My Life As A Teenage Girl - Part Two free porn video

The crowd of Year Sevens that had gathered around us were quick to disperse by the end of lunchtime. They may have been desperate to look cool and popular by standing or sitting near us, but as soon as the bell rang and the teachers started closing in, they turned into frightened little sheep. Dozens of them hastily returned their ties to their original positions, some almost choking themselves, when the teachers began scanning each of their uniforms. Lucy was quick to explain to the teachers who each of us were, and so we were saved from being mistaken for Year Sevens and herded into classrooms for the rest of the day. We disposed of the remainders of our lunches and exited the main assembly hall, then walked through a mostly empty courtyard in the middle of the school, and waited outside the main gates until our parents came. Mum and Dad arrived not long after and gave all four of us a ride back to the cul-de-sac, since Poppy's parents were unavailable. Mum was ecstatic when she learned that Poppy and I were in the same tutor group, as well as in many of the same classes together. Dad was proud of us for completing our first day of school, even if it was just two hours of walking around and talking. We all knew that our real first day of school would begin when we woke up the next morning, bright and early at 6:30am The rest of the day passed by quickly, as my sisters, Poppy and myself were all worried about the next morning. Both of my sisters kept relatively quiet at the dinner table that night, as both of them had a lot more to worry about compared to me. Neither of them had their own Poppy, a friend in the same tutor group that was also a new student. Sure, we had each other, but that was only at home. Once we entered those school gates, we would separate and my sisters would be on their own until they made some friends. I was confident that two pretty girls like Lauren and Lucy could make friends quite quickly, but they still had to get through their first day. My sister's silence was overshadowed by the enthusiasm of our parents, who were in the middle of a non-stop discussion about our new school situation. Mum took turns in asking us if we'd made any friends, to which each of us replied with very vague answers whilst we ate. Dad then brought up the subject of who would take us to school every day, which was particularly confusing because the family only had one car. Ever since my family had moved away from London, things had become much more confusing. Not only had they welcomed a third daughter into the family, but they had brought a drastic change to their way of life. Usually my sisters could just walk to school, Dad would drive to work and Mum would stay at home. But now that Dad wasn't living near his job, he had to decide whether he would quit or wake up at 5:00am every morning to get to work on time. All Hallows wasn't just around the corner from where we lived, so my sisters and I would always need a lift to school in the morning, which would be fine if we had two cars. Another problem was that if Dad did leave his job in London, it would mean that Mum would have to go back to work. Dad had a high paying teaching job, which was enough to sustain the family. But if he got a new job, the salary wouldn't be enough to maintain the much bigger house that we were now living in. "We'll figure something out. We don't want any of you girls to worry." My parents said. We were nervous enough with our first day nerves, so my sisters and I mostly ignored the talk of money problems. That night I slept in my slightly more furnished and decorated room, which Dad had spent most of the day working on. I think my parents decided to decorate my room first because I was being given special treatment, since I had only joined the family a couple of weeks ago. My sisters didn't seem to mind the favouritism. In fact, they encouraged it. However, my special treatment didn't exactly allow me to decide how my room was going to be decorated. My parents were intent on giving me a highly feminine upbringing, in the hopes of removing anything in my brain that made me think I was a boy. This meant that the dirty white carpet that I used to have in my old room was replaced with a clean violet carpet, and the walls were covered in lavender coloured wallpaper with purple trim at the bottom. The old four-poster queen size bed was still there, but its white paint was now covered in a coat of light pink, and the plain white bed sheets were now a light pink as well. Mum had chosen the colours. White laces curtains ran between each of the four posts, and a dozen stuffed animals were perched on the end of the bed. At the other end were four light pink pillows, along with several cushions, some of which were heart shaped and each of them varied in colours such as sky blue, violet, rose, pink, yellow and turquoise. The old vanity table had been replaced by a brand new and much more modern version. The old one was home made and falling apart, but this one was professionally made. The desk was at least a meter long, and a huge mirror was attached to the center and rested against the wall. Two folding mirrors were attached to the sides of the central mirror, making it span the length of the desk and allowing me to see the sides of my head and not just the front. Either side of the empty space beneath the desk, where the vanity table's matching pink cushion chair was located, was a stack of four pull-out drawers, each of them half filled with accessories, perfumes, lotions and makeup. Lucy said that I would eventually fill the each of the drawers myself, and that soon my vanity table will be "Overflowing with everything a girl needs to beautify and groom herself, and much more." Even if I was now certain that I had always been a girl, I wasn't exactly the type of girl who cared that much about my appearance, so everything on and in the vanity table meant very little to me. All I cared about was the large flat screen TV, which was tucked neatly into the corner of the room, between the vanity table and the window. The TV stood on top of my chest of drawers, which was filled with all of my feminine clothes, none of which had any hint of masculinity. It was easy to forget about all of the feminine things in my room, once I had got under the covers and sunk into the incredibly comfortable paradise that was my bed. I had tried to maintain some of my old habits, such as going to bed in my underwear. This was easy enough with the panties, but wearing a training bra to bed was quite painful. So for the first couple of nights in my new home, I went to bed in just my panties, leaving the ever-growing mounds on my chest free to dangle. It was awkward at first, but as the hours went by my nipples seemed to get more and more irritated. That little freedom experiment ended a few days later when my Mum came into my room to wake me up. I slid out from under the bed sheets, rubbed my eyes and then saw Mum giggling at me. She called me a "Silly baby" and humiliated me further by asking in a babyish voice, "Only little baby girls walk around like that. Are you a baby girl Eleanor? Do you want me to treat you like one?" I crossed my arms and grunted a, "No," whilst Mum directed me to the chest of drawers. "Then why don't you wear the pyjamas I bought for you?" Mum said in a slightly disappointed tone. Ever since then, Mum made sure I wore my pink satin pyjamas whenever I went to bed. At least they were comfortable, and at least I wasn't the only one who had to wear what Mum told them. She also made Lauren wear a matching pyjama set, but hers was purple. Lucy and Dad were the only ones who were able to decide their own nightwear. Anyway, I woke up on the morning of my first day at school. Not because of the traditional alarm clock, since I had forgotten to set the alarm, but by Mum knocking on my bedroom door and shouting, "Eleanor! Time to get up." A