But the policewoman seemed to be on our side.
‘As both the girls are so young and your property has been recovered, do you still want to go ahead and have us prosecute, sir?’ said the policewoman to the boy with the blue eyes.
Tanya and I stared at him pleadingly.
‘It’s strict Indigo policy. Shoplifters are always prosecuted,’ he said, folding his arms. ‘Half the time it’s kids like these two. They’re a pest. They need to be taught a lesson.’
‘In that case, sir, you’d better come with us to the station and make a full statement there,’ said the policeman. ‘Now, you say you saw the older girl take the sweater?’
‘It’s hand-knitted. Sells at £95,’ said the boy indignantly.
‘You’ve got expensive taste, young lady,’ said the policeman to Tanya. He turned to the security woman. ‘And she had this sweater on her when you stopped her?’
‘It was stuffed up her own sweatshirt. I could see this little blue cuff hanging down, so I pulled.’
‘She should have waited till you lot came before searching me, shouldn’t she?’ said Tanya. ‘You’ve got no real proof now, have you?’
‘We’ve got proof all right,’ said the boy with the blue eyes. ‘We’ve got video cameras installed. We’ll have a lovely little film of you stealing our sweater.’
Tanya saw he wasn’t fooling. She still didn’t give up on my account.
‘Then your precious film will show that this little kid here didn’t do anything,’ she said, pointing to me.
‘She was larking around with you. And then she ran off when you did,’ said the boy.
‘That’s not a crime, is it?’ said Tanya. ‘She’s not a thief.’
‘But I’m afraid we’ve got reasonable grounds to think you’re a thief, young woman,’ said the policeman. ‘So I’m therefore arresting you.’
I listened to him cautioning her, the words so familiar from all the police series on the television – and I still couldn’t believe it was really happening.
‘We’re really being arrested!’ I whispered.
‘We’re not arresting you, pet,’ said the policewoman. ‘You’d better come along to the police station with your friend, and tell us exactly what happened, then we’ll get your mum to come and take you home, OK?’
‘But you’re arresting Tanya?’
‘I’m afraid so,’ she said.
We had to walk all the way back out of the shopping centre, the policewoman holding me, the policeman holding Tanya. She tried to wriggle and dodge once or twice, but he held her firmly by the shoulders and just laughed at her.
There was a white police patrol car at the back of the shopping centre. More people stared as Tanya and I were put in the back, the policewoman in between us. I was still crying.
‘Let me sit next to Mandy,’ said Tanya.
‘Sorry, love,’ said the policewoman.
‘But she needs me to hold her,’ said Tanya.
‘Yes, I know. But you could try and pass something to her, couldn’t you?’
‘Look.’ Tanya waggled her empty hand in front of the policewoman’s face. ‘See? Empty. So can I at least hold her hand?’
‘All right then.’
So we drove to the police station with Tanya holding my hand tight across the policewoman’s lap. And all the time her small strong fingers with their bitten nails were clinging to me I felt just a tiny bit braver.
‘You could have run off and left me,’ I said. ‘But you stayed. So I wouldn’t be scared on my own.’
‘Yeah. Daft, wasn’t I?’ said Tanya, and she grinned at me.
I saw her looking at the lock in the back of the car. The policewoman saw her looking too.
‘Kiddielocks,’ she said. ‘So don’t try to jump out, pal.’
‘Foiled again,’ said Tanya, tutting.
She was acting daft, as if it didn’t really matter. I knew why. It was to try to make it easier for me. All I could do was grip her hand in gratitude.
Then we got to the police station and even Tanya couldn’t grin and act the fool. We were taken across a yard and through a security door and down a dark corridor and into a big room with a desk and a bench.
‘The Custody Suite,’ said Tanya, looking round.
‘Sounds like you’ve been in one or two already?’ said the policewoman.
Tanya gave her a tiny tired smile and sat down heavily on the bench. I sat beside her, huddling up to her.
‘Sit further apart, girls,’ said a new policeman. ‘Now, I’m Sergeant Stockton. I want you both to tell me your names and addresses and then I’ll give your parents a ring.’
‘What’s your mum going to say, Mandy?’ said Tanya. ‘She’ll kill me.’
