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  I wondered what my dad would do if I called him stupid.

  Mr Marshall’s conjuring act went on a little too long and some of the girls started chatting amongst themselves.

  ‘Can’t we have our swim now?’ Skye asked.

  ‘You need to let your tea go down properly first,’ said Mrs Marshall. ‘Let’s all give Mr Bumble a clap and then we’ll play a nice quiet party game.’

  She fetched a big tray full of twenty tiny objects and told us to look at them carefully. I stared hard, memorizing everything. There was a watch, nail varnish, lipstick, ring, rubber spider, plaster, pencil sharpener, flower, matches, bottle opener, tape measure, straw, key, nail, postcard, stamp, little scissors, thermometer, perfume and a very tiny teddy in striped pyjamas. Everyone went ‘Aaah!’ when they spotted the little teddy because he looked so cute.

  Mrs Marshall covered the tray with a big cloth and gave us each pens and paper.

  ‘Write down as many things on the tray as you can remember,’ said Mrs Marshall.

  There was a great groan.

  ‘That’s not fair! I was just looking at that little teddy,’ said Skye. ‘Let me have another look at the tray.’

  She went to twitch the cover off.

  ‘Certainly not, Skye!’ said Mrs Marshall.

  ‘But I don’t know what else was on the wretched tray!’

  ‘I’m afraid that’s just your bad luck,’ said Mrs Marshall.

  She said it cheerily, but I started to wonder if she didn’t like Skye either, even though she was Rhona’s best friend.

  I closed my eyes and saw a picture of the tray inside my head. I opened my eyes and started scribbling quickly on my piece of paper. Everyone else was moaning and sighing and conferring. I didn’t need to. I wrote: watch, nail varnish, lipstick, ring, spider, plaster, sharpener, flower, matches, bottle opener, tape measure, straw, key, nail, postcard, stamp, scissors, thermometer, perfume . . . and tiny teddy.

  ‘Wow, look at Beauty! She’s written a huge long list,’ said Rhona.

  ‘Oh, that Ugly! It’s just the sort of stupid swotty thing she would do. I think this is a boring game. Can’t we play something else?’ said Skye.

  ‘No, let’s carry on. I think this is a good game,’ said Emily, who was writing rapidly too.

  She ended up with twenty answers and was sure she’d won – but when Mrs Marshall checked she’d made up four items.

  ‘Still, sixteen correct is positively brilliant,’ said Arabella. ‘I could only come up with five. Still, at least I’m not bottom.’ She glanced at Skye, who had only written one word – teddy.

  ‘I wasn’t playing,’ Skye said quickly. ‘So, well done, Emily, you’ve won.’

  ‘No, no,’ said Mrs Marshall, running her finger down my list. ‘Beauty’s won. She’s got every single item right. That’s brilliant, sweetheart!’

  Skye groaned and pulled a face. ‘Trust Ugly,’ she said.

  She said it loud enough for Mrs Marshall to hear. She frowned at Skye and then turned to me.

  ‘Well done, Beauty. You get the little teddy bear as your prize.’

  ‘Oh, lucky Beauty,’ they all said.

  Rhona picked the tiny teddy off the tray and tucked him in the palm of my hand.

  ‘I’m glad you won him, Beauty,’ she said.

  There was a quiz game after that. I knew all the answers in the history and literature and geography sections. I started to worry that it wouldn’t be polite to win this game too – but I could only answer one question in the television section and none at all in pop music and famous celebrities, so I didn’t win anything. Emily did win this time, though she didn’t get a tiny teddy, she just won a pen and notebook.

  ‘Now can we go for a swim?’ Skye whined.

  ‘Yes, dear,’ said Mrs Marshall brightly. ‘Change in Rhona’s bedroom. The pool’s outside. Take a running jump. Be my guest.’

