Mum had prepared a lot of food.

And when I say a lot of food, I mean a lot. It looked as though she had raided our entire house and put together enough sandwiches to feed an army, a small army, but an army, nonetheless. Why she had packed so much remained a mystery, or where it had even come from, but I was glad for it. To be honest, my parents just being able to turn up was a relief. They didn't even need the picnic as far as I was concerned.

We sat around the picnic blanket, tucking into the sandwiches and the lemonade that they had also brought. Katie and Jo seemed fascinated by Mum's job as a secretary and Dad had almost a million different questions as to what life at Maddox had been like. I left out everything to do with Victoria and instead told him all about the lessons, including being moved into the fifth-year history class.

"What does that mean for next year? If you have already studied the material for fifth-year?" Dad asked.

"No idea. They'll probably just put me back in with my year group and I'll spend the last half of the year going over exactly what I learnt this year. It was only the last few months anyway. I missed a fair amount."

"You know most of it, though. You were helping me out with Greece before you were in our lessons. I bet you already know the entire year's syllabus already," Katie said.

"Shh, don't reveal my secrets."

"Secrets? Oh, like how you can't play badminton?"

"That's not a secret." I raised my eyebrows at her.

"I know." Katie laughed. /

"How did you three meet, exactly? I didn't think the year groups mixed very often," Mum asked. I gave her a glare for asking such a question. She always used to mention how limited my friend circle was, I didn't see why she felt the need to question the fact that I had more than one friend.

"If I remember, I almost walked into them on my second day."

"Yes, yes you did. We were on our way down to Lacrosse practice when we met. None of us were paying attention," Jo added.

"That and they were the only people willing to say more than a few words to me. There's a lot of ego's here."

"Blondie?" Michael asked.

"Blondie," I confirmed.

I looked across the grass to Victoria who sat amongst her family and had also been joined by Dorothy and Louise, the entire group taking up a large area of the grounds. It surprised me just how different Victoria looked from her two older sisters and the younger sister who was running around like a headless chicken. Her sister's both had short hair, one covered it with a hat, and they were both following the youngest around whilst Victoria watched, looking less than impressed with the way they were behaving.

All siblings had their differences, even Michael and I both liked different things and acted differently, but from what I had heard, Victoria was nothing like her older sisters. Grace had told me that Emily, the second oldest, had been head girl during her time at Maddox and had been supportive of everyone. She had been an ear for anyone who might have needed it and never put anyone down. Katie's sister Helen had gone to Maddox with the eldest, also nothing like Victoria.

Even the youngest one seemed to be less like Victoria and more like a normal girl. I couldn't picture Victoria running around like that when she was a girl. In fact, I couldn't even picture Victoria being a girl, at least not in the usual sense. She reminded me of my Grandmother. Someone who seemed to have been born knowing the rules of being a lady, complete with a floor-length dress and mint humbugs in her purse.

We continued to eat in silence, with Mum having finished her interrogation on Katie and Jo, although I saw her glancing at Victoria on occasion. Mum had never been a fan of people like Victoria, those who seemed to think that money made them invincible. One of the reasons I had been apprehensive to go to Maddox was because of people like them. Mum had tried to be reassuring but I except her mind had changed a little.

"Will you both be continuing on at Maddox next year? For the A-Levels?" Dad asked, taking a sip of his lemonade.

"Yes, sir," Katie said.

"My parents aren't too thrilled with the idea, but it's my decision so they've had to accept it," Jo added.

"What about beyond that? Any ideas?"

"Not really. As Flick says, I'll burn that bridge when I get to it." Katie nudged me in the side and grinned, almost causing me to drop my cupcake, which I wouldn't have been too happy about.

"You can't steal my phrases, that's not fair," I said.

"Too late." She reached across me and took the cupcake from my hand, taking a bite of it.

"Or my cupcake!"

"We're definitely keeping you," Michael said, looking to Katie.

"I feel attacked."

Mum handed me another cupcake, smiling slightly as she did so. I took a bite from the cupcake to make sure Katie didn't try to take it again, then again, she had stolen my chocolate bards after I had eaten some of it before. She was a food thief. Katie looked at me, a menacing look in her eyes and a little bit of chocolate icing on the side of her face that I wasn't going to tell her about. She stole a cupcake. She can live with the consequences of those actions; having chocolate icing on her face.

Mrs Maddox took the stage about ten minutes later. Mr Havisham stood beside him, holding onto a clipboard and with a rather disturbing smile on his face. It looked as though he didn't smile all that often and he probably made babies cry when he did. He cleared his throat, just loud enough to catch everyone's attention and have them all turn to look at them both on the stage. Beside me, Katie took my hand and squeezed it for a little bit of reassurance. In only a few short minutes, I'd find out whether I'd done enough to beat Victoria.

I glanced over to her, our eyes catching for a second and she smirked at me. Even from a distance, I didn't like the look on her face and I certainly didn't like the idea of her having inside knowledge on what was about to happen.

"We have seen an excellent display of work here this morning and I am sure you will all be with me in congratulating the hard work to put forward by all of our fourth-years! Now, as per traditions here at Maddox, we will be announcing the winner of the presentations and the student with the highest mark. To do so, I'd like to welcome Mr Havisham, the Head of Governors!"

