Tora (The Tora Trilogy Book 1) by Lucy Nichols Read Free Book Online Page A

age, their expressions convinced her that reform school was a bludge.
    “But you get used to it. Eventually. If you find ways to pass the time.” Ariana twisted a small ring around her forefinger. She pulled out her satchel and dug through her bag, pulling out a hairbrush and a box of hair dye.
    “Hey, while you’re here, you could do me a favour.” She said, throwing anonymous items into a separate plastic bag and tossing it over to Eva.
    Eva crossed her legs over the bench and went through the bag. There was everything from hair extensions to green hair dye. All Eva could think of was Ariana sure got bored often, to be able to have all these hairstyling products, unless she held an unofficial casual job as a hairdresser at Combe Bank.
    “Um. Oh-kay.” Eva said, roaming through the bag. There was so much in the bag that she wasn’t exactly sure what she was looking for. “What do you do with all this – this stuff?” She asked.
    “Don’t worry, you can say it.” She cracked a smile. “People call me a ‘hairoholic.’ But I don’t own all these things. I just pick things up from around the place, you’d be surprised how many girls dye their hair here, you know .”
    Not really , it wasn’t surprising at all. Eva thought, glancing over at a cluster of girls standing outside at a building cladded in the colour of yellowed teeth. There was no diversity here. All girls were wearing the kind of shabby black unoriginal clothes that Eva’s mother would never let her wear. Like Eva, pale skin was a common feature amongst them, as well as tattoos, studded necklaces and impossibly high heels that looked painful to walk in. They had a rough gothic look about them, a certain kind of hardness that she had occasionally seen back in Boca Raton. They, were the kind of girls who died their hair crazy colours. If any blonde haired girls were out there, she would have picked them out from the crowd by now. Maybe Ariana’s comment was a joke, but she hadn’t been paying too much attention to her comical expression at the time. When a few girls turned around to see what noise was going on behind Eva, they caught her studying them. Simultaneously, they scrunched their faces, and raised their devilish eyebrows shooting her a “mind-your-own-business-look;” angrily whipping their heads back to the main source of action. Eva, baffled, realised how stupid and intrusive she must have looked to them. It was true, she should have been more cautious around here. Considering all the schools she been at, she should have been treading more carefully. Besides, did she want to make enemies or friends?
    “Oh dear.” Eva wondered aloud.
    “Huh?”
    Ariana suddenly jerked her head up quickly, oblivious to what had just gone down.
    “Never mind.”
    “Most of the girls do it to experience a change.” Ariana continued on with their last conversation which Eva had already lost track of, twirling a loose strand of dyed hair in a loop around her finger. They cover themselves up I guess.”
    “You mean they like to change their identity?”
    “Exactly.”
    The closest Eva had got to dye her hair was when she’d used bleaching powder in year seven at a friend’s sleepover. It was like a ritual at her old school, a symbol of teenager-hood. But the next morning her mother was furious and made her scrub the minerals out of her scalp. So that was the end of that craze.
    “How did you end up here?” Eva asked.
    Ariana hesitated. “Let’s not go there.” She said quickly, looking away as though she was embarrassed about something.
    She turned to Eva and said, “How about we talk about you, Eva instead.”
    “How do you know my name? She asked.
    “Um honey,” she said in a shrill voice, putting a hand to her hip, breaking into a laugh and gave her that you-have-a-lot-to-learn glance.
    “ Ev..er..y..one knows who you are. You’re the newest girl since the new semester broke out. News gets around like a lightening flash around