CHAPTER 1 - A New Start.

"...oh, and whatever you do, make sure to stay away from HER!"

The vehemence in the other girl's voice took Katherine by surprise. Throughout the tour of the school she was giving, Anne-Marie had been pleasant and polite. A little snobbish and stuck-up, maybe, but Katherine was used to that. Especially from a prefect.

But then, as they entered the lunch hall and Anne-Marie started to wrap things up, she spotted something and her mood changed for the worse dramatically.

"Er... who?" replied Katherine, scanning the assorted students redundantly. She had no idea who, or even what, she was looking for.

"HER," Anne-Marie repeated with a growl, "the Ice Queen sitting over there with her pack of delinquent lesbian friends. A regular bad girls club, if you ask me."

"Bad girls club?" Katherine echoed. She looked over to where the prefect was pointing. Outside the hall, visible through a window, sat four girls at a round table. They looked to be around sixteen years old or so, the same age as herself. As far as she could tell, three of the girls were talking while the fourth seemed to be writing something. Nothing unusual at all. Nothing strange. Nothing 'bad'.

As for the other thing Anne-Marie called them...

"Why did you..." Katherine began. She didn't get any further as the other girl tore her gaze away from the group, wished Katherine well in her academic life, and was gone. It was so sudden, so abrupt, that Katherine was left stunned and unsure what to do next.

Then the reality of the situation started to hit home. She was standing on her own. In a hall full of other people. Other people who were bound to notice her any second now. And then they'd start pointing and laughing. If she was lucky, that's all they would do.

She felt her pulse quicken as the panic threatened to set in. But worse, much worse than that, she felt the Blush start to rise.

The Blush deserved its capitalisation. Back in Katherine's previous school, it was a point of pride for her tormenters if they could get the shy, insecure, quiet redhead's cheeks glowing.

She did her best to hold back the tears, to hold back the angry words that would only fuel the bullying further. But, no matter what she did, she couldn't stop the inevitable rush of blood to her face. Nor could she stop the inevitable mocking that followed.

But this was a new town. A new school with new people. This was Katherine's chance to make a new life for herself. Nobody here was going to call her 'Crybaby Katherine'. So she needed to move. Sit at a free table, go for a walk, hide in the toilets, ANYTHING...

"Hi. Sorry. Do you mind if I sit here?" she asked a few moments later.

Nearly all the girls at the table looked up in surprise at the interruption. Even this close, Katherine could still not work out which one was supposed to be the 'Ice Queen' Anne-Marie had mentioned.

There was a black girl whose clothes somehow seemed to be smarter and better tailored than everyone else's, despite just being the same uniform. Maybe it was her? There was an air of superiority about her, although that might just have been Katherine's overstressed imagination.

Next to her was somebody whose bespectacled face was almost hidden under a mass of chestnut brown curls. Despite this girl's smile, there was a sense that here was somebody always ready for a fight. Somebody who needed no excuse to defend herself with words or fists. An Ice Queen? Surely not.

The next one Katherine had first assumed was somebody from another year, a younger sister perhaps. But, as she had approached the table, she realised just how small the little brunette was. Not that there was anything wrong with being a different height, she hurriedly admonished herself, but still... this girl was tiny! Surely she was far too short, far too petite, to be called a Queen of anything.

Finally, there was the fourth. And that's when Katherine knew instantly that she had to be the one. Tall, unsmiling, with ice-cold blue eyes and long hair so blonde it was nearly white... this had to be the Ice Queen that Anne-Marie talked about so spitefully. She didn't look like she belonged in a school, she looked like she was meant to plotting the downfall of humanity in a castle on a glacier somewhere. This girl was going to be trouble, Katherine could sense it.

"Absolutely." said the black girl in response to Katherine’s request and waved her to one of the two free chairs.

The girls resumed their conversation as Katherine made herself comfortable, holding her bag on her lap as though it was some form of shield. This was bad, this was very bad. What the hell was she doing here? She'd barely been at the school for half a day and already she'd walked right into the lion's den!

