Lowewood Academy

“Nice stripes Cass,” Claudia laughed, and I sighed.

“Courtesy of a misinformed Maverick- don’t ask… let’s just focus on the task in hand. This greater-striped Abbotts is ready for some serious Dashwood domination on the track.” I grinned.

“Too right, let’s do this - hands in,” Theresa Malone replied. “DASHWOOD!” we all shouted then headed off down to the track.

Inter-house athletics is a fairly major school sporting event and we were all pretty psyched up. With the prefects customarily out of the picture for inter-house competition and into organising roles we mere mortals took the starring roles and stepped up to fill the rather big shoes the likes of Elizabeth and Jessica had left behind. I for one was up for it in every sense of the word- I was racing the 400m, 800m and 400m relay, and was hungry for some wins.

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“Jesus, Vinnie, what on earth was wrong with the cloths in the box with the polish?” I groaned, trying not to sound too cross. Mav was going to go mad. Totally and utterly insanely furious. Vinnie was clutching one of his beloved band t-shirts, which she had somehow entirely coated in black shoe-polish without actually getting any on his shoes.

“Well they already had polish on them, so I used this instead.”

“They’re supposed to have polish on them, that’s the whole point!” Blimey, I’d thought I was hopeless in all things domestic but the powers that be had genuinely managed to find someone more clueless than myself for Josh’s first year fag. Shoes are actually one thing I can do very well indeed; when your Dad’s in the Army you grow up thinking its normal for them to double as mirrors after a good polish. Looking at the shoes and surrounding carpet Vinnie obviously hadn’t had the ‘benefit’ of that experience.

“Besides, it’s a really ugly t-shirt, and it’s really old - from 2006! - so I don’t see why it matters,” Vinnie pronounced and I had to hide my grin.

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“I’ve half a mind to spank you again myself,” laughed George, my middle brother. We were lounging on the sofas in the rec room on my first morning at home, half watching ‘Casino Royale‘ but mostly just chatting.

“You wouldn’t dare! I can’t believe Sam told you and Chris that- it’s hardly suitable conversation for the dinner table!” I was blustering and trying to hide my embarrassment. I’d been vaguely aware that George and Sam’s brother Chris were friends at Cambridge but not that they were currently ‘bow pair’ in the John’s first Mays eight and thus inseparable. Nor that they’d been taking Sam out for a belated eighteenth celebration last night and of course that he would find it hilarious to regale them with the story of Friday night’s antics. I suppose at least he didn’t tell them all the details, or I’m pretty sure George would have lamped him as he’s pretty protective of me.

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It had started off as a few cheeky drinks in the dorm to celebrate the end of term and Cath’s suggestion of a game of ‘Truth or Dare’ had seemed like a good laugh. We perhaps should have stopped when Chloe had narrowly avoided crashing into Simon Maxwell whilst running topless down the corridor but common sense, alcohol and being just sixteen rarely mix.

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