As she sat down next to Anne in class and began taking her books out of her bag, she felt the panic of wanting to get into the Queen Bees just so she wasn’t publicly humiliated about being excluded. At that moment, she’d hated Charlotte for setting up the stupid club. But now that she had passed the challenge and was about to be inducted, she forgot all those feelings. Like all the other girls who had passed the test, she couldn’t wait to show off her new membership. As she finished her soup, she wondered what would happen on Monday. The initiation process had always been a carefully guarded secret and Anne hadn’t even hinted about what she could expect.

Claire’s thoughts were interrupted by her mother clearing the dishes and automatically Claire got up to help. Her mother, who had been mostly silent for the remainder of lunch, had obviously gone into martyr mode, but it was better than the alternative. After clearing the table, Claire asked to be excused. She was due to meet Anne in town at two o’clock. Her mother simply nodded, while her father offered her a lift.

‘Thanks, Dad,’ she said. The weather looked pretty miserable. While it wasn’t raining the cloudy sky looked threatening.

‘Do you need anything from town, Mum?’ she asked, before heading to the sanctuary of her bedroom.

‘No, thank you,’ replied her mother primly. ‘Will you be back for tea?’

‘Yes, I’ll be back no later than six.’

Her mother nodded.

‘Leave in ten?’ she asked her dad now who was settling down the newspaper.

‘Ready when you are.’

After hurrying upstairs, she sat down at her vanity and applied some lip gloss. She also put on some clear mascara, the only type her mother would allow, and squirted Charlie Red perfume on her wrists. She went to her money box and took out some change, slipping it into her jeans pocket. When she went back downstairs, her dad saw her and stood up, picking up the car keys from the table.

‘See you later, Mum,’ she called from the hallway.

‘Bye,’ came the reply. Her mother must be in the small front room. She noticed her dad didn’t say anything but opened the front door and walked to the car. Claire hoped while she was out her parents would sort it out otherwise her mum would be difficult while her father was away. It was only a ten-minute drive from their house into Castlefield.

‘Where do you want me to drop you?’

‘At the library, please.’

Her dad nodded approvingly. If only he knew that she and Anne would spend several hours gossiping rather than reading.

‘I’ll miss you tomorrow, Claire Bear. Sorry about having to leave so early.’