looked so perfect, Vicky almost thought she was on a film set.
She stood for a moment enjoying the sheer peace and loveliness of the morning before she skipped across the grass to the shower block, leaving a trail of dark footprints in the silver dew. As she had got up so early, she had the block to herself and she luxuriated in the shower, taking her time, knowing that she wasn’t keeping anyone waiting. She washed her thick dark hair and then combed conditioner through it. If she was going to be meeting all her classmates she wanted to look as neat and tidy as possible. Her best friend Kelly knew where she lived, and so did some of her teachers, but the fact that she was from Irish traveller stock was a secret she kept from everyone else.
Of course, the kids at school weren’t stupid and they’d picked up on one or two of the kids from the trailer park, Shania being one of them, and had given them a hard time – name calling and bullying to the extent that those children had left the school completely, their parents telling the authorities that they were moving on. Since outsiders were less than welcome on the site no one ever checked up; as far as the local education authority was concerned, if the traveller children couldn’t read or write adequately it was their parents’ lookout.
So Vicky had known all her life that if she wanted to pass unnoticed she needed to tone down her Irish accent when she was away from the site and do nothing to draw attention to herself. The fact that she was naturally bright and a quick learner had also helped her to blend in, as did the uniform. Looking the same as the other kids, wearing the same clothes and doing absolutely nothing to stand out Vicky became almost invisible.
Quite how her schoolfriend Kelly had guessed about Vicky’s background she didn’t know, but when Kelly had stopped her on her way to lunch in the canteen one day and asked her outright if she was a gypsy, she and Vicky were close enough for Kelly to agree to keep the truth to herself.
‘I can’t believe it!’ Kelly had said in a shocked whisper. ‘You, a gyppo! I mean I know I asked if you were but I really didn’t expect the answer to be yes.’
‘Well, there you go and please don’t call me a gyppo, it’s really rude.’
‘I am sorry, I didn’t realise. Blimey, that explains a bit.’
‘Maybe it does but you mustn’t tell a soul. Please,’ Vicky pleaded, taking Kelly’s hand and looking into her eyes. ‘You know what some people are like and just because they have accepted me here don’t mean their attitude won’t change once they know where I live.’
‘Surely not?’
‘Well, I don’t want to find out that I’m right.’
‘No, I can see that. There’s one or two who just love to make other people’s lives miserable.’
‘Chloe for one.’
‘Exactly.’
Kelly had been true to her word and a couple of years on no one else had guessed. There had been a couple of dodgy moments when other kids noticed that although Vicky was one of the oldest in the class, as she had a September birthday, she seemed to have to obey much stricter rules than some of the youngest. One or two of the boys had also wondered why she was so uptight about going out with anyone but Kelly had always jumped to her friend’s defence and said that her father was really strict. Which was true, but the way Kelly told it made him sound just old-fashioned rather than the fact that Vicky’s whole lifestyle was so different to theirs, that her schoolmates would never understand.
Vicky rinsed the conditioner out of her hair, switched off the shower and dried herself carefully before winding her towel round her wet curls. When she left the shower block she could see signs of life springing up on the park. A couple of the trailer doors were open and hooked back, a dog had been let out and was rushing up and down the hedge trying to find the rabbits that had been there a few minutes before, and there were
She stood for a moment enjoying the sheer peace and loveliness of the morning before she skipped across the grass to the shower block, leaving a trail of dark footprints in the silver dew. As she had got up so early, she had the block to herself and she luxuriated in the shower, taking her time, knowing that she wasn’t keeping anyone waiting. She washed her thick dark hair and then combed conditioner through it. If she was going to be meeting all her classmates she wanted to look as neat and tidy as possible. Her best friend Kelly knew where she lived, and so did some of her teachers, but the fact that she was from Irish traveller stock was a secret she kept from everyone else.
Of course, the kids at school weren’t stupid and they’d picked up on one or two of the kids from the trailer park, Shania being one of them, and had given them a hard time – name calling and bullying to the extent that those children had left the school completely, their parents telling the authorities that they were moving on. Since outsiders were less than welcome on the site no one ever checked up; as far as the local education authority was concerned, if the traveller children couldn’t read or write adequately it was their parents’ lookout.
So Vicky had known all her life that if she wanted to pass unnoticed she needed to tone down her Irish accent when she was away from the site and do nothing to draw attention to herself. The fact that she was naturally bright and a quick learner had also helped her to blend in, as did the uniform. Looking the same as the other kids, wearing the same clothes and doing absolutely nothing to stand out Vicky became almost invisible.
Quite how her schoolfriend Kelly had guessed about Vicky’s background she didn’t know, but when Kelly had stopped her on her way to lunch in the canteen one day and asked her outright if she was a gypsy, she and Vicky were close enough for Kelly to agree to keep the truth to herself.
‘I can’t believe it!’ Kelly had said in a shocked whisper. ‘You, a gyppo! I mean I know I asked if you were but I really didn’t expect the answer to be yes.’
‘Well, there you go and please don’t call me a gyppo, it’s really rude.’
‘I am sorry, I didn’t realise. Blimey, that explains a bit.’
‘Maybe it does but you mustn’t tell a soul. Please,’ Vicky pleaded, taking Kelly’s hand and looking into her eyes. ‘You know what some people are like and just because they have accepted me here don’t mean their attitude won’t change once they know where I live.’
‘Surely not?’
‘Well, I don’t want to find out that I’m right.’
‘No, I can see that. There’s one or two who just love to make other people’s lives miserable.’
‘Chloe for one.’
‘Exactly.’
Kelly had been true to her word and a couple of years on no one else had guessed. There had been a couple of dodgy moments when other kids noticed that although Vicky was one of the oldest in the class, as she had a September birthday, she seemed to have to obey much stricter rules than some of the youngest. One or two of the boys had also wondered why she was so uptight about going out with anyone but Kelly had always jumped to her friend’s defence and said that her father was really strict. Which was true, but the way Kelly told it made him sound just old-fashioned rather than the fact that Vicky’s whole lifestyle was so different to theirs, that her schoolmates would never understand.
Vicky rinsed the conditioner out of her hair, switched off the shower and dried herself carefully before winding her towel round her wet curls. When she left the shower block she could see signs of life springing up on the park. A couple of the trailer doors were open and hooked back, a dog had been let out and was rushing up and down the hedge trying to find the rabbits that had been there a few minutes before, and there were