The Mag Hags (21 page)

Two weeks later, once all of the final exams were out of the way, the whole school was in holiday mode. The school year was over and the summer holidays stretched out before them like a bikini babe on a beach towel.

Year 10 students gathered in the school auditorium to find out who had won the magazine competition. There had been much conjecture over the past two weeks who would win:
Skater Boi
(obviously about skating – skate-board, rollerblading, in-line skating, ice-skating, speed skating, even roller derby) was apparently rad, according to those who'd seen it.
Bo Selecta
– the music magazine put together by Mo Marks, Hannah House, Josephine Kennedy, Phoebe Rose, and Lana McShane – was supposedly too cool for school.
You Beauty
by Bridget O'Shea, Cath Clarkson, Joanne Ruby, Emma Avalon and Jamie Kelly had beautiful pictures and lots of great tips, while
How To Live Ethically
, by Matty Wing, Dale Smart, Ash Holdsworth, Laire Kennedy and Mohammed El Toro was the most political of the magazines, showing young people didn't just think about trivial stuff – which
was why everybody thought that they were the favourites to win.

Wanda, Mand, Maggie, Cat and Belle had been really secretive about their magazine and had everybody guessing what it was about. The rumour was that they had been so incredibly horrendous to each other that their magazine was the biggest piece of trash ever; but the truth was, that honour went to
So What – Who Cares
by Ian Rowles, Walter Reddy, Al Conway, Col Shiles and Paul Drummond, who hated each other's guts to such a degree that they didn't care if they passed or failed.

Before the announcement, the atmosphere inside the auditorium was just like seconds before a rock band hits the stage at a major concert. You could feel the tension in the air as Taffy made his way onto the stage, followed by Elvira Kaymer and Kira Bunting, the daughter in Bunting, Bunting, Bunting & Daughter, who had printed a thousand copies of the winning magazine, which were sitting by the exit sign in brown cardboard boxes, ready for distribution.

‘Settle down, settle down,' said McTavish into the microphone, which let out a deafening high-pitched squeal. ‘Students of Year 10, may I just say that we've been overwhelmed by the professionalism, creativity and the amount of hard work and effort that have gone into creating your magazines, all of which are as unique and individual as you are. Of course, there can only be one
winning team who will see their work distributed around our wonderful town … But to make that announcement, I would ask Elvira Kaymer to the stage.'

There was a smattering of applause as Elvira stood at the podium in front of the microphone. ‘I would like to reiterate what Mr McTavish has already said. The standard was amazing,' she said. ‘There were several magazines which captured the imaginations of the judging panel, but one stood out for its sheer ingenuity and a professionalism that, quite frankly, startled me. The features were well written and spoke directly to the reader, almost like a trusted friend. The pictures and design showed such a depth of creativity that we almost had to check whether they had hired a professional team to do it! But more so, this magazine reflected the girls who created it.'

There was a gasp in the audience. All of the boys shook their heads in disgust. Bloody girls. They were topping all of the classes and now they were going to win the magazine competition. Maggie, Mand, Wanda, Belle and Cat all sat together in a row. They looked at each other, not daring to breathe, as Elvira tapped the microphone, setting off another dose of feedback, which had all the students holding their ears.

‘Oops, sorry about that,' said Elvira. ‘What the judges liked about this magazine was that it tackled the hard issues but also was funny, passionate and displayed every
one of the girls' creative pursuits, whether it was in the writing or the design. It featured students' fashion, thoughts, ideals and beliefs. Even a celebrity interview with the hottest star in town …'

The girls' mouth hung agape as they looked at each other – surely nobody else could have scored a celebrity interview with the hottest star in town. Could they?

‘And the winner is …
The Mag Hag
,' said Elvira, brandishing a full-colour magazine in her hand and waving it about. ‘Wanda Hong, Maggie Jones, Amanda Hospock, Caitlyn Dean and Corabelle Askew, would you please make your way to the stage.'

The girls erupted with absolute joy. How did they feel? Well, it was like when you see a reporter interviewing someone who has just won the lottery or a sportsperson after winning a really important final and they're asked, ‘How do you feel?' The person tries to explain it but because the feeling is so new and wonderful and exciting and unexplainable, they can't find the words. It was like that for the girls, who were jumping up and down and hugging each other, squealing like puppies.

‘Come on, girls, we haven't got all year,' laughed McTavish. ‘Some of us have got a formal to attend tonight.'

The girls felt the jealous eyes of the entire form bore into their backs as they made their way to the podium. ‘Would one of you like to say a few words? Maggie, come on, you're the editor,' said Elvira.

Maggie looked horrified; while she could cope with her face being on the magazine cover, the thought of speaking to the entire form, most of who were probably wondering who the hell she was, filled her with absolute terror. She took a deep breath, told herself that if she could edit a magazine she could do anything, and then stepped up to the microphone.

‘Okay,' she said hesitantly. ‘I don't know if your group had the same reaction when you were told that you had to work together. We were horrified and even tried to get Ms Marrow to put us into other groups. But over the past term we have learned so much about each other by working together, and in the process we realised, despite being different, we all share the same emotions deep down. I would like to thank my friends – Cat, Wanda, Belle and Mand – who have worked so hard and for so many hours. I hope that every group came away with what we did. Real friendships and new found respect for each other as workmates, and as people. Thank you.'

The girls all hugged one another on the stage and were given a copy of their magazine, which looked so professional, you could have gone into Baywood News-agency and bought it (well, you could have but it was free). The rest of the students in the auditorium clapped and whistled, even if they felt disappointed that their hard work wasn't going to be read all over town. The girls walked off the stage as Ms Marrow opened the doors and
handed out copies of
The Mag Hag
to the students.

