Read Six for Free Online Page A

go now,’ I pleaded as other students trickled into the building.
    ‘We will stay,’ my mother said and I didn’t bother trying to change her mind.
    At least they moved away from me.
    The hall seemed much larger then. The velvet of the stage curtains hung with heavy importance. I didn’t notice that the stitching had come away from some of the hems or that the velvet was worn in places. Dusty photos of past principals adorned the walls — there was one woman but the rest were dark-suited men with stern faces. Tasseled sports house banners hung from the ceiling. I wondered what house I would belong to, though it didn’t really matter as I was not a sporty person.
    Most of the arriving students sat up the back of the hall. A few moved halfway down the rows of seats. Even less came near the front, where I was sitting. I felt my face turning red, matching the colour of the ribbons in my hair. It was happening again. I thought I could start fresh in a new school. Create a new me. Sure, there’d be kids here that would know me, but there would be some who wouldn’t. But no. It seemed I would still be the geek. The girl wearing a school uniform when everyone else was in free dress. The girl whose parents hovered at the back of the hall, instead of walking back to their car and leaving her for a couple of hours.
    As I sat looking into my bleak future, a girl with hair the colour of autumn, and a long flowing skirt to match, marched past me. Then she doubled back and sat in the seat next to mine.
    ‘I’m Poppy,’ she said.
    She placed a hand on my shoulder and I remember thinking that was a bit… well, forward.
    ‘You’ve got a very strong aura,’ she said. ‘Logical tan.’
    I knew then that she was unlike any other person I’d ever met. A total crackpot. Auras and ESP and people on the other side. I knew that my parents would disapprove. Still, they were going to disapprove of anyone I made friends with at school. In their eyes, school was for study, not for socialising. School was for improving the mind, laying down the foundations for my future, pushing myself to be the best person I could be.
    They wanted me to be a doctor.
    ‘Have you seen the boys up the back?’ she asked. ‘I think I’m in love.’
    ‘With who?’ I asked, turning around for a peek.
    ‘All of them,’ she said with a shrug.
    I didn’t know what to say.
    ‘I’m Sarah,’ I said finally. ‘My parents are still here, standing up the back. Like it’s my first day of Prep or something.’
    I didn’t know why I told her that. I was expecting her to get up and walk away.
    ‘You’re lucky,’ she said. ‘My step-dad dropped me off right at the front gate in his mid-life crisis car. He had to rev it a couple of times so that people would notice him.’
    I laughed. Then Poppy looked deep into my eyes and held out the little finger on her right hand.
    ‘Let’s make a pact,’ she said. ‘Let’s never turn into boring adults.’
    I held out my own pinkie and we solemnly shook.

    AT THE END OF the short first week of Year 12 I’d already had three English classes with Finn, but I still hadn’t said a sentence to him.
    ‘You should just ask him,’ said Poppy, flipping through her textbook. ‘Just ask Fish to go to the Formal with you.’
    ‘His name is Finn,’ I snapped.
    Poppy could do that. She had a way of knowing that was scary. Sometimes she could tap into that place where I was hurting most and it was like a burglar had invaded my personal space. It wasn’t always easy having Poppy as a best friend.
    Poppy ignored my outburst and I pretended it didn’t happen. I talked instead about the Education Supplement in that day’s paper, then Mr Zable came in and my heart stopped racing. I settled back in my chair and I forget about everything except English Language Unit 3. Sociolects and phonology and semantics were things I could control. I felt a calm settle over me like a warm cloak as Mr Zable began to drone.
    After class I