Desperate Measures (3 page)

Vicky was in a real moody in the tree house. Manky Matt was coming round later and Mrs Frankish had said she couldn’t go out. She had to pack all her stuff. I didn’t think I wanted to go to this new school any more. Not without Vicky and Jamie. We were all sitting around on the mouldy cushions when Jamie told us his Big Idea. He said we should run away because then they couldn’t split us up. I looked over at Vicky. She was biting her nails like they were really itching her or something.

I said, ‘Can we run away to Disneyland?’

‘We’ll go somewhere better,’ said Jamie.

I looked at Vicky again. ‘What about it?’

‘What about what!?’ She sounded really snappy.

‘Running away.’

‘They’re only going to split us up for a while – when the baby’s born they’ll have us back.’

Vicky got up but Jamie tugged at her arm. ‘What if they don’t?’ he said.

‘They’ve promised.’

‘But what if something happens or they change their minds?’

Vicky pulled a face then stared out of the little tree house doorway. ‘It’s a stupid idea; we’ve got nowhere to go.’

‘We could go to my secret camp in the woods,’ said
Jamie picking up one of the postcards from the floor. ‘Just for a bit. Until everything’s all right again. It would be like when we went on holiday with Mum and Dad to Great Auntie Irene’s.’

We’ve only been to Great Auntie Irene’s once. Vicky, Jamie, Dad and me camped out in a tent on a little island in the middle of this big lake.

Mum slept in the house with Great Auntie Irene because she was cold all the time. Great Auntie Irene’s dog Jip came with us and we all got in the rowing boat and rowed out to the island. We made a campfire and cooked potatoes in foil and marshmallows on sticks. The potatoes were all black on the outside and hard on the inside. Mum wasn’t going to let us eat them – she said we’d be ill. But we did and we weren’t. She was the one that kept being sick. She never even ate any potato. She did have a tiny nibble on my marshmallow but that was all. She didn’t really want it but I said, ‘Go on Mum, you’ve got to have a taste.’

Maxine can’t eat peanuts, she’s mlergic to them. If she has just one tiny weeny bit of peanut she’ll puff up like a balloon and be really ill. It’s true. Mrs Edwards told me. Maybe that’s why Mum isn’t here any more. Maybe she was mlergic to marshmallows. She didn’t puff up, she just slowly shrank thinner and thinner until one day she disappeared and wasn’t at the hospital any more. Maybe that tiny little bit I gave her was what started it all. She must be better by now. I just wish she’d hurry up and come home because I want to show her my new Furby.

Jamie was explaining to Vicky about his camp and how no one knew about it. I told Vicky about the ferny little den and the campfire but she just pulled a face and told us to forget it. She got up and started climbing down the ladder when Jamie stopped her.

‘We’ve got to stay together Vick,’ he said in a whisper. ‘What’s going to happen to Re if we’re not around?’

‘I don’t need Miss Sticky Slob Bottom, thank you very much,’ I said but the words came out all wobbly.

‘We could look after ourselves,’ Jamie pleaded but then Vicky said all snappy, ‘Oh yeah? Great idea – just like last time.’

‘That wasn’t my fault!’ Jamie called after her but Vicky didn’t stop, she just ran up the garden into the house and slammed the back door behind her.

‘It wasn’t my fault Re,’ said Jamie when she’d gone. ‘I didn’t want them to take us away from Dad.’

I remember when it happened. It was a long time ago. It was after Mum had gone. We’d all got in from school and Dad was out driving a lorry for Mr McCready. Mr McCready was so funny. When he came round to give Dad his money he’d always look round first like his mum was going to pop out of the bushes and tell him off for doing something naughty. Anyway that evening Jamie said he was fed up with jam sandwiches because Dad was never there to cook tea so he said he would make us all chips. Bossy old Vicky told him not to but he didn’t take any notice. I love chips especially with loads of ketchup. He put the oil in the pan and turned the cooker on and then there
was this cartoon on telly so we went and watched it for a while.

When we came back in the kitchen it was full of smoke. I called Vicky and she shouted at Jamie to come out and shut the door. Vicky had to go next door and get Mrs Cantoni to call 999. Everyone in the street came out when the fire engine arrived. A bit later Mrs Frankish turned up with a police lady and said we had to go with them.

