‘I’m having a little gathering. Just a few friends in my room this evening. Want to come?’
‘Sure,’ James said.
James was more excited about going to Amy’s party than he would admit. He liked her a lot. She was funny and beautiful. He was sure Amy liked him, but like a little brother not a mate.
‘You have to do something first though.’
‘How far?’ James asked.
‘From the steps in the middle of the pool on that side, to the opposite corner.’
‘That’s almost a length.’
‘Almost. You can do it, James. Your stroke is getting stronger. Basic training starts in nine days and if you don’t make it, it’s three months until the next course starts.’
‘I’ll have three months to learn to swim. That’s not bad.’
They’ll put you in a red T-shirt,’ Amy said.
‘I’m twelve. Red is for little kids.’
‘No, James. Red shirts are for kids who are not qualified for training. Mostly that’s because they’re too young. But in your case it will be because you can’t swim.’
‘I’ll be two years older than anyone else in a red shirt. I’ll be slaughtered.’
‘James, I’m not trying to pressure you, but if you have to spend three months in a red shirt, your life won’t be a lot of fun.’
‘You are trying to pressure me,’ James said.
‘On the bright side, James, red shirt kids are allowed to keep a gerbil or a hamster in their rooms.’
‘Well funny, Amy.’ James laughed, but he knew this was serious. Kyle, Bruce and everyone else would wet themselves laughing if they put him in a red T-shirt. James started walking through the water towards the steps, determined to swim further than before.
He managed. Amy gave him a hug.
‘You’ll be OK, James.’
James wasn’t so confident.
*
Amy’s door was wedged open and you could hear her stereo as you stepped out of the lift. The room was crammed with people and more lined the corridor outside. Everyone was dressed in normal clothes. After two weeks on campus seeing people in olive trousers and boots, James had almost forgotten skirts existed.
Amy had on bright pink lipstick that matched her mini skirt. James felt self-conscious because everyone was older and he didn’t know anyone. Amy spun around when she saw James. She had a cigarette in one hand and a can of beer in the other. She gave James a kiss on the cheek, leaving a blur of lipstick.
‘Hey James,’ Amy said. ‘I don’t think I’ll be in any state for a swimming lesson tomorrow morning.’
‘Is this the kid who can’t swim?’ a guy sitting on the floor asked loudly.
Everyone heard. James thought people were looking at him thinking he was a wimp.
‘You want a beer, kid?’ a guy sitting by Amy’s fridge asked.
James didn’t know what to say. If he said yes everyone might laugh because they thought he was too young. If he said no he’d look soft. James picked yes. Nobody laughed at him. James caught the can and pulled the tab. Amy grabbed it out of his hand.
‘Don’t give him beer, Charles. He’s only twelve.’
‘Come on, Amy,’ Charles said. ‘Let’s get the little kid drunk. It’s always a laugh.’
Amy smiled and handed James the can.
‘One can, James,’ Amy said. ‘No more. And don’t tell anyone we let you have it.’
*
Once James had sneaked two of Uncle Ron’s beers and got a bit drunk, but this was way beyond that. Amy’s girlfriends all loved James. They kept giving him more beer. James blushed when one of them kissed him. So they all kissed him until his face was a mass of lipstick smears. As they got drunker one of the girls decided it would be funny to give him a love bite. They tickled James until he gave in. He knew he wasn’t much more than their drunken pet, but it was fun being the centre of attention.
Some of the kids on Amy’s floor complained about the racket, so the party had to move outside. It was midnight now and pitch dark. James followed the noise from Amy’s portable CD player.
‘Wait for me,’ James shouted. ‘Busting to piss.’
James wandered into a bunch of trees. Suddenly there wasn’t any ground under his trainers. His heart shot into his mouth as he lost his balance. He slid two metres down an embankment and crashed into a muddy ditch.
James dragged himself up, spitting nasty tasting water out of his mouth. His sweatshirt was ripped. He shouted for help, but the others couldn’t hear over Amy’s music. By the time James scrambled back up the embankment there was no sign of anyone.
Campus was bigger than James realised. He got totally lost trying to find the main building. He felt sick from all the beer and started to panic. When he finally sighted the changing room at the edge of the athletics track he was thrilled.
