Schemer (11 page)

‘You all right, mate?’ Chloe asked, appearing by Angela’s side.

‘No, she ain’t all right. She’s off her head if she thinks we believe she’s got a new boyfriend. We know what a liar she is,’ Tanya said, laughing.

‘Well, for your information, Angie ain’t lying. She’s going out with Jason O’Brien if you must know,’ Chloe replied.

Tanya MacKenzie stood open-mouthed. For the past eight months she had been besotted with Jason O’Brien’s dazzling good looks, and had recently plucked up the courage to ask him out. Jason had said no, and Tanya was sure he had only knocked her back because she was in the year lower than his, so how could he now be going out with Angela bloody Crouch?

‘You’re lying. You’re only saying that ’cause you’ve heard that I like Jason. You keep your hands off of him, Crouchie, do you hear me?’ Tanya spat.

Seconds later, as if by magic, Jason O’Brien walked around the corner and made a beeline for Angela.

‘Do you fancy coming to the chippy with me?’ he asked, grinning at her.

Clocking the look of jealousy on Tanya’s face, Angela smirked. ‘Yes, I’d love to, Jase.’

Stephanie Crouch had had such a brilliant day out with Barry and Wayne that she felt no guilt at all about bunking off school. Unlike her sister, Steph had never played hooky before, and she knew if she forged a letter in her mum’s handwriting, none of the teachers would bat an eyelid.

‘You enjoyed yourself today, babe?’ Barry asked, as they stood on the platform at Mile End station waiting for the District Line train.

‘Yeah, I’ve had a fab day. Why did Jacko shoot off?’

‘Jacko wanted to see some old pals while he was in the manor,’ Barry replied.

He waited for the commuters to get off, then led Stephanie over to two empty seats in the corner. ‘Jacko and me are both cut from the same cloth, babe – that’s why I have so much time for him. He’s a go-getter, just like I am. I mean, one day me and you might have kids and stuff and you want the best for ’em, don’t you? I dunno about you, but I don’t wanna be stuck in Dagenham for the rest of my life, or Bethnal Green for that matter. I plan to buy a big house in a posh area and then, one day, when I do have kids, I wanna give them all the stuff that I never had.’

Sort of understanding what Barry meant, Stephanie beamed from ear to ear. Barry must obviously really like her if he was mentioning them having kids one day. ‘That’s what I want too,’ she gushed.

Much to the disgust of the two old ladies sitting opposite, Barry kissed Steph passionately.

‘Bloody disgusting! No wonder our birth-control rate is going mad in this country,’ one of the old ladies said to the other.

Totally besotted with one another, Barry and Stephanie carried on kissing as though they were the only two people on the train.

‘Why don’t we jib school tomorrow an’ all? Me mum’s going away for a week with her new bloke. She’s going to Spain and is sodding off first thing in the morning. Me sister won’t be about tomorrow either, ’cause her bloke’s coming out of nick and they’re having a do for him round at his brother’s house. It might be the only day we can have the house all to ourselves. What do you say?’

Stephanie felt her stomach immediately tie itself up in knots. She liked Barry, really liked him, but she wouldn’t be fifteen until another few months, and certainly wasn’t ready to take their relationship to another level yet.

‘What’s up?’ Barry asked, noticing her reluctance to answer his question.

‘I dunno. I suppose I’m just worried if someone catches me coming in or out of your house and I’m worried about the other stuff. You know?’

‘What other stuff? All we’re gonna do is drink, smoke and play music. I’ll never make you do anything you don’t wanna do, babe.’

The two old women tutted and stared at one another. ‘To think my Albert died in the war for kids like these,’ the fatter lady whispered to the other.

‘Well, if it’s just for a beer, fags and some music, yeah why not?’ Steph agreed, grinning.

Barry squeezed Stephanie’s hand and stared intently into her eyes. ‘That’s my girl.’

CHAPTER EIGHT

Pamela Crouch was not in the best of moods. She had spent the whole of the previous night sitting up in Oldchurch Hospital’s A&E department, and was so tired, she knew she wouldn’t be able to go into work today.

‘I’m sorry, Pam,’ Linda said, as they finally left the hospital and got into a cab.

‘I should hope you bloody well are! Six hours I’ve just sat up that poxy place. I mean, whatever possessed you to walk home alone, Lin? You know if you’re pissed and you fall over, unless you’re with someone you can’t get back up again.’

‘The cab firm I use only had two drivers on and the man on the phone said I’d have to wait an hour. Anyway, I weren’t that pissed. I just tripped over on a bit of uneven pavement,’ Linda fibbed.

