Stolen Girl Read Online Free PDF Page A

moment. Suddenly, I heard a round of applause – it was our cue to go on. Lauren and I strode onto the stage, our heads held high as we took our positions. The lights were bright but as I looked out into the distance I noticed a couple of hands waving at me. It was Mum and Dad – they looked so proud. They were here to witness the biggest moment of my life and I prayed that I wouldn’t mess up. The heat from the spotlight seared my skin, its bright light almost blinded me but as soon as the piano started up and familiar notes filled the hall, I forgot my nerves. Lauren and I sang our hearts out. We felt amazing; it was our moment. To be watched. To be seen. To be heard. And not a soul laughed. No one.
    In that one moment, the kids could see, if only for a few minutes, that we weren’t just Peg Legs and Dumbo. We were just like them – normal kids with a love and passion for music. Up on that stage, we felt like superstars because we’d been the best – we’d been chosen.
    At the end of the routine, the whole hall erupted with applause. Lauren gave my hand a final squeeze as we stepped forward with the other girls and took a bow. Just for that one night, we were untouchable. We were someone – we were better than the bullies simply for being ourselves, and it felt fantastic. However, the best night of my life only fuelled their anger. They despised us for it because that night we’d blurred the boundaries. Being on stage was their territory, not ours.We’d stood up to them but at the same time we stood out because of it. Then something else happened to make things even worse.
     
    My body was rapidly changing. All the other girls were flat-chested but now when I pulled on my school jumper I noticed it was tighter because I was beginning to grow breasts. I was maturing in more ways than one. My hips and bum began to fill out; I became curvy and I looked as though I had grown up almost overnight. When I stood next to Lauren, we looked ridiculous. I was changing but Lauren was still trapped in the body of a child. By hanging around together we emphasised everything we felt self-conscious of. I seemed to make Lauren look even skinner; she made me look older. I hated being different from my friend and despised my body.
    I was developing at such a rate that Mum decided it was time to buy me my first bra and, despite my apprehension, when I first put it on it made me feel older and wiser than the other girls. I knew I was the only one to wear a bra but I was too frightened to let them see it. Instead, when everyone else got changed in the communal dressing room, I’d sneak off and change behind a locked toilet door.
    The school had a Christmas disco planned for all the pupils. Lauren and I had been looking forward to it for weeks. We practised our Steps dance moves so that we’d be extra-good on the night. I was convinced that we’d wow the other kids and that, when they saw how talented we were, the bullies would leave us alone, and maybe they’d even want to be our friends.
    I pestered Mum for a new outfit and finally she buckled under the pressure. After hours trawling the shops I found the perfect clothes – a pair of black jeans with cool splits at theankles and a glittery gold disco top with a big red heart on the front. As soon as I looked at myself in the changing-room mirror I knew it was perfect. I looked grown-up but I also looked trendy. For the first time in my life I felt as if I belonged. As I studied my reflection, I thought this outfit would change everything – it would make me fit in with the popular girls. But I couldn’t have been more wrong.
    On the day of the disco Lauren knocked on my front door.
    ‘Wow!’ she gasped as I opened it to find her standing there on the doorstep.
    ‘Do you like it?’ I asked, posing awkwardly in the doorway. I still felt a little unsure of myself but gave her a self-conscious twirl all the same.
    ‘
Like
it? I love it! You look ace, Katie. Really pretty.’