"So me stepdad reckons he can get tickets but only fir one of the shite matches. Everything else is just way too pricey."

This was the girl with the brown curls and glasses. Surprisingly, for a school so deep in the South-East of England, she had the faintest trace of an Irish accent. It was subtle but it was there.

"You still going anyway?" asked the Ice Queen. For it had to be her, Katherine had no doubt.

"Well, ya gotta. Otherwise, ya ain't a real fan at all."

"Is that why you support someone at the bottom of the league? Because you're a ‘real’ fan?"

"Hey! What ya trying ta say?!"

As Katherine tried her best not to look like she was listening, she became aware of a feeling like somebody was watching her. She looked up and saw the black girl, the one with the smart uniform, staring at her as though trying to work something out.

Here we go. thought Katherine. What's it going to be first? The red hair? The bag? Clothes? Shoes? What? What are you going to start picking on me about?

"You're new, aren't you?" the girl asked.

Careful, Katherine, careful. You don't know what they do to new kids here. Don't lie, you'll only get caught out... but be ready to run.

"Er, yeah. How did you..." she replied.

The other girl smiled.

"Easy. You've got that whole ‘deer-in-headlights’ look. As if you don't know what to do next."

"I… I guess. There's a lot to take in."

The smile widened. Despite herself, Katherine found herself relaxing slightly. She'd seen a lot of nasty, predatory smiles over the years and this didn't really seem like one of those.

"Well, welcome to the school. It's not that bad once you get used to it. Just don't eat the shepherd's pie!" the girl said, winking conspiratorially.

"You had that last week. You liked it." interjected the blonde, her argument with the Irish girl having failed to go anywhere.

"I was making a joke. You know? A joke? Something to break the ice? Make our new friend feel a bit more welcome? Can't you just give me that? Huh?"

'Our new friend.' It didn't actually sound sarcastic to Katherine's ears but... who actually says that?

"Anyway," the black girl continued as she regained her composure, "welcome to the school, like I said, and welcome to our lunch table. It's a pleasure to have you join us..."

I doubt that. thought Katherine.

"... so let me introduce everyone. My name's Yolanda. Next to me is Fiona."

The Irish girl with the wild curls had started to eat an apple and was taken by surprise. She waved with her free fingers and wiggled her eyebrows in what was probably meant to be a friendly manner.

Katherine's first impression of Yolanda seemed to be accurate. The girl had an attitude of somebody used to being in charge. And also clearly used to public speaking. This felt less like an introduction and more like a presentation.

"The one cheating on her homework is Terri."

This had to be the short girl who, Katherine now realised, had been feverishly copying text from one sheet of paper to another.

"I ain't cheatin'!" came the indignant response. "How was I supposed to know there was questions on the back?! Who the hell does that to a person?"

"Just as well some of us pay attention, huh?" the blonde commented.

Terri stuck out her tongue in response without looking up from her work.

"And finally," interjected Yolanda firmly, "we have Claire. Who's having a mood today."

"I'm not having a mood. I'm just saying, that's all."

"It's not what you're saying, girl. It's how you're saying it."

"Well, I'm just saying the truth."

So, thought Katherine as the two bickered, the Ice Queen's name was Claire.

Claire the Ice Queen.

It doesn't fit somehow. Maybe a Helga? Or a Thora? Or... or...  Okay, so I don't know many nordic names. But she looks like she's some kind of Viking or something.

Something with a Z in it, maybe? Zena? Zora?

Hmm...  Why do they always end with an 'a'?

"An' what's yer name?"

Katherine started with shock. She'd let her mind drift and hadn't been paying attention. This was the Irish girl, Fiona, pointing a savaged apple core in Katherine's direction.

"Me? Oh, I'm... er... I mean... my name's Katherine. Katherine Pearson," she stammered, feeling the Blush threaten to rise again.

"Pleased ta meet ya, Kat. Ya got any food?"

