Star Reporter by Tamsyn Murray Page A

course. Why don’t you get ready for bed while I go and check on the twins?”
    Once she was gone, I got into my pyjamas and hung Molly’s dress on the back of my door. Then I slipped into the bathroom to throw some cold water on my face. My reflection stared back at me from the mirror as I brushed my teeth, all puffy eyes and blotchy cheeks. I looked away and finished as fast as I could.
    Mum was waiting when I got back to my room.
    â€œSweet dreams,” she said, as I wriggled under the duvet. “It’ll all seem better in the morning.”
    I nodded and laid my cheek against the cool cotton of my pillow. Rolo jumped up and curled up beside my feet. “Sorry for being such a baby,” I mumbled. “That’s the last thing you need.”
    She leaned down and kissed my forehead. “Don’t be silly,” she murmured softly. “You’ll always be a baby to me.”
    I am starting to wonder if my mother IS secretly a witch. Firstly, she conjured up a mug of hot chocolate exactly when I needed one and then she cast some kind of magic spell on me because not only did I sleep for the whole night without waking up once, but her prediction that everything would seem clearer in the morning was right too. At the very least, she has been watching too much Derren Brown and did some weird hypnotism thing on me.
    I lay in bed for ages, thinking things through. There is no getting away from the fact that I vommed on Nathan’s feet, and Shenice and Hannah think I totally ruined their lives, and the rest of the school thinks I pretended to wash my hair in a frying pan. What I need is a way to put everything back to how it was a month ago but, short of getting my hands on a time machine, I can’t see what I can do to turn the clock back. It would be easier to start my life again under an assumed name.
    When I did go downstairs, Mum wasn’t impressed by my plan.
    â€œChanging schools isn’t the answer,” she said firmly, as she changed Ethel’s nappy. “You’d be better off facing up to whatever the issue is. Can Liam help you sort it out?”
    I stared at her, bouncing Joshua on my knee and wondering how to break it to her that her first born wasn’t in the running for Big Brother of the Year.
    â€œNot unless he’s discovered the secret of time travel,” I said.
    â€œHere,” she said, handing me Ethel’s used nappy in a little peach-coloured sack. Wrinkling my nose, I wrapped my arms around Joshua and tied a knot in the bag. They don’t tell you about the pure evilness that comes out of babies’ bottoms when you learn about reproduction at school. If they did, the human race would be doomed.
    Mum sat back and looked at me. “I think it’s about time you told me what’s been going on, don’t you?”
    And just like that, I did.
    When I’d finished, she pressed her lips together the way she does when she’s trying not to explode. Nervously, I eyed Ethel gurgling merrily in her arms – surely she couldn’t lose it with a baby on her lap?
    â€œAre you really angry?” I ventured, after a while.
    Her eyes flashed. “Not with you. I’m angry with this Kelly girl for being a nasty piece of work. I’m angry that the school aren’t aware that it’s happening.” She let out a long, slow breath. “And I’m angry with Liam – he should have told someone what was going on.”
    And that’s when my heart started thudding so fast that I thought I might have a heart attack. “Don’t have a go at Liam,” I begged, picturing what he’d do to me if he got into trouble over this. “He hates it just as much as I do, especially since WOLF BRETHREN was on JOJ so much.”
    Mum shook her head. “That’s the problem, Cassie. He’s old enough to know what to do in situations like this. Bullying is bullying.”
    â€œHe’s going to