‘Oh . . .’ Michelle nodded. This never, ever happened; they never chose to be apart. ‘Okay, of course! Well, I’ll come over later and we can get ready for the rugby club. I think the whole year’s going! And I’ll bring m—’

‘Can I just meet you there?’ Bessie knew at that moment that what she wanted – needed – was as much time alone today as she could manage, to try to think things through, wash away the sticky sense of failure and embarrassment that coated her skin, order her racing thoughts. She needed to clear her head, come up with Plan B.

‘Oh, sure . . . If that’s what you want.’ There was a crease of confusion at the top of Michelle’s nose, as if she were struggling to fathom quite what was happening. She stepped forward and wrapped Bessie in a loose hug that felt a little unfamiliar, as if someone had placed a thin veneer between them. Their touch was muted, a little cooler than they were used to and, for the first time ever, verging on awkward. It didn’t feel nice at all and only added to the unease that suddenly enveloped them both.

The two girls went their separate ways at the school gates. Bessie looked back over her shoulder and watched her friend speed up, eager to get home, no doubt, to knock on the caravan door and shout, ‘I did it!’, while she did the opposite, slowing her pace, uncaring if it took all day before she had to tell her parents and her smart brother of her failure. Her tears came at last and she rubbed at her eyes.

Looking down, she saw bright smudges of eyeshadow and dark streaks of kohl on her fingertips; no doubt it was all over her face. How stupid she felt, wanting to look nice when it was the last thing anyone would remember about her today. Gary Bradshaw, who lived at the bottom of her road, whizzed past her on his bike, heading in the direction of home. The sound of Melanie Hall snickering behind her rang in her ears and as Bessie came to the roadworks on the corner, she stared at the big hole the workmen had dug and thought for a minute how nice it might be to jump right in and never come out.

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FOUR

August 20th 2021