blast of anger shot through me as I was pulled from my dreams and back into reality. My body replied to Mum with an involuntary whine, and I pulled the covers up over my head, muttering "Just a couple more minutes." Since I hadn't been to school regularly for over a year, I wasn't used to the school routine of waking up and getting dressed this early in the morning. I was used to waking up at 11:00am, not 6:35am as the clock was telling me. The only good thing was that I didn't feel as tired as I would normally be if I woke up this early, since the rules of the Dawson family were much stricter than the non-existent rules of my previous family. Every night since I became Eleanor Dawson, I had been going to bed at 9:30pm as my Mum and Dad told me to. Mum always said that "all girls need their beauty sleep" whilst Dad explained that I was too beautiful to need beauty sleep, but going to bed early would prepare me and my sisters for the early morning routines of a regular school year. So no matter how hard I tried to fall back to sleep, I just couldn't because my brain was already awake. As I slowly sat up in bed, Lauren knocked on the door and quietly stepped into my room. She had clearly just woken up like me, as her hair was all over the place and she was wearing her purple satin pyjamas. "Hey Elle," she said with a yawn. "Hey Lo," I replied with a tired smile. My sisters and I had bonded enough to the point where we would call each other by our nicknames. Lucy's nickname was Lulu, but she always preferred Lucy. "Are you ready for today?" Lo asked as she sat on the end of my bed. I sat cross-legged on the bed and rubbed my eyes again. "As ready as I'll ever be. I've done all the tests and they say I'm ready," I said. "No, I meant are you ready to be the new girl in class? I'm so nervous about stepping into my form room where the only one that knows me is my form tutor," Lo said, sounding like all of her quiet worrying from last night was boiling over. "Don't worry about that Sis, I bet there'll be a bunch of girls in the room who will love for you to sit next to them. You'll have a bunch of friends instantly." I said. "That's easy for you to say Elle, you've got Poppy and you're super pretty," Lo pouted at me. "Sis, we're practically twins. If I'm super pretty, then you're super pretty," I said. I felt oddly proud being able to say both of us was 'super pretty'. Lo grinned and said "You have me there, Ellie," She leaned over to me and placed her hand on top of mine. Lo's nails had been carefully looked after and were in much better shape compared to mine. Where her nails were perfectly shaped, smoothed and shiny, mine were square, rough and dull. My nails had grown long enough, and I had kicked my nail biting habits, so at least I was able to stop using the fake nails which Suzanne had bought for me a while back. No doubt that when someone noticed the state of my nails, they would decide a trip to the nail salon was desperately needed. "Okay, we should go down to breakfast. Mum and Dad are waiting," Lo said, and suddenly her hand gripped around mine and pulled me up from the bed. The silky satin material of my pyjamas moving against my smooth skin was a feeling that made me feel fragile and feminine, a feeling which in the past would make me think I was a sissy. Now that I was really a girl, I knew that all these delicate materials and feelings were going to eventually become part of my life. Lauren, Lucy and Mum were all used to it by now, but satin, lace and silk were all very new additions to my wardrobe. The sound of hot water being pumped into the upstairs shower room filled our ears as Lauren and I walked downstairs in our bare feet. It was a sound that we heard every morning, and a sound that meant that Lucy was in the shower. Lucy was always the first in the shower in the mornings, and would claim ownership over the upstairs shower room for almost forty-five minutes every morning. Mum told Lauren and I that Lucy takes a lot of pride in her appearance, and decided not to reveal any grisly details when she went on to say that being an older girl required more work in terms of feminine hygiene. Whenever Mum and Lucy mentioned 'feminine hygiene' in front of Lauren or I, they were always very vague and the phrase "you'll find out when you're older" became somewhat of a family motto. I had feeling that all this talk of feminine hygiene was something to with the "bleeding" that Mum was talking about the day before, but I was honestly too scared to ask her or Lucy about it in case I found out something I didn't want to know. The problem was that Mum also took a lot of pride in her appearance, so that meant that she and Lucy often argued about how long each of them was spending in the shower room. Some times it looked like they had mutually agreed on taking turns, whilst at other times they were like two bloodthirsty cats fighting over a wounded prey. However, I knew that whenever they left the shower room, they would look as beautiful as the models in the glossy magazines that my mother and sisters loved reading. Not that I read them as much as my sisters, it was just that fashion and gossip magazines were often found in my room, left on my bed by my sisters whenever they came in to watch TV with me or talk. One of these magazines was lying on top of a pile of post near the front door as Lauren and I reached the bottom of the stairs. It was the latest release from Avon, which I knew was more to do with makeup, so I quickly forgot about it. When Lauren and I finally reached the kitchen, Mum was sitting down at the dining table wearing a white terrycloth robe and her dark-blonde hair was tied in a messy bun behind her head. She was holding a steaming yellow mug and her eyes were scanning the job section of a newspaper, but when we walked in a loving and caring smile spread across her face. "Well, don't you two look cute in your matching pyjamas?" Mum said. "They don't match Mum," Lauren said tiredly as she and I took our seats opposite Mum at the table. Breakfast had already been laid out in front of us, and it included two slices of French toast, some bacon and a glass of orange juice. Breakfast varied from time to time, but orange juice was always there. "I know they don't match Lauren, but they are both the same size and material. You two should be glad you have the same measurements, otherwise poor Ellie wouldn't have any clothes to wear," Mum chided Lauren, and then smirked at me. "Morning girls," Dad said in a strangely jolly tone for the morning. He walked out of the small utility room where the fridge and washing machines were kept, and he was holding a mug of steaming coffee in his hand. "Hi Dad," Lo and I said together. Dad knelt down beside me and puckered his lips. I knew what was coming so I tilted my head away from him, so that he could make a better connection when he kissed me on the cheek. The morning kiss on the cheek had become a routine event in the morning, and the feeling of Dad's stubble and soft lips briefly touching my cheek was something I had got used to quickly. Not easily, but quickly. The first time Dad kissed me on the cheek, I was taking totally by surprise. He leaned in and pecked my cheek, and then he was gone. I felt like being sick, but I didn't say anything and Dad moved on to kiss Lucy and Lauren's cheeks too. I eventually learned that Dad always did it with Lucy and Lauren, and now that I'm his daughter just like them, he'll treat me just like he treats my sisters. Mum was the only one that noticed my disgust when Dad kissed me, and came into my room later that day to tell me it was nothing to feel disgusted by. Mum said that, as girls, we should expect to be kissed a lot by our friends, often as a way of greeting each other. The only reason I felt disgusted was because a part of me still thought like a boy, so to that part of me, being kissed by another boy was wrong. A kiss on the cheek from Dad was just his