Chapter One

New term, new school, new start. Tilda drew a deep breath and took one last look at her reflection in her bedroom mirror, making sure she was presentable from all angles. She wasn't exactly a fan of her new school's burgundy colour scheme, but at least it wasn't as bad as the hideous bottle green and yellow pinstripe of her previous educators. She closed her eyes and released a breath she hadn't realised she'd been holding. New term, new school, new start. She could do this.

"Matilda?" A call from downstairs rang through the floor. "Matilda! Time to go!"

"How many times, Georgia? My name is Tilda. Just Tilda, nothing else" She called back.

"And how many times have I told you that it's 'mum', not Georgia," the voice climbed the stairs and knocked on Tilda's bedroom door. "Do you want to be late on your first day?"

Tilda sighed heavily, grabbed her backpack from the the floor beside her bed and slung it over her right shoulder. "No mum," came the sarcastic reply. The pair made their way down the stairs to the front door.

Georgia grabbed her daughter by the shoulders and looked her in the eyes. "Remember, keep your head down and your eyes open. And stay clear of them" She didn't specify who 'them' was before giving Tilda a slight nudge out the door.

The entrance to Waterloo Road comprehensive was alive with students and teachers alike. Friends met up, a couple of people kicked a ball about, several kids cycled through the school gates, but only one stood still in the middle of a sea of movement. Tilda was finding it hard to comprehend what was about to happen. She'd been happy at her last school and had never been the new kid before. Suddenly she couldn't remember why she had ever thought moving in with her mother was a good idea.

Her thoughts came to an abrupt halt when a boy about her age backed into her. There came a small chuckle from the three people he had been walking with, two girls and a boy.

"Watch it!" She warned, whipping round to face the boy.

"Yeh, watch it, Joshy boy," the other male in the group joked. "I'm Finn." The laughing boy held his had out to Tilda, who looked blankly at it for a second or two before cautiously accepting the handshake and replying with a quiet "Tilda" and a head nod.

"This is Lauren and Amy," Finn motioned to the two girls with him, "and that's Josh. He's a bit crap at spacial awareness." Finn laughed again, looking at Lauren and Amy.

"Right. Well I have a meeting with a Mr Byrne now so..." Tilda trailed off as she turned to leave. She didn't see what happened between the group behind her, but she assumed some form of agreement must have been made as Finn jogged the four steps to catch up with Tilda, while the rest of the group began to head over to the mini football match that had begun.

"Can I help you?" Tilda asked, not even bothering to look at the tall boy next to her.

"No, but I reckon I could help you," he winked, "c'mon, I'll show you to Byrne's office."

"Matilda James, I presume?" A skinny Scottish man perched on his desk while Tilda sat uncomfortably on the sofa opposite. His face seemed almost moulded into a permanent frown.

"Yup." She popped the 'p'.

Michael Byrne flicked through the file in his hands. Tilda knew it was her file. "So why did you move? You were being well-educated, you seemed happy enough with your foster family. Why the sudden change?"

"Just wanted to get to know my real mum some more is all." It felt more like an interrogation than a simple get-to-know-you chat.

"But moving to Rochdale from Oxford? That's something." Michael Byrne's accent clung to his every word.

Tilda rolled her eyes, sighed, and pushed her tongue into her cheek. "Are we done, sir?"

"Yeah, yes." He sighed. "Welcome to Waterloo Road, here's your timetable. If you have any problems please do not hesitate to come to me." Michael passed her a sheet of paper containing her timetable.

Tilda stood up, grabbed her bag, and left without saying another word. When she got out of the office, she wasn't expecting Finn to still be waiting there.

"Oh. Hello..." She raised an eyebrow in Finn's direction.

"'Ello." He smiled a wide, closed mouth, chimpy smile. The chimp look wasn't help by his large ears, Tilda noted. "What you got first?" Finn attempted to peer at the upside down timetable in Tilda's hands, but couldn't quite make out what any of it said.

Tilda ran a hand through her hair before checking the sheet of paper. "Err... Chemistry," she checked the sheet again, "with Mrs Diamond." Her statement sounded more like a question.

"Ay, you're with me and Josh." He grinned. Monkey boy. "Ay, sorry about this morning y'know. Like, the whole collision thing with Josh. He's got a lot going on right now but he's a cool guy."

Tilda gave a small half-smile and slowly nodded her head. "Noted."

"So, like, where are you from? Because you sound dead posh." Finn giggled a little.

"Oxford. It's down South, nearish London." She replied, running her hand through her hair again.

"Yeh, I know where it is. My dad went to Oxford Uni."

How did a clever guy from Oxford Uni spawn this utter ape? Tilda thought affectionately.

Without realising, the pair had walked down the corridors and slowed to a stop outside a classroom.

"Right," Finn looked at the door, "this is Mr Clarkson's room. You got him for form tutor and I know that 'cause I got him too and yesterday he said you was coming." He twisted the door handle and opened it, stepping aside to let Tilda through first.

The teacher she presumed was Mr Clarkson stood at the front of the class, arms folded. "Nice of you two to join us. I hope Sharkey's assisstance was necessary. Sit."