I kept wondering what would happen at morning break, but Miss Major, the PE teacher, asked me to stay in the gym to help her sort out the wretched games cupboard. It wasn’t a punishment, it was because we’d become quite friendly and she wanted to discuss strategy for an inter-schools match in January. She gave me a little chocolate Santa for my trouble, which was sweet of her. I put it in my pocket for Rowena.

Mrs Legg the cook had made a special Christmas lunch: sliced turkey and roast potatoes and broccoli and carrots and peas, with mince pies and whippy cream for pudding. The canteen was crowded, as most of the packed-lunch pupils wanted the Christmas lunch too. Sally couldn’t find four places for herself and Marnie, Georgia and Scarlett, let alone a fifth place for me.

I had to sit with the boys – my old football mates from Year Seven. They were messing about, flicking food at each other and telling stupid jokes. I took no notice, shovelling down my meal without tasting it. They were planning to go skating at the Christmas market’s pop-up ice rink that evening.

‘Are you coming, Frankie?’ Josh Brown asked. He was one of the nicer boys, though not a patch on Sam. He wasn’t very good-looking, but he had cute hair cut very short – not bristly like a crew cut, but fluffy like a duckling.

‘I haven’t got any skates,’ I said.

‘Don’t be daft, you hire them. It’s only three quid, plus the tenner entry fee,’ he told me. ‘Then you can stay on the rink as long as you like. Bargain!’

‘Well, it might be a bargain to you, but I’ve spent all my money,’ I said. ‘I’m totally skint.’

‘Get some from your mum then,’ said Josh. ‘No – tell you what, I’ll treat you. I’ve been helping my uncle down the market and he’s paying me. Go on, Frankie.’

All the other boys imitated him: ‘Go on, go on, go on!’

‘Do you fancy Frankie then? Yeah, you do! Asking her out on a date, eh?’ said Josh’s pal Richie.

‘So what if I do?’ said Josh, and there was a great outpouring of bawdy comments.

It was totally weird. All term he had taken no notice of me, and yet here he was asking me to go skating with him. I didn’t know what to say. I was pleased he liked me enough to ask me out even though he knew all his mates would tease him. I did like him – but only as a friend. Did he want to be my boyfriend? What if he tried to kiss me?

I tried to imagine it. It might feel fine. I might even like it, and have the tingly sensation Zara kept going on about. It hadn’t happened with Sam, but that was probably because he was just like a brother to me. Josh might be different.

I wanted him to be different. I wanted to be a perfectly ordinary girl who might have got her first boyfriend. I looked at him, this nice boy who was smiling at me but not quite meeting my eyes because he was actually very shy, though he tried to be a loudmouth in front of his mates.

I should have said yes. It was only going skating, for goodness’ sake. I’d always wanted to go to that ice rink and see if I was any good. It looked great fun. But I knew I was kidding myself. I didn’t want to go with Josh. I wanted to go with Sally.

‘That would be great, Josh,’ I said. ‘I wish I could go, but I’ve got to stay home and do Christmas stuff with my family this evening.’

It was true. After school Mum was planning on buying a Christmas tree from the garden centre and we were all going to decorate it.

Josh looked disappointed, but shrugged his shoulders. ‘That’s OK,’ he said. ‘No probs. Perhaps some other time?’

‘Yeah, perhaps,’ I said. I saw Sally standing up and walking nonchalantly out of the canteen, though Marnie and Georgia and Scarlett were still stuffing themselves with mince pies. I hadn’t even gone to fetch my pudding yet, but I didn’t care.

‘Got to go,’ I said, and rushed off after her.

She was waiting for me outside. I tried not to smile, just in case she went back to being Old Sally and said something scornful. But she was smiling too.

‘Come on!’ she said. ‘Sorry you got stuck with all those silly boys. They’re so childish, aren’t they?’

‘Totally,’ I said.

We didn’t need to ask each other where we were going. We walked quickly and purposefully towards the fence that edged the orchard. Sally swung herself up and sat on top of the gate. I followed her. But before either of us could drop down into the scrubby grass a voice rang out:

‘Where on earth are you two going?’

It was Miss Eliot, hurrying across the playground towards us.

‘Oh help!’ I said.

‘Quick, let’s run!’ said Sally, grabbing my arm.

‘Into the orchard?’ I asked incredulously.

‘Yes, and then out of it, and we’ll keep on running, and we’ll go round the town, and we won’t go home, and we’ll just have fun – come on, Frankie, jump down with me,’ Sally gabbled.

