"What's up?" Zoe asked, nudging Imogen in the shoulder gently and fixing her with a serious look. The Scottish girl shrugged and shook her head wordlessly. "No way, man. There's something wrong and we're not going to let it go until you tell us, so you should probably spill, mate."
"She's right." Hollie agreed with a shrug, sitting beside Dynasty on the step and waiting expectantly for someone to tell her what was happening.
Exchanging a look with her best friend, Imogen sighed and nodded, giving Dynasty permission to fill them in. "Basically, Im's had an unconditional offer from the London School of Drama, but Connor's moving back to Greenock to look after his mum."
"What?" Scout frowned between them. "Why?"
"Connor said she's just given up… she's not going to fight the board."
"But that's…" Hollie shook her head. "No way. She can't just give in?"
"I think she's–"
"Excuse me." Gabriella opened the door behind them and stood on the top step, looking distastefully down at the group. "You're blocking my way."
"Err… can't you see that Imogen's upset?" Dynasty snapped.
"Yeah, get lost, Gabriella." Hollie agreed, rolling her eyes.
"Err… can't you see that I don't care?" The blonde retorted.
"Oh, you think you're so superior you, don't ya?" Dynasty rounded on her as she and Hollie both jumped to their feet angrily.
"Aww, Dynasty, a four syllable word." Gabriella mocked, walking down the steps now that the two girls had moved out of her way. "Congratulations."
"Dynasty, ignore her." Imogen urged. "Hollie, don't…"
"Watch your mouth, Wark." Hollie growled, stepping closer to the blonde.
"You're nothing." Her friend goaded their enemy.
"You don't know anything about me." Gabriella told her, causing Hollie to smirk and snort in amusement.
"Yeah I do." Dynasty disagreed. "You're a spoilt little brat and no one likes ya."
She linked arms with Hollie on one side and Imogen on the other and all five girls walked away, leaving Gabriella staring after them. Scout grinned and shook her head once they were out of earshot, turning to walk backwards and laughing lightly.
"That girl… she's such a cow."
"You can say that again." Zoe muttered, shooting a glance over her shoulder to where Gabriella was still scowling after them.
"Yeah, but you two can't afford to get into anymore trouble." Imogen cautioned. "Especially you, Hol. After you fighting last week you've got to keep your head down."
"What are they going to do to me?" The girl in question asked with a shrug. "Realistically, what are they going to do? We're leaving here today… they can't exactly stop me taking my Highers, can they?"
"I dunno…"
"No way, Im." Dynasty shook her head. "They won't stop Hollie sitting her exams. That would be mental."
"Let's go to the shop, get some chocolate and chill for a bit." Zoe suggested calmly, nodding towards the school gates. "Get away from Princess Gabby for a bit."
Nodding in agreement, the other four followed her down the slope and through the gates. They made jokes and laughed in a carefree way all the way along the road to the corner shop. Rolling their eyes as Mr Cartwright shouted at them that only two were allowed in at once, they took it in turns to go and buy sweets and chocolate, before heading back to school together, feeling much calmer than they had been when they'd left.
Walking back towards the building, they noticed the crowd gathered around Mr Lowsley's climbing wall. Fixing the commotion with interested curiosity, they started heading towards it, when Nikki rushed towards the barriers shouting Kacey's name. Dynasty exchanged a terrified look with the others, before they all started running towards the crowd.
"It was her, Gabriella!" Kacey cried out from her position on the ground, clutching her arm to her chest.
"She's lying!" The older girl argued, no one believing her for a second.
"Well let's save the finger pointing 'til later." Mr Lowsley suggested.
"I bet it was her, Sir." Hollie said loudly, leaning against the barriers and glaring at Gabriella. "She said earlier she was gonna get her own back on Kacey for interrupting her stupid presentation last week."
"I did not!"
"Yeah, she did." Scout chipped in, backing up her friend's story. "I bet she did it, Sir."
"I reckon Gabby did do it." Shaznay agreed in a low mutter than carried nevertheless. "Kacey was well good up there."
As Carol and Mr Windsor rushed into the enclosure and crouched down beside the sobbing girl, Mr Lowsley ushered everyone else away. Dynasty ducked past him and joined her mother and sister, while the others reluctantly left the yard and returned to the school. Hollie shot her mother a look as she went, frowning as Nikki appeared to be looking straight through her. Her forehead was furrowed anxiously and she didn't really seem to be paying attention to what was happening.
The next lesson passed incredibly slowly. Hollie barely paid attention as Mr Hart talked them through what to expect in their Geography exam. She tapped her biro against her notepad until the man told her to stop. At his command, she exhaled sharply and dropped the pen onto the surface of the desk, shooting him a scowl at the same time.
"What is with you?" Scout demanded as Hollie dropped her bag angrily onto her desk in her mother's classroom at the start of the next period. "You're acting as though it was you Gabriella pushed off that wall."
"She's just gonna get away with it, again, isn't she?" Hollie snapped. "It's always the same story. The absolute assholes always win."
"What are you on about?"
"Life's a bitch."
"You're not talking about Gabriella and Kacey, are you?" Scout guessed. "What's wrong?"
"Nikki… my…" Hollie curled her lip in disgust, "my mother…"
"Hol?"
"Something's wrong… I can feel it. Something's wrong and she won't talk to me."
"What are you on about?" Scout demanded worriedly. "What's wrong?"
"I don't know… but I know something's wrong. She's not herself, she's not…"
"You've barely spoken to each other for a week… how can you possibly know something's wrong?"
Scowling at her friend, Hollie grabbed her bag and slammed her way out of the classroom. She headed straight for the staffroom, not caring that she was about to break one of the school rules and pushed through the door without a second thought. She could hear raised voices from the Office area, so moved quickly through the staff room and leant against the doorframe, watching the scene unfolding.
"Gabriella should be reported to the police!" Nikki was telling Mr Lowsley vehemently as her daughter entered the room. "Sonia, do you have a direct number for them, please?"
"Hey, reign it in, alright?" The acting head ordered her gently. No one had noticed Hollie's presence yet. "You are too close to Kacey."
"Just… hear yourself defending her, Simon. She's a borderline sociopath."
"No she isn't, she's a kid!" He argued. "An upset kid in our care. We should be helping Gabriella, not condemning her. Look, I'm head now and what I say goes, so just drop it, OK?"
"Or what?"
"Or maybe I'll reconsider going so easy on Hollie."
"Oh, that is low, Simon." Nikki spat at him. "I back off Gabriella or you punish my daughter?"
"It's your choice, Nikki."
"I refuse to let Gabriella get away with what she did to Kacey."
"So you're choosing her over me?" Hollie asked, quietly, from the doorway. Nikki, Mr Lowsley and Sonia all whirled around, surprised by her presence. "Wow…"
"Hollie, I'm not–"
"I don't know why I'm surprised… first Vix, now Kacey… thanks, Mum."
Turning tail, the teenager ignored her mother's shouts behind her and ran from the office. She blanked the teachers in the staff room who shot her indignant looks or called her name, crashing through the door and sprinting away down the corridor, not sure where she was going, but knowing that she needed to get away.
"Oh, Acting… You're Acting Head, Simon, you should remember that." Nikki spat as she followed her daughter from the room.
A/N: Thank you for sticking with this (and me!) and reviewing the last chapter!
Be careful what you wish for, though, because the drama is coming and boy, is there going to be drama ;)
x
