Hopewell High: All Too Much Read online

  “I can’t cope,” sobbed Samira. “If I didn’t have the quiz, on top of everything else…”

  “Well, that’s something we can fix,” Alice said.

  Samira wiped her eyes. “I can’t quit.”

  Alice grinned at her. “You don’t have to. We can fix it so that the quiz never takes place.”

  There was a pause.

  “What do you mean?” asked Samira, staring at her.

  “Remember when we first came here? What happened in our very first week?” Alice looked full of mischief. “Everyone was talking about it.”

  Hani’s brown eyes were wide with horror. “You’re not thinking what I think you’re thinking…?” She groaned. “You are! Alice, the last time anyone tried that they nearly burned down the school!”

  Chapter Six

  When Alice explained the plan, Samira was so shocked she stopped crying. “We can’t do that! We will get into so much trouble! Someone got expelled last time, didn’t they?”

  “Of course not!” Alice scoffed. “They were suspended for a week, that’s all.”

  “That does not make it OK!” Hani said.

  Alice grinned. “No one will know it was us. Seriously – it’s a brilliant idea. And with your science brain…”

  “I’ve never tried to make a stink bomb before,” Samira told her firmly. “It’s not exactly part of the science curriculum.”

  “But you could do it,” Alice insisted. “Look it up on the internet; I bet there are loads of videos. And then the quiz won’t happen because the smell in the hall will be so disgusting it will have to be cancelled!”

  Hani nodded slowly. “I hate to say it, but it’s a good plan. As long as we get the mixture right. Last time, the chemicals somehow caught fire. I think the girl left it on a radiator – a stupid thing to do.”

  Samira shook her head. “We can’t do this. I don’t want to get you into trouble. I’ll just…” She took a deep breath. “I’ll just have to stop hurting myself. It’s ridiculous. I don’t know why I do it.” Then she burst into tears again. Hani put her arm around her friend.

  “Look,” said Alice, “you can trust us. Remember when I started getting panic attacks last year? You guys helped me through it. Let us help you. The first thing we need to do is get the quiz cancelled. And this is the only way to do it.”

  * * *

  It was the morning of the quiz, and students from nine other schools were due in just half an hour. Alice and Samira met outside the school hall.

  “I can’t believe we’re doing this,” Samira whispered. She passed Alice a glass jam jar. “It’s all in there. You just have to take the lid off – and run. Where are you going to put it?”

  Alice grinned. “Somewhere they’ll never find it – not until it’s too late.” She took the jar, her sleeves pulled down over her hands. “Got to rub it down so there’s no fingerprints. I’ve learned a lot from breaking rules with Daisy!”

  Samira bit her lip. Daisy had not spoken to her since Monday evening. Samira hated that they were not friends any more. She wished Daisy understood what she was going through. But how could she, when Samira was not really sure herself?

  “See you later,” Alice said, and stepped into the hall.

  When the other teams arrived for the quiz, Mr Portman showed everyone into the hall. Samira held her breath, knowing what to expect. Within seconds, over sixty people were running for the exits, holding their noses.

  “Ugh! What is that stink?!” exclaimed a tall dark-haired boy. “It smells like something has died in there. I think I’m going to be sick.”

  “We can’t hold the quiz in there,” one of the visiting teachers told Mr Portman.

  It was working! Samira pressed her lips together to stop a smile. She wouldn’t have to compete!

  By now quite a crowd of girls from Hopewell High had gathered, staring at the visitors who filled the corridor, coughing and spluttering.

  The tall boy sniffed again and frowned. “That’s… hang on, that smells like… a stink bomb!”

  Samira felt her stomach flip. Oh no! She was going to be found out!

  “Don’t be silly,” his teacher said. “It must be a problem with the toilets.”

  “No,” the boy insisted, “no, it’s not. I should know, I’ve made one myself!” He grabbed his teacher’s arm. “Listen to me! Someone is playing a joke! It’s…”

  “STORM?” someone suddenly shouted.

  Samira swung round. Standing in the middle of the corridor, looking totally amazed, was Daisy.

  “DAISY?” said the boy.

  “I can’t believe it!” she squealed. “What are you doing here?”

  Chapter Seven

  To the surprise of everyone watching, Daisy threw herself into Storm’s arms. “I never thought we would actually get to meet!”

  He hugged her back. “I didn’t know you were at this school!”

  There was such a fuss and noise that Storm’s mention of a stink bomb was completely forgotten. The quiz was cancelled and everyone just went into the canteen for tea. All the very serious, clever students became very silly, stuffing themselves with cake and biscuits and giggling about how they had nearly puked everywhere. Even the teachers seemed to enjoy themselves.

  “We will have to fix another date for the quiz,” Samira heard Mr Portman say to one of the visitors. “It’s so difficult finding a date that everyone can do.”

  “Some people seem to find a date easily,” the teacher replied. She pointed across the room at Daisy and Storm, who were sitting together at a table gazing into each other’s eyes.

  “Mr Portman,” Samira said quietly, “can I talk to you?”

  “Yes, of course.” He moved to a quiet corner of the room with her. “What is it?”

  Samira bit her lip. She didn’t want to tell Mr Portman how she was feeling. He might be disappointed in her and she would hate that.

  “The thing is…” she said, “I’m not coping very well, and I think being on the quiz team is too much pressure for me. I think it would be better if I didn’t take part.”

  Mr Portman looked at her for a moment and then smiled. “Of course, Samira. I know you push yourself very hard. It’s important you recognise when you’ve got too much on. Good for you.”

  Samira’s legs felt wobbly with relief. “You’re not disappointed in me?”

  “No, of course I’m not, and I’ll make sure your father understands that too,” said Mr Portman.

  It was as if he had read her mind! “Thank you,” said Samira softly.

