Stargazing For Beginners by Jenny McLachlan

With a sigh, I swap the biro for one of my beloved inky gel pens.

‘Thanks, Meg,’ Ed says, whipping the pen out of my hands and turning straight back to his work.

Halfway through the lesson, Ms Edgecombe starts handing round dominos and ping-pong balls. ‘We’re going to recreate the nuclear fission process,’ she says, ‘and I want you to work –’ ‘In groups,’ says Bella. ‘Please, Miss.’

All around the room, students demand to work in groups while I silently beg for ‘alone’.

‘I want you to work with the person sitting next to you,’ says Miss.

‘What?’ says Bella, scowling at Raj. ‘But I want to work with Woody!’ This is another of Bella’s special names – Edward – Woody – but unlike my Megara, when she calls Ed ‘Woody’ you know it’s one hundred per cent friendly.

‘Well you can’t,’ says Ed, clicking the lid down on my pen. ‘I’m with Meg.’ ‘As usual,’ mutters Bella.

Ed and I are always paired up. It’s because we’re both clever or, in Raj’s words, ‘total freaks’. Somehow, Ed manages to be a part-time freak, slipping in and out of the role depending on whether he’s in lessons or hanging out 19