Double Cross (5 page)

'Well, I wouldn't know,' I replied.

Callie tilted her head as she regarded me. 'No, you
wouldn't,' she agreed. 'Didn't you cry when your dad
left?'

'Nope.' I wasn't going to cry over that. It wasn't like he
hadn't run out on us before. And if he ever came back, he
was bound to do a runner again. Crying over him would
be like crying because the sun rose each morning.

'When was the last time you cried?' Callie asked with a
frown.

'Years and years ago,' I said truthfully.

'There's nothing wrong with crying. Sometimes it's the
only thing that makes things better.'

'I'm not even sure I know how any more.' Crying
wasn't me. 'Can we change the subject please?'

Callie sighed, but did as I asked. 'So what d'you reckon
your sister's excuse for bursting in on us will be this time?'

I shrugged. 'Who knows? Getting back one of her
magazines?'

'Hunting down her college homework?' said Callie.

Like I'd keep any of her wigs or hairdressing stuff in my
room. Jess went to hairdressing college just one day a
week, but the stuff she brought home was pushing me and
Mum out of the house.

'How about checking up on Cuddles, my pet snake . . . ?'
I suggested.

'Despite the fact that Cuddles died over five years ago,'
Callie pointed out wryly.

'Ah, but Jessica can commune with friendly spirits,' I
reminded her. 'Snakes included.'

'Your sister is a woman of many talents.'

'If only that included minding her own—'

The door was flung open, its hinges protesting with a
severe creak.

'I hope I'm not disturbing you two. Did you call me,
Callie?' said Jessica. 'I thought I heard you call me.'

Callie and I exchanged a look. I didn't even have to
glance down at my watch.

'I win,' I said softly.

'I did call you actually,' said Callie. 'I'm just about to
make mad, passionate love to your brother and I
wondered if you'd like to watch?'

'Ugh! Callie, I thought you had better taste.' Jessica's
face contorted at the thought.

'Nope. I love the way Tobey and I get down and dirty.
Watch us, Jessica. You might learn something.'

Callie pulled at the back of my T-shirt, almost strangling
me in the process. I fell backwards before my Adam's
apple was cut in two. Callie pounced. That's the only
word for it. She pounced. Before I could blink, her lips
were on mine and her tongue was darting into my mouth.
And damn, it felt good. I wrapped my arms around her
and pulled her closer.

'That is so gross.' Jessica's voice barely registered. 'I'm
outta here. You two have moved beyond sad into pitiful.'

I was vaguely aware of my bedroom door being
slammed shut, but I didn't care. I pulled Callie closer still.
Blood was rushing round my body, then to one particular
part of my body. Callie smelled good, tasted great and felt
even better. It took a few seconds to realize that Callie was
trying to push away from me. I reluctantly let her go.

'We can stop now,' Callie told me, her warm breath
fanning over my face. 'Your sister has gone.'

Sod my sister.

'Let's hope that cures her of her nosiness. For some
reason Jessica didn't fancy the idea of watching you get
your leg over.' Callie laughed.

'Godsake, Callie. Even I'm grossed out by that idea.'
My lips twisted at the thought.

Callie sat up abruptly. Her smile had vanished. 'Making
love with me would gross you out? Thanks a lot.'

I stared at her, then sat up myself. 'I meant . . . that's not
what I meant. I meant about my sister being present.'

Callie's head tilted to one side. 'It's OK, Tobey. I get it.
I'm not Misty.'

Was she nuts?

'I don't want you to be Misty. God forbid.'

Callie shrugged. She dug into her school rucksack and
took out a couple of books. I sighed inwardly. She didn't
believe me. Or was she winding me up as payback for
earlier? Because if so, she was doing a first-class job.
Usually I was streets ahead of her when it came to teasing,
but over the last few months, the scales had been tipping
in the other direction. She got to me like no one else.

'Callie, there's nothing going on between me and
Misty,' I said.

'If you say so.' Callie still didn't look me in the eye.