"What?"

She's not about to try to take my lunch, is she? Katherine's thoughts raced. That's so childish! Surely nobody still does that, do they?

"It's half-past already. If ya don't eat soon, ya'll run outta time," Fiona explained.

"Oh. Right. Of course."

Katherine carefully removed a sandwich from her bag and tried to eat it in as non-attention-grabbing a way as possible.

So far so good, she thought to herself. Nobody has really done or said anything nasty towards me at all. Yes, they could be saving it up for later but normally I'd have had at least something by now.

As time passed and the end of the lunch hour drew nearer, Katherine found herself relaxing. The other girls around the table had been given many opportunities but had completely failed to be mean or unpleasant to her. Each other, yes, but that just seemed to be the standard, background-level way that they behaved. There were frequent arguments, but they never came to anything and were over as quickly as they started. In fact, the girls didn't argue or fight, Katherine realised, they squabbled. They bickered. There was no real heat behind it at all.

After a few moments, Terri finished her work. She looked up, saw Katherine for the first time and, without hesitation, said what must have been the first thing that came to her mind.

"Whoa. Your hair looks amazin'! It’s so red! Do you have to use a special conditioner for that or somethin'?"

This turned out to be a serious question and kickstarted a conversation about hair products that Katherine was able to join in on. It wasn't much but she started to feel that this might be a group of people she could cope with after all.

But then Claire, who had spent a few minutes silently thinking, turned to Katherine and asked "So, why did you decide to sit with us yesterday?"

Bitch. thought Katherine instantly.

"Somebody told me not to. They said you were trouble." she said defiantly. "So I did. I don't like being told what I shouldn't do."

She knew that wasn't entirely true but she thought it sounded good.

"Let me guess. Anne-Marie, yes?" asked Yolanda. Then, without waiting for a reply, she added "She still has it out for you, doesn't she, Claire?"

"It's not my fault." came the terse response.

Katherine saw all four girls start to focus on her and felt the Blush once again threaten to rise. Oh no, she thought, this could be bad.

"In what way did she say we were trouble, hmm?" Yolanda asked with a strange smile.

"I'm not... I don't think I really remember."

"Sure ya do, " chimed in Fiona, "tell us. We want ta know."

Shit shit shit SHIT! screamed Katherine inside her head. Never pick sides, never repeat what people say about each other, and never ever EVER get between two groups of people who are fighting. Especially not other girls. You know this. You KNOW this!

Then, suddenly, her mind changed. As she felt her cheeks burning from embarrassment and fear, it was as though a switch flipped in her brain. Screw it, she thought, I'm not doing this all over again. If it's a fight you want, then let's fight.

"Well, she said you were all gay." she stated defiantly.

The other girls looked stunned. As though they were expecting anything but that.

Actually the only girl who reacted was Terri. Her face instantly broke into a massive grin.

"Oh, is that all? Huh. 'Cos she ain't right... but she ain't exactly wrong neither."

"Terri..." Yolanda warned.

"I mean, Fi's the actual gay one. Me an' Claire, we're more bi, you know? An' Yolanda here, she's... '

"Terri!" Yolanda snapped. "That's enough! Try to engage your brain before you engage your mouth!"

"I'm happy ta admit it. It's the twenty-first century. Not gonna lie about it. " protested Fiona with a shrug.

"I'm not saying that, but there's such a thing as a time and a place."

"So why did Anne-Marie tell you that, precisely?" Claire asked Katherine as Yolanda and Fiona glowered at each other.

Katherine suspected she knew the answer to that one. She'd been thinking about it and believed she'd worked it out. Why would somebody tell a complete stranger that a group of people were all 'delinquent lesbians' as Anne-Marie put it? Either they were a homophobe or...

"I think she thinks you're all sleeping with each other."

There was silence. The sort of silence that only comes when people are deliberately not saying anything.

Oops, she thought, wrong answer. Now I really am in trouble. I wonder if I can change to a different school again?