The girls accepted congratulations from all of their mates, even Kylie Mannigan, who couldn't believe that the Mag Hags hadn't told on her for ruining Belle's computer, came over to say well done. Con Selwicki came over to ask who the hot chick on the cover was, without ever realising that it was Maggie.

Sitting in the front row of the auditorium, the girls pored over their magazine. Seeing it like that, all glossy and shiny, full of ads for local businesses, felt surreal.

‘Man!' said Mand, who still couldn't quite believe she was seeing her thoughts in print. I might just change the world after all, she thought to herself. ‘We won, we actually pulled it off without killing each other.'

‘Yeah that's probably the most most amazing thing of all,' said Cat laughing, who couldn't help scrutinising her body in the Future Formal spread, despite what she had learned.

Just then Elvira Kaymer came over. ‘Congratulations girls! You really did a fantastic job with your magazine. I even showed the publisher of WWW and she said, it was the sort of magazine that we should be producing'.

‘Wow, thanks,' said a beaming Maggie, who as editor, had now become the unofficial spokeswoman for the team. ‘We loved creating it'.

‘Ifyou need any tips …' piped up Mand. ‘We will be happy to help out'.

‘Okay, Mand,' said Elvira laughing. ‘I may just take you up on that!'

The girls headed to Hoolio's for another celebratory drink before getting ready to go to the formal. Just as they were walking in the door, Nate Smyth-Jones walked out looking his hot, lean and gorgeous self. He had the air of a boy who really thought he was god's gift to the entire female species, especially when he turned his cheeky, dimply smile on the group of girls, but somehow managed to avoid eye contact with Cat.

‘Bella baby!' he said, greeting her like an old friend. ‘Shall I come up to your place first? I wouldn't mind a quick go on The Vultron before we go to the formal.'

‘Oh, didn't you get my text?' said Belle, who hadn't texted him at all. ‘I'm sorry Nate, I can't go with you now.'

‘What?' Nate incrediously. ‘You have to – all the hot girls have got dates now! I can't turn up alone. Whoever the guy is, tell him I'm going to kill him.'

‘It's not a guy actually,' said Belle with a self-satisfied smile. ‘It's a girl.'

‘What!' said Nate. ‘You're going to the formal with a girl? What are you, a –'

‘You may know her,' said Belle, cutting him off mid-sentence and pointing to Cat. ‘Her name is Cat Dean. I think you may have met her before.'

‘That's, that's –' said Nate gesturing wildly but, being a
boy, finding it almost impossible to come up with the words to express how he actually felt.

‘That's life, babe,' said Belle, turning away and ushering the girls inside.

‘What goes around comes around,' said Cat as she walked past. ‘It's the karmic rule of the universe. I'm just glad I was around to see you get yours!'

‘Bitch!' said Nate.

‘Yeah, yeah, whatever,' said Cat, and the thing was, she actually meant it. Those feelings that had tied her in knots were unravelling, and it felt liberating to finally be free of him.

‘Ladies,' said Hoolio, who was in the process of unpacking the girls' winning magazine from a brown cardboard box. ‘I believe congratulations are in order. I have just been flicking through your fine publication. Mighty fine, my lovely ladies, mighty fine. A job well done!'

‘Thanks Hoolio,' said Mand. ‘You kind of saved the day when you told us not to turn on Belle's laptop.'

‘My pleasure, and the food and drinks are on me, today,' said Hoolio, handing Jez a fistful of menus. ‘Would you squire these lovely, talented and clever ladies to their booth?'

The girls followed Jez through the café, which was already packed with students, excitedly talking about the formal – what they were wearing, who was going with
who, who had lucked out and didn't have a date. A hush descended as the girls walked in. ‘Great magazine!' called Shaznay Hope, who high-fived Cat from her booth. ‘I can't put it down.'

‘Love the clothes, Wanda,' said Emily Champion. ‘Are you selling any of them?'

‘Cool as,' called out Abdul Minary, who was DJ'ing. ‘Now I know why you chicks are crazy …'

As Maggie slipped into the booth Jez handed her a menu and their eyes locked for a moment; her heart suddenly felt like a caged budgie flying against her chest. ‘You look hot on the cover of the magazine,' he purred in the softest, sweetest voice. ‘It is you, isn't it?'

‘Um, yeah, er, thanks,' replied Maggie, who never in a million years would have thought the word ‘hot' could ever be applied to her. Now she didn't have her fringe to hide beneath, she didn't know where to look, so she looked over at Mand for support, and blushed furiously, sending her scarlet from her neck up. Jez hung about for a bit, then smiled akwardly and walked away.

Mand, who was never one to miss anything, leaned over to Maggie. ‘Maggie, was that waiter dude with the cute bum scoping you out?'

‘He said I looked hot on the cover,' Maggie replied. ‘He was probably just being nice though.'

‘Boys don't say that sort of stuff to be nice. He likes you, you dummy! Why not ask him to the formal, babes?'
said Mand, who had developed a deep fondness for Maggie. ‘After all, now you're a cover girl, you might as well get some benefits from it.'

‘What, just ask him? I couldn't.'

‘Okay, I'll do it for you.' And Mand sprung up before Maggie had the chance to say no.

Mand disappeared towards the front of the café, hot on the heels of the waiter as the girls talked outfits, dates and the fact that half of the café was reading their magazine. Mand came back with the biggest smile on her face. ‘Maggie, you've got a date!' she said excitedly. ‘He said he would be delighted!'

‘What? Who?' said Cat scanning the talent in the café and coming up with a big fat zero.

‘The waiter dude,' said Mand. ‘He's taking Maggie to the formal. He said he's always had a bit of a crush on her, not that she ever noticed. Now we've all got dates, we're set! We rock! Let's party!'