Spellweaver (2 page)

And then she made
things even worse by slipping her arm around Felicity’s, locking
the two of them together. “10G is this way, Fliss,” she said. “I
can call you Fliss, can’t I?”

Felicity was rather
painfully aware that she had little choice in the
matter.

Much of the school day
passed as a blur to Felicity. She was vaguely aware of being
present in a few lessons, moving through crowded corridors and
filling up her satchel with books, paper and random pieces of
stationery that would apparently be necessary for her education at
some point during the year. She listened to teachers, she made
notes - and Hollie was there the entire time, telling her
everything she needed to know about Greenfields High
School.

“Miss Anderson sets
brutal homework but it’s all for show,” she was saying during that
morning’s English lesson. “She thinks it makes her look good to the
parents, but she never makes us do it. And she never gives
detention. She did put a piece of my work on display, though.
There, on the far wall - do you see it? ‘The Role of Fashion in
Great Expectations’. I was mega proud of that piece. I got a
C!”

Hollie had continued
in this way every lesson, giving Felicity few opportunities to be
alone. Still, she felt she learnt more about the school in those
three short hours than she could recall about her entire three
years at her old school. Hollie told her all about the
neighbourhood, which was one of London’s poorest and most deprived,
and the school was a reflection of that. There was apparently
little point in refurbishing the classrooms, redecorating the walls
with a fresh lick of paint and replacing the furniture, for it was
inevitable that these things would once again become damaged.
Carpets were stained, lockers dented and lights no longer worked.
The gym was currently closed due to an ‘accident’ involving
improper use of the equipment - and today was only the first day of
term.

Despite the negative
impression she was giving of the school, Hollie seemed oddly jovial
as she discussed all she knew. It was clear that although she
recognised the state the place was in, she was comfortable with it
- and so was everyone else. They were satisfied with the mediocrity
of their education and the failures of their teachers; these were
things that Hollie frequently joked about. It was very, very
different to the world that Felicity had come from. She had been
used to strict rules, silence in every lesson and nothing but the
most perfect behaviour. Teachers rarely joked, and when they did it
was usually about something the students didn’t understand, for it
was clear that they were incredibly intelligent. Felicity wasn’t
stupid, but she had often found things difficult to follow at her
old school. Constant study to catch up had been a welcome
distraction from social interaction with the other
girls.

But she didn’t talk
about any of that and she was glad that Hollie didn’t ask. If
nothing else, the girl had given her the perfect distraction from
recent events.

What else was clear
was that Hollie was well known throughout Greenfields. Other
students stopped to talk to her in the corridors, and she always
welcomed them with a bright smile. Upon seeing her for the first
time that morning in the corridor, shadowed by her friends,
Felicity had felt slightly intimidated and anxious. It wasn’t just
the crowd of people but Hollie’s seemingly unwavering confidence
and the power that that seemed to weave. Felicity had seen that
power before, and been victim to its abuse. But it was clear that
Hollie was different, for other students didn’t look at her that
way; everyone seemed to want to be her friend. She had no shortage
of partners for classroom tasks, but thus far had insisted on
working with Felicity. They had been teamed up as ‘buddies’, so she
told everyone; she was looking after her, showing her around and
making sure she didn’t get lost. It was treatment that Felicity was
not used to.

When the bell sounded
for lunchtime, the two of them - tailed, as always, by Hollie’s
entourage - headed for the canteen, which was another glistening
example of the problems Greenfields had. The lunch queue was being
poorly controlled by a couple of teachers who seemed to have given
up and were reprimanding only the smallest of students. Boys dodged
between the tables, bashing their schoolbags into anyone and
anything that got in their way. Amidst the chaos there was a single
table that stood unattended in the overcrowded hall, and Felicity
followed Hollie to it.

“Everyone knows this
is our table,” Hollie told Felicity with a smile. “Even the year
sevens, and they’re new this year. Trust me, Fliss, you stick with
me and you’re sorted. Oh em gee, I’m so excited! We’re gonna be
BFFs!”

