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  The girl came to a halt and slowly turned around. She glanced briefly at Veronica and then stared at the ground. Veronica moved closer.

  “I see you still haven’t done anything about your hair.” She sneered. “How can you bear to come to school like that? Don’t you care all the other kids are laughing at you? They all think you’re weird. None of them know if you’re a boy or a girl. What kind of name is Jessie anyway?”

  The girl flinched and ducked her head. She looked close to tears. Veronica smiled ferociously and went in for the kill.

  “Do you have any idea how ugly you are? Boy, girl, something in between. Whatever you are, you’re a disgrace. You don’t belong here, weirdo. Nobody likes you. You have no friends. Why don’t you just leave? Go to Watervale. Or Timbuktu. Go to hell, for all I care.”

  With a final look of disgust thrown in Jessie’s direction, Veronica walked away, laughing. The look of hurt on the girl’s face as she taunted her was priceless. Besides, it wasn’t her fault if the girl was upset. Veronica had merely stated the truth. She caught sight of Lucy and beckoned to her.

  “Hey,” Lucy said.

  “Hey.” Veronica glanced over her shoulder, but Jessie had disappeared. Too bad. Now that Lucy was here, they could double their efforts. She told her about what she’d said.

  Lucy chuckled. “You should have waited for me. I would have killed to see her face. Did she cry?”

  “No, but she was close. It won’t take much to push her over the edge, believe me. After all, I’ve driven her to tears before.”

  Lucy’s grin widened. “She didn’t get the nickname Crybaby Angel for nothing.” Her eyes gleamed with anticipation. “Let’s do it! Let’s see if you can make her cry again!”

  Just then the bell rang, and they were forced to put their plans on hold. Still, there was always break times. Jessie Angel couldn’t escape them forever. It was only a matter of time before they’d get the next opportunity to make her life hell. Weirdos needed to be punished. Weirdos who had loving families even more so. Veronica couldn’t wait.

  * * *

  Veronica stood her bike against the wall of the garage and headed toward the house. The day had passed quickly, but she was still glad it was over. Apart from giving her an opportunity to flirt with boys, catch up with her friends, and give the weirdo hell, Veronica couldn’t care less about school.

  Most days it bored her to tears. Essay writing, trigonometry, history and geography. What did she care about those things? When would she ever need them? As long as she stayed in her father’s good books, he’d continue to fund her lifestyle, even after she turned eighteen. She was his only child. Who else was he going to spend his money on? Certainly not her mother.

  She opened the front door and stepped inside. The house appeared deserted. Her mother must be out. Then she heard a noise coming from the direction of her father’s study. Strange. Her father was never home at this hour.

  “Daddy?” she called out, a little apprehensively. “Is that you?”

  She hadn’t noticed his work vehicle parked in the drive. Maybe it wasn’t him? But who else would be in her father’s study? No one else went near it. In fact, when her father wasn’t home, the door was more often locked.

  She moved closer and put her ear to the carved wooden panel. Voices. She could definitely hear people talking, even though she couldn’t make out the words. She went to call out again and then hesitated. Instead, she slowly turned the doorknob.

  It opened easily under her fingers and she soundlessly pushed the door wide. Her father had his back to her, bent forward over the naked body of a woman. His pants were around his ankles. Her legs were outspread, her blond hair spilling over his desk. He grunted with each forward thrust of his hips. Veronica gasped in shock, staring in disbelief, rooted to the spot.

  She must have made a sound, although she wasn’t aware of doing it. Suddenly, her father’s head swung in her direction. If she could have run away, she would have, but her frozen limbs wouldn’t move.

  John Blackwood glared at her, a ferocious scowl darkening his face. “Veronica! What the hell are you doing here? Get out!”

  Her father’s angry tones penetrated her haze and with a cry, she turned and ran out the door. A few seconds later, she heard it slam behind her. With her head down, she raced up the stairs toward her room.

  Throwing herself face down on her bed, she tried to block the image of her father and the woman out of her mind. Concentrating on her breathing, she worked hard to slow it down. In. out. In. Out. Just like Nanny Dawson had taught her when she’d suffered panic attacks as a child. Gradually her breathing returned to normal and her heart rate slowed.