way of showing how much he loved us, and he did it every morning. If anything, it was a constant reminder to myself that I now had the loving family that I had always dreamed of having. Mum was quick to assure me that after a couple of months of being called a real girl, anything in my mind that told me otherwise would be gone. Dad knelt down between Lauren and I and gave my non-identical twin sister the same kiss on the cheek. Lauren was used to being 'Daddy's little girl' and so she was delighted every time she made Dad happy. It was no different this morning as she gave Dad a beaming smile as he made his way around the table. He rested his free hand on the back of Mum's chair, and leaned down towards her. Mum turned her head up from the newspaper and her eyes met with Dad's for a few seconds, then Dad moved closer and his lips met with Mum's. This was also a common occurrence during breakfast, but usually Mum and Dad gave each other a quick peck and then it was over, but this time they both stayed for longer and their hands were slowly moving towards each other's necks and faces. Lauren and I had to watch whilst Mum and Dad effectively made out in front of us, and they acted as if we weren't even there. We knew that our parents were madly in love, and public displays of affection were not unusual, but stuff like this (I imagined) was usually reserved for the bedroom and in private. For some reason they were intending to show us, or they were too happy to hold back. Lauren's reaction was silence, whilst mine was more like a loud "Eugh" or "Yuck", basically it made me feel sick. Mum and Dad's moment only lasted about five seconds, but compared to the usual one second peck on the cheek, it felt like years longer and much more uncomfortable to watch. Lucy interrupted them as she walked down the corridor and into the kitchen, wearing another white terrycloth robe and twirling her damp long hair between her fingers. "Whoa. It's too early to be seeing that," Lucy said, feigning dizziness. "Yeah, get a room," Lauren added. Mum and Dad disconnected from each other's faces and Dad sat down in his seat at the end of the table, whilst Lucy sat beside Mum and opposite Lauren and I. "Sorry girls, your Dad and I are just happy about the decision we made last night," Mum said. "To make out in front of us more often?" Lucy asked, smirking. "Don't encourage them Lulu," Lauren grinned across the table at our older sister. "Don't call me that!" Lucy replied haughtily. When I said she preferred being called Lucy, I forgot to say that she despised anyone who called her Lulu. "That's enough of that you two," Dad said, trying to calm things down as Lucy and Lauren sent each other evil glares across the table. "And no more snarky comments from you," Mum said, looking directly at Lucy. "What did you decide?" I asked nervously. "It's good news darling, nothing to worry about," Dad smiled at me whilst Mum gave me a comforting smile from across the table. They were always quick to stop me from worrying. "Your Dad has decided to leave his job in London," Mum said, giving Dad a thankful look. "How is that good news?" Lauren blurted out in a confused tone. "Well I know it sounds like bad news, but this way I wont have to travel from here all the way to London, and you'll all be able to see me in the mornings," Dad said, smiling. "But what about money? If you quit Dad, then Mum will have to work," Lucy said. "Oh don't worry so much Lucy. Now that there isn't a storm cloud over our family, and all of my daughters are back together, it's about time I went back to work," Mum said happily. "But didn't you say you liked being a stay at home mum?" Lucy asked. "Yes darling, but I love teaching more than I love staying at home," Mum said happily and laid her hand on top of Lucy's to try and calm her down. "Your Mum and I thought we would go back to working together in a school," Dad said, both he and Mum had wide smiles on their faces as if their minds were already made up. "You're both teachers?" I asked, partly because I hadn't known what my parents did for a living aside from finding their kidnapped children, partly because I had hardly spoken in the conversation so far. "Well I used to work as a sort of sports therapist in London, but before that I was a P.E teacher," Dad said. "Your Dad's always been a P.E teacher at heart, Ellie dear," Mum smiled at me. "Whilst you were always a bit of a geek, weren't you miss Science and English," Dad leaned closer to Mum, smirking at her. "Dad," Lucy stated firmly, and Dad quickly leaned back in his seat. "I taught Science and English classes at a school quite like All Hallows, but in Bristol. That's where your Dad and I met," Mum said, smirking. "So you're going to teach at the same school?" I asked. "Yes honey, we hope to be," Dad said. "Good, maybe you'll embarrass the students there more than you embarrass us," Lucy said. Lauren, Lucy and I shared a long girlish giggle at our parent's expense, but I don't think any of us were thinking about which school our parents might be teaching at. There were dozens of schools in the area, but All Hallows was still one of them. We all finished our breakfasts quietly, and then the morning routine was back on track. My sisters split off into their separate rooms, whilst I avoided my room and took my turn in the shower. The upstairs shower room in this house did have a lock on the door, so I didn't have to worry about people walking in on me. But now and forever, I wont have to worry about people seeing male parts hanging between my legs. When I thought about it, I realised I didn't have anything to hide even when I was stuck in Kirsty's house. Mum and I had come to the conclusion that what I thought was a penis between my legs was just the product of some deep hypnosis, that somehow meant that whenever I looked down there I would see male parts, not the female parts I had been born with. Although, even if I had been born with a hole between my legs, a hole which had been there my whole life, it was still new to me. Whenever I looked at myself naked in the mirror and peered between my legs, the hole was like an alien, or an unexplored world. Aside from the unknown black hole between my legs, I had been noticing more changes down there. My hips were growing wider and rounder as the days passed. At first the changes were hardly noticeable, but now after a couple of weeks I could tell my waist was narrower than my hips. The mounds on my chest were still growing, but they were also still quite small, and the hair between my legs was getting thicker and softer. All of the changes so far were very small, but I knew I was no longer flat chested and straight edged. I was starting to develop curves just like the girl's in the glossy magazines, just like my mother and sister. No doubt Lauren was noticing changes in her body as well. In the shower I proceeded to soak and smother my hair in various shampoos and conditioners, scrubbed all over my body with a soapy sponge, making sure every inch was clean. I had some waterproof tape over the piercings in my ears, to protect them from the water, since they still had to be left in for at least another month or so. When I exited the shower, I initially wrapped a large white towel around my waist, but then I reminded myself to pull it up over the small mounds on my chest as well. Next, with my body slowly drying, I squeezed a small handful of lotion into my hands and began to methodically rub it in to every inch of bare skin, particularly my arms and legs. The lotion was supposed to keep my skin smooth, soft and hydrated, which Mum said was "one of the many things we women do to stay beautiful." I knew that if I didn't bother to shampoo my hair or apply lotion to my body, like I would of normally done in my previous home, Mum would be on my back in mere seconds. She would not exactly demand it of me, but she did persist until I eventually gave in to her demands. She stopped