Alesha Walsh had been a student at the school for three years, but she remembered quite clearly the feeling of walking in and not knowing anyone, so, when she saw the new girl sitting alone in the cafeteria, she walked over and sat next to her.

“Hi,” she said. “I’m Alesha. You’re Valerie, right?”

“Yes,” the new girl said, smiling. “Hey there.”

“Just to let you know, everyone’s having a big discussion about why you’re switching schools in the middle of term. Some of my friends reckon you got kicked out of your last school for fighting, while others reckon you just burned it to the ground. Are either of those close to the truth?”

“Not especially,” Valerie said. “My folks got new jobs and we had to move – that’s the entire story. Sorry to disappoint.”

“I’m sure they’ll get over it,” Alesha said, and smiled again. “This place isn’t so bad. You’ve got your different groups that you need to be aware of, though.” She nodded to a table in front of them. “Those are the sporty types, the jocks, as the Americans would say, although they’re not really that sporty, all things considered, and they do have plenty of other interests.”

She indicated a table next to one of the windows. “Over there, you have the geeks, and all they ever talk about are comics and movies and books, but they’re quite well liked because everyone loves that stuff.”

She pointed again. “There you have your popular girls, the pretty ones. Some of them are really nice, and, while there are a few who aren’t classically beautiful, everyone’s welcome, you know?” She scanned the room. “After that, there are the weirdos, the burnouts and the losers, but they tend to mingle with all the other groups because everyone has redeeming qualities and no one is left out. And I think that’s it, really.”

“And where does Adedayo fit into all this?”

“Oh. To be honest, I’m not too sure. He’s not the best at sports, and he’s not amazingly geeky, and he doesn’t get the best grades, but, um … oh! He’s a member of the debating club, did you know that?”

“I didn’t.”

“I mean, yeah, I’d say he’s quite a reluctant member, if you know what I mean? He doesn’t really like arguing all that much, which is a drawback. But he’s cute and he’s nice and he’s just the right kind of weird, so if you fancy him, I say go for it.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Valerie said, smiling. “It sounds like a nice school.”

Alesha shrugged. “Ah, it has its problems, the same as everywhere. You get bullies, and you get people being mean to each other, and you get those who just can’t seem to fit in … but, on the whole, it’s not bad.”

“And you’re the welcoming committee, are you?”

“Ha! Hardly. I just thought you could use some com-pany.”

“Well, that’s very nice of you.”

“I’ll introduce you around and you’ll make friends in no time, just you see.”

A girl went past their table, her head down. “Hey, Lorna, come say hello! Lorna? Lorna!” But Lorna just kept walking, and Alesha rolled her eyes. “OK, that wasn’t the best example, but everyone else is lovely, I swear!”

Valerie grinned. “I’ll take your word for it.”