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floored by their own hilarity. Over by the track Justin and Tamsin stood holding hands and grinning like idiots.
    I flashed to Alan in the common room with Justin’s gang trying to get him to do something.
    That did it.
    I flew out of the sandpit, shedding fine grains like a rattlesnake. I covered the ground in seconds and threw myself at Justin, wrapping my hands around his throat.
    I still had sand in my mouth, so I spat it at him while cursing and trying to throttle the superior look off his face.
    Distantly I heard Tamsin shrieking and hands closed around my upper arms, pulling me free.
    “You think this is funny?” I yelled. “You still think it’s funny?”
    Everything had gone red. I kicked and fought against whoever had me in his grip.
    “Calm down, Tay.” It was Pete’s voice in my ear with the name he hadn’t used in years. Where had he come from? I drooped in his hold and looked around. The whole school had to be watching.
    My scratched skin started to throb and my cheeks burned.
    “Can’t control herself.” Tamsin’s delighted voice blowtorched through my daze. “Typical foreigner. Just attacked us for no reason.”
    I was about to blow sky high when I heard Miss Carroll. “No reason, Tamsin? Then why are her things all over the sandpit? Justin, obviously she blames you and I’m sure she has good cause. I’m getting sick of having to do this, but both of you come with me to see Mr Barnes. Again.”

 
    5
     
    A LOT OF OPPORTUNITIES
     
    The corridor outside Mr Barnes’ office smelled of Dettol and vomit. I hunched on the hard chair with my bag between my legs. A trail of sand had followed me in and now poured from the flap and pooled at my feet. I’d shaken out as much as I could before coming inside, but it was everywhere. My bra itched like crazy.
    Way more annoyingly, Justin wasn’t the slightest bit rumpled. I hadn’t even managed to mess up his tie. It remained in its usual loosened knot, an inch below his top button. Along with everything about Justin it was a little too relaxed, but remained just the right side of messy. Everywhere Justin went he looked at home.
    I ground my teeth. His legs were stretched out in front of him, his ankles crossed just as they had been on the bus. His arms were loosely folded and he was leaning his head against the artwork behind his chair. His hair too, was just the right side of messy, a touch too long, it was starting to curl at the ends and he had to push it aside to glance over at me, brown eyes sparkling with amusement.
    “So, what’re you going to say?” He smirked. “That I was watching some year nine stuff you in the sandpit, so you decided I needed a beat down?”
    “Don’t even!” My fists had curled already and he’d only needed a single sentence. “I know you put him up to it. I heard you all.”
    “You saw us talking to Alan, but that was it.” He checked his fingernails as if he was about to go for a manicure.
    “Then why did he apologise before he pushed me over? I’m not stupid. I don’t know what hold you have over him, but there must be something.”
    Justin shrugged. “When Mr Barnes brings him in, I’m sure he’ll mention it if I, as you say, ‘have something’ on him.” His fingers made air quotes and I wanted to break them off and stuff them down his throat.
    I sat on my hands.
    “You’re a dick,” I muttered.
    “Yeah?” Justin actually looked away, flicking a grain of sand from his blazer. “I didn’t do anything to you, Taylor.”
    “You don’t have to,” I snarled. “You just point the dogs in the right direction. It’s always been that way. Why me? That’s what I want to know. Are you a racist? Is that what I should tell Mr Barnes?”
    Justin’s cool eyes widened for a moment and he snorted. Then he leaned back in his chair. “You really don’t remember, do you?”
    “Remember what?”
    “My first day in this dump. You don’t remember what you did.”
    “What I did?”
    His first day at