short of applying the lotion and washing my hair herself, which made me glad to be living with her and not Suzanne. Lucy and Lauren were already moisturising and cleansing their skin every day, and it had quickly become part of their routine. Mum wanted her daughters to keep their skin super clean, and after a couple of weeks of persistent nagging each morning, she didn't even have to ask me, I did it myself and didn't complain. Lucy called it "A small price to pay for everlasting beauty" which I guess was good, but I just did it to make Mum happy. I will admit that moisturising every day has left my skin feeling delightfully soft to the touch. After cleansing my face and drying off my hair with the towel until it was only slightly damp, I quickly tip toed across the shower room and slid into a pair of white cotton panties and clipped a clean training bra into place. I lifted one of two remaining terrycloth bath robes from its hook, this one was pink, and draped it around my shoulders, then held the two sides together as I snuck out into the hallway. I could see Mum standing beside the huge king size bed in the parent's room, wearing a silky blue knee-length skirt but with nothing covering her black lacy bra. She was facing away from me, running some gold painted hair straighteners through her hair, so I tip toed down the corridor and out of her sight. I passed the open door to Lucy's room, and saw her holding a fluffy brush to her cheek and dusting it lightly against her skin. She didn't notice me sneak by as she was focused on her own reflection in her vanity table mirror. I couldn't think of why I was trying to be so sneaky, but I guess I just didn't want to disturb them. I knew that the beauty routines that my mother and sister's went through in the mornings was something that girls seemed to treasure, and the fact that I didn't really pay much attention to all that made me feel a little bit inferior. My sneaky attitude was quickly interrupted when Lauren burst out of her room, and sprinted past me. "Don't spend so much time in the shower Ellie, if you're not careful you'll end up like Lulu," Lauren smirked at me, as if she would rather make fun of Lucy than be angry with me for stealing the shower. Lucy stormed to the entrance of her bedroom, already wearing her school blouse and skirt, and shouted, "Don't call me LULU!" But Lauren had already disappeared into the shower room. "No running in the house!" I heard Mum shout back, but it was more of a general warning rather than it being directed at anyone. Lauren certainly wouldn't have heard Mum as the sound of the shower had already begun to echo around the house once again. Everyone quietened down as soon as I got into my room and closed the door, and any other sounds were blown away as soon as I plugged in a black hairdryer. It was one of the few pieces of beauty related equipment in my room that I knew how to use, since I didn't want to go near my own curling iron or hair straighteners, each of which had been bought just for me. Using the hairdryer had also become routine for me, along with brushing my hair several times each day and keeping it healthy each morning. Taking care of my hair in general had become engraved into my brain, and often I'd find myself brushing my hair when I'm bored, without even realising it. It was actually styling my hair that was the problem, since I didn't exactly know many styles aside from a ponytail. I knew that as I got older and experimented more, I'd learn more styles. Just recently I'd discovered how to create a good-looking side parting, which had become my current favourite. Once my hair was dried and brushed until it was its usual straight self, I started combing my hair across from the left to the right, leaving a fringe that skimmed across my eyebrows. Sometimes I liked to leave to fringe down because it looked cool and edgy, but for my first day of school Mum had stated how important it was to show everyone my face so they'd recognise me later on. I decided to use my limited hair styling skills to pin my fringe to the right side of my face using a fairly inconspicuous yellow hairclip, which almost matched my golden blonde hair colour to make it partly invisible. I let the rest of my hair flow straight around my face, hiding nothing, whilst reaching down to my nipples in length. I was glad that I'd actually found a style that I was happy going to school with, since for several days I'd been struggling to find one that worked. It was the first time I'd ever actually worried about how I looked, and I was glad it was over. I was also glad to be finished with everything from my neck up, since putting on clothes was incredibly easy compared to styling my hair and looking after my skin. The cleansing and moisturising left my face with a clear and smooth look as well as a healthy glow, but if Lucy was anything to go by, I knew at some point I'd be using make up as well. Right now I didn't consider going near the stuff, but neither did Lucy when she was my age. As she got older, her opinion changed and now she doesn't go anywhere with at least a bit of makeup on. Its like girl's Lucy's age can't not wear makeup, and as soon as they reach Year 10 and are allowed to wear it in school, they take full advantage. I'd learned from Kirsty that even the girls in my year still wear makeup in school even if they're not allowed, but I knew I wasn't one of them. However, in a deep dark part of my brain, there was someone saying ominously, "At least, I'm not one of them yet..." As soon as I was done with my hair, I rushed through the process of putting my uniform on, since I didn't want to be the one that made everyone else late because she spent too much time looking in the mirror. Of course, rushing myself as I got dressed was inevitably going to leave things like my tie being a bit loose, or a section of my blouse not tucked in. But I'd rather have an untidy uniform than be hated by my sisters for making them late on their first day of school. I wore a pair of black ballet flats along with the rest of my usual school uniform, which included the black pleated skirt that I used to hate. By now I was starting to get used to the freedom of a skirt even if it made sitting down more awkward and potentially embarrassing. The pink Roxy backpack, which Mum had bought for me, was still something I hated having on my back. It stopped short of being an expensive and highly feminine Italian bag, but still made me feel small and girlish when it was compared to some of the boy's bags at school. A red one would have been better for me. I still needed it to carry all of my books and papers, since I didn't have anything else, so I reluctantly grabbed its handle as I was heading out the door of my bedroom. Lauren was exiting her room just as I was closing my door, and she was dressed just like I was, and looked as rushed as I was as well. Her blouse was hanging out beneath her blazer, and her tie was uneven like mine. It was clear that we both despised having to look so nerdy in our uniforms, but if I really looked like her, I knew we could still look pretty amazing even with our shirts tucked in. "I see you're getting the hang of styling your hair." Lauren smirked at me. I felt my cheeks get warmer and redden. "Thanks Lo, your hair is excellent as always," I smiled at her. Lauren had brushed her hair behind her head and carefully winded strands around each other to create a braided ponytail that she let dangle over her left shoulder, tied off with a black velvet bow. "You don't think it's too much for my first day?" Lauren asked worriedly. "It's perfect for your first day, both of you look beautiful," Dad said, smiling up at us from the bottom of the stairs. He looked like he'd been waiting down by the front door for years. Lauren and I grinned at each other and proceeded down the stairs, where Mum and Lucy were nowhere to be seen. We looked at Dad and he gave us both a confused shrug, so