I stand up before I realise it. I yell at Josh and Charity. I say a swear word. The door opens and Ms Shaw, the head teacher, walks in. Suddenly, I’m the only student standing up, the only one making noise. Ms Shaw looks from me to Ms Nzegwu.

“What’s going on here?” Ms Shaw asks.

I point at Charity and start to say, “She—”

“Charlene, sit down, please,” Ms Shaw says.

I do. Annie says I should choose my battles and I’m not gonna go all warrior queen on Ms Shaw just yet. The head fixes her stare on Ms Nzegwu.

“I heard the noise from this classroom from down the corridor,” Ms Shaw says.

Ms Nzegwu stares right back. There’s no nervous eye drop or nothing. I’m dead proud.

“We were discussing racism,” Ms Nzegwu says. “As I’m sure you know, Ms Shaw, it’s a subject that often gets heated.”

“There’s a difference between ‘heated’ and ‘unruly’,” Ms Shaw says. Her eye turns towards me again. “What point were you making, Charlene?”

Charity makes a strange noise. I know that it’s her pretending to hide a laugh but making it loud enough for me to know she’s laughing at me. I shouldn’t let Charity bother me. Who cares what she thinks? I must do, because the words are coming out of me.

“I was making the point that Charity is ignorant,” I say, except I add another swear word in there too.

Bendi gasps. Ms Shaw holds the door open.

“My office. Now,” the head says to me.

Just for a second, I lock eyes with Ms Nzegwu. She gives a tiny shake of her head and looks sad.

I put my pencil case and books in my bag. I stand up slowly. I can feel everyone watching me. I nod to Ms Shaw, then I turn around and sweep all of Charity’s stuff from the table onto the floor. Her water bottle clangs, rolls towards my feet and stops.

Chapter 3

I have to wait in the corridor of shame outside the head’s office. Annie can’t come for me until after the first break. I don’t feel no shame about Charity, but I wish I hadn’t mashed up Ms Nzegwu’s class like that.

When Annie turns up, she’s vexed. Her lips are squeezed together so tight it looks like she’s used Skye’s eyelash glue on them. I’m not sure yet if it’s me or the school that’s got Annie in a rage.

Me and Annie spend half an hour in Ms Shaw’s office. I know it’s that long because there’s a small clock on the bookshelf behind her. I stare at it after I give up trying to tell Ms Shaw my side of the story. She just wants to talk about my swearing and, in her words, my “aggressive behaviour”.