Slut

"Come on," he says. "Hop in." My heart pounds. I can feel sweat gathering at my armpits. "I don't think so." "Why not?" "I can't," I say. "Not now." "Okay," he says. "Another time then." He winks. He turns on his signal and pulls back onto the street. I watch his car get smaller then disappear around the bend. Instead of relief I feel disappointed, like I've just missed out on something big. My chance to matter. Fourteen-year-old Jessica doesn't know who she is anymore. Her once strong mother is falling apart after a messy divorce, and Jessica doesn't even have the energy to help her. She has her own problems, not least the school photography contest which requires her to submit a self-portrait; an impossible task when her own identity is a mystery to her. The only thing Jessica seems sure of is the great feeling she gets when someone is checking her out...A cautionary tale about a teenage girl who uses her newfound sexuality as an escape, until she realises just what it's costing her.