Blood Moon

Chapter One: Ring of Daisies

A quick glance around the hall was all Nina could afford. Time was running out.

Her heart raced as she pushed her shaking leg out. Would it reach far enough? Nina's Doc Martins proved effective and she managed to land a solid kick on Lilo's arse through the chair hole.

Then, not even daring to look and see if anyone had noticed she glared back down at her exam paper. Half an hour had already passed since the beginning of the exam and she had written a paragraph. This was the fault of Lilo, who had actually had a very productive half an hour. Her hair had been plaited, her desk carved, her arms beautifully tattooed in pen... It even looked at one point as if she was performing a small spell, if it was for luck in the exam Nina was going to throttle her. In conclusion, how was one supposed to concentrate when you had a clear view of someone who wasn't? It would be ok now though Lilo would write something and she would get something down.

After only a few seconds though her eyes wandered back in Lilo's direction. Nina almost fell off her chair in shock as she was met with Lilo's brown eyed gaze, now a mere 5cm from Nina's. Within strangling distance. "Hey, what was that for?" Lilo practically shouted, having turned in her chair and leant it so the back was now supported by Nina's desk alone. "I'm pretty impressed you-" If Nina just shuffled the desk a little bit...

"Lilo Atwood get up." Mrs Evans stood above the two of them and at the moment Nina would have sold her soul to the devil to be somewhere else. This exam decided everything.

Tears welled, today did not need to be made worse by her crying in front of everyone. Mrs Evans barely even looked at Nina though, her soul-piercing gaze focused entirely on a still smiling Lilo. It seemed to take Lilo an age to rise from her desk but eventually she did, giving Nina a small wave as she was escorted out the exam hall.

The sound of scribbling pens momentarily stopped as everybody tried to look as though they were not staring at Lilo. After a few minutes however the sound continued, she had an hour to finish the exam.

Now, Nina was very aware she could admit to kicking Lilo and be sent out too. She had, however, been trying to help and what did Lilo expect was going to happen? How could she risk everything like that? If possible Nina would have screamed, instead she just bit into her lip until blood ran, splattering over her one paragraph.

With Lilo gone it was now, at least, a lot easier to concentrate

                                                                                                 ***.

"Times up." Hand cramping Nina stretched it in the air, somehow she had managed to finish in time. Now, with nothing to fill her mind thoughts of Lilo returned. Would she be mad? Her hands fiddled absentmindedly with the strands of Lilo's stolen jumper as guilt panged through her. It had been her fault really, perhaps Lilo would have started writing eventually. The girl moved in strange and wonderful ways.

At the back of the room collecting her bag a friend asked her how the exam had gone and Lilo yet again blazed in her mind. It hadn't even been that hard, they both would have doddled through that mock. The mock that determined predicted grades for uni and so practically Nina's entire life. Lilo never seemed to care about her own future but did she really care so little about Nina's?

The raging fire in her only softened slightly as she spotted Lilo waiting alone on the grass opposite the exit. Right, last day of term or not Lilo was going to get a piece of her mind.

In full rhinoceros mode now Nina stormed towards Lilo but despite the heavy clomping of her boots on concrete Lilo remained oblivious. Too immersed in the challenge of creating crowns, as she pushed the end of her daisy into the hole of the other's stem.

It was only when Nina dumped herself down on the grass too that Lilo looked up. "Ah did you manage to finish the exam?" She played with her daisy necklace nervously. "I hope you didn't get into any trouble."

"You did." It was very difficult to stay angry with Lilo.

"Not really, they just said I'd fail the exam, but let's face it that was going to happen anyway and this way I got to sit in the sun and make you this." Cheerfully, Lilo held up the daisy chain, which she plopped onto Nina's head. She tilted her head, staring rhinoceros Nina down. "Are you angry?"

"It's just." These words had been playing in Nina's mind for a while, saying them outloud was another thing however. "It's as if you want to fail." Lilo went very still. What made Nina angriest was how since everybody had started talking about unie applications, this argument jostled for a way into their every conversation. Today, however, their exams were over and their parents were about to go away. Leaving the two of them with a whole fortnight together and Nina wasn't going to be the one to ruin it. "I'm sorry for kicking you though."

She let Lilo brush the hair from her face adjusting the crown so it weaved through her curling hair. "I'm sorry too, I don't want to fail."

Nina leant into her shoulder. "I know."

There was a content kind of silence for a moment, then Lilo broke out into a grin. "Did you notice the sneezy examiner by the way?"

"No, I was looking at my exam."

"You were looking at me actually."

"True." Nina lent further into Lilo, the sun willing her eyes shut. It pulled thoughts of the mock away tenderly, two weeks of holiday lay ahead of them...

"But anyway, I thought of a brilliant story about them. They just looked like they had a lot of life you know?"

"Is this what you were doing rather than your exam?" There was no bite to Nina's voice now.

"Yes. Do you wanna hear it though?"

Nina nodded, settling further into Lilo's shoulder.

The story was a rather complicated affair and if Nina was honest, she lost track at the part with Espionage kittens, the sun lulling her into one of those half dozes. A whole holiday with just Lilo. They could bake cookies, swim in the brook or just lie like this in the sun for days if she wanted. A thought snuck into her mind, perhaps as well she could subtly persuade Lilo to do some work.

Lilo stood without warning, waking Nina from her dreaming - some pillows were so rude.

"Hey Albie!!" Lilo shouted.

"Loving the necklace Lilo, you two look like a pair of nymphs." Albie shouted back, turning away from her gaggle of skater boys to come towards them.

"Thanks, honestly my only goal in life. Do you want one?"

Albie pondered it for a moment, then drew back her hoodie sleeve. "Sure do me a bracelet." She turned to Nina. "How was the English exam?"

Nina's stomach clenched. "Just don't."

"Great, Nina kicked me." Lilo leant over her to pluck a daisy.

Would she have done well enough to keep her predicted grade up for Cambridge? The angry fire in Nina had long ago been doused by Lilo and the sunshine, she couldn't help worrying though.

She did? Wow Nina I'm impressed not gonna lie" Somehow Albie knew not to ask too many questions. "Anyway." She could only have been sitting for maximum two minutes but stood up. "Hanging around school still is stressing me out, can we go?" Without further ado Albie lifted her shirt giving them a quick flash of bikini. "I've been dreaming of Nina's river all day."