'I do. And it means a lot to me that you believe that.'

'Why?'

'It just does,' I said, trying and failing to keep the impatience
out of my voice. 'OK?'

'OK,' replied Callie. 'Ready to work on our school
project now?'

Well, if she wanted to concentrate on homework, then
I could too. Two could play that game.

'Now, about the Second World War – what point of
view d'you want to write our newspaper article from? The
POV of us winners or the losers?' Callie asked.

'I don't mind,' I said. 'You choose.'

'Which is what you always say whenever I ask you to
make a decision,' said Callie, the faintest trace of irritation
creeping into her voice. 'If you made an actual decision
for yourself, would you get a nosebleed, or maybe a
brain aneurysm?'

'What's wrong now?' I asked, exasperated.

Callie contemplated me, her head tilting to one side
again. 'Tobey, what are we? Apart from uncomplicated?'

'We're friends,' I replied at once. 'We're good friends.
Aren't we?' What was Callie getting at?

Callie nodded. 'I guess so.'

'Don't you know?'

'I'm waiting for you to figure it out, so you can tell me,'
said Callie.

'What does that mean?'

'I'm waiting for you to figure that one out as well.'
Callie smiled. 'Let's get on with our homework.'

Sometimes I don't understand Callie. At all.

I'm a reasonably smart guy, but I just don't get her.

Damn, but she's complicated.

Sometimes I don't understand Tobey. At all.

He's the smartest guy I know, but he just doesn't get it.

Damn, but he's dense.

'Tobey, you still haven't told me about your careers
meeting. How did it go?' asked Mum.

'Fine.' I grinned, putting down my glass of orange juice.
'Mrs Paxton was really encouraging. She reckons any
university in the country will take me with the grades I
can achieve if I don't let my work slip. And she's personally
going to write my university reference.'

Mum smiled faintly at my enthusiasm, but I couldn't
help it. Both Mrs Paxton, our head, and Mr Brooking, the
school careers advisor, had basically told me that the world
was mine, as long as I was prepared to keep working for
it. It didn't matter what Dan and some of my friends
outside of school said: I was going to go to university.
Every time I thought of my future, it made me smile. And
nothing and no one was going to hold me back or even
break my stride.

My family were all sitting down having breakfast
together, which was kind of rare as Mum's a nurse at
Mercy Community Hospital, so she worked shifts. Jessica
was still half asleep and picking at her fried egg and bacon.
My plate was almost empty and I was eyeing Jessica's egg.
If she wasn't going to eat it then I had room left in my
stomach, as long as the egg wasn't cold. But if I took too
much interest in Jess's breakfast, she'd gobble it up and
swallow it down just to spite me.

'Mum, it's actually going to happen.' My smile widened.

'Hopefully,' said Mum.

'Not hopefully. It's gonna happen,' I amended. 'I'm
going to university.'

Mum just shrugged.

'To do what?' asked Jessica.

'Something that'll make me a lot of money like an
Economics or a Maths degree or maybe Business Studies
with Information Technology,' I replied.

'That'll make you money?' Jessica said sceptically.

'Working with money makes money,' I said. 'Everyone
knows that.'

'Don't you want to do a degree because you're interested
in the subject rather than for the money you'll make
at the end of it?' asked Jess.

'I'm being practical.'

'What would you do if you didn't have to worry about
a job at the end of it?' my sister asked.

'I dunno.' I'd never really thought about that as it
wasn't going to happen. 'Maybe Politics or Law.
Something like that.'

'Tobey, don't set your heart on university,' Mum said
gently. 'I can't afford three or four years' worth of fees, not
on top of what I have to fork out to Jessica's college. I just
don't have the money.'

'I know, Mum. Don't worry, I've got it all worked out.
I'll take out a student loan to cover the tuition fees. And
I'll start saving the money I earn from every holiday job I
have from now on.'

'It's not just tuition fees,' Mum warned. 'You'll have to
pay rent and bills and buy books and food.'

