Zoe was in no hurry. She had been so desperate to come back to school, but now she was here, she wished she were home again.

‘Hey, Zoe,’ said Mr Mack, standing by the door of the classroom. ‘How was the chickenpox? Itchy, I bet.’

‘Yes, Mr Mack,’ said Zoe.

‘Well, you’re back just in time,’ he said. ‘We’re starting a new project today, and it should be really interesting.’

‘OK,’ she said, not really listening.

They walked into the classroom, and Zoe looked at the desk where she normally sat. Iris and Isabelle were already there, getting their pens and pencils out and giggling about something.

Zoe took a deep breath and went to sit with them. She didn’t say anything – she felt too shy.

This is crazy, she thought. How can I be feeling shy in front of my own best friend?

She hoped that Iris would say something so that everything could go back to normal, but Iris just gave her a little smile when Isabelle wasn’t looking.

‘Good morning, all,’ said Mr Mack. ‘Did anyone not do last night’s homework?’

Mr Mack walked around the room, collecting assignments.

‘It’s OK, Zoe,’ he said as he took Iris and Isabelle’s work. ‘I know you haven’t done this one. So,’ he said to the rest of the class, ‘I’m going to start marking these at my desk while you do the maths problems I’ve written out on these worksheets.’

Everyone groaned.

‘What?’ asked Mr Mack, pretending to be surprised. ‘What’s this I hear? Is my class telling me they want more worksheets? Are they complaining I haven’t given them enough maths problems? OK, then. Get on with what I’ve given you. And no group discussion. That means you, Oscar Morgan. If you have a question, raise your hand. Otherwise I want silence.’

Usually Zoe hated starting off with silent work, but today she was glad to put her head down and not have to talk to anyone. She didn’t want to even look at Iris or Isabelle until they said something nice to her. She hoped she wouldn’t have to wait long.

When the bell went for recess, most of the girls gathered around Isabelle.

‘Who’s in the first round today?’ asked Lily.

Isabelle pulled out her school diary and opened it to a page of complicatedlooking tables.

‘Let’s see,’ she said. ‘We’re up to round two. Lily, you’ll be skipping against Ching Ching and Holly. And then Iris, Olivia and Aysha will be in round three at lunchtime.’

Zoe hadn’t said anything to Isabelle yet. All morning, she had kept her eyes on her work and tried not to notice when Iris and Isabelle whispered to one another. Now, without knowing how she managed to be so brave, she spoke up.

‘Can I be in the competition, too?’ Zoe asked.

Isabelle looked at her.

‘No,’ she said. ‘We had the qualifying rounds while you were away. Now we’ve already begun, it wouldn’t really be fair to let you enter in round four or five.’

‘But I had chickenpox!’ said Zoe.

She couldn’t believe her ears.

‘Well, we have to be fair,’ said Isabelle. ‘It’s not a real contest unless you stick to the rules.’

‘I see,’ said Zoe, in a tiny voice.

‘Hey, but Zoe could help us judge,’ Iris said to Isabelle. ‘Couldn’t she?’

Isabelle thought for a minute and then shook her head.

‘I’m so sorry,’ she said, without sounding sorry at all. ‘But only girls who are part of the competition are allowed to judge.’

Zoe felt small and unwanted.

How embarrassing. And in front of all the other girls! Now everyone knew that she had been left out.