Кара Хантер - All the Rage

Sasha Blake puts down her pen and closes her notebook. She's sitting cross-legged on her bed, music on low in the background. The pen has a feather on the end and the notebook is pale blue, with a scatter of white flowers across the front. She likes the sheen of the pages, the feel of the book in her hand, but the real reason she chose it was because it's small enough to fit in her bag. She knows better than to leave it lying about anywhere, that's for sure. She loves her mum, she really does, and she knows she wouldn't snoop deliberately, but no mother has the sort of willpower you would need to stumble across a book like this and not read what's inside. Isabel gets round it by using code, and Patsie sticks everything on her phone, but Sasha likes being able to write things down. It makes it easier to demuddle her thoughts `“ helps her work through what to do. But her mum wouldn't get that. She'd think everything in the book was true. And it is, in a way. Just not the way her mum would understand.

There's a noise from downstairs now and Sasha quickly leans over and slides the notebook into the pocket of her pink satchel, then sits back against the headboard and picks up her copy of Keats.

`˜You OK, Sash?' asks her mum, pushing the door open, her arms full of ironing.

Sasha looks up. `˜I'm fine, just chillin' with my homeboy.'

Fiona Blake smiles. `˜Don't work too hard. You're allowed to enjoy yourself as well, you know.'

She shunts the laundry on to the top of the chest of drawers and pulls the door to behind her as she leaves. Sasha opens the book again. `˜ Awake for ever in a sweet unrest, Still, still to hear her tender-taken breath.' She sighs. Imagine having someone talk to you like that.

* * *

`˜So, you can see why we're concerned.'

Somer sits back in her chair. The principal of the college hasn't said a word throughout Somer's entire account. She's just sat there, frowning, fidgeting with an elastic band, staring out of the window. Outside, the sky is darkening. It looks like rain and Somer curses to herself. She has no coat, no umbrella and entirely the wrong footwear.

The principal still hasn't said anything. Somer glances at Quinn, who shrugs.

`˜Mrs McKenna?' she says, raising her voice slightly. `˜Is there anything we ought to be aware of? Do you know if Faith has been having problems with any of her fellow students recently?'

The woman turns to face her. `˜No. Nothing I know of. Faith is very popular with her peer group.'

`˜Do you know who might have played this April Fool joke on her? Do any names come to mind?'

Another, deeper frown. `˜I hope you're not suggesting that one of our students might be responsible for this `“'

`˜Not at all. But we do know Faith's family only moved here last summer, so she may not have that many friends outside her college circle.'

McKenna starts fiddling with the elastic band again. Somer's a hair's-breadth from leaning over and grabbing it out of her hand.

`˜Mrs McKenna? It's quite urgent `“'

The principal turns to her suddenly and leans forward. It's like a switch has flicked. She's sharp, attentive, brisk.

`˜I'm afraid I can't tell you anything about Faith's personal life or what she does outside the college gates. I can tell you that she is a talented and hard-working student, and I fully expect she will make a great success of her career.'

`˜But she does have mates, right?' Quinn now. `˜You must have some idea who they are.' His tone is short of sarcasm, but only just.

`˜You want to interrogate my students?' The frown is back.

`˜Not interrogate , no,' says Somer quickly. `˜We were hoping to make it much more informal. Just circulate with the group and get a sense of whether there might be undercurrents `“ any sense of animosity `“'

McKenna raises her eyebrows. `˜In that case, I dare say I can't stop you. But I would ask you to exercise more discretion than the police are habitually famed for.'

`˜Have there been any incidents lately that might make our presence here rather more plausible? Any problems with alcohol?'

`˜No.'

`˜Or drugs?'

`˜Absolutely not.'

Somer senses Quinn's reaction but doesn't dare to look at him.

`˜OK,' she says evenly. `˜In that case we'll just make it something general about personal safety.'

`˜Good idea,' says McKenna crisply. `˜I've had two of my female students in here this week already because they thought they were being followed on the Iffley Road. It's a sad reflection on your constabulary that you see these issues only as a useful smokescreen for something else you evidently consider far more important.'