  The sight of her father with another woman shouldn’t have shocked her. It wasn’t as if this was the first time he’d been unfaithful to his wife. At six, Veronica hadn’t realized exactly what was going on. All she knew was her mother had locked herself away in her room and Veronica’s beloved nanny had been fired.

  It was only when she found the courage to ask her father a few months later about what happened to Nanny Dawson that he told her why the nanny had to leave.

  “It’s all your mother’s fault,” he explained. “She’s the one who didn’t want her here. Your mother was jealous of the closeness between Sabrina and me.” He shrugged. “I couldn’t help it if I wanted to spend time with your nanny. She was smart and pretty and easy to get on with.” He looked straight at Veronica. “What’s not to like?”

  Veronica silently agreed. Nanny Dawson was beautiful. With long blond hair and wide blue eyes, she had a friendly smile for everyone, especially Veronica. Nanny Dawson would kiss and cuddle her and tell her stories and spend hours playing dolls—things her mother never seemed inclined to do.

  Veronica had always been distant from her mother, but from that moment a hatred began to grow. Because of her mother, Veronica had lost her precious nanny, the only woman who truly loved her, who truly cared, who chose to spend time with her. But now she was gone and it was all her mother’s fault.

  A succession of much older, crankier nannies followed, but none came close to Veronica’s Nanny Dawson. Her anger at her mother continued to fester. It was only when she overheard an argument between her parents years later that the truth of it finally dawned on her.

  Her mother accused her father of having an affair, just like he had with Nanny Dawson. By then, Veronica was old enough to know what the word “affair” meant, and everything became so much clearer. Unfortunately, the anger and resentment she felt toward her mother was so long ingrained, even discovering the truth of her nanny’s abrupt departure didn’t change Veronica’s attitude.

  Having someone she loved so completely, cruelly torn away from her at such a young age had forced her from that moment on to build a wall around her heart. Never would she allow anyone to hurt her like that again. She’d been betrayed by the one person she loved, resented her father for causing her nanny’s abrupt departure and hated her mother for sending her nanny away. From that day onward, Veronica made sure she controlled everyone around her, never letting anyone get close, including her mother. Especially her mother.

  No doubt shrinks would have a field day analyzing her, picking apart the seams of her childhood, pinpointing just where things went wrong. She didn’t need a shrink to know what had happened. She’d lived through it. Was still living through it.

  In the meantime, she’d discovered how much fun it was hurting other people. It gave her a sense of power to turn the tables, to be the one in control. It gave her a buzz to seek out someone’s vulnerability and to exploit it through fear and intimidation, shame and humiliation. Jessie Angel was a prime example.

  With a concerted effort, Veronica pushed the unhappy memories away and smiled. It had been a good day. She and her friends had gone out of their way to tease and torment Crybaby Angel. Every opportunity they got, both in class and out, they poked and prodded and humiliated. It had been fun. And then she’d come home and found her father with another woman. That sure took the shine off her day. But there was always tomorrow, and the day after that, and the day after that…

  CHAPTER THREE

  It was Thursday afternoon and Veronica was bored. She was already thinking about the weekend and who she might spend it with. Jonah Smith had turned his attentions to a girl in Year Eleven and so far, the new boy in Year Ten hadn’t shown any interest. Despite her best efforts to engage him in flirtatious conversation, he’d merely smiled politely and turned away.

  Maybe he was gay? That would explain his indifference. After all, what male teenager in his right mind would say no to up close and personal attention from Veronica Blackwood? She’d ask Lucy for her opinion. Her best friend had been trying almost as hard as Veronica for the new boy’s attention. Not that it worried Veronica. There wasn’t a boy in Wheeler who’d choose Lucy Jones over her.

  The bell rang, signaling the end of the class. With a sigh of relief, Veronica packed up her books and her pencil case and shoved them into her backpack.

  “What do we have next?” she asked Lucy, who was seated beside her.

  “Maths with Mrs Harvey.”

  “Ugh!” Veronica groaned.