James peered in the window. The lights were off. He tried the door, it wasn’t locked. James crept in. The heating was off but it was still warmer than outside. James rubbed his hands together to try and get some feeling back. He found a bank of switches and flipped on the light in the boys’ changing room. He left the others off. Any light shining through the frosted windows might have caught someone’s attention.
James looked at himself now he could see and was gutted. He’d put his best clothes on for the party. An almost new pair of Nike Air trainers and some Diesel jeans. The bottom of the jeans had mud soaked through them and the trainers were a wet mess, coated with mud. James knew the route back to his room from here, but there could be awkward questions if he got seen like this. He had to tidy himself up.
James kicked his trainers off to avoid marking the floor. He went into the boys’ changing room. Fear of getting caught had sobered him up a bit. The changing room was a mess. There was sweat in the air and quite a few bits of clothing tossed about. James found a grey CHERUB T-shirt scrunched up under a bench. It smelled nasty, but it was less suspicious than walking into the main building in a torn sweatshirt. James pulled it on. There were no clean tracksuit bottoms to replace the muddy jeans, so James pushed his jeans down his waist and turned the bottoms up so the muddiest area looked smaller. All he needed now was some trainers that wouldn’t spread mud everywhere. There were a few running spikes laying around, but they’d be no good indoors.
James stepped across the hallway into the girls’ changing room. He hadn’t been in here before, of course. The difference from the boys’ room was amazing. It smelled fresh. There was a counter stocked up with toiletries and perfumes. Best of all, there were two pairs of trainers on top of the lockers. One pair was James’ size but pink. The other pair was smaller, but James could easily hobble a couple of hundred metres through the main building in them. He squeezed them on.
He caught himself in the mirror and realised his face was filthy. He wished Kyle could see all the lipstick marks. James damped a towel, scrubbed his face and hands, gave the smelly T-shirt a blast with deodorant and gargled mouthwash to mask the smell of beer.
He did a final inspection: not bad. If anyone asked why he was out so late, James decided to say he couldn’t sleep, went for a walk and got lost. The only thing that might be tricky was explaining why he was wearing the wrong colour T-shirt.
James stepped into the corridor. A hand clamped his ankle. James shot about a metre in the air with fright.
‘Caught you in the girls’ changing room, pervert.’
James didn’t recognise the voice. Torch beams lit up his face. Amy and the girl who’d given him the love bite burst out laughing. They had changed out of party clothes into uniform.
‘Why are you hanging around the girls’ changing room, James?’ Amy asked.
James panicked. It was so embarrassing.
‘I couldn’t go back in the main building all muddy, so I came in here to clean up.’
‘We’re pulling your leg,’ Amy said. ‘I saw the light was on. We’ve been watching you for about five minutes. When I realised you didn’t make it back we came out loo
king.’
James smiled with relief. ‘I really thought you were going to tell everyone I was a pervert.’
‘We still might,’ the love bite girl giggled.
‘Next time you say only have one drink, Amy, I will. I swear.’
‘What makes you think I’ll invite you next time? I know a back way into the main building. Let’s not hang around here.’
‘You saved my life, Amy. Thanks.’
Amy laughed. ‘If you turned up drunk after half the school saw you at my party I’d be in as much trouble as you.’
15. TOWN
James swore he’d never drink again. It was a rough night. Throwing up, head floating, dry mouth and a throat like sandpaper. Lucky it was only three steps to the bathroom. It was 3 a.m. before James settled into an uneasy sleep. He kept jerking awake from weird dreams where everything was spinning.
‘James,’ Kyle shouted.
It was 7 a.m., Saturday morning.
‘Wake up, man.’
James sat up in bed rubbing his eyes.
‘You got drunk, didn’t you?’ Kyle said.
‘Ugh.’
‘This room stinks of beer.’
‘I feel like I’m dying,’ James groaned. ‘How did you get in here?’
‘Picked the lock. I did knock first but you didn’t answer.’
‘Can’t you leave me to die?’
‘James, shut up and listen. There’s a mission in London tonight. Nine of us are spending the day up there hanging out. You’re not supposed to come, but it’s all been thrown together at the last minute and it’s a Dennis King production so we can smuggle you on to the train.’
