Chapter One

Indecent Proposal

"That is utter bullshit," Lucas Kinsella shouts at me from the other side of the classroom. I roll my eyes at his comment but I don't try to defend myself. Instead, I turn to face him and glare, waiting for him to continue. "Do you actually believe anything that's coming out of your mouth? You seriously can't be that- that- stupid."

This is how all our Religious Education classes went; Lucas and I would shout at each other for an hour while everyone else sat bemused at our altercations. The teacher, Mrs Morgans, sat at her desk and monitored our debate, only stepping in when things got out of hand. Luckily, Lucas and I knew where the line was drawn and we rarely overstepped it, but I could feel that today would be the day we really let rip at each other.

Lucas Kinsella and I are too similar, and that's our biggest problem. We were both opinionated and could never agree on anything. We butted heads constantly and it didn't matter whether we were in R.E or English, Lucas and I would stubbornly argue. The only way to break up one of our feuds was... actually, there is no way to end them. At the end of the lesson the bell would ring and the teachers would send us on our way, but our debates would spill out into the corridor and continue into the Sixth Form common room. No one even batted an eye anymore when we shouted at each other; this was how it had been since Year 10 and now we were in Year 13 we were a little bit older, but by no means wiser. If anything, with age our opinions had strengthened and our tactics had sharpened.

"Firstly," I yawn, tired of constantly having to tell Lucas that just because he disagreed with me, it did not make me any less intelligent. "I am not stupid. If having a belief, an opinion makes a person stupid then I guess we're all idiots, including you." Lucas opens his mouth to protest but I hold up a hand to stop him. "I'm not finished. What I am saying is not, and I will quote, 'bullshit.' In fact, many people would agree with what I'm saying. Before you start with your anti-religion tirade, sex before marriage is not just a religious belief. It's a moral issue too. Like I said earlier, people should be in love before they have sex."

Lucas groans, bangs his head against the table dramatically and mimics a strangling motion with his hands.

"Look," he says through gritted teeth as he lifts his head so his brown eyes bore into mine. "It's probably hard for a good Catholic girl like you to understand but sex is a biological need. People need to have sex. Sex is good, or if it's with me, it's amazing." A few girls in the class nod in agreement, obviously knowing first hand just how accurate his last statement was. I internally gag. "Life is too short, so I say we all go out, have loads of amazing sex and die with no regrets. When the only other option is to die a frigid virgin like you, Elle, I know which option I would take."

Mrs Morgans stands to calm the situation, but I cut her off. "Right," I say slowly while nodding my head sarcastically. "Because whoring it around is a much better option than finding someone you could love for the rest of your life!"