The Circle (Hammer) - By Elfgren, Sara B.,Strandberg, Mats Page 0,39

together and crowned them kings?

But it doesn’t make any difference now. Those days are gone. Anna-Karin has seen to that.

Robin and Kevin have reached their table now. She turns to Julia and Felicia and rolls her eyes dramatically. They roll theirs back.

‘We were thinking of sitting with you, if that’s okay,’ Robin says.

Kevin pulls out the chair next to Anna-Karin. She stares at him as Julia and Felicia hold their breath. ‘I don’t think so,’ she says flatly, and Kevin lets go of the chair as if he’d just burned himself on it.

‘Maybe some other time,’ Robin says.

‘Maybe not,’ she says.

Robin is disappointed. He thinks no one can tell, but she picks up on everything.

‘’Bye,’ she says, and waves at him exaggeratedly.

‘Yeah. ’Bye, Anna-Karin.’ Robin sighs and shuffles off with Kevin in tow.

Felicia and Julia giggle behind their backs.

‘They’re such losers,’ Felicia says, just before they’ve moved out of earshot.

‘Soooo immature,’ says Julia.

Anna-Karin picks up her spoon and starts to eat the brownish-green pea soup. It looks disgusting but, these days, she eats everything. Her body is crying out for nourishment. She wonders how much energy her powers are sucking out of her. She can hardly stop herself from emptying the bowl into her mouth and swallowing it all in big gulps.

‘Where did you lot disappear to after history?’ Ida sets her tray down opposite Anna-Karin but ignores her. She sits down and glares accusingly at Julia and Felicia.

‘We just went ahead,’ says Julia.

‘To get a good table,’ Felicia adds.

Ida snorts. ‘You could have asked me if I wanted to come instead of running off like that.’

‘We didn’t run,’ Felicia retorts.

‘Well, excuuuse me,’ Ida says, then looks at Anna-Karin.

Her eyes are full of hate. But what can she do? Ida knows what Anna-Karin can do to her if she confronts her. Anna-Karin can make her reveal her darkest secrets, make her strip naked on the tables, whatever she wants. Ida drinks some water and looks away. She knows she can never win.

Felicia and Julia are clearly ill at ease. They seem to be searching for something to say, anything, to break the uncomfortable silence. Anna-Karin doesn’t offer any help. The awkwardness of the situation makes Ida seem even more of an intruder. The person nobody wants around.

Felicia’s eyes search for something to comment on. They land on Vanessa, who’s standing by the salad bar. ‘What the hell is she wearing?’ Felicia snorts.

Julia and Ida start giggling hysterically. Vanessa is dressed in a pink shirt and a skirt that is so short it’s essentially a belt.

‘I don’t know what she’s doing here,’ says Ida, staring at her almost covetously. ‘I mean, what’s the point of her being at school now? It’s not as if she’s going to do any more with her life than squeeze out a few kids.’

Vanessa turns and looks straight at them. Julia and Felicia almost collapse in a fit of laughter. Vanessa doesn’t bat an eye lid. She pins her gaze on Anna-Karin, who has to look away.

Her expression has said everything. Anna-Karin may be able to trick everyone else, but she’s a fraud. Vanessa knows it. And so does Anna-Karin.

The old insecure Anna-Karin wants to let down her hair and hide behind it. But she’s someone else now. She’s in control. ‘Vanessa’s cool,’ Anna-Karin says. ‘She does her own thing.’

‘Exactly. She’s definitely got her own thing going,’ Felicia agrees quickly.

Anna-Karin looks at Ida. Her lips are pressed together in a thin line. She gets up. ‘This food is so disgusting – I can’t eat it. Are you two coming, or what?’

Julia and Felicia stare demonstratively into their bowls. As she waits a few seconds too long for an answer, Ida takes the silver chain hanging around her neck, wraps it around her finger and then lets go, setting the little silver heart spinning. There’s a hint of uncertainty in her eyes that Anna-Karin has never seen before. And when she walks away, nobody watches her go.

The red and yellow leaves in the forest around Kärrgruvan seem to glow in the afternoon sun. Minoo is sitting on the edge of the stage looking at Rebecka, who is standing in the middle of the old dance floor. A small tower of brightly coloured wooden bricks, borrowed from Rebecka’s siblings, stands next to Minoo. A rectangular green one hovers in the air above the tower before landing gently on top of the others with a faint click.

Rebecka rubs her forehead. Then she blinks and trains her eyes on the