Thyla. Part 3

'Well, I I think the more time these two have in detention, thinking very hard about think the more time these two have in detention, thinking very hard about actions actions and and consequences, consequences, the better! The way they behave is dreadful. And the better! The way they behave is dreadful. And dangerous. dangerous. They need to be more They need to be more vigilant vigilant. Yes, more detention is just what they need.'

'I think they are already ashamed enough, don't you, Mr Beagle? To have acted in such a way in front of a new student?'

I looked at Laurel, and she gave me a small grin. One that looked anything but ashamed. I smiled shyly back.

'You're the boss,' said Mr Beagle grumpily. He turned to me and said, 'Welcome to Cascade Falls,' and then marched quickly back down the hallway.

Above me, seemingly from nowhere, a deafening noise blared out. The noise shocked me and I cowered, squeezing my eyes tightly shut. It sounded like some angry animal, threatening to pounce.

Ms Hindmarsh squeezed my shoulder. 'Sorry, Tessa, I'm afraid Miss Bloom hasn't quite quite got a handle on the new PA system yet. Her morning bells are always thunderous, or so quiet you can't hear them and so you turn up twenty minutes late. You can't use that as an excuse this time, though, Laurel and Erin. Come on, chop, chop!' got a handle on the new PA system yet. Her morning bells are always thunderous, or so quiet you can't hear them and so you turn up twenty minutes late. You can't use that as an excuse this time, though, Laurel and Erin. Come on, chop, chop!'

She raised an eyebrow at Laurel and Erin, who scampered quickly back up the stairs and into the hall.

From inside the hall, I could hear the thunder of many feet on a hard floor, and, before the door slammed shut again, I caught a glimpse of my new schoolmates.

So many of them! All shapes and sizes! And they were all dressed exactly as I was, in the charcoal grey uniform of Cascade Falls.

They all look so different from one another, I thought. And yet the same. Perhaps I really can fit in here. And yet the same. Perhaps I really can fit in here.

'Well, Tessa, this is it,' said Ms Hindmarsh, squeezing my shoulder. 'Time to start your life as a student of Cascade Falls!'

Words I did not know before my first day at Cascade Falls: netball (a team sport where b.a.l.l.s are thrown from person to person and then into a hoop with a net on it) basketball (from what I can understand, exactly the same as netball, only you bang the ball against the ground sometimes and you can jump up when you throw the ball towards the net, which does seem a bit bit like cheating to me!) like cheating to me!) ball (for a little while, and then I remembered) bogan (it is a person of low morals and character I think) Pepsi (a fizzy black drink that tastes a little bit like shoe polish) biro (a writing implement with ink inside inside it) it) LOL (this does not mean to lie about lazily. It means something is funny. It stands for 'laugh out loud'. I am not sure why people say it instead of actually laughing out loud) dude The meaning of the last word I was still unsure of at the end of my first day at Cascade Falls. It was Laurel who said it to me, when she noticed me looking befuddled in our trigonometry cla.s.s. She leaned over and whispered, 'It's okay, dude,' she said. 'n.o.body gets this stuff.'

Later, as we left the cla.s.sroom, I asked her what a 'dude' was. She just shrugged and said, 'It's, well, a dude. A dude's a dude. You know? Some things just are what they are. Like you. You're a Tessa. It would be pretty hard to explain what a Tessa Tessa is in one sentence, wouldn't it? You just are what you are and ' is in one sentence, wouldn't it? You just are what you are and '

She didn't get a chance to finish, before Charlotte Lord appeared at my side and said, 'It's okay, Laura.'

'Laurel.'

'Laurel. Sorry. I should remember that from the number of times I've seen your name on the detention list. Anyway, Laurel Laurel, you can go now. I'm Tessa's mentor. I can take it from here.'

'But ... we were just talking, Charlotte,' Laurel protested.

Charlotte shook her head quickly and said, 'No thank you, Laurel. I have promised Ms Hindmarsh and my father that I will look after Tessa, and I believe a large component of this position will consist of preventing her forming acquaintances with undesirable persons ...'

'Can you say that in English, please?' asked Laurel, which I thought was strange as it seemed that Charlotte was speaking very good English. At least I understood all the words she was saying unlike 'dude' even if they didn't seem to be very nice nice words. words.

Why did Charlotte dislike Laurel so much? She seemed nice a bit naughty, but nice. And she was right. We were were only talking. only talking.

