Free Finding Home by Lauren K. McKellar Page A

answer. Instead, she wrote the date carefully on the top of a new page in her notebook and then drew a little flower next to it.
    ‘Hello? Coral?’ God, she was irritating! Didn’t she realise that partnering up was as painful for me as it was for her?
    ‘What?’ She finally deigned me worthy of her attention, flashing her icy blue eyes in my direction.
    ‘Where do you want to start?’ I spoke the words with a careful deliberateness. I had no idea why she was ignoring me, or what her problem was, but it was definitely irritating.
    ‘Wherever,’ she replied. She took a strand of her long blonde hair and started to twirl.
    ‘Fine, well, Mrs Smith said we need to focus on theme today. What do you think the theme of this novel is?’
    ‘You tell me, nerd.’ Coral flicked her hair over her shoulder so its spiky ends brushed past my face. I flinched.
    What a bitch. I’d never been in a fight before, but all of a sudden I wished I could hit her, slap my hand right across her face.
    ‘Well, dumbass,’ I all but spat at her, ‘since you’re the one who needs the help, I figure you’d be better off guessing so I can correct you.’ I instantly regretted my words. Calling her a dumbass was not going to help the situation, even if she had started the name-calling.
    She looked at me with something foreign in her eyes, a slight softening around the edges. My breath caught in my throat. For a second, I thought maybe I’d hurt her, even though I suspected her insides were actually made of steel.
    ‘I don’t have to put up with this.’ Coral pushed back her chair and gathered her belongings together. ‘Mrs Smith?’
    Mrs Smith looked over at us from her desk.
    ‘Amy just called me a dumbass,’ Coral said. ‘I don’t think she’s the right partner for me.’ She gave a sweet little smile, as if butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth. I could have killed her.
    ‘Did you, Amy?’ Our teacher lowered her glasses.
    ‘Well, yes, but she called me —’
    ‘I won’t have any name-calling going on in my classroom, Amy. That is disgraceful. Coral, I don’t know what’s going on with you and Amy, but it ends here.’ Mrs Smith had raised her voice. All the students began to look up at her, and then at us, their eyes engaged in a teacher versus student tennis match.
    ‘Coral. Amy. You’re going to have to learn to get along for this class. You will not be swapping partners and you will certainly not be engaging in any more name-calling. Understood?’ Mrs Smith slammed her book down on the table.
    Coral and I remained silent.
    ‘Is that clear ?’ Her voice reached a fever pitch, and the windows all but shook.
    ‘Yes, Mrs Smith,’ Coral and I mumbled in unison.
    ‘Then sit down and do some work, for crying out loud.’ Mrs Smith shook her head, plonking herself back down in her seat.
    I looked over at Coral, who had sat back down with somewhat less bravado. Her face was creased in a frown, squarely directed at me. How did someone like that get Luke? She was threatening, mean, and had called me a nerd. What was her problem, anyway?
    I ripped a page out of my notebook and scribbled a few words on it.
    I really don’t want to talk to you, probably just as much as you don’t want to talk to me. But since we have to work together, writing down rather than talking seems to be the best option. That way we can get through the class and won’t risk a failing grade. Thoughts?
    I passed the note over to Coral, who slowly scanned the words. I looked away, almost afraid of what she’d write in reply. While I was helping with this class purely for extra credit, I didn’t want to risk ruining my grades because Coral couldn’t keep her behaviour in check. My good grades were my ticket to a good university, and university would get me away from this hellhole.
    The note was slid back under my hand. The theme is society and their hesitant reaction to change. I smiled and got ready to compose an answer.
    It might take a little