Driftwood by Unknown

Author:Unknown
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780141924700
Publisher: Penguin Group UK
Published: 2008-11-06T05:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 13

Paul Slater gets on the school bus with two dinky little plaits tucked behind his ears. Even I do a double-take, and a bunch of S1 lads at the front of the bus erupts into snorts of disgust. There are a few catcalls from the back, but when I look round I see that Kit is trying to silence the hecklers. Trying, but not very hard.

‘Hi, Hannah,’ Paul grins, clattering into the seat across the aisle.

‘What’s he playing at?’ I whisper as Joey flops down beside me. ‘Plaits? Tell me you didn’t encourage him, Joey. This boy has enough problems already.’

Joey shrugs. ‘Don’t blame me,’ she hisses. ‘Why can’t he have plaits? It’s a statement, isn’t it?’

Yup, it’s a statement, all right. It might mean take-me-as-I-am, in a cool, goth-guy kind of way. It might mean I-don’t-care, forget-the-rules, I’m-not-like-you. Or it might mean pick-on-me cos I’m a wuss, a girly, a hippy-dippy gimp.

I think I know how Murphy and his mates will read it. They’ll make mashed potato out of Paul Slater, probably before morning break. It’s like sending a toddler to play in the traffic.

‘We have to talk about Paul,’ I say to Joey. ‘He’s a living, breathing disaster area. He needs our help.’

‘You think?’ Joey asks. Plaits on a boy are not a problem for her. Who knows, maybe even horns and a tail on a boy would be OK in her book.

‘I think,’ I say ‘Seriously. After hockey? Can you shake free of Kit for a while?’

‘Guess so,’ Joey shrugs. ‘No problem.’

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