'It means she reckons we're not good enough for her new toy,' said a voice from behind me.

I whirled around to see Laurel's friend, Erin, standing behind us.

'Come on, L,' she said flatly. 'Tessa probably just wants to hang out with her cool new friends, not us. Catch ya later, hey? If Princess Charlotte Princess Charlotte allows it.' allows it.'

The two girls walked away.

I turned back to Charlotte to see her nostrils were flaring, ever so slightly, and her eyes were narrowed.

When she saw me looking, she opened her eyes up very wide and smiled.

'Don't mind those two,' she said. 'They're just bogans. Come on and I'll introduce you to some nice nice people.' people.'

Beneath the huge oak tree in the middle of the school's central square (which is is lovely, Connolly. You were right!), I met Kelly, Amy, Jenna, Bridget, Claudia and Inga. lovely, Connolly. You were right!), I met Kelly, Amy, Jenna, Bridget, Claudia and Inga.

'This is our outside place,' Charlotte said. 'Inside, we have our own table in the cafeteria.'

'Does everyone?' I asked.

Charlotte laughed. 'Of course not,' she said. She waved at the group as we approached and raised her voice slightly. 'Girls, this is Tessa.'

None of them smiled with their eyes, and yet they spoke as though they were glad to meet me.

'So, so, so so wonderful to meet you, Tessa!' squealed Kelly, bobbing up and down like a strange, overexcited puppy. wonderful to meet you, Tessa!' squealed Kelly, bobbing up and down like a strange, overexcited puppy.

'I hope you're enjoying it here,' said Amy, her eyes narrowed and her arms crossed over her chest. 'You've certainly fallen on your feet getting Charlotte as a mentor.'

'Very lucky,' said Bridget.

'Lovely to have a new girl,' said Claudia, smiling in a way that seemed warmer than when Charlotte smiled. I decided I liked Claudia the best. She looked somewhat like a very pretty, raven-haired elf.

Inga I liked less. Her eyes were like sapphires and every bit as hard, and her hair was short and severe and nearly as pale as Charlotte's. When Charlotte introduced us, she didn't smile or greet me; she just stood staring, one eyebrow raised as if to say, 'Do you really think you belong here?'

I felt like telling her that no, I didn't. Not really.

The girls were very pretty, but talking to them for only a few minutes made me feel very tired and inadequate. They all spoke with such plummy accents, as though they had been raised in a manor in England, not a convict town at the end of the world. Charlotte explained that they had all been sent to finis.h.i.+ng cla.s.ses, courtesy of her father. 'Which is why we stand a mile above the other girls at Cascade Falls,' she said. 'This may be an exclusive school, but many of its population would make you believe otherwise.' She leaned in and whispered, 'Scholars.h.i.+p students,' and made a repulsed face. 'They bring down the tone of exclusivity quite severely!'

Exclusive. That word seemed perfect for Charlotte and her friends. They were exclusive. They were important. And they seemed to be keenly aware of it. I wanted to like them. I promised myself I would try try to like them. But as we walked away from the oak tree and the thoroughbred girls, I found myself feeling slightly, secretly, relieved. to like them. But as we walked away from the oak tree and the thoroughbred girls, I found myself feeling slightly, secretly, relieved.

Then Charlotte introduced me to Rhiannah.

Rhiannah's hair was jet black, and her skin was as white as the sheets on my hospital bed. Her eyes were dark, too. Nearly black. And when Charlotte introduced us, Rhiannah's dark pink lips curled upwards and her eyes smiled too.

'This is Tessa,' Charlotte said, for perhaps the twentieth time. It felt like the millionth and I was growing tired of the sound of my own name. 'She's new. Tessa, this is Rhiannah.'

Rhiannah wrinkled up her nose and sniffed at the air.

'Is there a problem, Rhiannah?' asked Charlotte testily.

'No, no, not at all,' said Rhiannah. 'I just thought I smelled ... something. Don't mind me.'

Rhiannah held out her hand and took mine. She shook it up and down. Her grip was strong, but I matched it. 'Lovely hands,' she said, still smiling.

I looked down at them. To my eyes, the fingers look stubby and the fingernails were too short and remained dirty, no matter how many times you and I scrubbed at them. Remember, Connolly? You said they looked like farmers' fingernails.