  Lucy grimaced and pushed away from her desk. “You can say that again.”

  For a minute, Veronica thought about cutting class, but then she remembered Jessie Angel was in her maths class. They’d found her during the morning recess and had given her hell about everything from her hideous hair to her skinny legs, but once a day was never enough. Now Veronica had another full hour to engage in ridicule. All of a sudden, her afternoon looked up. She smiled in anticipation.

  Maths class was everything she could have hoped for. Mrs Harvey was old school and didn’t put up with bad behavior which meant Vero
nica wouldn’t get away with as much in maths as she did in some of the other classes she shared with Jessie, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t try.

  Veronica was still waiting for an opportunity when the teacher asked Jessie a fairly simply geometry question. To Veronica’s delight, Jessie didn’t know the answer. Veronica encouraged the hilarity that followed. It was only after a stiff rebuke from Mrs Harvey that the laughter finally faded away.

  When the bell went, the class immediately erupted into noisy conversation and the squeaking of chairs. Veronica threw her workbook and pencil case into her backpack and joined Lucy and the throng of other kids making their way out of the room. Jessie Angel was ahead of her. As soon as they cleared the doorway, Veronica went in for the kill.

  Hey, you! Stick girl! Turn around! I’m talking to you!” Veronica saw Jessie freeze, but she kept walking.

  Lucy sniggered. “Maybe she’d rather be called stick boy!”

  Veronica laughed loudly. She turned to the girls behind her and encouraged them in their mirth. Jessie had come to a halt a few feet away. It was obvious she knew by now they wouldn’t let up until she acknowledged them. Veronica chuckled in anticipation. With her shoulders slumped in defeat, Jessie slowly turned to face them.

  Veronica was surprised when Jessie lifted her chin in a misguided act of bravery and attempted to eye them with disdain. As if they’d fall for that ruse. Anyone could see she was shaking in her boots.

  “What can I do for you, Veronica?” she asked in tone that was almost firm.

  “What can I do for you, Veronica?” Veronica parodied in a childish, singsongy voice.

  Jessie’s cheeks turned red, but she continued to hold Veronica’s gaze. Suddenly, impatient, Veronica and her friends moved closer.

  Veronica glared at her. “You think you’re so high and mighty because your dad is a police officer, don’t you? You think you’re better than us. And now you have the latest iPhone. I saw you show it to Sarah Simmons. You think you’re something special, don’t you? Let me tell you this, Jessie Angel: I’ve had that same phone for months and this is how clever you are. You can’t even answer a simple maths question. What’s a complementary angle? ‘Duh! I don’t know.’ You’re dumb as dog shit, Jessie Angel.”

  Veronica’s taunting was met with a round of raucous laughter from her friends. Jessie remained silent. With narrowed eyes and her lip curled up in disdain, Veronica went in for the kill. She moved even closer, purposefully invading Jessie’s space. So close that Veronica could see the fear in the other girl’s blue eyes.

  “Nobody here likes you, Jessie Angel. You’re a stick insect with a big head and weird hair. Most people don’t know if you’re a boy or a girl. You don’t belong here. You don’t belong anywhere. Do us all a favor and go and kill yourself. Loser.”

  Hawking up some phlegm, Veronica spat at Jessie. It landed on the girl’s blouse. A thick yellow globule of phlegm. Jessie gasped in shock, her eyes wide with horror and disbelief. Overcome with delight, Veronica brought her elbow up under Jessie’s chin and forced her hard against the wall. She eyeballed the girl with distaste and then with one final push, she walked casually away, laughing as she went.

  She continued out into the quadrangle and sat down at the usual spot. She was still buzzing from her run-in with Jessie. Lucy jogged over to her and sat beside her. Veronica grinned.

  “How good was that?” She poked Lucy in the side and laughed.

  Lucy chuckled. “Yeah. I gave her a good shove when I walked past. Tracey Evans punched her on the shoulder. You should have seen the ugly thing. She looked like she was going to burst into tears. It was so good.”