‘But she’ll kill us!’

‘She won’t be able to find us. Quick!’ said Sally. ‘Jump!’

I think I would have as well – but Miss Eliot was too fast for us.

‘Sally Macclesfield! How dare you! And you, Francesca Bennet! Get back into the playground this instant!’ she commanded.

Sally slid down gracefully and I struggled after her.

‘We’re so sorry, Miss Eliot,’ Sally said. ‘Don’t be cross with Frankie. It was all my fault. I was messing about with her bar of chocolate, throwing it up in the air like a ball, and I threw it too far and it landed over the wall in all the ivy. And then I felt dreadful, so I was climbing over to see if I could find it, and Frankie hitched herself up onto the gate to help.’

I was amazed she could make up such an elaborate story on the spur of the moment, though Miss Eliot didn’t look convinced.

‘Well, you’ve lost your bar of chocolate now, if it ever existed,’ she said crisply. ‘And you can both stay in after school and do some extra maths.’

‘Oh, Miss Eliot! It’s the day before we break up!’ said Sally.

‘And I can’t really stay after school because my mum’s picking me up,’ I said.

‘So is mine. I have to help her with the Christmas shopping,’ Sally added quickly.

‘Then you’ll have to text them and explain,’ said Miss Eliot.

‘I haven’t got a phone,’ I told her.

She raised her eyebrows. ‘There’s no girl your age anywhere who doesn’t possess a mobile phone,’ she said.

She was actually wrong. I truly didn’t have one any more. Mine had died a few weeks ago. I suppose it was my fault because it fell out of my jeans pocket into a muddy puddle. Sam fiddled around with it for ages but couldn’t get it going again.

Weirdly it was almost a relief. Whenever I used to post anything, I got all sorts of likes and comments, but this term no one had seemed interested in me. All the girls posted stuff on Instagram and practised pouty selfie faces, while the boys watched silly guys pranking each other or accessed hideous porn. I didn’t seem to belong in either camp any more.

I knew that Mum couldn’t afford to replace my phone. Zara told me to ask Dad for one.

‘I’d sooner go without than ask him,’ I said.

‘Then that confirms it. You’re completely, utterly, one hundred per cent crazy,’ Zara said.

She thought I was even crazier when I had to find her in the playground and tell her that Sally and I had detention.

‘Did you slap her again?’ she asked.

‘No! I told you, we’re friends now. We were caught going into the orchard,’ I told her, rather proudly.

‘What? For God’s sake, you can’t go sneaking off like that with another girl! People will start talking about you!’ she said.

‘I don’t care,’ I said. ‘Anyway, tell Mum I’ll walk home by myself. I don’t know how long old Eliot is going to keep us.’

‘Mum will be ever so upset. We’re supposed to be doing the Christmas tree,’ said Zara. ‘And it’s for such a mad reason. Look at you, all thrilled because that devious Sally’s being all nicey-nicey to you. She just wants to make a fool of you. How many times do I have to tell you?’

‘Oh, shut your face,’ I said. I was sick of her lecturing me. She didn’t understand. All right, I didn’t really understand either. Maybe she was right about Sally. But I couldn’t help it. I wanted her as my friend, no matter what.

After school Sally and I waited in the classroom. Marnie hung about too, saying she’d wait with Sally, but Miss Eliot said she was being ridiculous and sent her out.

‘I’ll wait for you at the gate then, Sal,’ Marnie said.

‘Thanks, but I wouldn’t bother if I were you. I might be stuck here ages,’ said Sally.

‘Sally is right,’ said Miss Eliot dryly. ‘Go home, Marnie.’

Marnie went, though she looked very reluctant. Miss Eliot gave Sally and me maths worksheets, printed on both sides.

‘See how many of these sums you can do in an hour,’ said Miss Eliot.

‘I know how many I can do already,’ I whispered. ‘None!’

‘Stop that whispering, Francesca! This is meant to be a punishment, not a gossip session. Now get on with your work.’

‘And then we can go – in an hour?’ Sally asked.

‘I’m not saying that at all. I’m putting the finishing touches to my reports. I could be here half the evening.’ Miss Eliot smiled at us maliciously.

Sally and I sighed in unison and attempted the first sum. It was a nightmare. I truly couldn’t do it. And I was worried about Zara telling Mum I was in detention. I felt really bad about the Christmas tree. Yet somehow it still felt wonderful, sitting next to Sally. I kept stealing little glances at her. She was pursing her lips as she peered down the column of sums. Anyone else would look ugly doing that, but she just looked cute. I tried to work out whether she was wearing lipstick or not. Her lips were much pinker than mine, but they weren’t shiny at all. She hadn’t left a smudge when she kissed my cheek in the orchard.

