As they climbed onto the bus, Michelle pulled her bag off of her shoulder and started handing out Avons and insults that would get her sales. Chip however, had her gaze fixed on the back of the bus that was completely full. She knew of Michelle's plan by the smirk that crossed her lips when Erin asked where they were going to sit. She also knew who took the seats at the back, Mandy's little sister. So she, without the others knowing, slipped into the middle seat at the back of two spare rows. She did not want to get involved but knew that if she said anything to Chelle, she would be pulled into the drama anyway. So she did not say a word. That was until James looked at her peculiarly, wondering why she had sat down without the others. She looked up and whispered, "If you don't want to have trouble with Sister Michael, I'd sit."
And James, not wanting to get into trouble with Sister Michael on his first day, sunk into the seat next to Chip without asking any further questions. After a few seconds of silence, the girls appeared around them looking uncomfortable and forlorn. Even Orla, who hopped over the seats in front of Chip and into the window seat beside her, sat and ate her bag of pick n mix with a brief frown.
"How long does this fast last?" Chelle asked as the bus pulled away from the stop, beginning their journey to school. Chip's head turned instantly at the mention of a fast, not wanting her friends to fall onto the awful path that she had become accustomed to.
"Twenty four hours," Clare answered quickly then reluctantly glanced at her watch, not wanting to read the true time. "So I still have... almost twenty three hours to go."
"A fast Clare?" Ciara cleared her throat, worry for her friend beginning to boil in the bottom of her stomach. Fasting suddenly wasn't easy on the body nor the mind, as she knew from experience. It got easier after the first twenty four hours as the hunger dulled and died down.
"Do you want to sponsor me Chip?" Clare asked brightly, fumbling for her bag for the piece of paper folded in one of the pockets.
Ciara thought about it for only two seconds before she dug into her jacket pocket, pulling out the coins that she had taken from her Mammy for lunch. "Two pounds," she replied, feeling a surge of joy at the sight of Clare's thankful smile compared to her dulled expression beforehand.
As they reached a checkpoint on the road, not even halfway through their journey, Ciara sighed and leant onto Orla's shoulder. She shut her eyes and squeezed them shut, just desperately wanting to go back to bed and sleep off the gnawing feeling that had enveloped her entire body. "You look a bit Peaky," Orla whispered, poking Chip's cheek with her finger.
"It's the bus," Chip frowned, answering without opening her eyes, she was not exactly going to tell them the real reason, given that no one knew anything about her issues with food.
After ten minutes, where Chip edged closer to sleep with every passing second, someone nudging her shoulder pulled her from near sleep. She, with a deep frown, opened her eyes and scowled at Michelle who had turned around to interrupt her sleep.
"You think if I told him I had an incendiary device down my knickers, he'd have a look?" she whispered, smirking as she leant over the seat in front so Chip could hear easier.
"Michelle. He's a soldier," Erin grumbled in reply, strictly staring at the font of the bus without redirecting her gaze.
"Ach, some of them are rides."
Chip mumbled back, leaning against Orla's shoulder as her eyes fluttered closed again, "There was a massive ride down the bridge on Tuesday."
Michelle was silent for a moment, thinking as she remained to peer at a near sleeping Chip, "Curly hair?"
"Oh aye," Chip smiled softly as the image of the guy popped back into her mind.
Michelle nodded and sunk back into her seat, "She's right, massive ride."
-
Ciara silently slipped away from the group just as they were about to head into the hall for the morning assembly. She had a habit of just disappearing and reappearing without telling anyone where she was, the girls were used to it so never asked questions. She walked alone down a dark corridor, the only sound being the echoes of her boots against the freshly polished laminate flooring. As instructed, she knocked thrice on the heavy door at the end of the corridor then slipped herself into the office, checking that no one had seen her entry. "I've been made away from your situation, Ciara," Sister Michael announced as she sunk into one of the chairs facing her desk.
"Please don't call me that Sister. You know I hate it," she trailed off, looking above the sisters shoulder in order to avoid the arguably concerned expression the headmistress possessed - despite how odd it was to see..