'University is for the rich or those prepared to be in
debt until they're middle-aged. It's just another way of
keeping us Noughts down,' Jess added.

'Isn't it more of a poor-versus-rich thing?' I frowned.

'Please,' Mum groaned. 'No politics at the breakfast
table. It's too early.'

Going to university had always struck me as more of a
social class thing than a race thing. As long as I wasn't
going to one of those snooty, snotty 'historical' universities
where they interviewed you first to ascertain your
family's bank balance and social standing, what was the
problem? If I got good grades in my end-of-school exams
and I paid the tuition fees, surely that was enough for most
universities and they wouldn't care that I was white? Mrs
Paxton reckoned I had the right stuff to get into any
university in the country. So, enough. I wasn't going to
give voice to my doubts or argue the point. I was in too
much of a good mood.

'Jess has a point, though,' said Mum. 'I mean, is that
what you really want? To be in debt until your hair turns
grey?'

'That's why, after university, I'm going to get a job that
makes a lot of money so I can pay off the loan faster,' I said.

My good mood was rapidly evaporating. Mum and
Jessica were only trying to make sure that I knew what I
was letting myself in for, but they were both beginning to
jump up and down on my nerves.

'Why d'you want to go to university anyway?'
Jessica sniffed.

'Because I can,' I snapped. 'Because less than twenty
years ago, a Nought going to university was unheard of,
unless they were super rich. Because that door is open and
all I have to do is walk through it.'

'For all the good it'll do you,' Jessica muttered.

'And that right there is why you'll be doing the same
job in the same place for the same wage in thirty years'
time.' I glared at her. 'Your attitude is why you'll always
fail.'

'Thanks a lot,' Jess said indignantly.

'Does the truth hurt?' I asked with just a modicum of
spite.

'Tobey, that's enough,' Mum admonished me.

'She started it,' I said childishly.

I sipped at my coffee, glaring at my sister. She gave as
good as she got.

'So, Jess, how's college?' Mum asked, trying to draw her
attention.

'Too much writing,' said Jess. 'Why on earth do I have
to write essays on hair textures and nutrition and the structure
of hair follicles? I want to cut and style hair, not
lecture on it.'

'You do get to cut hair as well though, don't you?'
Mum sounded worried.

Jessica wasn't keen on writing. Never had been.

'Yeah, but not enough,' my sister sighed. 'The four
essays we had to do this year plus my exam next
week count for sixty per cent of the total end-of-year
mark.' Her eyes clouded over. Something was
wrong . . .

'How d'you get the other forty per cent?' I asked.

'Practical work at my work placement and one practical
assignment in front of my tutor,' said Jess.

'What's the pass mark for this year then?' I frowned.

'Seventy per cent.'

'And what happens if you fail?' I asked.

'She leaves college and gets a full-time job,' Mum
answered before Jessica had the chance.

'They let you redo the year again as long as you pay the
fees,' Jessica said, studying the peeling and chipped veneer
on our table.

'No, Jess. If you fail this year, no more college,' said
Mum sternly.

'How many of this year's essays have you done?' I
asked.

'What is this? Some kind of inquisition?' Jessica
exploded. 'I've done my essays. OK? I really want to be a
hairdresser. I'm not about to mess that up.'

'Well, excuse me whilst I just run round the kitchen
after my head.' I scowled. 'I was only asking.'

'When's your final exam, Jessica?' asked Mum, casting
me a warning look.

'Next Thursday,' Jess replied, moderating her tone only
slightly.

Mum glared at me. I got the message.

'I'm sorry, Jess,' I said reluctantly. I hated saying sorry to
my sister. 'I didn't mean to upset you.'

Jessica shook her head slowly. 'It's all right for you,
Tobey. You've never failed at anything in your life. God
help you the first time you do fail, because you won't be
able to handle it.'

'Then I won't fail.' I shrugged.

'And it's that simple, is it?'

'Yeah.'

I downed the rest of my orange juice and took my
empty plate and glass to the sink. My appetite for more
was gone.