give Nasima permission to talk to Lis too.
    ‘I have one just like it at home,’ Nasima put in. ‘I wish I’d worn it now.’
    Lis leapt in while the going was good. It couldn’t hurt to flatter these girls a little. ‘Your hair is gorgeous without it. Mine would never go that straight.’
    ‘My dad got me these amazing straighteners. I’ll do your hair sometime,’ offered Laura.
    Lis didn’t fancy the idea of being groomed, her mind conjured up an image of her lying before Laura like some sort of lap dog, but she was nonetheless glad of these tiny tokens of social
acceptance.
    At that moment, the third member of the freak-gang sauntered into the classroom. She had almost the same swagger as Laura but, while Laura’s was confident, this girl’s was defiant: a
battle march. She cast a deadly glance at Laura as she made her way past.
    ‘Urgh, could you not look at me, please?’ asked Laura loudly. ‘I don’t want to catch “lesbian” off you.’
    A dirty snigger ran around the classroom. The shy boy now seemed to actually hide behind his magazine, while the redhead rolled her eyes with obvious boredom.
    The tall, punky girl stopped, turned and looked Laura dead in the eye, with no respect for her social rank. ‘Yes, Laura,’ she replied equally loudly. ‘That is exactly how one
catches “gay”. You should wear an eye-condom next time.’
    That got an even louder snigger. For a split second, Lis saw darkness flash across Laura’s beautiful face and thought she was going to stand for a full-on fight. Instead, Laura simply
turned back to her troops.
    ‘What a total freak,’ she said in a hushed voice.
    The punk smiled and crossed the classroom to join her friends. It seemed that she’d actually come out on top.
    ‘Who are those three?’ Lis asked innocently, inwardly burning with curiosity.
    ‘The lanky dyke is Kitty Monroe.’ Laura glared at her enemy.
    ‘And the ginge is Delilah Bloom