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12
The next morning, I head to the dining hall at 9am readying myself for another food missile to come hurtling towards me as I walk into the room. This time, however, there are canteen staff milling about and the two crews I was introduced to yesterday seem to be behaving. Good. I’m not averse to conflict, I’ve dealt with that for most of my life, but I could do with a bit of peace given I spent most of last night trying and failing to get hold of Eastern. I’m shattered and worry burns a hole in my stomach at the thought that he’s in trouble and making it worse by not handing himself in.
Grabbing a tray and filling my plate with sausage, scrambled egg, and bacon I head over to the table where the two girls from yesterday are now sitting together. I know the rest of the people in the room are watching me, I feel the heat of their gaze but do my best to ignore it. Bram and Red are sitting with their crew chatting in hushed tones. Ford is nowhere to be seen. On the opposite side of the room, Monk and the HH crew are a little rowdier but at least their attention is on one another and not me. I don’t see Sonny either. Knowing him, he probably pulled one of the other girls and is busy dealing with all that testosterone, I imagine.
“Mind if I sit here?” I ask, plonking myself down without bothering to wait for a response.
Both girls look up at me. The blonde with the pink streak gives me a wary smile before shrugging, whilst the neat freak girl with the perfect dark hair and pressed clothes raises an eyebrow.
“Why bother asking if you’re going to sit down anyway?” she responds sharply.
Her accent isn’t like mine, i.e. common. Her voice is clipped, her vowels pronounced. She sounds educated and from money, if you know what I mean. What is a girl like her doing here? I always thought money could buy you out of any situation.
“Last I heard it’s a free country.”
“You weren’t invited,” she snaps, meeting my gaze.
There’s no fear in her eyes, just annoyance, some weariness and a defensiveness that tells me she’s had her fair share of shit from people in her past and is over it. Ignoring her snappiness, I answer her previous question. “Becauselike you two, I don’t belong to either of those crews,” I respond, cutting up my sausage and eating a slice. Miss Prim and Proper raises a perfectly shaped eyebrow at me, as if to say that she thinks that’s exactly where I belong.
“I’m Pink,” the girl with the pink streak says, interrupting the awkward conversation. “My mum named me after her favourite colour, but everyone assumes it was because of the singer. Except she didn’t release her first song until four years after I was born.” Her voice is kind of tinkly, like a bell summoning fairies. It seems to go with the pretty, cute look she’s got going on. She grins, pointing towards my hair. “Like the blue, suits you.”
“Thanks,” I mumble, not used to being complimented, least of all by another girl. Most interactions I’ve had with girls at my previous schools and around my estate have been less than friendly. “I’m Asia.” Pink smiles, her gaze flicking between me and Miss Prim and Proper. She lifts her chin, looking pointedly at her friend as though to say; ‘talk to her’.
“So, what’s your name?” I ask eventually. Pink gives me an encouraging smile whilst the other girl just sighs heavily. Jesus, I wouldn’t have bothered sitting with them if I knew it was going to bethismuch effort.
“Kate,” she responds curtly.
“And what’s a girl like you doing in a place like this?”
“Girl like me?”
“Yeah, someone who’s about as street as the Queen of bloody England.”
She rolls her eyes, but I see a spark of mirth in them. Pink snorts, her laughter completely different to her pretty voice. In fact, it’s downright indecent; deep and throaty. She sounds like one of those sex-line women, not that I’ve called many sex lines… okay, so maybe once because Eastern dared me. It was a funny, if not expensive call. Eastern and I lived off that conversation for weeks.
“I’m a genius hacker. Broke into my private school’s computer system and messed with the results of some fellow students’ exam papers… The bitches deserved it,” she shrugs.
“Nice!” Pink says, grinning.
Hmm interesting, so my instincts were right about her. She’s been on the receiving end of some shit nasty enough to want revenge for it. Maybe she isn’t so bad after all?
“And doingthatgot you senthere? Sounds like a pretty minor offense to me,” I say.
“I might also have messed with the school accounts a little bit. I had a nice summer break spending the money.”
“Whoa!” I exclaim, genuinely impressed now. This chickisa genius hacker.
“Proper little criminal, aren’t you, Kate? You really can’t judge a book by its cover,” Pink exclaims, her smile widening. “So why here of all places?”
“My parents are on the school board of my previous school, Brompton Prep. They paid back the money and managed to get me out of juvenile prison and sent here instead. One year here, then I return to Brompton, reformed and ready to face myrealpunishment.”
“What do you mean,realpunishment?” I ask.
“Let’s just say that this is just a reprieve and leave it at that.” Her eyes flash with pain, but she shuts it down quickly.
“Fair enough. Not my business,” I reply, turning my attention to Pink. “So, what about you? What did you do to end up at Oceanside?”
“Kleptomania. I like all the shiny things. Actually, I likethingsfull stop. I guess I shoplifted one too many times. Everything I’m wearing was lifted.” She pulls a face that sits between a grimace and a grin.
