10. Roxie

It worked, it totally worked. I don’t know how that gooey puddle Berlarot managed to work his magic but my request came true. That exam was a piece of cake. As simple as reciting the alphabet answers just flew into my mind, my pen was unable to keep up with the ideas that raced through me.

Whereas the few glances I managed to steal at Kate told me everything I needed to know. I always looked at her in exams, normally to beat myself up for not being as focused as her, but today she's unravelled. Her long wavy hair was scrunched in her hands, her cheeks pink and flushed and her answer book still opened on the first page.

Was it so bad to feel a little bit happy? Shocked and guilty, but a little curling green shoot of happiness was there too.

During schooling at the orphanage we were always in the top three or four, but Kate was always just ahead. Every time.

When she ran away afterwards I felt a pang of guilt. She didn’t tell me the truth about it when I got back either, which s