Her mum had been acting totally weird all weekend, and when she had a go at Joanne in front of everyone, Maisie actually wished she herself could drop down dead on the spot.

Maisie had known what her mum’s reaction would be if she saw her new slimline body in the shower. Her mum simply didn’t understand that she’d been getting fatter. Unbelievably, she seemed to find it cute. ‘Puppy fat,’ Gran had laughingly called it when she caught Maisie staring into the mirror, pinching at the excess flesh around her middle.

Ariana Grande had no puppy fat, and neither had most of the other girls at her dance classes.

The other girls had started staring at her, and Maisie felt certain it was because she looked revolting in her leotard and tights. And every time she glanced around, Piper would be whispering with the group of girls that used to be Maisie’s own best friends.

Why, oh why, did Piper have to join all of Maisie’s classes? Before Maisie’s dad moved in with Joanne, she only saw Piper at ballet. But now she had access to all Maisie’s friends, all of the time, and she had poisoned them against her.

There was something wrong with Maisie, there had to be. That was why she was always telling her she was too fat, too lazy, too ugly. She’d even said that that was why her dad had left home, to get away from her.

Unless she tried to make herself more likeable, her friends would be lost forever.

At first Maisie had ignored the nasty comments, but after she had heard the same insults again and again, the vicious words somehow seeped into her skin and she thought about them every time she looked in the mirror and every time a meal was served.

The worst thing of all was that Maisie knew that if she told her mum all the stuff that was wrong with her, and that Dad had left them because he couldn’t stand being with her any longer, her mum would end up hating her too.

And if that happened, Maisie thought she might as well just be dead and save herself the heartache.

On Tuesday morning, Maisie dressed in her school uniform as usual.

She hated school like she hated everything else right now. The only good thing about it was that Piper wasn’t around, and also she didn’t have to listen to the hateful comments she endured at the dance school.

It had got much worse since Miss Diane had made the announcement. Maisie hadn’t even told her mum yet. She didn’t want to face up to it.

It had happened halfway through class. They usually had a quick break to grab a drink. People used it as an excuse to mess about and chat. Maisie used to be one of them, but now she always stood at the back of the group on her own, hoping nobody would notice she was there.

Miss Diane clapped her hands and the room fell immediately quiet.

‘I have a special announcement to make.’ She beamed, scanning all the curious faces. ‘I’ve decided who will take the lead role in the Christmas show!’

There was a burst of anticipation, a buzz of voices as everyone tried to guess.

Maisie glanced over at Piper, who stood staring at the dance teacher, a self-satisfied smirk on her perfectly made-up face.

‘So this year, our Dorothy is going to be…’ Miss Diane hesitated tantalisingly and some of the girls giggled. ‘Maisie Barton!’

Maisie staggered slightly, as echoing gasps rose around her.

‘What?’

‘Her? She looks awful!’

‘She’ll make a rubbish Dorothy…’

Miss Diane pushed through the rows of girls and led Maisie out to the front.

Please God. Let me just die before I get there, Maisie silently pleaded. But she didn’t die. She stood next to Miss Diane, and tried to smile at the sneering faces.

‘I know you’ll all join me in congratulating Maisie,’ Miss Diane said, a hint of warning in her voice.

She began to clap, and the girls all reluctantly joined in with a smattering of applause.

Nobody cheered, nobody rushed up to hug her.

But everyone turned as Piper ran crying out of the hall.

Downstairs, Maisie refused breakfast. She honestly didn’t feel in the least bit hungry. She’d lain awake since the early hours with a banging headache and the horrible taunts replaying in her head.

She felt relieved when her mum didn’t go on and on about how she wasn’t eating enough. Although Maisie could see she had lost weight in the mirror, it wasn’t nearly enough to make everyone like her again.

As her mum drove her to school, Maisie suddenly noticed where they were.

‘You’ve come the wrong way again,’ she told her. Mum had done it more than once; she called it being on automatic pilot when she had a lot of pressure on with work. ‘You should’ve turned off back there.’

‘I’m not taking you straight to school,’ her mum said firmly. ‘We have to call in somewhere else first.’

‘Where? I’ll be late!’ Maisie’s headache pounded harder when she thought about having to walk into the class with all eyes on her and sarcastic comments from people who used to be her friends just a short time ago.

Even though Piper went to a completely different school, the faces that stared at Maisie now in class and during breaks and lunchtimes looked uncannily like Piper’s own, with their narrowed eyes and sneering lips.

She didn’t know why people had started being nasty to her; it could only be, as she kept saying, that Maisie had become truly ugly and unlikeable.

It was true she didn’t like joining in silly playground games like she used to. Sometimes she just felt so shaky and unwell, she’d take herself off to a quiet corner. It hadn’t taken long for the others to find someone else to replace her on the courtyard benches.

‘It’s fine. I’ve called school and left a message for your teacher that you’ll be in later.’ Her mum glanced across at her. ‘I made you an appointment with Dr Yesufu.’

‘What?’ Maisie’s face blazed. ‘I don’t need to see the doctor, Mum.’

‘I think you do. You’ve lost too much weight, Maisie, and I need to know you’re not ill.’

‘I’M FINE!’ she shouted, and her mum looked shocked. ‘I’ve told you a hundred times, there’s nothing wrong with me.’

‘Yes, you keep telling me that, but it’s clear that something is wrong. So I need to ask the doctor to check you’re OK.’

‘I told you I didn’t want to go to dancing any more but you wouldn’t listen.’ Maisie scowled.

‘You need a hobby, otherwise you’ll just waste away stuck in your bedroom,’ her mother snapped back.

Maisie felt too furious to respond. She could tell when her mother was resolved and couldn’t be convinced, and this was definitely one of those times.

They travelled the rest of the way to the surgery in silence.