She had kissed me, hadn’t she? Already it seemed hazy, like a dream. Could I have imagined it? I stared at her, trying to imagine it now.

‘You’re not going to find the answers written on Sally’s face, Francesca,’ said Miss Eliot.

I blinked and blushed, staring down at my worksheet. I didn’t dare look up for ages, but when I did Sally pulled a funny face at me. She wrote something in tiny letters on the corner of her worksheet, tore it off, and quickly passed it to me.

I can only do three so far!
Sally x

I wrote on my own worksheet, though it didn’t seem a very bright way to pass messages. How were we going to explain the missing edge? Tell Miss Eliot a mouse had jumped onto our desks and nibbled the paper?

Count yourself lucky! I’m still stuck on number one!
Frankie x

Sally read it and then cautiously tipped her worksheet towards me, so I could just about see her answers. I smiled gratefully and copied them down quickly, then added some messy scribbled-out calculations to make Miss Eliot think I’d had a proper go at working it all out.

I somehow managed the fourth question by myself, and had a stab at the fifth too, though my answer didn’t seem at all likely.

‘Right, girls!’ said Miss Eliot. ‘Come and show me what you’ve done so far.’

We’d only been in the classroom fifteen minutes! Was she going to turn this into a tedious maths lesson? Would we have to do our workings on the board? Miss Eliot glanced at Sally’s paper and wrote something. Then she looked at mine and wrote again, and then handed them both back. She’d written identical messages.

You can go home now, you bad girls.
Happy Christmas from Miss Eliot.

We both burst out laughing.

‘You’re a star, Miss Eliot!’ said Sally.

‘Thank you, Miss Eliot! Happy Christmas to you too,’ I said. I suddenly liked her so much I wished I had a spare bag of fudge to give her tomorrow.

Sally and I went out into the corridor together.

‘She’s not a bad old stick after all,’ I said.

‘For a teacher,’ Sally added.

‘Hey, watch it. My mum’s a teacher,’ I said.

There was a little moment of awkwardness while we both remembered how we’d become deadly enemies.

‘Can she still teach?’ Sally asked softly.

‘Yes. She says there’s no reason why she can’t go on teaching for years yet – but she does get ever so tired,’ I said. ‘Sally, you haven’t told anyone about her MS, have you?’

‘Of course not.’

‘Not even Marnie?’

‘Especially not Marnie,’ said Sally. ‘She’s a right old blabbermouth. I don’t ever tell her anything important.’

I stared at her in surprise as we walked out of the school entrance. ‘But she’s your best friend!’

‘Yes, I suppose – but she’s not like a real best friend. She just hangs around and agrees with me all the time. It’s a bit boring, to be truthful. Don’t look so shocked, Frankie,’ she said.

‘Well, you sound a bit callous,’ I told her. ‘She thinks the world of you.’

‘I can’t help it. I didn’t try to make friends with her – she was the one who did all the running.’

‘And what about Georgia and Scarlett? What do you think of them?’

‘They’re OK. Georgia’s a bit wishy-washy but Scarlett can be fun at times. Though she can also be spiteful. But then, so can I!’ Sally said. ‘Hey, let’s go down the town for a bit.’

‘What?’

‘Your sister’s told your mum you’ve got a detention, right? So no one’s expecting you home for ages. Come on, Frankie, let’s have a bit of fun,’ Sally urged. ‘Shall we go to the ice rink?’

‘I can’t! I’ve got to help with the Christmas tree, and Josh Brown and all the other boys will be there,’ I said.

‘So? We don’t have to talk to them,’ said Sally.

‘Yes, but I told Josh I couldn’t go,’ I said.

‘He asked you?’

‘Yes, at lunchtime.’

‘Hey, what is it with you and boys? You’ve got Sammy, and now Josh Brown is after you, and he’s the only halfway decent boy in the class.’

‘He’s just a mate, Sally. Same as my Sammy is,’ I tried to explain.

‘My Sammy?’ she said, eyebrows raised.

‘Anyway, I can’t go skating because I haven’t got any money.’

‘Yes, but I have,’ said Sally, fishing several twenty-pound notes out of her pocket.

‘Oh my God! What did you do, rob a bank?’ I gasped.