“Oh God, don’t tell me
you’ve got your claws into another one.”

The two girls looked
up to see a boy standing by the table. He was tall, looked about
their age, and was carrying a leather schoolbag over his
shoulder.

Hollie rolled her
eyes. “That’s Jamie. Just ignore him and he’ll go away.”

Jamie offered his hand
to Felicity. “Jamie Clarke,” he said, smiling. “You’ll have to
forgive my little sister. She might be the most popular girl in
school, but her manners leave something to be desired.”

As Felicity shook his
hand, she noticed that he was much more well spoken than Hollie,
and anyone else in the school for that matter. He was also very
well dressed. He wore his school uniform correctly, as if with
pride, and his dark blonde hair was neatly styled.

Hollie nudged
Felicity. “Little by about two minutes,” she said. “Jamie is my
twin.”

“Unfortunate twin,
yes. You can see which one of us got the looks,” Jamie said with a
smile, ignoring Hollie’s scowl, and then he looked at Felicity.
“You must be the new girl everyone is talking about.”

Surprised, Felicity
looked around the canteen. “Everyone...?”

“Oh,
don’t worry,” Jamie continued, seeing her concern. “Everyone knows
everyone around here, so it’s quite a big thing when there’s
someone new in the neighbourhood. News travels fast. But everyone
will forget about it by the end of the day. Especially...” He
leaned in closer. “Especially when I hear that the library
computers are being upgraded!”

This information
seemed to fill him with great excitement and anticipation, but his
sister groaned. “Who in the world cares about that?” she
exclaimed.

“Well, me,” Jamie
replied.

Hollie emitted an
embarrassed groan. “What do you want?” she asked
impatiently.

His smile faded. “Oh,
um... the usual.” He paused. “You know,” he added with
emphasis.

Realisation dawned and
Hollie’s expression changed dramatically. When she spoke her voice
was quieter; it was very different to the character she had shown
to Felicity all day. Suddenly, she was much more withdrawn and
anxious. “Go on then. What is it this time?”

“Dad wanted me to tell
you to tell Mum that -” He stopped and looked up, his expression
showing concentration as he tried to remember the message. At last
he sighed and reached inside his blazer pocket. “I wrote it down
this time. You know how he rambles.”

Hollie nodded
miserably.

“Ah, here it is.”
Jamie unfolded a scrap of paper. “Uh... profanities aside, of
course, our father would like to convey to our mother his
disappointment that she has not yet forwarded your school report to
him.”

Hollie sighed in
exasperation. “She told me she’d posted it to him in the summer
holidays!”

“Yes, well... he says
he doesn’t have it. If Mum doesn’t send it soon, he says he’ll...
well, we’ll skip that part.” He put the paper away and looked at
his sister apologetically.

“I’ll bring it in to
school tomorrow,” Hollie said, shaking her head. “Was there
anything else?”

“No, no, nothing
else.” He glanced at Felicity. “Nice to meet you - uh?”

“Felicity,” Hollie
said deliberately. “And she has absolutely no interest in speaking
to you ever again.”

With the mood
lightened, Jamie laughed. “I’ll be seeing you,” he said, and then
he disappeared into the lunchtime crowds.

Hollie turned back to
the table. “Our parents are divorced,” she said, as if that
explained everything. “And my brother is the biggest geek in the
entire school. Stupidly clever, but somehow that makes him even
more popular. Not as popular as me, but pretty popular all the
same.” She sighed. “Still, I blame myself. I did style him back in
year eight. The bigger kids were picking on him and I knew the only
way he would survive was if he pulled the buttons off his blazer
and did something with that floppy mess on his head. He’s not
exactly stuck with everything I taught him, but somehow he’s still
doing well for himself.

“Anyway!” Hollie
turned to Felicity, flashing her bright smile. “I feel as though
I’ve spent the entire day talking about me. I just have to know all
that there is to know about you, Fliss, if we’re going to be
BFFs.”

