The Lost Girls
The lost girls are everywhere. If you’ve been one, you know. They write poetry in the dark, crouched in corners, or sitting in the shadows of bus stops. They watch, detached from the world. They are, they think, forever apart.
The lost girls wear ferocious facades. There is safety in numbers and reputation. They have sex to make allies, to fit in, to feel and to be felt. In a senseless world, any sensation has value.
I know these lost girls and they know me. They sidle up after workshops and school visits, to talk, to touch me, to trust that I am real. ‘Ahhh’, you almost hear them sigh. ‘She survived”. They bring glasses of water and thank me for writing ‘real’ girls.
It’s ironic that they like my ‘real’ girls, because I happen to think that my lost girls are unreal. I see them and think Kaylin Neya or Katniss Everdeen, or Hermione Granger. I hear warrior women when they speak with their loud voices and aggressive language. “But they’re not real, are they?” Kohl rimmed eyes gleam with challenge when I mention these fantasy heroines. “They’re not real.” In the scary dark of their thoughts, their next, unspoken question is, ‘am I?’. 
What will they do then, I wonder, what will my lost girls do, when they find I’ve moved my real girls, to Mars? Will they feel abandoned in space or, will they recognise sister spirits and be found?
Rebecca Bloomer's Book Blog 
Well written! And I can definitely think that the lost girls you refer to are real. It’s great that someone is writing about “real girls.”
Thanks so much for such a positive comment. I do write about real girls…even when I shift them to Mars, because I think real girls are finding it hard to read ‘relatable’ role models lately. Also, my lost girls are my best critics. They tell me every time I get something wrong, and the always tell me when I’ve got something right. I really hope they’ll come with me for the next book 🙂
Great post, Rebecca. I think we are all “lost” girls at some point and for some duration. Thank you for giving them the attention they deserve.
Hi Sandra, thanks for dropping by. I’m certainly trying my hardest 🙂