  * * *

  “See?” said Hani, when they were back in the Nest that evening. “It’s not as awful as you think.”

  “You made it a bigger thing in your mind than it really was,” Alice added. “That’s what happens to me when I have a panic attack. Your mind plays tricks on you.”

  “Thanks, both of you,” Samira said. “I should have told you earlier about… what I’d been doing. I do feel better.”

  The door opened and the three of them looked up to see Daisy. Samira felt nervous. Was Daisy about to have another go at her?

  But Daisy had the biggest smile on her face ever. “This has been the best day of my life,” she announced. “I am totally in love!” She bounced over to Samira’s bed. “And it’s all thanks to you!” She gave Samira an enormous hug.

  Samira hugged her back, surprised. “You’re not – you don’t hate me?”

  “Hate you?” Daisy pulled back. “Don’t be silly. I don’t get what you’ve been doing at all – I mean, hurting yourself on purpose just seems completely off the planet to me. But I think I went a bit over the top.”

  “Only a bit?” Hani teased her.

  Daisy aimed a punch at Hani’s shoulder. “Shut up. I’m trying to say sorry, OK? I can’t be mad at anyone right now because I’m soooo in love!” She flopped back on Hani’s bed opposite. “Can I tell you everything? I’m bursting! He’s so adorable!”

  The other three smiled at each other a
s Daisy started a list of Storm’s attractive qualities. “Storm and Daisy sounds all wrong,” Alice whispered. “Maybe she should change her name to Lightning.” The other two giggled.

  “You OK?” Hani asked Samira quietly.

  Samira shook her head. “Not yet. I mean, there’s still so much stuff in my mind. But talking about it really helps. I think maybe I should talk to someone else, too. I might try Miss Redmond.”

  “She would be cool, I think,” Hani said. “She was good with Alice and Daisy last year.”

  “Yeah.” Samira looked round as Daisy carried on talking about Storm. She was lucky to have such good friends. They might have their ups and downs, but they were always there for each other.

  “Thanks, Hani,” she said. And this time her smile was a real one.

  Bonus Bits!

  GUESS WHO?

  Each piece of information below is about one of these people in the story:

  1 Samira

  2 Hani

  3 Alice

  4 Daisy

  5 Mr Portman

  6 Miss Redmond

  7 Miss Okoro

  8 Keris

  9 Poon

  10 Precious

  Match each person to a piece of information by writing the right letter next to the right number on a sheet of paper. Check your answers at the end of this section (no peeking!).

  A Her grandmother is Ethiopian.

  B She falls in love with Storm.

  C She was born in Iran.

  D She was jointly in charge of the quiz team.

  E She is 18 and from Thailand.

  F She is a house mistress.

  G She is 18 and has blonde hair.

  H He is skinny and tall.

  I She knew the name of the French prime minister.

  J She sometimes has panic attacks.

  WHAT IS A HIJAB?

  In the story, Samira is wearing a hijab. But what is a hijab?

  A hijab is a type of scarf or veil traditionally worn by Muslim women and girls in the presence of adult men who are not in their family (e.g. male teachers in this story). It covers the head and neck, leaving the face visible but covering up the hair. It is a symbol of modesty and privacy.

  WHO IS MALALA?

  Malala is mentioned in the book. Here is a little more information about her.

  • Malala Yousafzai is a Pakistani activist for female education. She is the youngest-ever winner of the Nobel Peace Prize.

  • In 2009, when she was 11 to 12 years old, Malala wrote a blog about her life under Taliban occupation. The Taliban did not allow girls to have education. She became more outspoken and shared her views more widely.

  • In October 2012, Malala was on a school bus. A gunman asked for her by name and then shot her three times. A few days later she was flown to Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham and recovered from the attack.

  • From March 2013 Malala was a pupil at an all-girls school in Birmingham. She has kept fighting for all women and girls to be allowed to be educated.

  WHERE TO GET HELP

  Samira feels a huge amount of pressure from her family as well as the pressure she places on herself. She can’t cope with this alone and doesn’t share her feelings, and this means that she takes extreme measures.

  If you have concerns and worries about things, there are people outside of your immediate family and friends who can help.

  Childline

  Childline is a free, 24-hour counselling service for everyone under 18. Childline says, “You can talk to us about anything. No problem is too big or too small. We’re on the phone and online. However you choose to contact us, you’re in control. It’s free, confidential and you don’t have to give your name if you don’t want to.”

  www.childline.org.uk / telephone: 0800 1111

  Mind

  Mind is a charity for people with mental health problems. It can provide help and information if you or someone you know is self-harming like Samira. It is for adults and children.

  www.mind.org.uk / telephone: 0300 123 3393 / text: 86463

  WHAT NEXT?

  • Why do you think Samira put so much pressure on herself?

  • How could Samira have coped with the pressure she felt in a better way?

  • Why are friends important?

  If you enjoyed reading this story and haven’t already read Hopewell High – Stage Fright, grab yourself a copy and curl up somewhere to read it!

  ANSWERS to GUESS WHO?

  1c 2a 3j 4b 5h 6f 7d 8g 9e 10i

  LOOK OUT FOR MORE ADVENTURES FROM HOPEWELL HIGH!

  ISBN 978 1 4729 3413 0

  First published in 2017

  This electronic edition published in 2017 by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

  Copyright © Jo Cotterill, 2017

  Illustrations copyright © Maria Garcia Borrego, 2017

  Jo Cotterill and Maria Garcia Borrego have asserted their rights under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as Author and Illustrator of this work.

  Every reasonable effort has been made to trace copyright holders of material reproduced in this book, but if any have been inadvertently overlooked the publishers would be glad to hear from them.

  This is a work of fiction. Names and characters are the product of the author’s imagination and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  The moral right of the author has been asserted

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