Zodiac Girls: Brat Princess by Cathy Hopkins Read Free Book Online Page A

mind , I thought.
    Minutes went by and I took another peep. He
hadn’t budged.
    “I’d give up now if I were you,” Selene advised. “He
can stay like that for decades.”
    “I am not going to give you my jewellery,” I said.
    “Yes you are, Missy. Everyone else does. Studs,
piercings, bangles and beads. All in the bag.”
    “They’re not worth anything. Honest. I have much
more expensive jewellery at home and you’re welcome
to that just… please, don’t make me take my locket off.”
    “And what’s so special about the chain?” asked
Selene.
    I really didn’t want to talk about it. I didn’t talk to
anyone about it. I didn’t talk about any of my real
feelings or fears. Not any more. I hadn’t for a long time.
“Nothing. Just I… I always wear it.”
    “And now it’s time to hand it over,” said Mario.
    “No. Look,” I said as I slipped off my bracelet and
took out my studs. “You can have these. Come on. Meet
me half way. I’m co-operating.”
    Mario took the jewellery I handed him and put it in
the bag then looked back at me. “Now give me the
locket,” he said.
    “ No .” I felt a rising panic at the thought of being
without it. “And you can’t bully me.”
    “Not bullying you, missie. Just that’s the rules. Now
come on, what’s so special about that chain?”
    I pushed the feeling of panic away. Down deep
inside. I wasn’t going to let him know that I felt
intimidated. I’d learnt that lesson long ago with Poppy.
Never let them see how scared you are. “My sister
gave it to me.”
    “And you’ll get it back at the end of the
programme. Now hand it over.”
    “No. No. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.”
I lashed out at him with my arms and went to kick him,
but he stepped back in the nick of time. Instead my foot
crashed into the wall.
    “OWWWWWW! Oo-oo. OWWWWW. And now
you’ve made me hurt myself. I HATE you. You’re
HORRIBLE,” I yelled. They could never understand about
Poppy and me, I thought. Why should they? “And I’m NOT
getting changed into those clothes either. I mean,
navy? Hel LO ? So last decade.”
    I wanted to throw an almighty strop, but got the
feeling that I’d gone far enough and a mega tantrum
wouldn’t wash here. I also felt like I was going to cry.
I started to shiver and Selene looked over at me with a
sympathetic expression on her face. “Okay, look,
Leonora,” she said. “I’ll cut you some slack seeing as
this is your first night. You put the clothes on, you can
keep the locket on. How about that?”
    My first instinct was to tell her to shove it, but it was
late. I wanted my chocolate milk-shake and fries. I
wanted to go to bed and get some kip. I wanted these
crazy people off my back. I nodded. “Okay. But ask
him to leave.”
    “I’m away,” said Mario. “No way I want to see your
sorry butt in the buff.”
    And off he went.
    “Good girl,” said Selene as I picked up the clothes.
She handed me a cup of what looked like water. “Now
drink this water.”
    “Water? With nothing to flavour it?”
    Selene nodded. “It’s all you’re getting.”
    “Okay but is it Peroni? That’s the brand I drink.”
    Selene gave me a “Don’t be so stupid” look. I took
that as a no, so I took the cup and drank, but only
because I was about to die of thirst or else I wouldn’t
have touched the stuff.
    “Good girl,” she said again.
    I turned my back on her. She annoyed me. They all annoyed me. I wasn’t a good girl. I knew I was bad. I
took off my clothes and put on my prison outfit. I was
exhausted, but tomorrow, tomorrow, she was going to see
just how difficult I could be. And so were the rest of
them. “Okay. So, please, can I go to my room now?”
    “Sure,” she said. “Follow me.”
     

Chapter Six

The others
    “No. This can’t be right,” I said as I looked around the
dingy, narrow room that Selene took me to. With the
windows so high on the walls that you’d need to stand
on a