At least Ms Shaw doesn’t turn Charity into any kind of angel, but I know how it must have looked – me tall and dark, standing over little blonde Charity. I reckon the sun even shone around Charity’s hair like a halo.

“Of course I’ll pay for that girl’s water bottle,” Annie says. “But surely if it’s made of metal, it can’t break, can it?”

I stare even harder at the clock so I don’t smile. Thank you, Annie.

Ms Shaw clunks Charity’s water bottle onto her desk.

“There is a dent,” she says.

A laugh bubbles out of me. I saw Charity throw that bottle at a Year 11 outside the newsagent’s in Cole Street. I bet that’s how that dent happened. But Annie and Ms Shaw are both staring at me.

I look back at the clock.

“So what’s next?” Annie asks.

“As you know, Ms Morrisey …” Ms Shaw says to Annie.

Annie nods.

“Behaviour like this …”

Annie nods again.

“Is an automatic exclusion,” Ms Shaw finishes.

Annie leans forward and says, “Really, Ms Shaw? Charlene has just started to settle down here. After all the disruption she’s had to deal with, on top of the loss of her mother, do you think time out of school is the best thing for her?”

I appreciate Annie’s effort, but I don’t think school’s ever gonna make me feel better about my mum passing away.

Ms Shaw seems to agree with me. “Charlene agreed to abide by the student code of conduct when she joined us.” She stares hard at Annie and adds, “Parents and carers sign the agreement too.”

Annie flicks the water bottle. The dent makes the ping sound flat. “And what about Charity?” Annie asks. “Is she getting punished too?”

Ms Shaw turns to me. I see her out of the corner of my eye as I stay focused on the clock face.

“Do you believe Charity should be punished, Charlene?” Ms Shaw asks.

I don’t say nothing in case another swear word slips out.

“What did she do to provoke you?” Annie asks.

What am I supposed to say? Charity pretended to laugh? I haven’t got enough words to explain it. I’ve let Charity get under my skin. She’s scratching away like an inside-out tattoo.

“So you don’t think she should be punished?” Ms Shaw asks.

I give up on the clock and stare Ms Shaw in the eye.

“Yes, Charity should be punished,” I say. “Because she’s ignorant.”

Annie and Ms Shaw sigh at the same time. There’s so much air from them I feel my cheek wobble. I wish I’d said what was really in my head – that I like History lessons and I like Ms Nzegwu. I wanted the lesson to go properly.

“Two days’ exclusion,” Ms Shaw says. “And of course, you’ll have to say sorry to Charity.”

*