for all we knew they could still be getting dressed. "Where are they?" Dad asked. "Lulu probably has her face stuck to her mirror again," Lauren said, she and I smirked at each other. "Lauren, I don't want you calling your sister Lulu anymore. You know she doesn't..." Dad began, but Lucy was coming down the stairs and asked "You know who doesn't what?" "Ellie," Lauren blurted out. "Ellie doesn't want to be late on her first day," She finished. "None of us do," I added. Mum was pulling a denim jacket on and was walking down the stairs behind Lucy, an apologetic look on both of their faces. I had a feeling Lucy wouldn't look as apologetic if it was only Lauren that didn't want to be late. "I know, I know. We still have a good fifteen minutes to get there, don't worry yourself too much Ellie," Mum smiled comfortingly at me. A quick glance at an old clock in the corridor told me it was 8:15, and all students had to be outside their form rooms at 8:30, so Mum was right. "No more delays," Mum announced as she waded past us, grabbed a set of car keys from a conveniently placed hook beside the door, and then stepped out into the open. The rest of us followed her out and each walked to a separate door on the family car, a six seater black Chrysler Voyager, which Dad had driven over from the old family home in London to replace the old campervan. Poppy and her parents were rushing out of their house just as we were getting into the car, but there was enough time for us to notice each other and wave. There was a look of nervousness on her face, just like I imagined there was on my own face, but our parents didn't give us a chance to talk about it. "Eleanor, you heard your mother, no more delays," Dad said as he lowered himself into passenger seat, Mum was already closing her door whilst my sisters were already buckling their seat belts. I gave Poppy one last look, and saw her mother telling her to get in their car too. Poppy looked at me and pointed at her car, giving me another apologetic look. I nodded at her and suddenly shouted "I'll see you at the school gates" and she nodded back with a relieved smile. Both of us knew we'd always meet and talk when we got to school, but actually saying it to her at that moment must have eliminated any fear we had of not getting to talk. Poppy disappeared into her mother's car, and so I did the same. It felt like we were racing to get out of the cul-de-sac first, and if we were, then I was in the lead as Mum was already reversing the car out of the driveway. When the car briefly stopped as Mum was changing gear, the front door of Kirsty's house swung open and Suzanne stepped out with Kirsty and Hayley behind her. Hayley wasn't old enough to go to All Hallows, but her school was on the same route. Hayley's school didn't have a uniform, so that meant Kirsty always had to wait for her sister to pick an outfit before they could go to school in the morning. Mum started driving forward and I waved at Kirsty as we passed by her. She gave me a tired smile and waved back, and then she tilted her head in the direction of her brown haired and slightly chubby younger sister. Hayley was already barking commands and talking at her family rather than with them, and she had been doing that since she got back from summer camp several days ago. The return of her sister meant that Kirsty had been almost unreachable for the last few days, since her mother wanted Kirsty around to look after her little sister whenever she was alone in the house. I could tell that Kirsty and her mother were glad that school was starting, since that would mean Hayley was the school's problem for every day up until the Christmas break. We were the first the get out of the cul-de-sac, closely followed by Poppy and her mother, with Kirsty behind them. There was hardly any conversation in the car, Lucy was sending texts on her phone whilst Lauren and I were idly gazing out the side windows during the five- minute drive through residential areas and high streets. The drive was only five minutes depending on the traffic, but it was apparently a fifteen-minute walk, so we all preferred the car. The only sounds we heard on the journey were the electronic beeps from Lucy's phone and the sound of the engine speeding up, slowing down and stopping. Lauren and I weren't allowed phones, whilst Lucy was old to enough to be trusted with one. Lucy rarely ever spoke into the phone, always using text messages, but we thought she might be getting a rare phone call when a custom ring tone began echoing around the car. But it was Dad who picked up his phone and answered, within seconds of the first ring. "Hello?" he said. "Yes, speaking," Dad went silent as the person on the other line started speaking, but we couldn't hear what was being said. Lauren and I were only partly interested by who was calling Dad, our minds elsewhere, but Mum was frequently shifting her hopeful gaze between the road and Dad, whilst keeping her focus on the road. "That's fantastic," Dad said in the same jolly tone from earlier. "Yes, we'll call you back later with our decision. Thanks, bye," Dad stuffed his phone back into jeans pocket, and caught me looking at him as he turned in his chair. "Nothing to worry about darling," he said with a smile. I caught Mum smiling in the rear view mirror at the front of the car. "Who was it Dad?" I asked. "It's good news kiddo, all I'll say now is that none of you have to worry about money problems. I'll tell you the rest when you're all back home," Dad said. "We're here!" Mum announced, and abruptly halted the car outside the fences of the school. There were hundred of students all wearing the uniform, some were small, others were tall, some fat and some skinny. They were walking down the outside of the school, on the pavement between the road and the school perimeter fence. Not all of them were walking in the same direction. Some were walking in opposite directions, towards the side entrances and back entrances. The main entrance that we had used the day before was now being used for staff vehicles, and they weren't letting any student in that way, so we were being directed to small pedestrian gates further away. Lauren, Lucy and I carefully opened our doors, hoping not to hit a student in the face as we got out. I pulled my backpack out of the car with me and the three of us gathered on the pavement beside the car, next to Mum's window. We waved at our parents and began to flow with the crowd towards the side entrance, but Mum placed her hand on my shoulder before I could get away. "Eleanor, aren't you forgetting something?" Mum asked knowingly. I reluctantly took a step back and said, "But Mum, not here, not in front of everyone." "Nonsense, give your Mum a kiss," She said, and I even more reluctantly leaned forward and traded kisses on the cheeks with Mum, and then waited whilst she did the same with Lucy and Lauren. "Good luck you guys," Dad said. "Have fun girls, and don't get into trouble," Mum smiled at each of us and then drove off. Thankfully none of the students passing by had decided to care about cheek kissing, so each of us joined the pack and walked through a small, two person wide pedestrian gate that led us around the staff car park. Lucy filed in behind Lauren and I, walking between us as we approached the large blue gates of the school again. Lucy leaned down between Lauren and I and said, "Okay guys, the Dawson sisters are about to rock All Hallows. Remember to meet up at lunch and check on each other." "Lunchtime, yeah. Good luck you two," I said, and then the three of us split off in the direction of our form rooms. Lucy walked down a large courtyard with cars parked around the edges, whilst Lauren walked through a blue door into the English quad, both of them disappearing into large swarms of black uniforms. Once again the walk to my form room was only a couple more steps, but I was much more cautious and quiet as I took those steps this time. A crowd