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For the next two hours my Snow White knickers haunted me. I tried to do my bit. Somehow I managed to design a bridge for our group, but after that it just felt too hard and I left the others to it.

I went back to my sketch pad. I drew a mythical forest filled with owls, wolves and a fire-breathing dragon. I drew myself on a wobbly old bridge, right in the middle of it all, because that’s how I felt. I was lost in the middle of a hostile place – high school.

I had to admit Persephone was trying really hard. She asked me at least twenty times if I was all right. And she kept trying to get me back into the group, making up jobs to involve me.

‘Kitty, can you put a stick in that tiny gap? It needs your magic touch,’ she said at one point. Another time there was something that needed gluing with my ‘magic touch’.

It was sweet of her, but I knew she was just doing it because she felt sorry for me. I didn’t have a magic touch – a cursed touch was more like it!

‘I wish I could draw like that,’ Rio said, leaning in to look at my picture.

Jordan nodded. ‘Yeah, bro. Dragons would make a good change from footballs. That’s all you ever draw, isn’t it?’

Rio elbowed his friend. ‘You’re joking, right? You can’t even draw a straight line. Maybe Kitty could help you advance to a stick man.’

For a second, it felt like I was floating. I loved hearing Rio say my name and I couldn’t help smiling at his compliment. But when I looked at my picture I crashed back to earth. The picture was rubbish. That’s when I realised Rio was saying nice things because he felt sorry for me. ‘It’s just a doodle,’ I mumbled.

I sank down in my seat, brooding. Of all the days I could have had my skirt stuck into my knickers, why did it have to be today? Why couldn’t it have happened yesterday, when there were no boys at school? Why not this afternoon? Why did it have to happen during the bridge-building session? Why did it have to be in front of Rio? And why, oh, why did I have to be wearing Snow White knickers?

At last, the bell sounded, signalling the end of my torture.

I tore my dumb picture out of my sketch pad, scrunched it into a ball and tossed it into the bin.

Persephone gasped. ‘But that was really good. Better than the stick bridge.’

I glanced at my group’s bridge. What a wobbly jumble of sticks and glue! That bridge wouldn’t support an ant, I thought.

‘Nice work,’ I lied, checking the back of my skirt. Then I rushed off without saying goodbye to anyone. Peals of laughter followed me. I assumed everyone was laughing at me again. I didn’t stop to check.

I had to find Izzy and Mia. At times like these only best friends can help.

‘Here she is,’ shouted Izzy as I ran up. ‘So, how were the boys? Any cute ones? I can’t wait till our session this afternoon. It’s –’ She stopped when she saw my face.

I could feel the tears welling in my eyes. I grabbed Izzy and Mia and dragged them to the back of the Science block. It was the only place where we could talk without the whole school watching.

‘I – have just had –’ I gulped back my tears, ‘the worst morning – of – my – life.’

Mia put her arm around me. ‘What happened? It’s Blackmore, isn’t it? She gave you a detention? What a total cow!’

As I shook my head, a tear escaped. ‘Worse.’

‘Suspended?’ Izzy gasped.

I shook my head again. ‘Worse.’

‘Expelled?’ Mia said, her eyes widening. ‘Er-ma-gawd, Kitty. Your mum’s gonna freak!’

‘No, no,’ I said, sniffing.

‘Well, you can’t get arrested for handing in a bad assignment, so getting expelled is about as bad as it can be,’ Izzy said, looking confused.

‘It’s not about my assignment!’ I blurted out.

I took a few deep breaths. ‘It’s my knickers,’ I groaned. ‘I flashed them at the whole class when Blackmore asked me to draw a bridge on the whiteboard!’

For a moment Izzy and Mia just stared at me, saying nothing.

‘Not in your bridge-building session?’ said Izzy frowning. ‘Not in front of boys?’

I nodded.

‘In front of boys!’ Mia’s eyes went really wide. ‘Oh, Kitty!’ She gave me a huge cuddle.

‘C’mon, Kitty. Maybe it’s not the worst thing ever,’ Izzy said, grabbing my hand. ‘It can’t be as bad as that time you dressed up as a cave girl.’

‘No,’ I said firmly, ‘it’s worse than that. And I haven’t even told you the most embarrassing bit.’

Mia and Izzy leant in.

‘They were Snow White knickers!’

Izzy yanked her hand away and covered her mouth. I thought it was because she was shocked. But then she started snorting. She always did that when she was trying not to laugh.

Izzy!’ I cried. ‘I have just been publicly humiliated. I nearly died of embarrassment. I deserve sympathy, not pig noises.’

‘Sorry,’ she said, stifling another snort. ‘At least you weren’t wearing super-lacy knickers.’

Mia giggled. ‘Or saggy old granny undies.’

I guessed they were right. Maybe it could have been worse. It didn’t stop me from feeling humiliated, though.

But Izzy wasn’t going to let me feel sorry for myself for long. She was just getting warmed up. ‘Yeah!’ she said. ‘Imagine Tori flashing her knickers and they were actually saggy granny undies. Imagine she’s talking to a bunch of guys at the bus stop and the wind catches her dress. It blows it right over her head, and there she is in her old-lady undies.’