‘What about your own mum?’ said Sergeant Stockton sternly.
‘Haven’t got one,’ said Tanya. ‘Haven’t got a dad either now. He’s not considered a fit parent, right? So you want my appropriate adult, yeah?’
The sergeant nodded. ‘That’s the ticket. Sounds like you could fill in this form quicker than me, young lady. So who is it to be?’
‘Well, you’d better phone Pat, my foster mum. She’ll be going spare anyway, wondering why we’re not back. Now look, Sergeant Stockton. I’ve got to make something clear.’ Tanya got off the bench and went over and stood by his desk. ‘I’m going to be absolutely honest.’
‘That’s right. Make my day,’ said the Sergeant.
‘No, I’m not messing about. I’m being serious. The little kid over there—’
‘You say she’s nothing to do with you?’
‘Well, she is. Obviously. But she’s just the kid over the road. She’s looked after by my foster mum while her mum works mornings. She tags round after me. We do go round together. But I swear to you, she’s never nicked a thing. She’s a real little goody-goody and she comes from a lovely family and she’s never ever been in any trouble before. She’s only here because of me. So you’ll let her go, won’t you? You won’t even caution her?’
The sergeant smiled at Tanya. ‘It’s OK. She just needed to be taken to a place of safety. But she can go home as soon as her mum comes.’
‘What about Tanya?’ I asked. ‘Will she be able to go home too?’
‘Eventually,’ said the sergeant.
‘What does that mean?’ said Tanya. But it looked as if she knew. She came back and slumped on the bench. She shut her eyes as if she was trying not to cry. This time she wasn’t pretending.
I got closer and put my arm round her. The sergeant frowned a little, but let us sit close this time. I held Tanya all the time the sergeant filled out his custody record. She gave all mad made-up answers at first, but she knew that Mrs Williams would be here soon, so she changed her mind and told the truth.
‘And now you’ve got my name and date of birth you can tap into your computer and find out my vast criminal record, eh?’ said Tanya.
‘Technology at our fingertips,’ said the sergeant.
‘Juvenile court, here I come,’ said Tanya.
‘Is that like prison?’ I whispered, terrified. ‘They won’t lock you up, will they? Oh Tanya, I can’t stand it if they take you away. I’ve got to keep seeing you.’
‘Get real, Mandy,’ said Tanya, her shoulders tense under my arm. ‘Your mum isn’t going to let you come near me now, no matter what.’
Mum was white and shaking when she arrived. Mrs Williams was with her, with the three little boys, all of them whimpering. Tanya sighed deeply. She looked at Mrs Williams. She looked at Mum.
‘Sorry,’ she said. It came out wrong. I knew she really truly meant it, but it sounded as if she was being cheeky and defiant.
‘It’s a bit late for saying sorry,’ said Mrs Williams.
My mum didn’t say anything. But I saw the way she looked at Tanya. I knew Tanya was right.
I started crying again then, because I couldn’t bear it. Mum and I were taken to this other room and an inspector came to talk to us.
‘You?
??ve been a very silly girl, Mandy,’ he said solemnly. ‘I hope you’ve learnt your lesson now. You mustn’t ever go round with anyone who shoplifts. They’ll get into trouble and they’ll get you into trouble too.’
Then he started talking to Mum – and he treated her as if she was a silly girl too.
‘I really feel it’s not sensible to let a little girl like Mandy trot round with a tough teenager like Tanya,’ he said. ‘My advice would be to keep a proper eye on Mandy in future and maybe vet her friends more thoroughly.’
Mum swallowed painfully, bright pink now. She cried too on the way home.
‘I can’t believe this is happening,’ she said, over and over. She kept looking at me and shaking her head and collapsing into fresh tears.
She phoned Dad when we got home and he left the office straightaway. I had the two of them talking to me all afternoon. Saying the same things over and over again. Saying how sad and sorry they were. Saying they felt so ashamed. Saying they couldn’t believe how I’d deceived them, going off on these shopping trips with Tanya. Saying they couldn’t bear it that I hadn’t told them about Tanya’s shoplifting.
Then they started getting cross with each other as well as with me.
