Roula’s indignation hadn’t survived the week out. The boys had all lost interest in the play, but they had nowhere else to go. The only alternative on a Thursday afternoon was to join the sweating hordes out on the oval. Drago had reverted to sculpting. This time it was a disembowelled rat. Jesus was improving his hand-eye coordination by aiming beans from a ripped beanbag at the girls. Hailie was practising sexy looks on Peter, who was studiously ignoring her. Taleb played his Toxic Shock songs with headphones on. Mei Hua continued to smile and the other girls continued not speaking to her.
Velvet prodded the screen again, and it suddenly lit up. There was a screensaver of a basket of kittens that she’d never seen before. Her phone started calling someone.
“Hello? Hello? Who is this?”
It was her grandmother’s voice. On speaker phone. Velvet tried to hang up the call, but it wouldn’t let her.
“Hi, Granny.” The rest of the class turned to look at her. “Sorry. I dialled the wrong number. I’ll ring you tonight.”
Velvet was torn. The play had been the only thing making life at Yarrabank bearable, but she could never forgive Mr MacDonald for letting the main role go to Mei Hua, and she was determined not to take part in it.
She had to admit that she’d really wanted to play Lady Anne. If they’d auditioned, the part would have been hers, she was sure of that. It had been really stupid of her to imagine that she’d found something she could enjoy at Yarrabank. One of Jesus’s beans hit her on the back of the neck. Really stupid.
There was only one thing for it. She’d have to get out of the school. She made a decision. She would apply for entry into Endeavour High, a state school with selective entry for high-achieving girls. Her parents had said it was too far for her to travel every day, but she didn’t care.
Velvet then decided to spend Thursday afternoons studying. She would aim for straight As to help with her Endeavour High application. The school had a great drama program, and it was a designated music school. Velvet felt the sharp sting of a well-aimed bean for the third time. There was another good thing about Endeavour – there were no boys.
Velvet slammed her books shut and shoved them in her bag. “I’ve had enough of this.”
Drago looked up from his rat intestines. “Where do you think you’re going, Ms Snobnose?”
“None of your business.”
“If you go outside this room you’ll be dragged off to play basketball or hockey.”
Velvet hesitated for a moment. Peter was right. There was nowhere else in the school where she could avoid the sweat brigade. Mr MacDonald had gone to get a coffee. She made another decision. She didn’t like breaking rules. She certainly didn’t want anything in her report about her lacking discipline, but there was only so much an intelligent girl could take.
“I’m going over to Hades, where I can work in peace.”
Her phone dialled her dentist as she marched to the door. Taleb looked up and took off his headphones. She didn’t wait to see if he was going to say anything. She left T6 and ducked through the hole in the back fence. She worked in Hades for the rest of the afternoon, interrupted only by her phone calling her old music teacher and triple zero.
As soon as she got home, she downloaded the Endeavour High application form.
The next Thursday, Velvet went straight to Hades after lunch. She felt quite bohemian sitting at the laminex table with a cappuccino, writing notes for an essay entitled
Psychological Metaphor in
Obernewtyn
.
She was now desperate enough to try and make contact with her old friends again, even though they’d ignored her for months. The touch screen on her phone still wasn’t working, but she’d discovered she could speak instructions into it.
“Send text message to Rhiannon,” she said. “Hi there. Lost all my contacts. Just wanted to make sure you hadn’t changed your number.” She sounded
Velvet prodded the screen again, and it suddenly lit up. There was a screensaver of a basket of kittens that she’d never seen before. Her phone started calling someone.
“Hello? Hello? Who is this?”
It was her grandmother’s voice. On speaker phone. Velvet tried to hang up the call, but it wouldn’t let her.
“Hi, Granny.” The rest of the class turned to look at her. “Sorry. I dialled the wrong number. I’ll ring you tonight.”
Velvet was torn. The play had been the only thing making life at Yarrabank bearable, but she could never forgive Mr MacDonald for letting the main role go to Mei Hua, and she was determined not to take part in it.
She had to admit that she’d really wanted to play Lady Anne. If they’d auditioned, the part would have been hers, she was sure of that. It had been really stupid of her to imagine that she’d found something she could enjoy at Yarrabank. One of Jesus’s beans hit her on the back of the neck. Really stupid.
There was only one thing for it. She’d have to get out of the school. She made a decision. She would apply for entry into Endeavour High, a state school with selective entry for high-achieving girls. Her parents had said it was too far for her to travel every day, but she didn’t care.
Velvet then decided to spend Thursday afternoons studying. She would aim for straight As to help with her Endeavour High application. The school had a great drama program, and it was a designated music school. Velvet felt the sharp sting of a well-aimed bean for the third time. There was another good thing about Endeavour – there were no boys.
Velvet slammed her books shut and shoved them in her bag. “I’ve had enough of this.”
Drago looked up from his rat intestines. “Where do you think you’re going, Ms Snobnose?”
“None of your business.”
“If you go outside this room you’ll be dragged off to play basketball or hockey.”
Velvet hesitated for a moment. Peter was right. There was nowhere else in the school where she could avoid the sweat brigade. Mr MacDonald had gone to get a coffee. She made another decision. She didn’t like breaking rules. She certainly didn’t want anything in her report about her lacking discipline, but there was only so much an intelligent girl could take.
“I’m going over to Hades, where I can work in peace.”
Her phone dialled her dentist as she marched to the door. Taleb looked up and took off his headphones. She didn’t wait to see if he was going to say anything. She left T6 and ducked through the hole in the back fence. She worked in Hades for the rest of the afternoon, interrupted only by her phone calling her old music teacher and triple zero.
As soon as she got home, she downloaded the Endeavour High application form.
The next Thursday, Velvet went straight to Hades after lunch. She felt quite bohemian sitting at the laminex table with a cappuccino, writing notes for an essay entitled
Psychological Metaphor in
Obernewtyn
.
She was now desperate enough to try and make contact with her old friends again, even though they’d ignored her for months. The touch screen on her phone still wasn’t working, but she’d discovered she could speak instructions into it.
“Send text message to Rhiannon,” she said. “Hi there. Lost all my contacts. Just wanted to make sure you hadn’t changed your number.” She sounded
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