In the of the series, Effy catches the eye of best friends Freddie, Cook and JJ on her first day at Roundview College. When Freddie attempts to engage in conversation with Effy, flirtatiously suggesting possibly more than a friendship, she warns him that his best friends Cook and JJ want the same, which will likely complicate things. However, after his insistence, she then proposes a challenge by giving him a list of all the things they're not supposed to do in school — such as sniffing glue, smoking weed, arson, porn, and sex in school — and says whoever completes the list first will get an opportunity to "get to know" her. By the end of the day Cook is the only one to have completed Effy's challenge, with the exceptions of sex and drugs in school. Effy excuses herself from class, prompting Cook to follow, where they light up a spliff and the two have sex in the school nurse's office. In the following episode, "", Effy gets to know her new classmates better while celebrating Cook's birthday, and in the third episode "", her suspicion that her mother is having an affair is confirmed when she catches her post-coitus with her father's boss. In the following episode "Pandora", her father leaves her and her mother, so Effy copes by getting trashed at Pandora's girls-only pajama party, despite Pandora's earlier rules that drinking, drugs, and boys would not be tolerated. When Effy returns the next morning, presumably to apologise or comfort Pandora for her actions, she discovers that Pandora and Cook slept together. Though Effy immediately confronts her, Pandora uses the opportunity to stand up for herself and tells Effy she does not put enough effort into their friendship (she has, thus far, demonstrated herself to be somewhat selfish), for which Effy does not argue. In "Freddie", Effy rebuffs Freddie's suggestion that they'd "be good together" by claiming that she would merely break his heart. Later, Freddie expresses his feelings to her in greater depth where the two share a passionate kiss, however Effy returns to Cook. In "Naomi", although there is apparent tension between Effy and Freddie, she and Pandora seem to be on better terms with one another. In "JJ", JJ, Freddie and Cook's mutual friend, who has been encouraged by Emily, angrily confronts Effy for her part in destroying the once-strong friendship he, Freddie and Cook shared. Effy, seeing the impact she had had, is apologetic and, although she cannot guarantee that she will stop, she expresses sentiment that she would like to become his friend after he admits that he loves her too, and is somewhat hurt when he refuses.