  Veronica’s grin remained in place as she pulled out an apple. She replayed the scene with Jessie in her head and felt the exhilaration all over again. She’d brought down the weirdo in such a way the girl had almost been reduced to tears. Ha! Take that, Crybaby! See how that makes you feel! Daddy’s not here to make it all better for you. There’s no one here. You’re on your own. About time you knew what that felt like.

  Watching Jessie cower before her was a feeling like no other—all powerful, invincible. No one could touch Veronica Blackwood. And that final insult—spitting on her—well, that had been a stroke of genius. The look on Jessie’s face… Priceless. Too bad Veronica couldn’t keep up the torment twenty-four hours a day.

  Unfortunately, she didn’t have Jessie’s phone number. She’d seen the girl texting on what looked like the latest iPhone. Though Veronica’s father had given one to her only a few months ago, she seethed with the knowledge Jessie owned one, too. She turned to Lucy.

  “Do you have Jessie Angel’s phone number?”

  “No. Do you?”

  “No. That’s the problem.”

  “Why would you want to call her? She’s a weirdo.”

  “Yeah, obviously. But how good would it be to send taunting messages to her whenever we felt like it? We could call and text her twenty-four hours a day! She’d never be free of us!”

  Lucy grinned. “Too right! But don’t we do that on Insta and Facebook? We’re always posting stuff.”

  “Yeah, but it’s not the same. We don’t even know if she’s reading those posts. She never responds to them. At least if we were able to text her or even call her up, we’d know she was getting them.”

  Lucy nodded thoughtfully. “You’re right. Do you know anyone who has her number?”

  “No. But someone must.”

  “What about that girl who moved here last year? Sarah something.”

  “Sarah Simmons?”

  “Yeah, Simmons. That’s her name.”

  “I’ve seen her hanging out with Jessie.” Veronica nudged Lucy. “I think she’s her only friend.”

  The two of them fell over themselves laughing. The bell went, signaling the end of the break.

  “What do we have now?” Veronica asked.

  “Science.”

  “Bummer.”

  “Yeah.”

  Veronica stood and hoisted her backpack over her shoulder. Lucy did the same. They headed to the science block and walked into the classroom, still filled with frivolity. Then they were met by a stern glare from their teacher. Mr Bettini was even stricter than Mrs Harvey. They immediately composed themselves and found their seats.

  As the class began and students became engrossed in their learning, Veronica took the time to reflect on how she could get hold of Jessie Angel’s phone number. And then it came to her.

  Coach Mather.

  Jessie’s netball coach. Veronica sometimes played on the team. This season, she’d been chosen to play in the school’s under-fifteen basketball team, so she’d given netball the flick, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t pretend to be reconsidering her decision.

  Excitement and anticipation surged through her at the thought of calling Coach Mather and getting hold of Jessie’s phone number. Once she had it, the possibilities were endless. Constant opportunities to taunt and tease the girl she hated. If Crybaby Angel thought Veronica had it in for her, she’d seen nothing yet.

  * * *

  As soon as Veronica cleared the school gates, she stopped her bike and pulled out her phone. She found Coach Mather’s number and dialed it.

  “Oh, Coach Mather. It’s Veronica Blackwood.”

  “Veronica. It’s nice to hear from you. How’s the basketball going?”

  “It’s all right. But that’s the thing. It’s not the same as playing netball. I… I miss playing with you, Coach.”

  The coach laughed, sounding pleased. “Well, you’re welcome back anytime, Veronica. I told you that before.”

  “Yes, well, you never know, Coach. If I get tired of basketball, I might just take you up on your offer. There’s no other team I’d rather play for.”

  “It’s nice of you to say so, Veronica.”

  “So, just out of interest, who’s playing in my position?”

  “Erica Panton. I moved Jessie Angel to goalkeeper.”

  “Good move. Jessie’s always been great in defense.” The lie rolled off Veronica’s tongue.

  “Yes, she has. She’s doing well in the goal circle.”

  Veronica paused. “That’s kind of the reason for my call.”

  “Oh?”

  “I was wondering if you could give me Jessie’s phone number. I want to see if she’d like to do some training with me. After all, I used to be ace in defense.”