  Some of the girls were wearing their swimming costumes under their clothes so it was easy for them to get changed quickly and decently. I struggled to unbuckle Mum’s shoes, wriggle out of my tights and get my knickers off without anyone looking. I wished I was a lot smaller and my white skirt more voluminous.

  ‘Look at old Ugly showing off her bum,’ said Skye. ‘Wibble wobble, wibble wobble.’

  She cast off her own tiny skirt and top in two shakes. She was wearing an emerald green bikini, high cut so that it made her slender legs look longer than ever. She twisted her long fair hair into a knot on top of her head and secured it with a green hair clasp.

  Most of the girls had similar cool glamorous swimsuits. Arabella had a red halter-neck bikini and she looked very grown up in it, though she had to keep tugging at the top to keep it in place.I had a silly baby costume, pale blue patterned with ice-cream cones. It was last year’s costume, because I hardly ever went swimming. It clung to me, emphasizing my tummy. I sucked it in as far as I could. It felt as if they were all staring at me. I felt incredibly self-conscious padding across the carpet and out into the hall. I clutched the tiny teddy for comfort.

  Mrs Marshall smiled at me.

  ‘I don’t think that teddy is really into swimming,’ she said.

  ‘I’m not sure I am either,’ I said.

  I could swim breast stroke, I’d had proper lessons, but I couldn’t risk getting my new hairdo wet. I let the others jump wildly into the pool and caper about. I sat hunched on the edge, feet dang-ling in the water. I tried to keep my stomach sucked in, hanging on tight to Teeny Teddy.

  Rhona came and sat beside me. She was wearing a tankini, a pink-and-white top with little shorts. Her tummy stuck out a little too but she didn’t seem to care in the slightest.

  ‘I’m so glad you got to win the little teddy, Beauty,’ she said. ‘I’ve got a twin one just like him, with those sweet little pyjamas, only mine’s got red stripes instead of blue.’

  ‘What do you call yours?’

  ‘Teddy!’

  ‘Oh, Rhona, he’s got to have a proper name!’

  ‘Well, I don’t know. What are you going to call your teddy?’

  I sat him in the palm of my hand, staring at his little furry face. He had a long snout and a serious expression. He might be tiny but he certainly wasn’t a baby.

  ‘I think he’s quite elderly in teddy years. He’s wearing the sort of pyjamas that grandpas wear. I think I’ll call him . . . Nicholas Navybear.’

  Rhona giggled. ‘That’s a great name. OK, so what can mine be called?’

  ‘You said your teddy’s got red pyjamas, so yours can be Reginald Redted.’

  ‘Perfect!’ said Rhona, giggling.

  ‘Rhona! Get in the pool!’ Skye shouted.

  Rhona laughed and kicked her legs, splashing. ‘In a minute,’ she said cheerily.

  I wished I had Rhona’s happy-go-lucky knack of being friends with everyone.

  ‘You’d better name all my other birthday bears too, Beauty,’ said Rhona.

  ‘Rhona, Rhona, Rhona! Get in the pool! We want to give you your birthday bumps,’ Skye shouted.

  ‘I’m talking to Beauty just this second,’ said Rhona.

  ‘Who wants to talk to boring old Ugly?’ said Emily.

  ‘Don’t call her that,’ said Rhona.

  ‘Come on, jump in the pool,’ said Arabella.

  ‘Rhona! Come here!’ Skye yelled imperiously.

  Rhona raised her eyebrows. ‘Watch this!’ she muttered to me.

  She stood up, took a running jump, tucked her knees up and landed right beside Skye, totally capsizing her. I couldn’t help laughing. Skye spluttered to the surface, shaking her head. She blinked – and saw me grinning.

  ‘Oh, so you think it’s funny, do you, Ugly?’ said Skye. ‘Well, come and join in the fun with us then.’

  She swam three strokes towards me and tugged hard on my ankles. I shrieked as I shot into the water, right over my head. When I surfaced, gasping, Skye screamed with laughter.

  ‘Look at Ugly! Her curls are all unravelling! She�€