‘Don’t you start lying to me an’ all, Lin. I’ve got enough on me plate with them two deceitful daughters of mine forever telling me porkies, without you insulting my intelligence an’ all. I ain’t bloody stupid. Even the nurse told me you’d had a skinful. You’ll have a pickled liver if you carry on at the rate you’re going. I mean, you’re out on the piss every night. It ain’t normal.’

‘I’m sure I only go out a lot now because I was stuck indoors for all them years with Mum. I’m just trying to make up for lost time, I suppose,’ Linda explained.

Pam squeezed her younger sister’s hand. ‘Just promise me you’ll either get a cab home or get one of your mates to walk back with you in future. If that man hadn’t found you lying on the pavement, you could have bleedin’ stayed there all night and died of hypothermia.’

‘I won’t do it again, I promise. So, how are the girls? Are they talking again yet?’ she asked, sensibly changing the subject.

Pam shook her head sadly. Since their argument at the weekend, her daughters hadn’t spoken a single word to one another, and the looks of hatred flying between them were breaking Pam’s heart.

‘What about that Marlene’s boy? Has Steph seen him any more, do you think?’

Pam shrugged. ‘I can’t stop her seeing him at school, can I? All I can do is make her come straight home after school, not let her out at weekends, and hope it will just fizzle out. Cath knows, obviously, but apart from you I’ve told no one else, so make sure you don’t tell anyone either. I know your mouth’s as big as the Blackwall Tunnel when you’re pissed.’

‘Speak of the devil,’ Linda said, as the cab driver turned into their street.

Pam stared out of the window. Marlene was wearing skintight black shiny Lycra leggings and an in-your-face zebra-print top. The new boyfriend was putting a suitcase in the back of his posh Jaguar and Marlene was hugging her pregnant daughter by the gate. Pam paid the cab driver, then urged her sister to get out of the taxi.

‘Why don’t you go and have a word with her? Just tell her to keep her son away from our Steph. I’ll say something to her if you like?’

Pam shook her head. She had never been one for confrontation, especially in full view of the street. Seeing the boyfriend go back into the house and come out with another case, Pam pushed Linda up the path.

‘Let’s just hope that she’s bought a one-way ticket to wherever she’s going and is taking that bastard son of hers with her,’ Pam said.

Hearing laughter and chatting outside in the street, Angela Crouch lifted the curtain up and stared out of the window. She smirked as she laid eyes on Barry Franklin for the very first time. He had a dark diamond-patterned Pringle jumper on, pale grey tracksuit bottoms and white trainers.

‘He’s proper horny and well out of your league. You have no chance of holding onto him,’ Angie said to Steph, nastily.

Stephanie sighed. She hated falling out with her sister. ‘Let’s stop all this silliness and make up, shall we? Mum’s worried about us and it’s so not fair on her. Friends again?’

Ignoring Stephanie’s outstretched hand, Angela smirked. ‘Drop dead, you bitch.’

Relieved when his sister was picked up in a Datsun by her boyfriend’s brother, Barry did his best to tidy up a bit. Both his mum and his sister hated housework and he didn’t want Stephanie to think his family was frowsy. Satisfied that the lounge no longer resembled a bomb site, Barry made two trips upstairs to get his record player and records. He hadn’t wanted to suggest to Steph that they sat in his bedroom, in case she got the wrong end of the stick. Glancing at the clock on the wall, he picked up his front-door key. Stephanie had been so petrified about being seen entering his house that he had arranged to meet her in the alleyway down Ford Road. Feeling a tingly feeling inside his stomach, Barry picked up his carrier bag and, grinning like a Cheshire cat, sprinted down the road.

Angela met her friend Chloe at their usual spot and, arm in arm, they walked to school discussing their love lives.

‘So, do you really like Jason then? Or, do you just wanna go out with him to wind Tanya up?’ Chloe enquired.

‘Both! I love winding that bitch Tanya up, but I do really like Jase an’ all. I was looking at pictures of Wham in
Smash Hits
last night and he so does look like George Michael.’

‘Well, Darren wants us all to go on a double date on Saturday. He said we’ll go to Romford, have a mooch round the shops, then go to the pictures. You up for it?’

Angie nodded her head excitedly, then immediately scowled as she saw her sister’s best friend Tammy approaching. ‘What do you want?’ she asked, rudely.