‘That would be funny.’ I had to agree.

It was amazing how something embarrassing seemed funny when you pictured it happening to someone else. But even as I giggled I was pretty sure I was destined to be uncool all through high school now.

At high school, everyone was rushing around trying to prove themselves, trying to be the coolest, trying to be someone they weren’t. I could remember a time when it wasn’t all so hard.

‘Remember at primary school everyone hung out together,’ I said. ‘It seemed like everyone was popular.’

Maybe I was only remembering the good times, but it really seemed like we were all just one big happy gang back then. There was no cool group, no nerds, or hipsters, or emos, or water-polo girls, or whatever.

‘What happened?’ I asked.

Izzy shrugged. ‘We swam into a big pond, I guess.’

‘Well, it’s okay for you and Mia. You’re fast fish. You’ll be fine no matter how big the pond is,’ I said, staring into the distance. ‘I’m just a small lost fish, with silly knickers.’

Mia gave me another hug and Izzy joined in.

‘Hey, Little Fish,’ Mia said softly, ‘we’ve got your back.’

I hugged them back. I knew I wasn’t as fearless or as fast as Mia and Izzy. I wasn’t in the water-polo team. And sometimes I felt like they were from a different planet completely, but it was good to know Mia and Izzy would always be there for me – no matter what.

‘Camping with you guys is going to be so cool,’ I told them. And this time I really meant it.

‘Except when the boys throw slime at you!’ Izzy laughed.

Of course, I thought. Just when I was getting all warm and fuzzy about the idea of camping, Izzy had to spoil the moment.

‘Just kidding,’ Izzy said. ‘Like you said before, it will be beyond amazing. So have your bags ready early. We’re leaving at 7 a.m. on Saturday.’

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That afternoon, I caught up with Persephone. Actually, she caught up with me. I’d been avoiding her since the Snow White incident. But at the end of the day, she cornered me at the lockers.

‘Hey,’ she said. ‘I’ve been worried about you. This morning must have been awful.’

I nodded, surprised how worried she looked and sounded. ‘Thanks. It really was awful.’

Persephone gave me a hug and then grinned. ‘So, do you want to know what happened after you left?’

‘I think I already know,’ I said with a sigh. ‘I could hear everyone laughing at me.’

‘No, no. I mean with that picture you drew.’

I frowned. The only picture I drew went in the bin.

‘Well, Rio’s got it,’ Persephone continued. ‘That picture? The girl on the bridge with the big eyes? Rio pulled it out of the bin, flattened it out and took it with him.’

‘What?’ It didn’t make any sense to me. ‘Why would he do that?’

‘He didn’t say. But I’m guessing he really liked it …’ Persephone gave me a sly smile. ‘Or maybe he likes the artist who created it.’

‘You’re joking, right?’

Persephone leant towards me. ‘Kitty, he was checking you out the whole time!’ she whispered. ‘He was watching you draw. I think you really made an impression.’

‘Yeah, a bad one!’ I groaned.

But Persephone shook her head. ‘You handled that knickers thing so well. If that were me, I would have been out of there. Actually, I’d still be blubbering in the toilets right now.’

Persephone was so cool and confident. I found it hard to believe what I was hearing.

‘Seriously. You were amazing. No wonder Rio likes you,’ she said. ‘You’re brave. Definitely braver than me.’

‘I’m not really,’ I said quietly.

I could feel myself blushing, so I looked away. That’s when I spotted Tori watching us, her hand on her hip. Persephone waved at her, but Tori didn’t wave back. She just waited a few seconds and then stalked off with some girls from her group.

Persephone didn’t seem bothered. ‘What do you think of Rio?’ she asked, after Tori was gone.

I shrugged. ‘He’s okay, I guess.’

‘Just okay?’ Persephone raised one eyebrow.

I knew she could see right through me. ‘All right,’ I confessed, ‘he’s totally cute. I see him on the bus. I’ve had a thing for him for ages.’

Persephone’s eyes widened. ‘Interesting! You know, he’s going to Paradise Point with Jordan these holidays. What do you think about coming to Paradise Point with me, and we can hang out with them?’

I honestly had no idea what I thought. I was totally confused. Not just about Rio – who must have thought I was the most clueless girl on earth and surely couldn’t be interested in me after this morning’s disaster – but also about Persephone. Why did she want me to go to Paradise Point with her after I flashed my knickers at the whole class? She must’ve had a million cooler friends than me who she could invite.

But before I had a chance to work all this out, I heard myself saying, ‘That sounds like the best idea ever – I’m so keen! I’ll just have to ask Mum.’

‘Yay!’ Persephone cheered.

‘So when are you going?’ I asked.

On Saturday at nine. So we’ll be at Paradise Point by lunchtime. I’ll text Jordan and Rio and we can meet up there.’

As Persephone chattered away excitedly, I suddenly felt my heart sink.

I’d already made plans to go camping with Izzy and Mia on Saturday. I couldn’t let my friends down, but I didn’t want to disappoint Persephone either. I had no idea what to do.

Should I go camping with my besties and miss out on the chance to get to know Persephone – and my best shot with Rio? Or should I go to the beach with Persephone and risk falling out with my best friends?

 

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