'Why are they lovely?' I asked.

Rhiannah just shrugged and smiled again. 'They look like they're used for great things. You can tell a lot about a person from their hands.'

I examined my hands more closely. They had wide, square palms, and the fingernails looked tough as if they could claw through anything. Rhiannah's were a bit like that, too: long and slightly pointed and dark. I looked at Charlotte's fingernails. They were pearly pink and they sparkled in the sun.

I liked mine better.

'That's a very charming bangle,' I said, looking at the metal circle around her wrist. I said it partly because I felt as though I should compliment her back after she had been so nice to me, and partly because I really did like it.

The bangle was made from flat, s.h.i.+ny copper. It looked like she polished it every day. Carved into its surface were intricate patterns that looked somehow like ... animal tracks?

A word tried to push its way into the group of words inside my mind.

It started with a 'P'.

Poor ... Purr ...

Purinin ...

I could not draw my eyes away from the bangle. It seemed, strangely, as though as I was looking at it, the patterns began to move the footprints began to leap and dance. Almost as though my brain were not in control of my limbs, I reached out. I wanted to touch it. I just wanted to find out what it would feel feel like. It was as if I was under some strange sort of spell. like. It was as if I was under some strange sort of spell.

Rihannah jerked her hand away, breaking the enchantment. 'Don't touch that ... please,' she said. I looked up at her eyes. They seemed fearful. I wondered why. All I had wanted was to touch the bangle. I looked back down at it again now. The footprints were standing still. The magic was over.

'Tessa?'

'Yes?' I said, looking up at Charlotte.

'Time to move on,' she said. 'See you later, Rhiannah.'

'Yeah, I gotta go too. My brother's waiting for me,' said Rhiannah. Her voice was back to normal now. 'Great to meet you, Tessa!'

I watched Rhiannah walk towards the school gates. As they opened, I saw a boy standing on the other side. His hair was dark, like Rhiannah's. Even from here I could see that he was exceedingly handsome. As the gates shut, I was almost certain I saw his eyes flick my way, and his brow furrow. I felt my heart begin to beat very quickly, and I pressed my hand to my chest, feeling my cheeks burn.

'He's a bit of a looker, isn't he?' Charlotte whispered in my ear. 'I don't blame you for checking him out.'

'I was doing nothing of the sort!' I protested.

'Oh, come on. Perrin is famous,' said Charlotte. 'One of the best-looking boys in Hobart. Pity his sister is such a nutcase. I hope she didn't scare you. I only introduced you so you didn't get freaked out by her later.'

I shook Perrin's face from my head. I wanted to tell Charlotte that I didn't think Rhiannah seemed weird at all. She seemed much nicer than all the ones who didn't smile with their eyes.

But before I could say anything, the loud noise that had scared me so much that morning quaked through the air yet again. It scared me less each time. I flinched, but I did not cower.

Charlotte clapped her hands. 'Cla.s.s time!' she said. 'I do hope you have enjoyed meeting my friends, Tessa. They are definitely the most correct correct people for you to be a.s.sociating with at Cascade Falls. I hope you will understand now that Erin and Laurel, and Rhiannah and her crowd are, well, people for you to be a.s.sociating with at Cascade Falls. I hope you will understand now that Erin and Laurel, and Rhiannah and her crowd are, well, not not. You'll thank me later for teaching you this, trust me. Now, according to your schedule, you have maths, with me. Come on. We mustn't be late.'

I trailed along behind Charlotte as she marched up the long, polished wood floorboards of the corridor towards our cla.s.sroom, watching as the sun through the windows glinted off her spun-gold hair. I couldn't help thinking that the halo of light did look very much like a crown.

'Princess Charlotte,' Erin had called her. Erin had called her.

I wondered then whether the Tessa who came out of the bush, with her matted hair and bruises and the long streaking scars across her back, would have seemed like the kind of girl Princess Charlotte would want in her court.

I wondered if the Tessa from now now would be, if Charlotte could see who she really was. would be, if Charlotte could see who she really was.

After all, I still had the scars.

As I lay in my new bed on the first night in my new school, the scars came alive.

It was late around midnight, but my body felt as though it was midday. My mind was alert and my eyes didn't want to close. There was too much to think about.

What a big, strange day it had been!

