- I'm just saying I'd do that.

Ryan took another bite of his roll.

- You don't get it.

- What don't I get, Ryan? You choose one and then you lay it down.

- Stop saying that. And you don't just choose one, do you? It's not an auction.

Liam looked confused. Ryan finished the last of his roll.

- And you wouldn't lay it down anyway.

- Yeah I would. I'd lay it down hard.

- Oh really? Big Liam? Mr Smooth, yeah? And what would you say?

- Call me Big L.

- You're an idiot.

Liam slapped the banana skin on to the table and puffed up his chest.

- I'd walk straight up to her and be like, look, baby, it's me and you, yeah? You can be the I S P to this Big L. What you sayin'?

Ryan shook his head and smiled. Liam looked offended.

- What? That's good. Big L. I S P, lips, like kiss.

- That spells lisp, you idiot.

- What?

Ryan watched Liam's face as his brain worked out the spelling.

- Oh yeah. Yeah, well, you know what I mean.

- Yeah. Big L can't spell.

Liam smiled.

- Big L can't spell, but you smell, like beef, you've got cow crisps in your teeth.

His big fists started to knock a beat on the lunch table. Ryan smiled and tried to think of a comeback rhyme.

Ameliah watches the girls around the table talking about things everybody expects girls to talk about. Their fast lips motoring through sentences.

Heather gives her a look that says 'Stop being so quiet' and Ameliah tries to say with her eyes that she's only quiet when she's around people talking about things she doesn't care about, that she's not interested in the fact that Simone has taken some of her older sister's foundation and eyeliner and is going to do makeovers for people after school on the field. Mom always said that foundation was what you build houses on and, if your face needs to be built on, then make-up isn't really going to make a difference, is it?

But Heather already knows.

Ameliah looks at her. Pretty without trying. The freckles scattered across her nose and cheeks making her seem that little bit more special. Thank God for Heather. The bridge between her and the others. Heather knows how to let Ameliah be in the group without having to do or say too much. She's always done it, since the infants.

- You OK, Am? Half a day left then freedom.

Heather smiles. Ameliah smiles back. She thinks about the two of them sitting inside Dad's tent in her room by torchlight, Heather hiding her face in the neck of her jumper as Ameliah tells her Dad's ghost stories, Heather screaming as she gets to the end and the big shock about the old man with no head.

- You wanna try it?

Heather holds out the little eyeliner pencil and smiles. Ameliah smiles back and Heather lowers her hand.

- I'm coming back to yours after school, right?

- Yeah?

- Yeah. We're gonna make a start on those boxes.

Ameliah looks around at the other girls, all engrossed in talk of makeovers and brush technique.

- We don't need to.

Heather reaches out for Ameliah's hand.

- Yes, we do. New summer chapter, Am. It's time to make it your room.

Click here to read more.

About the Author.

Steven Camden is one of the UK's most acclaimed spoken word artists. He writes for stage, radio and screen and teaches storytelling. His creative company Bearheart leads story-based projects across different platforms.

Steven moved to London for a girl, but Birmingham is where he's from. He also has a thing for polar bears.

Keep up to date with all Steven's news at: /StevenCamdenTheAuthor.

Hear from the author himself Steven Camden's spoken word poetry can be discovered here: bit.ly/itsaboutlove.

Books by Steven Camden.

TAPE.

IT'S ABOUT LOVE.

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