`˜Who the fuck does she think she is?' mutters Quinn, none too quietly, as they make their way down the stairs five minutes later. `˜Talk about bloody chippy `“ she's just the head of a poxy FE college and you'd think she was the sodding Master of Balliol.'

Who is, in fact, a woman. But Somer isn't about to point that out.

* * *

`˜You should change those,' says Baxter. `˜It's not a good idea to sit around with wet feet.'

Somer looks down. If her boots aren't completely ruined after the monsoon that hit just as she and Quinn were crossing the FE college car park, it will be a minor miracle. Her jeans are wet through up to the knees and she's given up on her hair.

`˜Seriously,' continues Baxter. `˜If you're harbouring any sort of latent cold virus `“'

`˜It's OK,' she says quickly. `˜Really. I'm more interested in what you've found.'

He gives her a look heavy with `˜well don't come crying to me', then turns back to his screen.

`˜Well, for starters, Faith Appleford does a fashion vlog every couple of weeks or so. You Gotta Have , she calls it.'

Somer smiles. `˜Clever.'

Baxter frowns. `˜Come again?'

`˜You know `“ `њYou gotta have faith`ќ. Like the George Michael song.'

Baxter is still looking blank.

`˜Forget it. Go on.'

`˜Right. OK. So she started it last autumn, presumably when her course began. It's pretty damn professional, actually. Technically, I mean. Here,' he says, turning to the screen, `˜have a look.'

Posted 18.46 06 February 2018Headshot, interior, direct to cam Hi, everyone, welcome to my channel about fashion, beauty and style. Lots of people have been asking me about how I create my own look. Basically how I choose what things to put together. Not just the clothes but bags and shoes and all the rest of it, because we all know the details can really make the difference between looking good and looking great. So that's what I'm going to be talking about today.Everyone always tells me they can't believe that most of the things I wear are just from mainstream stores, but I always tell them it's not about how much you spend, it's about being really smart about what you pick. Full-length view, by clothes rail I always start with what I call the `˜key piece'. What do I mean by that? Well, it's easy: the key piece is the thing you build your look around. It might be a fabulous pair of shoes like these [ holds up shoes ]. Headshot, selection of shoes in foreground These are my favourites for going out in the evening `“ they're from Irregular Choice and they are just gorgeous `“ fabulous colour and really distinctive with all this lovely silver detailing. And yes, they took up a pretty big chunk of my budget but they're going to last for ages and they give me a `˜signature look' for the whole of the rest of the outfit. Full-length with dress on hanger OK, so this is what I mean. This dress is from Zara, and I got it a couple of months ago for £39.99. I really like the cut of it and the fabric is quite nice given it's pretty cheap. It's basically a standard LBD, though with a bit of a twist with these pleats here at the back. Full-length, modelling dress and shoes So now you can see what it looks like on. See `“ those pleats have a great swing to them when you move. And when you add the shoes you can see it's really starting to come together. The silver on the shoes picks up the silver bits on the neckline, and makes the whole thing look way more classy. And if there's one thing that never goes out of fashion, it's class. Full-length, modelling dress, shoes and accessories And finally accessories. You've heard me say this a lot , I know, but this is so important. I really love this bag `“ I got it from ASOS and I've had it ages. I specially love these tassels, and the strap can be detached if you want to use it as a clutch. The earrings are from Accessorize and they're tassels too. Cool, right? And as you probably know, when it comes to jewellery I think less really is more, which is why I haven't put a necklace with this look `“ with the silver on the neckline, a necklace as well would be too much and probably look a bit blingy, you know? Headshot, as per opening sequence So, that's it for today. Hope you liked this video, and next time I'll show you how I did the make-up I wore today. And if you haven't already, do please subscribe to my channel.This is Faith, signing off the same way I always do: Look good, be kind and love who you are.`˜See what I mean?' says Baxter as he presses pause.