Brave New Girl Read Online Free PDF Page B

a deep breath. I reminded myself that I had promised not to take any more snide remarks or giggles. I had promised that no one was going to make me or anyone I loved feel small and worthless ever again. I had made this mess. Now I was going to clean it up. I walked round to where the four boys in the football gear were still laughing. Well, all except Jamie.
    Sasha let go of me and ran to the door. “Seren, come on!”
    â€œNo!” I faced the boys. They were just little boys, I said to myself. Like Denny and Arthur, only bigger and more stupid. One hundred million times more stupid. “Shame on you!” I tried to shout,but I could hear my voice was wobbly.
    Luke Beckford had his hand over his mouth to cover his snaky, pretty-boy smirk.
    â€œYou!” I pointed at him with the box of washing powder, which was still in my hand. “Don’t you ever,” I was boiling over, “ever, talk about my sister like that!”
    His stupid hair flopped into his stupid mouth.
    This was the opposite of how it was supposed to happen. I wanted to make them hurt but they just laughed more. I wanted them to know how Sasha felt now.
    â€œSasha is lovely and you…” The words seemed to fall out of my mouth. “Mr Stupid Luke. You are a waste of space... a slug-brain!” I shut up. I was saying exactly what I was thinking. I slapped my hand over my mouth. I almost said poo-head. I wanted to say much, much worse.
    Suddenly, there was Keith. He yanked me away and the washing powder jumped out of my hand and landed with a thump on the floor.
    The box exploded in a cloud of blue-and-white, soapy snow.

    Outside, Sasha was waiting round the corner, face to the wall, make-up smeared. “You bloody idiot, Seren!” She was sobbing, her face red and angry.
    I put my hand out but she wrenched it away. I reached out again. but she slapped my hand away, hard.
    â€œOw! Sasha!” I said. “That hurt.”
    â€œGood!” Her voice was hard.
    â€œIt’ll be OK, Sasha. I’m sorry, I never meant it to come out like that. I thought… I thought he’d be there on his own. I thought he’d see you in your blue top…”
    â€œYou idiot!” Sasha hissed. She looked at me, and if looks could kill I would have been dead three times over.
    â€œSash, I never meant…”
    â€œShut up. Don’t even talk to me.” Sasha spat the words out. She took a deep breath in and wiped the tears away from her face. She looked straight at me. “You have made the biggest fool out of me! My life is over! Don’t you see that? It is over! And it’s your fault!”
    Sasha turned and flicked her shiny hair, and stormed off in the direction of Fay’s.

4
CASTING
    Sasha didn’t come home for ages. She called Mum to say she’d be staying at Fay’s till late and not to worry. I made pasta with sauce for the boys but I couldn’t eat a thing. Mum was ‘at a really good bit’ in her book so she didn’t come down either. I looked at the boys snarking at each other while they ate, and I wished I was ten like Denny, or five like Arthur, and nothing much mattered except who could shovel their spaghetti down the fastest.
    I had to keep myself doing stuff to not think about what had happened. The sound of Luke Beckford’s voice, Jamie Kendrick smiling stupidly with a stuck-on smile and, worst of all, Sasha shouting at me. I pushed my plate away.
    She will come round, I told myself. I remembered last Christmas when she got this huge make-up kitand I accidently mashed up one of the brushes, and she managed to hold out not talking to me for two whole days. I knew this was worse. I must have sighed out loud, cos Denny spoke.
    â€œAre you OK, Seren?” He looked at me. “I’m sorry about earlier,” he said. “Honest. You cook good tea and you’re not bad for a big sister, believe.”
    â€œGood,” I said. I told