brands like DKNY and Boss.’
‘I did try some of theirs, but all their stuff is way too long for me.’
‘They’ll have tailors or something that do the alterations,’ points out Scarlett who I think is taking to me being rich faster than I am.
They want to know exactly what I’ve bought so far and what I’m planning on buying next. We’re not supposed to have our phones on in school hours but I pull out my brand-new iPhone and flick through various sites so I can show the girls what I’ve got. They ooh and ahh appreciatively. I practically drown in a chorus of, ‘You are so lucky!’
‘That is going to look so cute on you!’
‘Do you think I could borrow that?’
I show people the hotel we are going to stay at in New York. Not the one that cost 80K because Mum vetoed that but we’re staying at one that looks really good anyhow.
‘When are you going?’ Nella Wang asks.
‘The week after half term.’
‘Term time?’ Everyone looks surprised, a few gulp in a melodramatic way. It’s to be expected, we are fifteen-year-old girls and yeah, we are excitable! Term-time holidays are a rebellion, maybe even an act of war because the Head is dead strict about people taking time off during term. I still can’t believe Mum agreed to it. I think she only did in the end because the people at the lottery recommended that we get away ‘to take stock, take a breath’ and Mum couldn’t get half-term week off school because nearly everyone in her office has kids and they take turns about who gets to go on leave during school holidays. The ones with younger kids get priority. Mum said she’s going to call the Head today and explain.
‘Do you think you’ll get permission?’ asks Liv.
‘What can Coleman do? He can’t chain me to the desk.’ Everyone laughs at this and we start to make jokes about whether the Head and his wife like bondage sex.
Basically, I’ve become a very funny person since I’ve become a very rich person.
I don’t see anything of Ridley or Megan. They are probably skulking about somewhere, keeping out of my way, drowning in their own jealousy. For the first time in years I don’t care what they are doing. And realising I don’t care is a huge relief. The win has freed me from needing them. And I tell myself that I don’t want them either.
None of my new friends are taking the bus home because they really are staying after school to train for hockey or netball. As I had no intention of doing so, I don’t have my kit with me, my bag was full of luscious totes, so I have to travel home alone. I don’t mind because it’s been such a fantastic day. A bit of alone time is bearable after being centre-stage all day. I decide to pop into the toilets, even though the bus drive is only twenty minutes; it’s been so hectic I honestly haven’t had time to even wee.
I never sit, I hover. Opinion is divided on this one. I don’t really believe you can catch any germs from the seat, not unless your bum has an open wound on it, but why risk it and putting paper all around the seat is bad for the environment. Mum says I should just sit because I’m more likely to get an infection by not emptying my bladder properly. I literally pretend she hasn’t spoken when she says stuff like that.
I hear them before I see anyone.
There’s sniggering and the door of the cubicle next to mine swings back on its hinges, bangs. Suddenly, Ridley is peering over the top of my cubicle. I am so mortified because my knickers are around my ankles. Not that he hasn’t seen that part of my body, but he hasn’t seen it peeing. Rushing to cover up, I straighten up a moment before I stop peeing. You can guess how that works out. I pull up my pants but he’s already taking photos. It’s just stupid. Totally fucking stupid. I’m humiliated and angry at the same time. Pissed off that he’s ruining my perfect day but also terrified that he’s pranking me to this level. Photos of you drunkenly falling over are bad, photos of you pissing your pants are so much worse.
He’s laughing his head off.
I burst out of the cubicle and try to grab the phone off him, but he is tall and easily