Felicity wasn’t
entirely sure that she knew what a BFF was, but it was clearly
supposed to be a good thing. Still, she wasn’t willing to share
many details about her home life; hiding things was going to be a
struggle, especially when faced with a challenge like Hollie.
Still, she ought to have known that these questions would come up
sooner or later.

“So like, where did
you used to go to school?” Hollie asked.

Felicity’s mind was
thrown back in time to days that she had tried to forget. Every day
and every night she had spent alone in the boarding school she had
wished to be somewhere else. Not even at home, because she might as
well have been on her own there, too. Even in the lunch hall, the
classrooms and in the middle of a thousand girls seated in morning
assembly, she had been by herself.

“I uh, I used to go to
boarding school,” she answered eventually, aware that Hollie was
staring at her expectantly. “In the countryside.”

“Boarding school!”
Hollie declared. “That must have been ace! Were there parties? Did
you all have to share a room - no, what’s the word - a dorm? I bet
you had the most fantastic time! Oh, I’d love to go to boarding
school. It’d be like St Trinian’s... or Harry Potter! But without
all the magic, of course.”

“Yeah,” Felicity
muttered. “Just like that.”

“So you must be pretty
rich then,” Hollie continued. “Because only rich people go to
boarding school. How did you end up here?”

Felicity averted her
eyes. “I moved in with my dad.”

“Your parents are
divorced too, huh?” There was a look of sincere sympathy on
Hollie’s face, but it was clear that she didn’t want to talk about
the topic any further, which was a relief to Felicity. Grateful for
a close to the conversation, she deliberately neglected to put
Hollie straight on her incorrect assumption. But the mood didn’t
last for long, as Hollie suddenly grabbed Felicity’s hands, making
her jump, and her understanding gaze vanished to be replaced with a
keen grin. Felicity had come to expect this kind of instant switch
between topics and feelings. “Hey, I know what we should
do!”

Felicity
stared.

“We should go out!”
Hollie said excitedly. “There’s a club in town, the Talk. The first
Thursday of every month they do a 14 to 17 year olds night. A Snap
Night, they call it. Me and my friends are going - well, we always
go, actually - and you have to join us!”

“Uh...”

“Oh come on, Fliss!
You just have to!” Hollie continued. “It’d be the perfect way for
you to get know people, and for people to get to know you. You’ll
be as popular as me in no time!” Then she laughed. “Well,
almost.”

Felicity pulled her
hands away. “Sorry, I can’t,” she said, somewhat forcefully. “I - I
have to help my dad. We’ve only just moved in and - and there’s
still so much to do.”

Hollie nodded. “That’s
a real shame, but I understand. I bet you have a lot to think about
right now. Still, if you change your mind...” She reached into her
handbag and pulled out a flyer. “It’s tomorrow night.”

The bell rang,
signalling the end of lunchtime, and Felicity breathed a sigh of
intense relief.

The flat was empty
when Felicity returned after her first day of school. It would have
been quiet, had it not been for the constant stream of traffic
passing by, but she didn’t mind. She was finally by herself, away
from the mad crowds of high school students; finally alone, as she
had always been.

The day had been
exhausting. Hollie was a thoroughly pleasant girl and Felicity
recognised how much kindness she had shown to her, but simply
listening to her talk was draining. Felicity wasn’t a people
person. She had never had friends. It had always been just her and
her mother, but even then they had led completely separate lives.
Felicity couldn’t even describe what her mother’s occupation had
been before she died; all she knew was that it involved a lot of
travelling and a lot of being away from the home they shared for
less than six months a year.

She didn’t miss it,
she realised as she wandered through to her bedroom and collapsed
on the bed. The house had a lot of history and was certainly worth
a lot of money, but it wasn’t a home. It never had been. It was
simply a place where she and her mother had lived, a place to sleep
when she wasn’t at boarding school - a place to exist. With that
thought in mind, Felicity wondered where her home truly was and
quickly realised that she didn’t have one.