Part 3 (1/2)

'Well, I I think the more time these two have in detention, thinking very hard about think the more time these two have in detention, thinking very hard about actions actions and and consequences, consequences, the better! The way they behave is dreadful. And the better! The way they behave is dreadful. And dangerous. dangerous. They need to be more They need to be more vigilant vigilant. Yes, more detention is just what they need.'

'I think they are already ashamed enough, don't you, Mr Beagle? To have acted in such a way in front of a new student?'

I looked at Laurel, and she gave me a small grin. One that looked anything but ashamed. I smiled shyly back.

'You're the boss,' said Mr Beagle grumpily. He turned to me and said, 'Welcome to Cascade Falls,' and then marched quickly back down the hallway.

Above me, seemingly from nowhere, a deafening noise blared out. The noise shocked me and I cowered, squeezing my eyes tightly shut. It sounded like some angry animal, threatening to pounce.

Ms Hindmarsh squeezed my shoulder. 'Sorry, Tessa, I'm afraid Miss Bloom hasn't quite quite got a handle on the new PA system yet. Her morning bells are always thunderous, or so quiet you can't hear them and so you turn up twenty minutes late. You can't use that as an excuse this time, though, Laurel and Erin. Come on, chop, chop!' got a handle on the new PA system yet. Her morning bells are always thunderous, or so quiet you can't hear them and so you turn up twenty minutes late. You can't use that as an excuse this time, though, Laurel and Erin. Come on, chop, chop!'

She raised an eyebrow at Laurel and Erin, who scampered quickly back up the stairs and into the hall.

From inside the hall, I could hear the thunder of many feet on a hard floor, and, before the door slammed shut again, I caught a glimpse of my new schoolmates.

So many of them! All shapes and sizes! And they were all dressed exactly as I was, in the charcoal grey uniform of Cascade Falls.

They all look so different from one another, I thought. And yet the same. Perhaps I really can fit in here. And yet the same. Perhaps I really can fit in here.

'Well, Tessa, this is it,' said Ms Hindmarsh, squeezing my shoulder. 'Time to start your life as a student of Cascade Falls!'

Words I did not know before my first day at Cascade Falls: netball (a team sport where b.a.l.l.s are thrown from person to person and then into a hoop with a net on it) basketball (from what I can understand, exactly the same as netball, only you bang the ball against the ground sometimes and you can jump up when you throw the ball towards the net, which does seem a bit bit like cheating to me!) like cheating to me!) ball (for a little while, and then I remembered) bogan (it is a person of low morals and character I think) Pepsi (a fizzy black drink that tastes a little bit like shoe polish) biro (a writing implement with ink inside inside it) it) LOL (this does not mean to lie about lazily. It means something is funny. It stands for 'laugh out loud'. I am not sure why people say it instead of actually laughing out loud) dude The meaning of the last word I was still unsure of at the end of my first day at Cascade Falls. It was Laurel who said it to me, when she noticed me looking befuddled in our trigonometry cla.s.s. She leaned over and whispered, 'It's okay, dude,' she said. 'n.o.body gets this stuff.'

Later, as we left the cla.s.sroom, I asked her what a 'dude' was. She just shrugged and said, 'It's, well, a dude. A dude's a dude. You know? Some things just are what they are. Like you. You're a Tessa. It would be pretty hard to explain what a Tessa Tessa is in one sentence, wouldn't it? You just are what you are and ' is in one sentence, wouldn't it? You just are what you are and '

She didn't get a chance to finish, before Charlotte Lord appeared at my side and said, 'It's okay, Laura.'

'Laurel.'

'Laurel. Sorry. I should remember that from the number of times I've seen your name on the detention list. Anyway, Laurel Laurel, you can go now. I'm Tessa's mentor. I can take it from here.'

'But ... we were just talking, Charlotte,' Laurel protested.

Charlotte shook her head quickly and said, 'No thank you, Laurel. I have promised Ms Hindmarsh and my father that I will look after Tessa, and I believe a large component of this position will consist of preventing her forming acquaintances with undesirable persons ...'

'Can you say that in English, please?' asked Laurel, which I thought was strange as it seemed that Charlotte was speaking very good English. At least I understood all the words she was saying unlike 'dude' even if they didn't seem to be very nice nice words. words.

