Tosser~ a James Cook fanfic~

Pandora~1

Thomas was gone. His mum was so horrified by what he had been getting up to that they went back to Congo. Pandora was devastated and even though Tess barely knew him but she still missed him. He was nice, genuine and sweet and that was pretty unusual in a guy.

The only person who didn't make her feel like she was suffocating at the moment was Naomi. Naomi had been different lately—not exactly softer, but more approachable in her own way. They'd ended up spending more time together in the last week or so, and Tess found herself looking forward to it, even if it was just the usual quiet chatter. It helped distract her from the constant tension that seemed to hang in the air.

Naomi kicked back in her seat, looking at Tess with a slight smirk. "Ah I see you've chosen me today" She joked "Where's Katie then?"

Tess snorted. "She's probably off with Danny somewhere, doing God knows what"

Naomi chuckled, but there was an edge to her voice when she replied, "Yeah, well, maybe it's a good thing. I can actually breathe for once without her glaring at me for no reason. It's like a bloody war zone whenever she's around."

Tess leaned in slightly, knowing full well how much Naomi disliked Katie. "Yeah I suppose. Look I've been meaning to talk to her about... you know all the shit she says but whenever I bring it up she gets all snappy-"

But Naomi interrupted "Tess it's fine, you don't have to try fix things I can handle Katie by myself no matter how much of a bitch she can be"

Tess just smiled, before Naomi's attention was caught by something across the room. Panda had walked into the classroom, looking way more excited than usual, her eyes shining as she made her way over to their desk. Tess raised an eyebrow as Panda sat down next to them, practically bouncing in her seat.

"I have big news," Panda whispered, grinning. "Me mums letting me have a party this Saturday!"

Tess blinked, surprised. "No way?"

"Whos going then" Naomi asked eagerly

Panda grinned mischievously. "Well you two, Emily, Eff and Katie! It'll be super duper fun we're gonna play Twister, make cakes and stay up all night telling secrets and stuff!"

Naomi scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Well that's fucking great-"

"Sounds great Panda!" Tess interrupted with a grin, already knowing what Naomi was going to say next

Panda leaned forward, lowering her voice even more. "It's just for the girls though. No guys allowed. So... don't tell anyone else."

Naomi shot Tess a skeptical look but said nothing, just shaking her head and muttering under her breath about "stupid girl things" as Panda bounced off back to her own seat.

--

The halls felt surprisingly empty that morning. Tess knew Katie had ditched, Effy hadn't showed up for days and Emily was apparently too sick to face school but it was eerily peaceful- Well that was until Cook interrupted her thoughts

"Oi, I heard you girls whispering about some party?"

Tess turned, not even surprised to see Cook standing there with his usual smirk plastered across his face. "Your not invited"

Cook scoffed, "What'd Ya mean I'm not invited, me? I'm the fucking life of the party babe!"

Tess rolled her eyes and kept walking, "It's girls only Cook and you're the last boy anyone would want at a girls sleepover. Go find your own fun"

Cook followed her, his footsteps louder than usual, clearly not ready to let it go. "You know, I don't see what the problem is. I think I'd make a damn good cake decorator. And I can keep the Twister board interesting."