The Mag Hags by Lollie Barr Read Free Book Online

they thought should be editor, and handed the papers back. ‘Right,’ said Wanda, opening each individual note. ‘One vote to Mand. One vote for Belle and, no surprises here, one vote to Cat.’
    The suspense was unbearable.
    â€˜One vote to Maggie,’ said Wanda as the other girls looked on, bemused. ‘And the final vote goes to … Maggie! Maggie, congratulations, you are officially the editor.’
    â€˜This is rigged,’ said Cat. ‘How can Maggie be the editor? She blushes every time she talks!’
    â€˜No way,’ said Belle, still trying to take in the result. ‘Maggie? That’s crazy.’
    Maggie tried not to look hurt – but secretly she knew it was a ridiculous idea.
    Everyone turned to Mand, expecting her to go completely off her nana.
    â€˜Actually, I think Maggie will be fantastic. She must know more about words than all of us combined with the amount of time she spends in the library.’ The others stared at her open-mouthed, but Mand was just glad that she didn’t have to take orders from Cat. Besides, Maggie would be a bit of a pushover.
    â€˜Thank you, Mand,’ said Maggie, surprised. ‘Look, we don’t need to fight over this. I’ve got a great vision for the magazine that encompasses all of us doing what we’rebest at. I know I’m not friends with any of you, but I do know Belle is an amazing artist.’ She turned to Belle. ‘I saw that painting at your house and I went to Mr McGary’s class and saw some of your work hanging on the wall. It’s amazing. You should definitely be the art director, in charge of how everything looks.’
    â€˜Thanks,’ said Belle, softening. ‘I do love art, and I’m a bit of a boffin when it comes to digital design.’
    â€˜And Cat, you’ve got some pretty amazing social skills. You know how to get people to do what you want,’ said Maggie.
    Cat was not sure whether to take this as a compliment or an insult.
    â€˜Your suggestion to get in touch with Tyler was fantastic,’ continued Maggie. ‘Everyone loves reading about celebrities. Why not try and track him down? You could be the celebrity editor. And even though it’s never fun to be on the receiving end of your put-downs, you can actually be very funny. So you can be in charge of the humorous features. What do you think?’
    â€˜Yeah, that could work,’ said Cat.
    â€˜And Mand’s right about having serious issues in the magazine …’ Maggie was beginning to enjoy this. She’d spent a sleepless night before the meeting really thinking about the magazine and what it could be like, and now the words were flowing. Maggie was finding it easier and easier to articulate her ideas and, unbelievably, the othersseemed to be listening. ‘Just because we’re teenagers doesn’t mean all we care about are boys and shoes. I think you’d be an amazing features editor because you’ve got so many ideas and I know you’re brilliant at English.’
    â€˜You know what?’ said Mand cracking the first smile they’d seen on her face since the project started. ‘I’m in. Let’s go for it.’
    Just then two boys sauntered over to the booth.
    â€˜Hey Con, can you imagine this bunch of mag hags ever beating us?’ said Gav Estery with a nasty sneer.
    â€˜Mag hags,’ said Con Zelicki, laughing like a cat with a fur ball stuck in his throat. ‘That’s a good name for this bunch of loser chicks.’
    Mand gave him the finger. ‘Why don’t you and Neanderthal boy there go back to the swamp you crawled out of before I tell my friend Hoolio you’re harassing us.’
    â€˜Someone call me?’ said Hoolio on cue, standing right behind the boys and towering at least a metre above Gav. ‘You wouldn’t be being a nuisance to these fine ladies, would you?’
    â€˜Off you go then, cheese