When Dad came to see us in the first children’s home he looked different. His face was all rough and scratchy when I gave him a kiss. Jamie told him a joke. Jamie said it was really funny but Dad never even laughed, he just sort of twisted his mouth up like he had a pain somewhere. When Jamie said, ‘Your turn,’ Dad said he’d run out of jokes at the moment. He didn’t even smell like Dad any more. He smelt of beer and Jamie’s PE kit when it needs a good wash.

It was starting to get dark when Mrs Frankish went out to the tree house. I was in my bedroom waiting for Matt to arrive. OK so Cowpat-face wasn’t going to let me go out but she couldn’t stop Matt coming round to see me. I could hear Jamie shouting at her that she was an old bat and old bats weren’t allowed in. Terrific. Matt was bound to turn up right in the middle of my embarrassing brother and my embarrassing sister screaming and yelling at my embarrassing social worker. What more could a girl want?

Mind you, nothing phases our Mrs Frankish. She just waited for a gap in between Rhianna’s yells and Jamie’s abuse, then called up that Paul was home and they both had to go in and pack their stuff ready for tomorrow. Rhianna pretended she couldn’t hear her but of course old
Frankenstein wasn’t having it. She just gave her that look that she does. She takes a great big breath, makes her eyes go all slitty and looks down her nose at you like she’s going to turn you into something scrungy. No wonder Rhianna’s convinced she’s a witch. Jamie once told Rhianna that she’s got a whole load of boxes in the boot of her car. He said one day, when Mrs Frankish was talking to Paul, he sneaked out and opened one. Inside there was a frog hopping around and it was still wearing a little school uniform. He might be an annoying little brat but he sure has got one hell of an imagination. Ever since then Rhianna’s never played her up for long.

I went downstairs and saw Paul sitting in the kitchen. Rhianna was asking him if Sarah liked her card but he just looked at her as if he’d forgotten who she was or something. It was that same look Dad had the week before Mum died. He’d come home from the hospital and just sit in a chair for hours, staring at the wall like he’d been turned to stone or something. Then suddenly he’d start talking about all the mad, crazy things we were all going to do together when Mum got better and came home. About two days before she died, Dad was going on and on about how we’d all have a fantastic holiday together next summer. I couldn’t stand it any longer. I yelled at him, ‘For goodness’ sake, Mum isn’t going to get better – she’s going to die!’ The minute the words were out I wished I hadn’t said them. But it was too late. He just looked at me for a few seconds then the tears started rolling down his cheeks and he started sobbing really loudly. I didn’t know what to do. He was supposed to be the grown-up, not me.

Mrs Frankish made Paul a cup of tea and started spooning sugar in. Rhianna told her he didn’t like sugar but Mrs Frankish kept on shovelling it in like it was suddenly going to make everything all right.

‘I’ll help you pack all your things, Rhianna,’ she said with a big, bright smile pasted over her face. ‘Paul just needs to have a few quiet minutes on his own.’

‘He still won’t drink your stinky tea,’ Rhianna retorted.

They went upstairs and Jamie followed. I looked at Paul. I don’t think he even realised I was there. I was scared to ask about Sarah. I was even more scared to ask about the baby. So I turned and walked out of the kitchen door into the garden and took a big gulp of air. I staggered to the garden wall and sat down, feeling sick. I sat there for a while just trying to get my head together. Then I saw Matt coming along the road. It was too late to go in, he’d already seen me and gave a wave. I didn’t want him to see me like this. I knew I looked a real sight.

‘Hey,’ I said, trying to sound as casual as I could.

‘Hi, gorgeous.’

No one’s ever, ever called me gorgeous before. He put his arm round me and drew me close to him. He was actually going to kiss me! My first proper kiss! I know it was wrong, with Sarah and the baby and everything but for a few perfect seconds I just felt so happy. Wait till I tell Rosie, I thought. Stuff Romeo and Juliet. This was the real thing. Our lips were just touching – eat your heart out Charlene Slackton – and I was melting in his arms . . . when suddenly I heard a yell from our bedroom window
and I felt something land on my head.

It was a pair of her pants! Can you believe it! A pair of Rhianna’s manky, navy-blue school pants! The cow! I’ll kill her! I thought. I will personally kill her!

Matt laughed and called up to her but I was furious. How dare she! How dare she ruin my first kiss! Possibly the only kiss I was going to get for the next century as I was banished into the unknown. Something in me flipped and I started yelling at her. I saw Matt look a bit taken aback but I didn’t stop. Now
I
was the embarrassing one for a change. It was like everything had bubbled up into one big gigantic mess and I couldn’t keep the lid on it all any more.

