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HarperCollinsChildren’sBooks
An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd.
1 London Bridge Street
London SE1 9GF
First published in Great Britain by HarperCollinsChildren’sBooks 2004
Copyright © Sherry Ashworth 2004
Sherry Ashworth asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of the work
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Source ISBN: 9780007123353
Ebook Edition © OCTOBER 2016 ISBN: 9780008208127
Version: 2016-10-20
Thanks to Andy, Dave, Dominic, Jenny, Michael and
all at Relaunch. And Robyn and Rachel, of course.
For Chris and Libby.
CONTENTS
Everything keeps going round and round in my head, so it’ll be a relief to tell you everything, just as it happened. Not because I want to claim I’m innocent – the opposite, in fact. I think I’m as much to blame as anyone – maybe even more than anyone.
But I trust you. You can decide.
So here’s the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
* * *
It all probably began before the day Craig Ritchie walked into our classroom, but I don’t want to bore you with all the facts about me, and what was wrong in my life. Because that falls into the category of feeling sorry for yourself, and I hate girls who do that. The drama queens. They come into school all red-eyed and you have to ask them once, twice, three times what’s wrong, and they won’t tell – they enjoy all that attention. Then finally they do and you pass the Kleenex and wait to hear all about how this boy never phoned or some similar crap.
So all you need to know is that my name is Anna Hanson and I was sixteen when it started. Just like most people, I was happy some of the time, pissed off some of the time, but bored most of the time.
I was bored that morning in English. Well, it would have been English if the English teacher was there, but she was absent. On some course. She’d set work. Making notes on the first