‘I said over and over again that I didn’t want Mandy mixed up with that Tanya,’ said Mum. ‘But you wouldn’t listen to me. You thought you knew best. And now look what’s happened!’
‘All right, all right. There’s no need to rub it in. I didn’t dream it would come to this. I always thought Mandy had enough sense to stick to what she knew was right. If you didn’t baby her quite so much then maybe she’d be able to stand up for herself better,’ said Dad.
I cried harder and they stopped shouting and Mum mopped my face and Dad got me a drink of water and then they both gave me a cuddle.
‘We’re terribly upset and disappointed – but we do realize it wasn’t all your fault, darling. Don’t cry so,’ said Mum.
‘Come on, little Polly Pigtails, stop the tears. It’s all over now,’ said Dad.
‘But what about Tanya?’ I sobbed.
‘Never mind about Tanya!’ said Mum.
‘You’ll find another friend soon, Mandy,’ said Dad.
‘But Tanya’s my best ever friend! I can still see her, can’t I? She won’t ever go shoplifting again. She promised she wouldn’t anyway, it was just because that boy in Indigo was so horrid. But it won’t happen again. She hated getting me into trouble too. She tried so hard to get me off. She could have run away and left me but she didn’t, she stayed to look after me. Oh, please, you’ve got to understand. I just have to see her.’
I kept rushing to the window, waiting for Tanya to come back. A car pulled up outside the Williams’ house late in the afternoon. There was a young woman driving, Mrs Williams and the three boys – and Tanya.
I felt weak with relief. At least they hadn’t locked her up somewhere. But she looked awful when she got out the car. She wasn’t walking with her usual bounce. Her hair was sticking up on end as if she’d been running her fingers through it.
‘I’ve got to see what they’re going to do to her,’ I said.
But they wouldn’t let me. Mum went to see Mrs Williams instead. Mum was very angry with her, because she felt she shouldn’t have let me go out round the town with Tanya. I waited desperately for her to come back. Mum was gone quite a while. And when she came back she looked strange. Startled.
‘What is it, Mum? What’s going to happen to Tanya? Has she got to go to court?’
Mum nodded. ‘Thank goodness you’re not going to be involved at all, Mandy.’
‘I thought they’d just caution her,’ said Dad.
‘Apparently she’s had lots of cautions already. They’re going to take a full case history and take all her background into consideration. It’s likely to take weeks,’ said Mum.
‘So she’ll be home here for weeks?’ I said.
Mum put her arm round me. ‘No, dear, Tanya isn’t going to be here,’ she said. ‘She’s going to go to a children’s home. Pat Williams feels she can’t cope. I can see she’s got a point. She was talked into fostering Tanya and she always made it plain she’d have to go if there was any trouble. I mean, she’s got those little boys to think about.’
‘So she’s just washing her hands of Tanya?’ said Dad, sounding shocked.
‘What else can she do?’ said Mum.
‘If I’d stolen that jumper would you get rid of me?’ I said.
‘Don’t be so silly, Mandy.’
‘But would you?’
‘No, of course not. You know we wouldn’t. We love you and we’ll go on loving you no matter what you do,’ said Mum.
‘But no-one loves poor old Tanya,’ said Dad.
‘I love her!’ I said. ‘When has she got to go?’
‘Well, right now,’ said Mum. ‘It does seem a bit . . . but I suppose there’s no point dragging these things out. Her social worker’s there now, helping her get her bag packed.’
‘She’s going now?’ I said. ‘Then I’ve got to say goodbye to her.’
‘No, you’re not going near her,’ said Mum.
‘It’s maybe not a good idea, Mandy,’ said Dad.
‘I’ll just say goodbye,’ I said. ‘I’ve got to. You can’t stop me.’
There was a pile of my things on the living room table, puzzles and books and my big tin of felt-tips. I peered at them desperately and then grabbed the rainbow pens. I was out of the living room, down the hall and out the front door before Mum and Dad realized what was happening.
Dad caught me up as I was hammering on Mrs Williams’ door. ‘Now, Mandy, come on, come back home,’ he said.
Mrs Williams answered the door and stared at us.