The rest of my cla.s.ses had been agreeable. Some were even informative and interesting. I had kept quiet and attentive and I believed I had made a good impression on my teachers. I even answered a question or two! School, it seemed, was not so odd and difficult after all. At lunch time, Charlotte and her friends had some sort of rehearsal, so I sat by myself in the sun and watched my schoolmates congregate and cl.u.s.ter and move about like a flock of grey pigeons. I enjoyed watching them, knowing I was one of them too. I liked feeling as though I was part of something. Like I belonged.

The evening had gone quite well also. I sat with Charlotte and her friends at dinner and even made some conversation. I complimented the food (and kept my mouth closed when the others ranted about how 'greasy' and fattening it was). I remarked that it was a pretty night outside (and stared at my plate as the others complained about the cold). Though they disagreed with my opinions, the other girls didn't seem angry at me. In fact, Claudia even squeezed my hand at one point and said, 'You're doing well, Tessa.'

That made me feel happy. Accepted. Accepted.

When the conversation turned to fas.h.i.+ons and 'celebrities', the voices of the girls muted somewhat. I did not understand why 'leggings as trousers cool or not?' was an interesting topic, and I was also ignorant as to why the other girls seemed interested in talking about the romances and scandals of people they didn't even know. I checked that I would not be missed from the conversation and, once I had concluded that they were too enthralled in a discussion on the physique of a renowned male musician (they called him a 'pop star'), I retreated inside my head.

And in there was Cat. I wondered if she had sat at this same table, having similar conversations. I wondered how many of the girls here knew her. I wondered if I should ask them, or if they might be sensitive about her disappearance. I imagined her, cold and alone, in the wilderness.

I never never imagined her dead, though I knew it was logically possible. Perhaps it was only hope for you, Connolly. Perhaps I just imagined her dead, though I knew it was logically possible. Perhaps it was only hope for you, Connolly. Perhaps I just wanted wanted Cat to be alive but ... I don't know how to describe it. It was almost intuition. I sensed that she was out there. Odd and mad and Cat to be alive but ... I don't know how to describe it. It was almost intuition. I sensed that she was out there. Odd and mad and witching witching as it may seem, I somehow as it may seem, I somehow knew. knew. And I also knew it was up to me to find her. It was like the dreams I had been having since I awoke the ones that seemed so real and yet so implausible; it was as though my subconscious knew things my consciousness did not. I could not explain it, but I could not argue with it either. The feeling was so strong. Cat And I also knew it was up to me to find her. It was like the dreams I had been having since I awoke the ones that seemed so real and yet so implausible; it was as though my subconscious knew things my consciousness did not. I could not explain it, but I could not argue with it either. The feeling was so strong. Cat was alive was alive.

'Tessa?' A sharp voice punctured my contemplation. My eyes snapped towards Inga, whose own eyes were boring into me. 'I asked you a question,' she said.

'I'm sorry,' I said. 'I think I am quite tired. What was your question?'

Inga rolled her eyes. 'I just wanted to know if you have a boyfriend?'

'A boyfriend?' I asked. The term was unfamiliar to me. Was Inga asking if I had any male companions? Was she implying I had been improper?

'Yes, you know,' she said slowly, as though I was dimwitted. 'A boyfriend?'

'You don't have to answer that, Tessa,' said Claudia, gently. She turned to Inga. 'That's private,' she said.

'Aww, but I thought we were friends,' Inga said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. I really did not like Inga. 'All right,' she said. 'I'll share first. I have a boyfriend. His name is Jakob. He's completely hot and he kisses like a demon.'

Ah, so Inga was not simply talking about male companions. She was talking about ... gentlemen callers. About suitors.

'I ... I don't really know if I have a boyfriend,' I replied, truthfully. I had not remembered a boyfriend. I could not remember any any boys. But, like my boys. But, like my feeling feeling about Cat, I had a sense that perhaps there had been someone. Dancing around my brain was a hint of a musky smell; the feeling of lips brus.h.i.+ng against mine. Maybe this about Cat, I had a sense that perhaps there had been someone. Dancing around my brain was a hint of a musky smell; the feeling of lips brus.h.i.+ng against mine. Maybe this was was just a dream, though. After all, I had seen myself in the mirror after I was rescued. What boy would have wanted me? just a dream, though. After all, I had seen myself in the mirror after I was rescued. What boy would have wanted me?

'Right,' said Inga, her eyes narrowing. 'Weird.'