of girl's and boys had gathered around the door to Ms Moon's drama class, each of them roughly as tall as I was. Poppy was leaning against the wall of the Drama department with her arms crossed, waiting for Ms Moon to arrive. It looked like Poppy hadn't introduced herself to any of the other students, since all of them were either ignoring her or were too scared to introduce themselves. As I joined Poppy in leaning against the wall, we gave each other a quick hug and traded very quiet and nervous hellos. We found out from some of the group discussions going on around us that the door was locked, so we were going to have to wait until Ms Moon arrived. "I don't think any of them know that we're new. They haven't said anything to us," Poppy said nervously. She was right, nobody had said anything to us, but we had been getting a lot of glances and stares from some of the boys. A couple of the girls had also examined us with some curiosity, and I'm sure I heard a couple of them whisper something about Kirsty. Ms Moon arrived a few minutes later, holding a blue clipboard. Today she was wearing a more formal outfit that included a white cardigan over a plain blue top, along with a knee length blue skirt and some strappy sandals. Her outfit may have looked casual compared to other teachers in the school, but it was smarter compared to her black jeans and red turtleneck from yesterday. Along with the blue clipboard, there were a number of lanyards hanging from her arm, one holding a set of keys and another holding a thin card, which was probably her ID. As she arrived, the mass of students around Poppy and I ended each of their group conversations and turned all of their attention to Ms Moon. The girls were all trying to give her hugs, whilst the boys were all waving and shouting her name. Not her 'teacher name' but her real first name, Jenny. It was obvious that she was a sort of celebrity to her students, as well as a friend that they all looked up to. As I watched my future classmates shower Jenny in adoration, I couldn't help but feel like Poppy and I had struck gold when the school had put us in Jenny's tutor group. "Okay guys, two announcements before we go down to the assembly," Jenny said excitedly whilst recovering from the barrage of hugs. "Firstly, my heart has been empty this summer without all of you," Jenny only had to say one little joke and the whole tutor group was roaring with laughter, though Poppy and I still giggled along as well. "I hope we can all build on the friendships we made last year, as well as start new ones this year," Jenny continued when the giggles died down. "Which brings me to my next announcement. We have two new girls joining us this year, firstly we have our very own flower Poppy Jones, give us all a wave and say hello!" Jenny flashed a smile across the crowd and a red faced Poppy shyly waved her hand, quietly saying "Hi." "And with Poppy is our newest blonde beauty Eleanor Dawson, but she likes to be called Ellie or Elle. Say hello Ellie," Jenny's smile at me had the same effect it had on Poppy, as I felt my skin begin to warm up and my cheeks redden. Already the whispering had started before I copied Poppy's nerve ridden "Hi." The whispering was coming from most of the girls, saying things like "Isn't she friends with that girl in Year 9?" "That popular girl?" "Yeah, she and Kirsty are best friends." After that last well-informed whisper, a bunch of the girl's smiled at us welcomingly. Blondes, Brunettes, Redheads, Jet Blacks like Poppy, all of them were smiling at us. The sudden change in expression from the girls made me think back, back to when Ms Darcy was dressing me for the first time in my new school uniform. Maybe being Kirsty's best friend was really going to make me popular, and this was just the beginning. "Okay, we'll have time to welcome Pops and Ellie into our group during afternoon registration, but right now we have to get down to the main hall for the Year 8 assembly. Everyone into register order and we can head off." As soon as Jenny called for everyone to get into register order, the nameless girls around Poppy and I rushed towards me. They practically barged Poppy out of the way as they ruthlessly competed to be near me, pushing and shoving past each other until Jenny intervened. "I said register order, not destruction derby!" Jenny shouted. "You should all remember the order from last year, or do I have to teach you the alphabet again?" Jenny asked with a teasing grin. The nameless faces of the group all replied with a humiliated "No Ms Moon" and began filling into a neat single line. By now we were the only group of students in sight, as everyone else was indoors and taking part in the first registration of the year. "Ellie, you're in between these two lovely ladies," Jenny placed her hand on my shoulder and ushered me into the line, between two girls who were almost exactly the same height as me. Both of them smiled at me as I slotted in between them, but I couldn't tell if they were happy that I was joining them, or happy because they'd won the competition to stand next to me. Jenny then moved down the line and directed Poppy into her spot, which was quite far down the register order compared to where I was. "Okay you know the drill guys, say where you are when I call your name," Jenny said as she walked back up to the front of the line. She readied a pen before she called the first name on the register, Ashleigh, to which a brown haired girl at the front of the line replied with "Here," Following Ashleigh was a blonde boy called Ben, and after him came Charlotte, a girl with strawberry blonde hair, and then came the girl in front of me. She was another golden blonde like myself, but her name was Courtney. Her golden blonde hair fell in rough tangles around her shoulders and reached down to the small of her back, whilst a dozen freckles were dotted under her eyes and on her nose. I then noticed that Courtney, as well as the rest of the girls in our tutor group were all looking very normal. Their hair was either flowing down their backs, or tied in ponytails, and they seemed to be wearing no make up whatsoever. At least, my untrained eyes couldn't see any makeup. Lucy had told me that girls try to make their makeup look as natural as possible, so maybe these girls were just very good with their brushes and creams. Or they were all just naturally good looking. The reason the girls around me looked fairly normal was because they all looked a bit plain compared to most of the older girls, who had entered the school with gallons of makeup painted on to their faces. Even though the school apparently had rules against wearing extreme amounts of makeup, there were girls with incredibly dark eyes, bright coloured lips, and eyelashes so long that I wondered how they kept their eyes open all the time. I heard a gentle voice say my name. "Ellie," the voice said, but I continued to daydream. It wasn't just their faces. Many girls had arrived on the first day of school with so many different varieties of hairstyles. Some had their hair cut short to make me think they were boys, but when they faced me I could tell they were girls. If their slim figures and wide hips weren't enough to prove their gender, two mature teenage breasts tightly encased in a silky white shirt and a black blazer definitely were. The colours of hair differed as much as the lengths. There were girls with hair so blonde, it was almost silver, and hair so black that it almost blended with the uniform and made it look like they were wearing a hood! It was exciting, and at the same time scary, thinking that I might grow up to be like these girls. With all their outrageous styles, not one of them looked normal. They had all done something to their appearance to make them different from the crowd, but at the same time seemed to be placing themselves in another crowd. The girls with pitch-black hair and dark makeup seemed to group together, whilst