I haven’t thrown a real full-blown wobbly since I was about eight but this definitely made up for it. Mrs Frankish came out in a flurry.

‘This is all your fault!’ I screamed, throwing the pants at her. ‘If you hadn’t taken us away from Dad in the first place, we wouldn’t be in this mess, packing up to go God knows where!’

She tried to say something but I wouldn’t let her, so she just stood there holding the pants and going more and more red as I heard myself screeching at her more and more loudly. The nosy woman from over the road came out to have a look but I still didn’t stop yelling. I couldn’t stop if I wanted to. And what’s more, I didn’t want to. Everything I cared about was going to be taken away from me. I’d got nothing to lose. I was going to yell like crazy – scream like a loony. I was going to get my money’s worth. Matt started
to fidget then he mumbled some excuse and said he had better get going.

‘Matt,’ I said, ‘don’t go!’ But he just gave me a wary sort of smile then walked off down the road and out of my life. Watching him hurry away slowed me down. Suddenly I was drained. I’d got nothing left to say. He turned the corner and I burst into tears just as Paul came out. I heard him quietly say to Mrs Frankish that he’d manage now and she’d better get off too. She didn’t look too happy but Paul insisted. She told him she’d be round the next morning to collect us. She patted his arm and then, still holding the pair of pants, got in her car and drove off. I looked down and saw I was shaking. It was really weird – I was shaking like a jelly and I couldn’t stop. Paul turned to me.

‘Come on, love,’ he said gently. ‘Let’s get you inside. It’s cold out here.’

I ran into Jamie’s room to hide from Vicky. I could hear her outside screaming. I didn’t mean to make her that angry. I hid under Jamie’s bed and put my fingers in my ears. I wanted the noise to stop but it didn’t so I started screaming too. Jamie came in. He bent down and put his face under the bed.

‘Stop it Re!’ he called. ‘Stop that racket right now . . . or I’ll give you a double chinese burn.’

He does really nasty chinese burns so I stopped.

‘That’s better,’ he said as he got out his school rucksack. ‘Right, well come on then, get out from under there.’

I crawled out from under the bed covered in dust.

He opened his school bag and looked at me. ‘Now watch carefully because you’ll have to pack your rucksack too in a minute.’

‘What about the suitcase Paul gave you?’ I asked.

‘People don’t carry suitcases around when they’re running away. They need to travel light,’ he said. ‘With just the things they
really
need.’

‘Are we really going to run away?’ I asked.

‘It’ll be fun.’

I thought for a second. ‘What about Vicky?’

‘Vicky’s a big fat pain in the bum. All she cares about is her stupid boyfriend.’

‘Manky Matt.’

‘Yeah. Manky old Matt. We don’t need her bossing us around all the time.’

‘No we don’t.’

Jamie put in his warm jumper, some jeans, two pairs of thick socks, his torch, his spiderman sleeping bag and his camping book.

‘Right,’ he said, ‘now go and pack yours just with stuff you really need.’

‘OK,’ I said and ran quickly off to our bedroom.

I got out my school rucksack and piled in my Furby, my baldy Barbies, my disco lamp and Baby Emma with the poked out eyes. Last of all I put in the big photo of me, Vicky, Jamie and Mum and Dad. Great Auntie Irene had taken it outside her house. She was really really old and had cracks on her face like dried up playdough. The photo was a bit blurry. It looked like it was raining but it wasn’t, it was lovely and sunny. Vicky’s got her eyes shut because she blinked and you can hardly see Jamie because he crouched down behind Jip to keep him still.

Jamie came in. ‘You’ll have to sleep in your jumper and jeans tonight,’ he said as he helped me roll up my sleeping bag and fix it on top. ‘And we have to do a secret commando raid to get some food and our drinks bottles.’

He told me to go down and talk to Paul in the sitting room while he sneaked into the kitchen.

‘What shall I talk about?’ I asked.

‘Doesn’t matter. Anything will do.’

In the sitting room Paul was talking to Vicky. She wasn’t yelling any more, just making funny sort of gulps every now and then. Paul gave her a tissue and she blew her nose.

‘How long will we have to be away?’ Vicky asked Paul.

‘I don’t know,’ he said.

‘It’ll only be a short while though, won’t it?’

Paul still didn’t say anything.

‘We’ll be back before Christmas, definitely. We will be back then.’