Chapter Three

"Hey Natalie," greets Mik on Monday at school.

"Hey darling'," says Natalie. "Have you got my Psychology notes? I can't find them and wondered if you'd picked them up." Mik ruffles through the paper in her folder for a minute, while they sit down outside in the sun.

"Nope, no Psychology," say Mik. "Maybe you left them in class?"

"Yeah, I'll ask Preston," replies Natalie.

"So, you didn't do the homework?"

"Shit! What was it?" Natalie asks.

"That questionnaire thing." Natalie groans.

"No, I completely forgot, and he's given me a last warning about it."

"Come on, we'll go photocopy mine, he won't be able to tell they're the same," says Mik, pulling Natalie towards the library.

"And now, can everyone leave their homework on the front desk, as you all leave, thank you," says Mr. Preston at the end of the class. Everyone dutifully gets out their sheets and leaves them on the front desk and files out of the classroom. Natalie puts her sheet down.

"Mr. Preston?" Karen Baines asks, from behind Natalie. Karen Baines, the most popular girl in school, who, for no apparent reason, Natalie thought, hates her. Karen gives in her sheet, just as Natalie and Mik reach the classroom door.

"Yes Karen?" asks Mr. Preston.

"Natalie photocopied Mikaela's homework."

"Spineless little bitch!" says Natalie as they sit back on the grass at lunch. "Who the fuck is she to say that? I know she's copied Daryl's homework more than once, teachers bloody pet."

"Just leave it, Nat," says Mik. "She's not worth it."

"Revenge, I will have my revenge," says Natalie.

"You're reading too much into this, you're not normally so vindictive," says Mik. "She's not worth your revenge, save it for someone better to spend it on."

"Revenge?" asks Fred, appearing from nowhere in his seriously dazzling green suit. "I'm good at revenges. We could tie her up, and make her drink rainwater, or we could throw flourbombs at her, or mud, yes, mud!"

"Go away," says Natalie, only half-thinking about her comment.

"What?" asks Mik, taking a sip from a bottle of water.

"Oh, I was just thinking aloud, sorry," Natalie replies as Fred disappears.

"Here she comes," says Mik, putting her bottle back in her bag as Karen Baines comes and sits a few feet away from them, with all of her popular friends.

"But, we can't have people not doing homework, not when the exams are so close, it was for her own good," Natalie and Mik overhear her say. All of her friends, hanging on every word, laugh, and Karen takes a lipstick out of her bag and winds it up, smearing the blue substance onto her lips, appearing clear.

"Look at her, the blue hue makes your teeth look whiter, as if she doesn't look 'perfect' enough," says Mik in a silly imitation voice. "Great choice of places to sit," she adds, under her breath. "There's Si." Natalie waves at her boyfriend Simon, as he looks up at her from the other side of the courtyard. He comes over.

"Simon!" exclaims Karen, drawing his attention. And, trust him, he goes over to speak to her. Karen laughs at something he says, a little too much, and runs her fingers down his chest.

"Aargh, I'm going to kill her!" says Natalie, watching everything.

"Uergh, is that your boyfriend?" asks Fred, appearing and sitting on the grass beside Natalie in a Buddhist meditation position, quickly dropping it and getting up, walking towards Simon.

"Fred!" says Natalie, "Come back!"

"Natalie, are you ok?" asks Mik.

"Sorry, I'm just, I'm not feeling too great," Natalie apologizes.

"Look at his hair," says Fred, standing by Simon and inspecting his hair. He suddenly picks at Simons hair, and then putting his fingers into his mouth, like monkey's do when they're eating each others fleas, he looks round innocently. Natalie glares daggers at him as Karen rests her head on Simon's shoulder. Fred stops picking at Simons hair, and blows violently in his ear, making him turn, looking straight towards Natalie, who's glaring in his direction. She smiles at him, and Fred vanishes once again. He makes his excuses to Karen and comes over to Natalie and Mik.

"Hey," he says.

"Hey," replies Natalie.

"What?" he adds, after a short pause.

"Nice of you to flirt with Karen, maybe sometime you should realize she's not your girlfriend."

"That was not flirting!" protests Simon. Natalie crosses her arms, to end the conversation. "You know I'd much rather have you."

"Well it'd be nice if that was the way you acted," says Natalie, unfolding her arms but not ditching her cold tone with him. Karen and her mates get up and go off somewhere else.

"I'm sorry," Simon whines. "Come on, you know you can't resist me."

"Resist you?" Natalie asks, giving him a playful punch. "I can resist you, you just watch me." Fred appears on the grass again. Natalie was getting tired of his constant disappearing and appearing.

"That's Karen Baines is a nasty one, eh?" Fred asks.

"You got that right," replies Natalie.

"Got what right? You mean you can't resist me?" asks Simon.

"No, not that," says Natalie.

"I mean, she was just walking along the hall when one of her mates tripped up this little kid and she fell in front of her, and Karen says, lick my shoe," says Fred, still appalled.

"Yup, that's one of the things Karen Baines would say," replies Natalie, taking a sip of water.

"Nat, are you sure you're ok?" asks Mik, resting a hand on her shoulder. Natalie snaps out of her parallel world.

"What? I gotta go guys." And she picks up her bags and folder and leaves Simon and Mik sitting on the grass, amazed that she'd spent the entire time talking to somebody else.