the girls with bleach blonde hair and bright makeup had formed into one big herd. There were variations inside these groups, of course... Not all of the bleach blondes were blonde, they all just seemed to act and talk the same girly girl way. Whilst the pitch-black haired girls were all fans of the dark make up, as well as loud screaming music. "Ellie!" Jenny raised her voice and brought me out of my daydreaming. I hesitated for a moment and finally said "Here", which brought an awkward smile from Jenny as she ticked something on the register. "Not all teachers are as lenient as I am with daydreaming, Ellie," Jenny said, smirking. "Sorry Jenny" I said nervously, and felt my face begin to redden. Jenny leaned forward and lightly tugged on my cheek, gripping it between her finger and thumb like some old granny. She smiled and said cheerfully "You're cute when you're embarrassed." I smiled nervously and held my cheek as Jenny continued on down the line, with the rest of the tutor group quietly snickering amongst themselves. "I really need to stop rambling on inside my head," I muttered. Jenny continued calling out the register, with a short brown haired girl called Isobel behind me, followed by James, Jamie, Jodi, Joshua, Justine, Katie, Laura, Marissa, Michael, my best friend Poppy, Rebecca, Rosan, Rosie, Ryan, Sarah and at the very back was a short black haired girl called Summer. When the register was finished the girl at the front, Ashleigh, began to lead the line of students into the school. I had no idea what was actually going on, so it was a relief when Jenny walked up beside me to explain everything whilst the tutor group marched past classrooms, some empty and some full. "I forgot about the Year 8 assembly on Tuesdays Ellie, so we'll just have to get you and Pops properly introduced to the group at afternoon registration instead," Jenny said apologetically. "How did you forget?" I asked, wondering how a teacher could forget the first assembly of the year. I guess I only really saw her as a teacher, not a normal person with their own life to worry about as well as their teacher life. "Well, I just got used to the routine of last year," Jenny said with a slight sigh. "We had assembly every Monday morning, and it was easy to remember because it was the first thing we did in the week. It'll take a while to get used to it being on Tuesday, but we'll get used to it. Eventually." Jenny smiled down at me, and I nodded along as we walked past another tutor group standing in a line outside a classroom. At the front of the line was a large balding man with a greyish goatee, as well as an aura of grumpiness around him. He looked coldly at Jenny as our tutor group walked past his, and Jenny stared back at him blankly. Considering Jenny was always happy and smiling, a blank expression from her was a big statement. I looked up at her and asked, "Who's he?" as we turned into another corridor lined with classrooms and other tutor groups. Some were walking in the same direction as us whilst others were still calling out the register. "Never mind him," Jenny said. "Do you forgive me?" she asked. "Oh, yeah, of course I do," I said with a smile. Teachers were as likely as students to make mistakes on the first day of the school year, but if I'd known what was going to happen in the assembly, I might not have been so forgiving. We briefly marched outside before heading into the main lobby where several corridors connect. It was like the main hub of the school, with several lines of students pouring out of each corridor. I thought I caught a glance of Lauren in her tutor group, but I couldn't be sure as I was slowly realising that we weren't the only girls with golden blonde hair. Jenny slowed down and made me keep walking, whilst she disappeared down the line, probably to tell Poppy what she had just told me. We filed in behind another tutor group and slowly made our way into the main hall, where row upon row of chairs had been laid out with a small corridor going up the middle. It was just like the day Lucy and I had received our uniforms, except now there weren't any parents to protect us. We walked down a small corridor than ran down the length of the main hall and even further, towards the Maths department and beyond. It was much more convenient compared to the right side of the hall, where the chairs were pushed up against the windows and only allowed one entrance and exit. I imagined this little corridor on the left side of the hall would prove to be quite useful, if I ever had to... say, go to the toilet during assembly. Thankfully my bladder was being quiet, so I didn't have to worry about that. There were small columns that ran along the corridor, separated by a few meters, with each column adorned with a laminated sheet with the name of a tutor group. There was 8W1 at the back, followed by 8M1 and then our tutor group 8C1, at which point Ashleigh turned and started making her way down the row of chairs that had been set out for us. I didn't get a chance to see what was on the last column, but I imagine it was something that included 8 and 1. I knew what the eight meant. It was our year group, but I had no idea what the C or the 1 meant. It was just one of the many things I would eventually understand. I began carefully making my way down the row of chairs, following Courtney in front of me. There was hardly any leg room between our chairs and the chairs in front, and I felt extremely conscious of my black pleated skirt swaying around my legs as I carefully manoeuvred my way around metal chair legs, which I felt were only there to trip you up. I copied Courtney and the rest in front of me as they shrugged off their backpacks and slid them under their chairs, and then followed suit as they calmly sat down as if the obstacle course of chairs never existed. Isobel and the rest of the tutor group sat down beside me, and then when the row was full they began to fill up the row behind us. Tiny gusts of wind blew at the back of my head as the other half of the tutor group moved behind me, and then I felt much more than a little gust of wind as someone placed their hand on my shoulder. At first I glanced at the perfectly rounded and glossy pink nails on the slender fingers that hung down from my shoulder, then I looked at a silver charm bracelet that wrapped itself around what was clearly a girl's wrist. Then I felt her soft skin brush against my hair and her soft lips briefly touch my ear as she quietly said, "They're never going to split us up." I turned my head and saw her grinning as she pulled away and sat down in the chair directly behind me. It was Poppy, smiling from ear to ear at the fact that even after the alphabet did its best to split us up, we still ended up sitting next to each other. I grinned back and began to speak, but my words weren't loud enough to be heard over the shear noise of every student in the hall adjusting their chairs and standing up. Poppy and I quickly stood up ourselves, just before the sound of chairs scraping the varnished wooden floor had stopped and the hall fell silent. The silence was calming, especially after all the chaos and preparation that built up to our first day of school. But that soothing silence vanished as quickly as it came, as the deafening sound of high heels clicking on the floor filled everyone's ears. It was Mrs Dunne, the head teacher, marching her way down the central corridor towards the front of the hall where a microphone was waiting for her. Her old white hair was tied in a tight bun, whilst pearl earrings hung from her ears and a pearl necklace hung around her neck. She was wearing an ankle length red and white floral dress, and altogether looked like someone old granny. But she didn't smile like a nice old granny, she smiled proudly as she walked down that corridor, as if she was some sort of goddess that everyone seemed to worship. I hated her from that moment on, and just wanted to sit down