Read The Girl With No Past for Free Online Page B

appears and taps me on the shoulder. ‘Hi,’ he says. ‘You walking home?’
    ‘No, waiting for Imogen. We’re going to hers.’
    ‘Oh,’ Corey says, frowning.
    I wonder if he is waiting for an invitation. ‘It’s kind of a girl thing. I’m staying the night.’
    Corey looks around as if expecting Imogen to appear any second. ‘Okay. You meeting her here?’
    ‘No, by the art block. Walk with me if you want?’
    He shrugs. ‘S’okay. I’ll catch you both on Monday.’ And with that he is off, almost gliding towards the gates, with his bulging rucksack bouncing on his back.
    It is strange that Corey has rushed off so quickly, but I don’t have time to dwell on it too long. The art block is on the other side of the school and Imogen might think I’m not coming if I don’t hurry.
    As I expect, she is already there when I arrive, sitting on the steps with her head buried in her hands. She does not look happy. It is only now I realise how stupid it was of us to arrange to meet here when the maths block is right near the school gate. But that doesn’t matter now, we are together and the weekend is just beginning.
    ‘About time, Leah,’ she says, looking up.
    I open my mouth to apologise but then I notice Imogen is smiling, her face a different picture now that I’m here. She jumps up and grabs my arm. ‘Come on, I’ve got so much to tell you.’

    Imogen’s mum is still at work when we get to her house so we have the whole place to ourselves. It is a luxury I never have at my own house because Dad works from home most days. He’s an architect so doesn’t need to be in the office much, and when he does have to go anywhere, Mum always arranges it so that she is home instead. I liked having the company when I was younger, but I’m fourteen now so need my own space. They just don’t get it. So now I intend to make the most of any second when there are no parents around, even though I like Imogen’s mum.
    We sprawl on the two large sofas in the living room, stuffing ourselves with microwave popcorn while we talk about school. ‘I hate Miss Hollis,’ Imogen says, throwing a piece of popcorn in the air and catching it in her mouth. ‘She couldn’t even get a word in at form time today, could she? Nobody listens to her and it’s just such a waste of time. Have you noticed how the other forms get all the notices passed on and we don’t find anything out? It’s because she can’t shut everyone up long enough to tell us stuff.’
    I nod and swallow some popcorn. It is true. I don’t hate the woman as much as Imogen seems to, but it is starting to annoy me that we are wasting so much time during form period. And it has been like this since Year Seven. ‘You’d think she’d have learnt how to teach by now,’ I say.
    Imogen snorts. ‘She’d have more chance of flying to the moon without a rocket.’ A giggling fit overcomes us both and we end up spraying popcorn all over the sofa and floor. It lasts until Imogen’s mum gets home.
    Mrs Bannerman is tall and neat, her body made up of elegant angles. When I was younger, I thought if goddesses existed then she was what they would look like. The woman had seemed mythical, almost perfect, with her deep melodic voice and sounds that rolled effortlessly off her tongue. But I’ve grown up since then, and now I know she is just another mum. Not at all like my own, or Corey’s, but still a mother. And at this moment she is annoying the hell out of me.
    She has already made us dinner and insisted on eating with us, which is fine as she’s gone to the effort of cooking, but now she joins us on the sofa and we are forced to listen to her moaning about how Imogen’s dad never does anything for her. I can’t understand her claim because she is a beautiful woman, even if she does talk too much. What chance do Imogen or I have if men don’t even appreciate the beautiful ones?
    Once this thought occurs to me, it gnaws away and I want to grab Imogen and run up to