‘Is Tanya really going?’ I said.
Mrs Williams nodded, looking dazed.
‘It’s for the best,’ she said, though she didn’t look certain.
‘Can I say goodbye?’ I begged.
Mrs Williams looked at Dad.
‘Oh, all right,’ said Dad. ‘Go on, be quick. I’ll wait here.’
I went charging up the stairs and into Tanya’s bedroom. The social worker lady was there, scooping Tanya’s stuff into a big plastic bag. Tanya was sitting on her bed, not helping.
‘Hi, Mandy,’ said Tanya flatly.
‘Oh, Tanya!’ I said, rushing to her. ‘You’re going?’
Her fists were clenched. Her face looked clenched too.
‘Yeah, I’m going. Pat’s booting me out,’ said Tanya.
‘Come on now, Tanya. You know you were only here on a temporary basis,’ said the social worker. ‘And we’ll work really hard to get you a new placement. Anyway, it’s not so bad in this new children’s home.’
‘It’ll be a dump,’ said Tanya. ‘They all are. Because they’re dumping grounds. For kids nobody wants.’
‘I want you, Tanya!’ I said.
She gave me a sad little smile. ‘Hey, I want to say goodbye to my friend,’ she said to the social worker. ‘How about giving us two minutes alone together, eh?’
The social worker straightened up and sighed. ‘OK. One minute. I need to sort some stuff out with Mrs Williams anyway.’
She went out the room. Tanya and I sat together on her bed. I tried desperately hard to think of the right thing to say but there weren’t any words.
‘Oh, Tanya,’ I said, and then I hugged her so hard I nearly knocked her over. The tin of felt-tips slid off the bed and sprinkled rainbow colours all over the carpet.
‘Hey, watch it!’ said Tanya. ‘Now look what you’ve done.’ She gave me a little pat and then wriggled free. ‘Let’s get them all picked up. You don’t want to lose any, do you? What did you bring them over for anyway? It’s not like we’ve got time to do any colouring.’
I knelt down too, feeling for the felt-tips that had rolled under the bed.
‘They’re for you, Tanya,’ I said. ‘A goodbye present.’
‘What? All of them?’ said Tanya.
> ‘Well, one or two won’t be much good by themselves,’ I said, giving her a little poke. ‘Yes. All of them.’
‘Are you sure? You can’t give me your rainbow felt-tips. What will your mum say?’
‘It’s not up to my mum. They’re mine, so it’s up to me. And I want you to have them.’
‘Oh, Mandy. No-one’s ever given me such a lovely present,’ said Tanya. She rubbed her eyes. They already looked sore, with purple shadows underneath. I didn’t know if it was her make-up, or because she was so sad. But she managed another smile. ‘Keep looking, there’s a green and a blue still missing. I want a totally complete perfect set of felt-tip pens, thanks very much!’
We found the green and the blue and slotted them into place. Tanya ran her finger over all the pens so that they played a strange little tune.
‘Mine,’ she said. Then she looked round the room. She poked about in her half-full plastic bag. ‘I’d better find a present for you, eh?’
‘No, it’s all right. Honestly. Anyway you’ve given me lots of stuff. The velvet scrunchie and—’
‘I want to give you something special. Seeing as your rainbow felt-tips were probably your very best thing.’ Tanya tipped the plastic bag up and emptied it onto the carpet. She scrabbled and then seized something triumphantly. Her violet sequin sparkly top.
‘Here! You have it, Mandy.’
‘But I can’t. It’s your special top.’
‘That’s why I want you to have it. My best thing for my best friend,’ said Tanya.
We had one last hug.
And then we had to say goodbye.
I couldn’t believe Tanya was gone. I kept thinking of things I had to tell her – and then remembering. Every time I heard footsteps out in the street I leapt to the window, even though I knew it couldn’t possibly be her.
I couldn’t settle to anything at all. I couldn’t even play Miranda Rainbow. I was stuck being me, Mandy White, and I couldn’t stand it.
Mum and Dad tried hard to distract me. Mum even bought me a big new tin of rainbow felt-tips without a murmur. ‘It was very sweet of you to give Tanya your other set,’ she said.