Lola was excited about her first karate class. Her mum had even bought her a karate uniform with a pink collar and a matching head band.

She felt really special in the uniform. It was loose, and easy to move and kick in. It was as though just putting it on made Lola a real karate student. She couldn’t wait to try out the Attention Stance in a real class, with the proper karate clothes.

They were the first ones to turn up at the hall. Lola remembered to bow her head at the door.

Then the instructor arrived, chatting with a group of kids.

‘Come and I’ll show you how to warm up,’ Will said. They took off their shoes and stood on the mat. As they stretched, Patrick squeezed in between Lola and Will.

‘Geez mate, did they make you bring your unco sister in the end? That sucks! And what’s with her pink, girly uniform?’ Patrick was kind of whispering. But it was a loud, hoarse whisper, as though he really wanted Lola to hear.

Lola kept her head down, but turned it to one side so she could see Will. She wished he would say something to Patrick. She wished he would tell Patrick to stop talking about her. But all Will did was look down at his feet.

Lola felt as though her heart had stopped. Suddenly, her karate costume felt like a silly dress-up. She was unco. She had never won a trophy like Will. Of course she would be hopeless at karate.

But there was one thing that bothered her even more than the thought that she might be hopeless at karate. It was that Will didn’t even stick up for her.

Lola had really enjoyed practising karate with Will. She felt like she’d finally got to know him. But now it just felt as though he was a stranger. As though all the time they had spent together practising karate didn’t mean anything!

Lola moved into the front row. She wished the mat was bigger, so she could be further away from Will and Patrick.

Lola concentrated really hard once the class started and followed all the moves the instructor called out. As they were doing the Horse Stance, the instructor walked around the class commenting on their stances.

‘You are doing very well for your first lesson,’ he said to Lola. ‘Did someone help you?’

Lola looked over her shoulder at Will.

‘Not really,’ she fibbed. She didn’t feel like giving Will any credit at the moment. As far as Lola was concerned, she was on her own in this class. And she certainly wouldn’t be asking for any more help from him!

The rest of the class went well. Lola was surprised, but it seemed that feeling angry made her quite strong.

The instructor put them in pairs. One student had to try to push the other one over, and the other had to use a special sideways move to avoid them. Lola teamed up with Lisa.

‘I really like your pink uniform, Lola,’ Lisa said before they started the exercise. That made Lola feel better. It also made her feel better that Lisa had been doing karate for years, but Lola managed to keep up with her quite well. She was so involved that she almost forgot about Will and Patrick. Almost.

‘That was great guys,’ the instructor said at the end of the lesson. ‘Next Saturday we are going to have a special training session. I will divide you into teams on the day, and we’ll have a competition in the park outside the hall.’

A few kids cheered. They had obviously been looking forward to the special training session. Lola was keen too. It sounded cool. But she hoped she wouldn’t be on the same team as Will and Patrick.