"Thank you, Mrs Maddox. To echo her sentiment, the work put on display has truly captured the spirit of Maddox Academy and the independence we strive for in our girls. There were some amazing projects here today, but only one can be the winner here today. The judges and I have discussed this in great depth, and it has been a difficult decision to come to, but we have come to one, nevertheless. Without further ado, the winner of this year's presentations is-"

He paused and the rest of the fourth years started drumming their hands and feet on the ground, creating a dull thud that echoed across the grounds. After a little while, Mr Havisham waved his arms in the air to silence everyone.

"Felicity Grieves for her insightful and informative presentation on the Mount Vesuvius eruption in Pompeii!"

"Told you you had it in the bag," Katie said.

"Or, I'm dreaming." Michael pinched me. "Ouch!"

"Not a dream," he said.

"You didn't have to pinch me.

"You asked, I delivered."

"I didn't ask you to pinch me!"

"The incentive was there."

"Stop it, you two," Mum nudged us slightly and pointed to the stage where Mr Maddox still stood.

"I'm sure you will join me in congratulating Felicity on this achievement and the other students for all their hard work over the past term."

The crowd once again broke out into applause with the only people looked less than impressed with my victory being Victoria and her little gang. All three of them glowered at me from the other side of the grounds, but I ignored them. Despite everything Victoria had done, all the games she had played, I still managed to beat her, and it meant I didn't have to leave Maddox just yet, although that was still something I needed to figure out.

Not long after the announcement of my victory, and the disappointment for Victoria, Mum announced that they needed to get going if they were going to make it home before midnight. I didn't want them to go just yet, I wanted to show them around and just spend time with them after having not had that opportunity in several months. It felt as though the day had gone far too quickly and I had spent too long worrying about what would happen with the presentations to really enjoy spending time with them.

Still, I had just under a month until the end of term and before I could finally return home. Although I would miss spending time with Katie and Jo, I'd be away from Victoria for the first time in months and finally be able to breathe. After months of putting up with her, I needed a holiday.

"We'll see you in a few weeks' time, Flick," Mum said as she placed the picnic blanket into the boot. Michael was already helping Dad into the back seat.

"I think I can wait that long," I said.

"Only a few more weeks of silence, I should probably enjoy it," Michael said.

"Just you wait, I have six months of annoying you to catch up on."

"Likewise, Flicky."

"Go and say goodbye to your dad," Mum said.

I walked along the side of the car to the back, right-hand door. Dad sat with his legs resting outside of the door, gripping onto his cane a little with Michael hovering nearby to help him move his legs into the car when we had finished. Katie and Jo stood off to one side, talking with each other. Dad grabbed my hand with his right and held it, he looked up at me and smiled.

"I am so, so proud of you, Flick. I know coming here was difficult, but you have come into your own and have grown so much more confident in just your first few months here. Your friends have obviously played a part in that and I hope you consider returning next year, it'll be good for you," he said.

"I'll think about it."

"Good. Maddox is good for you; it gives you opportunities. And an opportunity-"

"-Should never be wasted, I know."

"Enjoy these last few weeks her, Flick. Don't get caught up in what other people are doing, and that includes creating competitions against others." He gave me a knowing look. "You need to work on your subtlety. Have some fun. After your examination results and today, you've earned it/"

"I will."

Dad smiled and let go of my hand, gesturing to Michael who darted around when I stepped back to help Dad swing his legs into the car. Not being one for conversation or emotional moments, Michael muttered a goodbye whilst Mum tried to suck the life out of me, her arms almost crushing my chest. She released me, waved goodbye to Katie and Jo before climbing into the car. I watched it move around the gravel and then up the path, disappearing through the gates and around the corner.

Katie and Jo had an unscheduled meeting with Mrs Maddox which left me to return to the dormitory on my own. All I wanted to do was go to bed and sleep for several days. I hadn't slept a full night since my project went missing and now that it was all over, sleep was the only thing on my mind. By the time I reached the dormitory, my legs were dragging behind me and my bed was practically calling my name.

Almost all the other fourth years were too excited to sleep, most of them were talking or had too much energy that they looked like me when I was stressed. I passed all of them, nodding a small acknowledgement to those who congratulated me on getting the highest grade. I appreciated it, but I just wanted to go to bed.

"How on earth did you swing a win?" Victoria asked, stalking down the room to my bed.

"I'm secretly a witch," I said, yawning.

"Are you bribing Mrs Maddox?"

"Yes. I'm bribing her with the stacks of money we have in our walls at home." I rolled my eyes. "Don't you ever get tired of this, Victoria? I beat you, your plan to drown my project failed, accept it."

"No. You may have won, but you won't be accepted if you come back here next year. You'll still be an outsider."

"That's nice. Can I go to bed? I haven't slept a full night in two weeks and I'm tired."

"This isn't over."

"Somehow, I think it is."

Victoria glared at me and stalking across the room. My winning had clearly annoyed her, but I didn't care. Instead, I grabbed my pyjamas, changed in the bathroom and then returned to the main room.

The moment my head hit the pillow, I was asleep.

~~~

First Published - August 2nd, 2020