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I turned just as Mags was saying, ‘My mum’s got one the same. Choppy blonde cut, shorter at the back.’ She looked straight at me. ‘Tell them.’ She indicated her mates, who were all staring over now. ‘It’s a wig, isn’t it?’
‘No!’ I swallowed, horribly aware of Kurt listening. ‘No, of course it’s not.’
Mags laughed. ‘Oh, give over. Of course it’s a wig.’ She turned to her mates and sniggered. ‘She was holding onto it on the ride in case it flew off!’
‘Look, it’snotawig.’ I was trembling with shock and anger. ‘And even if it was, do you really think it’s polite to point it out to a total stranger?’
She looked taken aback at being challenged, but she quickly recovered. ‘Hah! I don’t know why you’re so bothered, anyway. Everybody wears wigs these days.’ She stepped closer and quick as lightning, tugged the ends of my hair and pulled it off.
‘There, I win the bet. Itisa wig.’ Grinning, she picked it up off the grass, handed it back to me and turned away.
Blinded by tears, I turned away, slipping the wig into my bag, determined not to let them see I was upset. ‘Can we just go?’ I muttered to Kurt, aware that he was staring at my ‘real’ hair, apparently speechless with shock. ‘Please?’
There was a pause. Then he muttered, ‘Of course.’
‘Look, I shouldn’t have lied to those girls,’ I blurted out. ‘It’s just... well, my hair’s been falling out so I’ve had to start wearing a wig. But I’ve been feeling too embarrassed to tell anyone...’
He grunted, his eyes steely, and my heart sank.
Was this really going to be a problem for him?
Panic was fluttering inside and I felt sick. It was the sort of thing that Nash would get angry about. He wouldn’t think abouthowIwas feeling. He would just have gone off on a rant and accused me of not bothering to tell him I was wearing a wig. Or something equally illogical.
I’d really thought Kurt was different, though . . .
He let go of my hand and a cold feeling of despair surged through me.
Damn this bloody wig!
‘Erm, Mags? Can I have a word?’
I spun round at the sound of Kurt’s voice. The departing gang all turned round as he caught up with them.
I froze.
What was he doing?
I watched as he pointed over to where Roz and Niall were round the side of the hot dog stall, locked in quite a steamy kiss. Mags clearly hadn’t noticed them.
Kurt pulled no punches. ‘I think you’ll find he fancies your classmate Roz quite a bit, actually. I can’t see them breaking up any time soon.’ He shrugged. ‘I’d give up, love, if I were you.’
Then he turned and walked swiftly back to me, a look of thunder on his face.
He put his arm round me, squeezed me tightly and guided me away from the gang. ‘Come on. Let’s head for the ghost train. It’s in the opposite direction. Far away fromthatlittle witch.’
I nodded as a feeling of relief swept through me. ‘Thank you for that,’ I said in a small voice, aware that my head was feeling so much cooler without the wig.
He grunted. ‘It was pretty childish of me, I suppose. But how she spoke to you and what she did made me so... well, protective, I suppose. And angry. Did I embarrass you?’
‘What? No! Of course not.’ I smiled up at him. ‘Actually, I loved it. I thought you were verycommanding. Really rather sexy, in fact.’
He laughed. ‘Maybe I should becommandingmore often in that case.’
‘Er, no. Just be yourself. That’s more than good enough for me.’
As we were preparing for the ghost train to leave the station, he looked over at me and smiled. ‘And by the way, wig or no wig, it doesn’t matter to me because you’re gorgeous either way.’ He reached over and gently smoothed back a strand of hair from my cheek.
I opened my mouth to protest, but he shook his head.