to show she wasn't as high and mighty as she thought she was, but I couldn't. Not on my first day. She seemed to walk slowly on purpose, making everyone stand up until she got to the front and, after a few minutes of preparing, she snapped her fingers to make every student in the hall sit down. She smirked evilly as hundreds of bums hit their chairs on her command. All the teachers remained silent as Mrs Dunne cleared her throat and began speaking into the microphone, her voice reverberating around the hall through several speakers. "I'm glad to see you all here once more, and I'm sure you all had a very fun summer break," Mrs Dunne looked up from her notes and smiled. "Now let me remind you all, that break time is over and its time to get back to work, back to sorting out your futures." As well as myself, everyone else in the hall seemed to let out a very sad sigh, even the teachers. "Now, as with every new year, we have several new additions to our friendly little group," Mrs Dunne smirked as she scanned the hall, looking for these new additions. When her eyes briefly stopped on me, I could tell she meant new students. My heart sank, fearing the worst. "So I would like to call Andrew Lewis, Danielle May, Eleanor Dawson, Lauren Dawson, Nicholas Richardson and Poppy Jones up to the front, so we can all get a good look at you." At that moment I swear I saw Mrs Dunne morph into a crimson red creature with two horns, a long thin tail and a trident. With a sticky label on her chest that said, "Hi, I'm the Devil." My heart felt like it sank even further down, which made getting up a very hard thing to do. My shattered nerves were briefly calmed by the knowledge that nobody else was getting up either. Even Poppy, one the most confident people I knew, was glued to her chair in silence. "We don't have all day," Mrs Dunne said, sounding slightly irritated. That was when heads started to turn, looking for the lucky six and waiting for them to stand and be recognised. Our fellow students of 8C1 were showing a bit of solidarity by not looking directly at Poppy or myself, which stopped everyone else from realising we were new. Courtney and Isobel either side of me knew that they had the chance to push me out of my chair so everyone could see, but they didn't. They just smiled at me briefly, without looking at me for too long. Several moments passed before Mrs Dunne spoke again. "Do I have come to each of you and pull you out of the crowd myself?" she groaned. Still nobody moved. Perhaps it would have been easier to get up if everyone was clapping and shouting our names, and the head teacher wasn't so terrifying. Jenny leaned down and whispered down the row of students as loud as she could, probably trying to stay hidden from hundred of curious eyes. "Ellie! Poppy! You're both incredibly smart and pretty girls, so why don't you show every else? Show them how our tutor group has more courage than any other!" Jenny scream-whispered, and gave us both an encouraging smile. I slowly turned in my chair and looked at Poppy, who nodded at me with a red face full of fear. I nodded back and turned to face the front once more, took a deep breath to prepare myself, and then waited for Poppy to move first. She didn't move at all, so I realised I had to lead the way. I took another deep breath and watched as Isobel and Courtney seemed to simultaneously place their soft hands on my bare knees and squeeze gently, without really looking at me. I smiled at both of them, and then that was enough to light a fire under my bum that made me shoot up out of my chair. Not enough to fire me through the roof, but enough to get me on my feet. However, as soon as I was on my feet, I just wanted to sit back down again. I knew I couldn't, because that would create a more embarrassing situation compared to just standing at the front for a bit. I felt like every eye had suddenly focused on me, included the evil eyes of Mrs Dunne, like every eye had extended out of its socket and started poking every part of my body. I looked behind me, and among the hundreds of staring eyes, Poppy was standing with me. We nodded at each other once more and began making our way down the row towards the center of the hall, carefully stepping over people's feet and the odd chair leg. I looked down at those I was trying to get past, and each of them were all smiling proudly, and then I looked behind me to see Jenny and the rest of the tutor group smiling as well. That was when the clapping started, someone far away in another group just started applauding us, and then someone in another far corner did the same. Ben was the only one who didn't pat me on the butt as I stepped past him, and it was the same for Poppy. Soon our nervous expressions were exchanged for grins, as the whole hall seemed to be applauding us as Poppy and I finally reached the open channel between the two sides of the hall. I felt like I could do anything in that moment, such as throw something at Mrs Dunne, but all that ended up running through my mind was Lauren. Her name was called as well as mine, but she didn't have a Poppy to help her get up out of her chair. Poppy and I were the only ones, bar the teachers, who weren't sitting down. None of the other names called were yet to stand up, and remained hidden amongst the crowds of Year 8's who were applauding and shouting our names. They only shouted the girl's names that were called out, since none of them had any idea which one of the six names were ours. Maybe they were just shouting all of the names to try and encourage the rest of us new students to stand up, but it wasn't working. Poppy started walking towards the front of the hall, but I stayed where I was, scanning the clapping crowds for any sign of Lauren. It would be much easier to spot her this time, since I'd be able to see her face, but I still struggled to find her as the clapping and shouting started to slowly die down. They must have thought I was trying to milk the applause for all its worth, so thankfully I was able to find Lauren before their cheers and shouts turned to moans and boos. Lauren was sitting on the end of a row of chairs, maybe eight or ten rows back from where I was sat. She was clapping along with the rest of the hall, trying to hide the fact that she was supposed to be up at the front with me. I rushed towards her, but that only made me become even more aware of my skirt, and self-conscious about it blowing between my legs as I ran and giving everyone an embarrassing glimpse of my white panties. So I slowed down, took smaller steps, and felt my hips sway ever so slightly as I moved. I grabbed Lauren's hand and pulled with all the strength I could muster, and Lauren eventually decided help me out and get up to her feet, at which point the applause started to build once more after a very Jenny-like voice shouted "Woo!" Lauren and I stepped back into the center of the hall, ready to walk up to the front and join Poppy. I let go of Lauren's hand, but she instantly wrenched my hand back and clutched onto it with almost as much strength as I'd used to pull her out of her chair. She grinned at me as we started walking up to Poppy, who was waiting near the front of the hall. "I thought you were going to forget about me in your big moment of fame, sis," Lauren smirked. I grinned and briefly glanced around us, spotting two boys getting out of their seats, and another girl already following us down the center of the room. The applause growing once more as the rest of the new students appeared. "Never" I smirked back at Lauren, for once feeling like the big sister out of the two of us. Poppy joined us at the front of hall, and we were each directed to stand to the left and just behind Mrs Dunne, who looked absolutely furious as we strolled past her. "Someone doesn't like us stealing the spotlight," Poppy said, and the three of us grinned together whilst Mrs Dunne shouted desperately into the microphone to regain control.