The Blue Horse by Marita Conlon-Mckenna Page A

…’
    Katie leant forward, anxious to hear about it.
    ‘Go on, what happened?’
    ‘I’ll tell you what happened. I stood in that bigschool with its stairs all over the place and its long corridors. I didn’t know which way to turn. None of the girls knew me and I didn’t know them, so not one of them said a word to me. Not a word!’
    ‘They must have said something.’ Katie couldn’t believe it.
    ‘No. Not one word for four whole days. They walked in gangs up and down and I … well, I walked alone. They knew I was different from them and they made it clear I wouldn’t fit in. They realised it straight away and after four days so did I …’
    ‘Oh Sally.’ Katie didn’t know what to say.
    ‘Don’t you believe me?’ Sally was upset.
    ‘Of course I do.’
    ‘Come on upstairs! I want to show you something.’ Holding Bonnie in her arms, she raced up ahead of Katie.
    It was clear that four sisters shared the bedroom as there were two sets of bunk beds. Clothes hung from the pine bedposts and a battered-looking pine wardrobe stood in the corner.
    Sally grabbed the handle and pulled it open. She rooted through the racks and took out a wire hanger. The convent uniform – school blouse, white with small buttons, bright red jumper and navy skirt – hung abandoned from it.
    ‘My uniform!’
    Katie touched it. Sally sat on the bottom bunk,the uniform swinging from the knob of the open wardrobe door.
    ‘I keep that uniform and every now and then take it out and look at it.’
    Katie felt embarrassed. She barely knew this girl and yet she was willing to share such a secret with her.
    ‘Why are you telling me all this?’
    ‘Maybe you should know, understand why I’m just hanging around.’
    ‘But so am I,’ Katie admitted.
    ‘Listen, that uniform is a reminder of what might have been. I go over and over it again and maybe if I hadn’t been so scared, maybe if I’d laughed and joked, maybe if I’d just given it five days or six days, been a bit tougher, just brazened it out, it might have been okay. Surely in the whole of that school there was one girl, just one girl who might have been a friend. I’m not that bad a person, am I?’
    She turned to Katie, her eyes sad and a frown creasing her forehead. Katie felt totally at a loss as to what to do or say.
    ‘Don’t be sad, Sally, something will turn up for you.’
    ‘Yeah, I can see it all ahead. Dossing about the place, maybe training, get a job in a factory if I’m very lucky and then before you know it I’ll be married …’
    ‘You can’t map things out just like that,’ argued Katie. ‘No one knows what lies ahead ofthem.’
    ‘Well,’ joked Sally, ‘some of us have a fair idea,’ but she couldn’t disguise the bitterness in her voice.
    ‘Sally, why in heaven’s name do you keep that uniform thing if it upsets you like that?’
    ‘You don’t understand. There are times you need to be upset, to be reminded. Anyway I know at least I was good enough to go to school and get a uniform. Who knows, maybe Bonnie will wear it in a few years’ time, maybe she’ll get to do things I never did?’ Her baby sister lay half-asleep, gazing up at her.
    Something fell downstairs with a crash.
    ‘Oh gosh. I’d better get down to Davey, he’s up to some tricks.’ Katie was glad of the excuse to get out of the bedroom and back downstairs.
    Sally cheered up. They enjoyed the rest of the morning together. The heavy rain clouds had blown away and the sun was making feeble attempts to come out. At lunchtime Katie ran back home as Mam would be looking for her.
    It was strange, but that afternoon Katie found herself walking in a round-about way towards the large Community School. It was set on a slope and from outside she could see the heads of girls and boys in various classrooms. The bell went and she sat by a garden wall. A few minutes later gangs of teenagers began to stream out. They were chatting and laughing and walking in groups. Some were