‘Not a bank. I robbed my mother,’ said Sally.

‘What, you asked her for it and she just gave it you?’ I asked incredulously.

‘I stole it out of her handbag. I often do. I don’t think she even notices,’ Sally told me. ‘I know what we’ll do if you won’t go skating. There’s a Christmas fair at Stanford Rec. We’ll go on the big wheel!’

I wasn’t even sure where Stanford Recreation Ground was, but I loved big wheels. It was a good half-hour trek, and then it wasn’t a really big big wheel – only half the size of the one at the London Christmas market – but I didn’t care. We went on it, scrunched up together, our fingers touching as we clutched the handrail, and as it gathered momentum we screamed in unison. Sally managed to stay pretty even with her mouth open. Her teeth were white and perfect, and the inside of her mouth was very pink.

My eyes started watering in the wind and she blurred into several Sallys, each with a halo of golden hair, all laughing triumphantly.

‘It’s great, eh?’ she shouted.

‘Fantastic!’

We stayed on for another ride, and then reeled off, dizzy, still laughing.

‘Do you feel sick now, Frankie?’ Sally asked.

‘Not really.’

‘Good, because I’m starving. What do you fancy – hot dogs, burgers, chips, candyfloss? All of them?’

We settled on hot dogs – giant ones, smothered in tomato sauce. I suppose they were only ordinary fairground hot dogs, but they tasted incredible. We bolted them down. Sally got a smudge of sauce on her cheek. I wiped it off for her.

‘Another one?’ she suggested.

‘Then I will feel sick,’ I said.

‘Then chips. Go on. We’ll share a portion.’

We wandered around the fair taking it in turns to pick out a chip. It was a very large portion and I soon felt stuffed, but I was happy to carry on sharing with Sally all night long. I wanted to stay at the fair with her for ever.

It was Sally who eventually looked at her watch. ‘Hey, it’s late. Better get back. My dad will be home by now. What time does yours get back?’ she asked.

‘He doesn’t,’ I said stiffly. ‘He cleared off. He lives with this other woman now.’

‘Oh, Frankie, I’m sorry.’

‘Don’t be. We get along fine without him.’

‘When did he leave? Ages ago?’

‘Round about the time my mum got ill.’

Sally looked appalled. ‘That’s awful,’ she said.

‘Yes, it is,’ I agreed.

‘It’s making me feel even worse, being mean to you about your mum,’ said Sally. She seemed to be almost in tears. ‘Sorry, sorry, sorry, Frankie. How could I have been so horrible?’

‘It’s OK. You didn’t know. We’re friends now anyway.’ I paused. ‘Aren’t we?’

‘The best of friends,’ she agreed.

I wondered if I dared kiss her cheek the way she’d kissed mine in the orchard. I wanted to so much. But I couldn’t manage it, not here in the noisy, crowded fairground. And I was scared she’d push me away, even though she’d kissed me.

‘The best of friends,’ I echoed instead.

We paused at the gate of the rec.

‘I go this way,’ said Sally. ‘I live in Compton Grove – do you know it? About three streets away.’

‘I live in Lime Avenue. Near the library. Hundreds of streets away,’ I said.

‘Oh no! I didn’t realize! It’ll take you ages to get home. Have you got a bus pass?’

‘It doesn’t matter. I’ll run. I’ll be home in no time,’ I said. ‘Thanks so much for treating me at the fair, Sally. I’ll probably get some money for Christmas, so maybe after that I can treat you one day. If you’d like to?’

‘Sure,’ said Sally. ‘Bye then. See you at school. Last day!’

‘Hurray,’ I said, though I hated the thought of not seeing her till January.

But we were best friends now. Would we see each other in the holidays? How would I get hold of her? I didn’t even know her phone number. If she didn’t mention it tomorrow I’d have to ask her.

We made little waving motions with our hands, even though we were still standing close together, as if she was maybe reluctant to leave too. Then she turned and started walking, and I did too. After about twenty paces I craned round. She was looking round too. We waved properly – and then I started running.

I couldn’t run all the way home, of course. I had to slow down every so often, leaning against walls and lampposts, trying to catch my breath. My heart was thudding, but it wasn’t just because I’d been sprinting.

I could only manage to walk the last few streets, my school bag banging against my hip. We still had homework to do, even the night before we broke up, which was monstrous. It was only a short essay for history and analysing a poem for English, but it would take time. I wondered how I’d ever be able to concentrate. My head could only sing the Sally song.