Sister Michael sighed, placing her silver pen onto a pile of papers on her desk. Ciara felt like she had been thrown back into the doctor's office once again. She had the same annoyed feeling in her stomach, the same panicked fire spreading up her spine at the thought of her finding out secrets from her private life that she did not want anyone to know. Especially not a headmistress who could tell anyone by a singular announcement in the morning. Ciara knew deep down that Sister Michael was not likely to do anything of the sort but her brain still flew into its usual dark web of distrust. "Fine... Chip. We need to lessen your workload as well as-"
She interrupted quickly, clearing her throat of the panicked thickness that had started to make itself known. "There doesn't need to be any changes to my timetable sister."
"Your doctor said so, and your Mother. Profusely."
"Aye but they don't know all that will happen if people start to notice I'm not in Pe lessons. Rumors spread like fire amongst teenage girls. They get contorted and at some point, it'll come out that I'm... pregnant or dying or something," Ciara ranted, trying to keep her voice as convincing as it could possibly be.
Sister Michael visibly thought it over for a few moments, silently staring into the distance before she nodded. "Very well. But I cannot allow you to partake in Pe."
"I don't anyway," Ciara shrugged. It was true, mostly. She just stood in the back for most sports, not trusting herself to get involved with things that could end up hurting herself or other people. She was insanely clumsy, to the point that holding a bat was not a good idea. So she hid behind people, making herself as small as possible so the coaches did not see her. It worked beautifully. The only time she did partake in anything was running laps of the field in summer. Running cleared her mind and she enjoyed the thrill of beating others in races. "It'll be the same as always."
Sister Michael either was utterly convinced that Ciara had a hold on things and knew her own limits or she just simply did not want to have the conversation anymore. "And your workload?" she reiterated, looking as if she would not take no for an answer.
"I'll drop.... History," she sighed, acting as if it was a great difficulty to choose. She had wanted to drop history since the beginning of last year. The teacher was awful, the lessons were horrid and just the thought of walking into that classroom made her want to gouge her eyeballs out with the nearest sharpest object - so Sister Michael's pen.
As if she had read her thoughts, the headmistress picked up her shining silver pen and dismissed her with almost a whisper, "That'll be all."
-
"Afternoon," Ciara announced to the entire group, suddenly appearing beside them five minutes after the bell had rung for lunch - she went for a smoke. She flopped down next to Orla on a seat just about wide enough for two people. Orla smiled and handed her a crisp from the bag in her hand, an offering which Chip thankfully denied despite the numbing hunger within her stomach.
"Chip, will you come with me to David Donnelly's party?" Erin blurted so quickly that Chip was rather taken aback, taking a split second to process before replying.
"David Donnelly? Nah, you're alright," she scoffed, lounging back into her chair and finally expelling her back to its usual aching feeling. Chip had a certain hatred for David, for reasons that only Michelle knew about. It wasn't anything serious, just a childhood issue that she had held a grudge about for years.
"Told you," Michelle chuckled under her breath, watching the disappointment that struck Erin's face.
"It could be my big chance with David. Please Michelle, Chip? I'd do it for any one of you," she continued to plead, desperately looking between the two.
Chip shrugged, trying her hardest to look as sorrowful as possible. "I can't." She did feel bad, just not bad enough to skip out on therapy to go to a party she did not want to spend any time at. Any other party, especially at that precise moment where her body hating thoughts were screaming within her mind, would be welcomed and she would easily deal with the backlash from skipping out on Dr. W.
"Fine, I'll go," Michelle relented, guessing that Chip was refusing due to her hatred of Donnelly. Michelle did not want Chip to be forced into doing something she really did not want to do, because of Erin's relentlessness, so relented to prevent that.
As she smiled a thankful smile towards Michelle, Chip found her gaze falling onto a rather pale Clare, "You doing alright there Clare?"
"I don't think I can walk," Clare mumbled, clutching her picture of the person that she was doing the fast for while looking to the floor, her eyes glassy and reminiscent of Chip's.
James leant over Michelle's shoulder, awkwardly glancing around as he tried to keep his voice as low as possible, "Michelle, would you mind showing me where the toilet is?"
"You are really starting to do my head in, do you know that?" Michelle shot back a little too loudly for the echoey corridor in which they all sat in. Ciara was about to input something of value to the conversation, in James' favor, when the Pa system chimed alive, capturing all of their attention.
"Will the following pupils please report to Sister Michael's office immediately. Erin Quinn, Orla McCool, Clare Devlin and Michelle Mallon. Thank you."