The first thing Isis wanted to do when she saw Lloyd Rolland was find out what he was into: guys, girls, both, or neither. She was a rational girl and knew there was no point in fancying someone without knowing them. She wanted to hang out with him more, get to know him, not only for her sake, but also because he didn't know anyone here. She thought it would be kind to offer him a space in their tight friendship group.

But Kelly had already been introduced to him, had already invited him to have lunch with them, been told to show him around school. Isis would never admit it, and she loved Kelly, but she couldn't help but feel cheated: Kelly could have any guy she wanted in this place. She was stunningly but annoyingly naturally pretty, not to mention confident and easy going. Isis was much quieter, and tended to be interested in things that boys just... didn't seem to be interested in. Even though she knew she shouldn't stereotype, Isis thought it would be difficult to find a bloke in this school who could happily discuss Bach's third overture for an hour.

And then she just knew she wasn't as good looking as Kelly. Again, she was rational and sensible- she knew she shouldn't judge herself against other people, especially her best friend. But who didn't? While Kelly had wide, baby blue eyes, Isis had small, dark ones, almost identical to her brother's. Kelly's lips were full, her teeth straight- and while Isis had large dark lips, she had only just got her braces off, and still battled with her retainer. She never considered her skin colour as an issue; except from the fact that the makeup range for black people in this small, English, fairly un-diverse town was just as limited as the different races. Kelly just... knew herself better than Isis did. She hadn't quite clicked with who she was. No doubt she would... it just hadn't really happened yet.

If she was being reasonable, Isis thought that her lack of self confidence had definitely been affected by bullies: her name, while beautiful and clean a few years ago, was now a world famous terrorist group. Isis had got her fair share of teasing and insults through her secondary school years. It didn't help that she was black- that only fueled the bullies.

But she kept on. Her family was amazing. Her friends were wonderful. She knew how lucky she was- she wasn't ugly by any means. She had a fantastic twin brother which she wouldn't change for the world, a supportive, healthy family home, a kind, funny best friend and good old, reliable old Triston who would always have her back. She was intelligent. She was musical. She was interesting. And she had to tell herself this all the time- to remind herself that yes, she was good enough, that yes, today was going to be good for her.

However, all of this just made her a little irritated that Kelly was the one who had been asked to show Lloyd around the school.

But she wouldn't say anything. No.  She would keep her head down, as always, not complain, just carry on like she always did. Because after all, someone had to be the sensible one.