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First published in Great Britain in 2016
by Electric Monkey, an imprint of Egmont UK Limited
The Yellow Building, 1 Nicholas Road, London W11 4AN
Text copyright © 2016 Rachel McIntyre
The moral rights of the author have been asserted
First e-book edition 2016
ISBN 978 1 4052 7345 9
EBook ISBN 978 1 7803 1625 3
A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
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For Christina Kiley
Contents
From the author of THE #1 RULE FOR GIRLS
I was ripping the firelighters open when Ayesha arrived.
‘What the . . .?’ She peered down at the barbecue. ‘Oh, Daisy, please tell me that’s not your school uniform.’
‘I’m making a Symbolic Gesture,’ I said, placing my tie on top of the pile.
She tutted as she picked up my blazer. ‘Man-made fabrics don’t burn, they melt. And what about the buttons and zips? Why couldn’t you take it to a charity shop, like a normal person?’
‘Because I need to rise from the ashes of these polyester school chains,’ I said as I picked up the matches. ‘To be reborn to a new life at sixth-form college. A phoenix –’
But she’d already gone to the back door to ask my mum for a plastic bag.
Now Beth would’ve been up for my sacrificial inferno; crazy, impulsive yin to Ayesha’s sensible yang that she was.