‘I just wanna know where your sister is. She weren’t at school yesterday and I didn’t wanna ring her at home in case your mum answered and I got her in trouble. Is she bunking it? Or is she ill? She never met me this morning, so I take it she ain’t in today either? She did try and ring me late last night, but I was out with me mum.’

Angela grinned from ear to ear. This bit of information was priceless. ‘I think you’ll find she’s bunking off to spend time with the old slapper’s son – and thanks for telling me; I didn’t know.’

‘Don’t say nothing to your mum, will you? Steph would never grass you up if this was the other way round,’ Tammy said, alarmed that she’d just put her foot in it. She could tell by the vicious look of glee on Angela’s face that she would try and use the information to get her sister into trouble.

‘Don’t worry. Cross my heart and hope to die, I won’t say nothing to me mum,’ Angela said, smirking at Chloe and doing a cross sign across her chest with her right hand.

‘You should grass the bitch up,’ Chloe said as Tammy walked away.

‘Oh, I’m gonna. My mum had a right go at me over me hair again this morning. She said if I don’t dye it back to brown by next weekend then I ain’t allowed to go out. Wait till she hears about her blue-eyed girl bunking off school to spend time with Barry. My hair will be the last of her problems. She’ll go apeshit,’ Angela cackled.

Chloe laughed. ‘You gonna tell her as soon as you get in from school? Why don’t we go down the baker’s where your mum works at lunchtime and we can tell her together?’

‘She ain’t gone to work today. Anyway, I’ve got a better plan.’

‘What?’ Chloe asked, excitedly.

‘I’m gonna go and see Mr Jones at lunchtime. I’ll tell him that she’s bunking off, then he can tell me mum. That way, Steph won’t know that I’ve dobbed her in the shit.’

Chloe Martin stared at her best pal in awe. Angela Crouch was so clever and such a wicked schemer. ‘That’s brilliant, Ange! Totally brilliant.’

Oblivious to the fact that her sister was planning to grass her up, Steph was in a panic over something completely different.

‘All right, babe? Sorry I’m a bit late. I wanted to tidy up a bit before you came round. My muvver would never win an award for cleaning and my sister is such a messy cow,’ Barry explained.

‘We can’t go back to your house. We’re gonna have to go somewhere else,’ Stephanie said in an agitated voice.

‘Why? I told you all we’re gonna do is have a few bevvies, a smoke and play some records,’ Barry replied, dismayed by Stephanie’s sudden change of heart. Didn’t she trust him or something?

‘It’s not that. My mum ain’t gone to work today. Me aunt fell over pissed last night and my mum got a phone call at one o’clock this morning. There is no way I can chance coming back to yours while she’s at home. If she catches me, she’ll kill me and you both.’

‘I’ve bought me mum’s leopard-skin jacket with me and the black hat she wears for funerals. Surely she won’t recognize you in those? She’ll just think it’s me old girl.’

Stephanie shook her head. ‘My mum saw your mum going away this morning. She ain’t stupid, Bal, and I can’t take the chance of being caught out.’

Putting his thinking cap on, Barry came up with a plan. ‘I’ll tell you what we’ll do. We’ll climb over the fence on the corner of the road and get to mine via the back gardens. The back ain’t locked, so we’ll go in that way.’

‘But say someone sees us in their back gardens?’

Barry laughed. ‘I’ll wear me muvver’s coat and you wear her hat. No one will recognize us. Come on, where’s your sense of adventure?’

Stephanie giggled and grabbed Barry by the hand. ‘Come on then, let’s do it.’

With Chloe by her side, Angela ran up the long alleyway that led from the lower to the upper school. She and Chloe had arranged to meet Jason and Darren outside the chip shop so they could eat lunch together and she hoped she could find Mr Jones quickly.

‘Slow down. I’ve got a stitch,’ Chloe complained, holding her side.

‘You’ll have to keep running else we’ll be late to meet the boys. I hope I don’t bump into bloody Jacko,’ Angela mumbled, out of breath herself.

Once inside the upper school entrance, Angela slowed down as she spotted Mrs Belson, Stephanie’s typing teacher. ‘Excuse me, where’s Mr Jones?’ she panted.

‘Probably in the staff room, my dear. Best not to disturb him while he’s eating his lunch,’ Mrs Belson replied sensibly.

Ignoring the teacher’s advice, Angela grabbed Chloe’s arm and headed towards the staff room. Mr Jones had a reputation amongst the older children for being rather unapproachable and a bit of an ogre, but Angela didn’t really know him, therefore wasn’t scared at all. As bold as brass, Angela knocked on the staff-room door.