But then:

"Yeah... I exactly wouldn't call it sleepin'. More like fuckin'. Fuckin' an' shaggin' with a lil' bit of screwin' mixed in."

"TERRI!!"

"Jaysus, Te. Way ta drop that one."

"What? It's true, ain't it?"

Only Claire didn't say anything, choosing instead to just smile smugly.

Katherine was in shock. This wasn't what she'd been expecting. At most, she thought the girls might have become friends as some sort of LGBTQ support group. There was something similar at her old school although, being a social outcast, she hadn't known much about it.

And she knew that people her age weren't all virgins. Even she had heard the rumours that people in her year were actually having sex.

But it was Terri's blunt, upfront, admission that surprised her. And not a single member of the group had denied it either.

Katherine caught Yolanda's eye in mute enquiry. The other girl threw her hands up in the air with exasperation.

"Alright, fine." she growled. "It's true. We do, sometimes, occasionally..."

"Frequently." Terri under her voice.

"... have intimate moments with each other..." Yolanda continued.

"Fuck like rabbits. HORNY rabbits."

"... but that's not all we do. We do other things as well. And it's not all that often, despite what SOME people would have you believe. It's just for fun, that's all. Nothing to make a big deal about."

Yolanda's composure was gone. The calm, collected, and firmly in control young woman Katherine had met earlier had vanished. All because of one, surprising but relatively small, revelation. It was alarming to see. But even more alarming was the speed with which Yolanda then recovered. Two deep breaths and she was back to normal.

"Of course, if this means you don't want to sit with us, I completely understand," she continued, sitting up as straight as a ruler, "but I would ask that you keep this private. It's not something the rest of the school needs to know."

So you're hiding who you truly are. Katherine thought. I've been there.

"Yeah, no, I get it. I think. But I'll stay if that's okay."

After all, I have to know if this is some sort of prank or something.

"Of course," Terri continued quietly, "we ain't actually done anythin' since I got rid of the bunk bed the other day and you made me squirt all over the new one."

"Hang on. Wait," interrupted Claire who clearly had something on her mind, "did Anne-Marie have anything else to say about us? Or maybe me specifically?"

Katherine knew exactly what she was asking about but she also knew that there was no way she was going to tell her.

Especially now. If Claire was the horrible person Anne-Marie had implied, if she was so nasty, then how could the other girls possibly be doing anything like that with her?

There must be something that Katherine wasn't getting.

"Er... she did call you a 'bad girls club' but I don't know..."

That was all Katherine managed to say before Terri burst out laughing.

"Yes! I love it! That's brilliant!" she cried joyously. "The Bad Girls Club! Yeah! We can make up some badges, have our own newsletter..."

"Get jackets with the club name on the back like in old 50s movies?" Fiona offered.

"Yeah? Yeah! Hell, why not? We could have Bad Girls Club-branded anythin' and everythin'."

"We're not a club, that's just silly," grumbled Claire.

But she was ignored. Terri and Fiona had taken the idea to heart and were too busy happily throwing merchandise ideas at each other, all while ignoring Claire's sardonic comments.

Thankfully, by the time they'd started discussing matching tattoos, the bell rang and the lunch hour was after. The girls got up from the table and, after giving Katherine directions to her next class, all went their separate ways.

For the rest of the school day, Katherine did her best to focus on her work. She had new classmates, new teachers, and new buildings to get used to. But, every so often, her mind would drift back to the question of sex.

Did those girls she met earlier really do what they said they did? Or were they making it up?

If they weren't making it up, then what was it like? What did they do? How did they do it?

And, more importantly, how could she herself have sex with another person if the opportunity ever arose?

For an inexperienced and shy virgin like Katherine, these were things that she couldn't even begin to answer. And yet they circled her head, making her lose concentration, and leaving her heart pounding, her mind racing, and her body wanting.

Finally, once school was over for the day and she was safely home in her bedroom, where nobody could see her, she decided to do something about it.