Why did Charlotte dislike Laurel so much? She seemed nice a bit naughty, but nice. And she was right. We were were only talking. only talking.

'It means she reckons we're not good enough for her new toy,' said a voice from behind me.

I whirled around to see Laurel's friend, Erin, standing behind us.

'Come on, L,' she said flatly. 'Tessa probably just wants to hang out with her cool new friends, not us. Catch ya later, hey? If Princess Charlotte Princess Charlotte allows it.' allows it.'

The two girls walked away.

I turned back to Charlotte to see her nostrils were flaring, ever so slightly, and her eyes were narrowed.

When she saw me looking, she opened her eyes up very wide and smiled.

'Don't mind those two,' she said. 'They're just bogans. Come on and I'll introduce you to some nice nice people.' people.'

Beneath the huge oak tree in the middle of the school's central square (which is is lovely, Connolly. You were right!), I met Kelly, Amy, Jenna, Bridget, Claudia and Inga. lovely, Connolly. You were right!), I met Kelly, Amy, Jenna, Bridget, Claudia and Inga.

'This is our outside place,' Charlotte said. 'Inside, we have our own table in the cafeteria.'

'Does everyone?' I asked.

Charlotte laughed. 'Of course not,' she said. She waved at the group as we approached and raised her voice slightly. 'Girls, this is Tessa.'

None of them smiled with their eyes, and yet they spoke as though they were glad to meet me.

'So, so, so so wonderful to meet you, Tessa!' squealed Kelly, bobbing up and down like a strange, overexcited puppy. wonderful to meet you, Tessa!' squealed Kelly, bobbing up and down like a strange, overexcited puppy.

'I hope you're enjoying it here,' said Amy, her eyes narrowed and her arms crossed over her chest. 'You've certainly fallen on your feet getting Charlotte as a mentor.'

'Very lucky,' said Bridget.

'Lovely to have a new girl,' said Claudia, smiling in a way that seemed warmer than when Charlotte smiled. I decided I liked Claudia the best. She looked somewhat like a very pretty, raven-haired elf.

Inga I liked less. Her eyes were like sapphires and every bit as hard, and her hair was short and severe and nearly as pale as Charlotte's. When Charlotte introduced us, she didn't smile or greet me; she just stood staring, one eyebrow raised as if to say, 'Do you really think you belong here?'

I felt like telling her that no, I didn't. Not really.

The girls were very pretty, but talking to them for only a few minutes made me feel very tired and inadequate. They all spoke with such plummy accents, as though they had been raised in a manor in England, not a convict town at the end of the world. Charlotte explained that they had all been sent to finis.h.i.+ng cla.s.ses, courtesy of her father. 'Which is why we stand a mile above the other girls at Cascade Falls,' she said. 'This may be an exclusive school, but many of its population would make you believe otherwise.' She leaned in and whispered, 'Scholars.h.i.+p students,' and made a repulsed face. 'They bring down the tone of exclusivity quite severely!'

Exclusive. That word seemed perfect for Charlotte and her friends. They were exclusive. They were important. And they seemed to be keenly aware of it. I wanted to like them. I promised myself I would try try to like them. But as we walked away from the oak tree and the thoroughbred girls, I found myself feeling slightly, secretly, relieved. to like them. But as we walked away from the oak tree and the thoroughbred girls, I found myself feeling slightly, secretly, relieved.

Then Charlotte introduced me to Rhiannah.

Rhiannah's hair was jet black, and her skin was as white as the sheets on my hospital bed. Her eyes were dark, too. Nearly black. And when Charlotte introduced us, Rhiannah's dark pink lips curled upwards and her eyes smiled too.

'This is Tessa,' Charlotte said, for perhaps the twentieth time. It felt like the millionth and I was growing tired of the sound of my own name. 'She's new. Tessa, this is Rhiannah.'

Rhiannah wrinkled up her nose and sniffed at the air.

'Is there a problem, Rhiannah?' asked Charlotte testily.

'No, no, not at all,' said Rhiannah. 'I just thought I smelled ... something. Don't mind me.'

Rhiannah held out her hand and took mine. She shook it up and down. Her grip was strong, but I matched it. 'Lovely hands,' she said, still smiling.

I looked down at them. To my eyes, the fingers look stubby and the fingernails were too short and remained dirty, no matter how many times you and I scrubbed at them. Remember, Connolly? You said they looked like farmers' fingernails.