Claire squinted. The fifth girl was on the far side but she knew it was Anne by her bouncy walk. It always made her hair jump up on her shoulders. Claire felt the dampness under her armpits again. She should have known the challenge wouldn’t be so easy. What were they planning to do?

‘Claire!’

Charlotte had seen her and was gesturing for her to come over.

Shit.

Claire turned away from the crossing and went to meet them. Before she was even within a few feet of them, they were whistling and catcalling and Claire knew that the evening with Paul was not something she was going to be able to do without an audience.

‘Hi! What are you doing here?’ Claire tried to sound casual.

‘Hello! You didn’t think we’d let you come on your own, did you? Swotty, snotty Paul on a date – this we have to see!’ Vivian smirked, her pineapple ponytail swinging. Claire noticed that Anne at least had the decency to look embarrassed.

‘Don’t worry,’ added Charlotte, linking arms with Claire and leading her towards the cinema. ‘We’ll sit right at the back, so we don’t disturb you two – right, girls?’ The others started making kissing noises and Claire noticed even Anne joined in.

Cow.

Reluctantly, Claire felt herself being pulled along. Would Paul be waiting for her by now? All of sudden, she wasn’t sure which was worse: him not turning up or him turning up and the two of them having to endure popcorn thrown at their heads all night. But as they rounded the corner, she could see him waiting, dressed in black jeans and a Guns N’ Roses T-shirt. Claire thought of her own Guns N’ Roses T-shirt at home and wondered if he liked INXS as well.

‘Oooh, Paul scrubs up rather well for a weirdo, doesn’t he?’ announced Tiffany. The others giggled, and Claire pretended to laugh.

‘Right,’ said Charlotte, all business. ‘For every challenge, at least one founding member of the Queen Bees has to be there to make sure it happens – and Anne’s here because we invited her,’ she added, answering Claire’s silent question. ‘You have to kiss him for at least five seconds. You ready?’

Claire nodded seriously as if accepting a state mission.

‘And remember,’ said Charlotte, ‘we’ll be watching!’

Claire walked away to the sniggers of the girls and for the first time wondered if she really did want to be a Queen Bee after all.

*

‘Hi!’ said Claire casually, conscious of the watchful eyes of the girls on her. She combed her hair away from her face with her left hand and shoved her hand back in her pocket.