‘What’s a Dennis King production?’
‘He’s one of the mission controllers,’ Kyle explained. ‘He’s a sweet old guy, but he’s a bit doddery and he’ll never notice an extra kid tagging along.’
‘I’ve got a hangover,’ James said. ‘And I’m sick of always getting in trouble.’
‘Don’t you want to visit your sister then?’
‘How will we do that?’ James asked, excitedly kicking off his duvet and swinging out of bed. ‘Ron won’t let me in the flat.’
‘If Lauren’s home, we’ll find a way. I wanted to help you visit her when we were at Nebraska House, but I couldn’t without breaking my cover. This is your only chance. Once you start basic training, you’re cut off from everything for three months.’
‘When are we leaving?’ James asked.
‘Twenty minutes. Have a quick shower, put on civilian clothes and get your butt downstairs.’
*
It was weird being back. London seemed dirty and noisy, even though James had lived here until a few weeks before. The kids all split up when they arrived at King’s Cross station. A bunch of girls were going shopping in Oxford Street. Most boys in the group were going to Namco Station, a big amusement arcade opposite Big Ben. They all had to meet outside Edgware Underground at 6 p.m. for the mission. Bruce wanted to go to Namco, but decided to stay with Kyle and James once he heard what they were doing.
‘You’ll get bored,’ Kyle said. ‘We’re just going to James’ old neighbourhood to visit his little sister.’
‘You might need me for protection,’ Bruce said.
Kyle laughed. ‘Protection from what, Bruce? Come if you want. Just don’t whine all day if you get bored.’
Bruce had never been on the Underground before. He looked at the map and counted how many stops like a five-year-old. Ron lived behind Kentish Town station, a couple of streets from the estate where James used to live with his mum.
‘What do we do?’ James asked when they reached the flat.
‘Ring the doorbell,’ Bruce said.
‘Ron won’t let me in, dummy,’ James said. ‘I wouldn’t need you guys if I could just ring the doorbell and get in.’
‘Oh,’ Bruce said. ‘I could kick the door down.’
‘Like his stepdad isn’t going to notice somebody kicking his front door down,’ Kyle said sarcastically. ‘What’s your sister likely to be doing if she’s inside?’
‘Either drawing in her room or watching TV,’ James said.
‘And Ron?’
‘He’ll have been out drinking last night. Probably won’t be out of bed for another hour.’
Kyle stuck his lock gun in the keyhole. He turned the lock but the door wouldn’t budge.
‘Bolt on the inside,’ Kyle explained.
‘Ring the doorbell,’ Bruce said again.
‘We can’t. I just told you,’ James said.
‘You and Kyle hide. I’ll ring the doorbell,’ Bruce said. ‘You said your stepdad is probably asleep, so I bet your sister answers. If she answers I’ll say what’s going on. If Ron answers I’ll tell him I’ve made a mistake.’
Kyle and James walked away. Bruce rang the bell. A few seconds later Lauren’s eyes appeared in the letterbox.
‘How many packets do you want?’ Lauren asked.
‘I’m a friend of your brother James. Is your dad awake?’
‘You don’t want cigarettes?’ Lauren asked.
Bruce waved for James to come to the door. James crouched at the letterbox.
‘Let us in,’ James said.
‘James,’ Lauren grinned. ‘You better not let Dad see you. Every time I mention your name he looks like his head’s gonna explode.’
Lauren undid a bolt on the bottom of the door.
‘Is Ron asleep?’ James asked.
‘Won’t get up until the horse-racing starts,’ Lauren said, opening the door.
‘Hide us in your room,’ James said.
Lauren led the boys into her bedroom. The room was divided by a curved wall built out of thousands of cigarette cartons.
‘What’s all this?’ James asked. ‘You started smoking?’
‘Dad buys them cheap in France,’ Lauren said. ‘He smuggles them in and sells them. He’s making loads of money.’
Bruce studied the wall of cartons. ‘Did you build this?’
‘Yeah,’ Lauren said. ‘I was bored so I started messing about with the cartons.’
Bruce laughed. ‘It’s brilliant.’
‘She always messes with stuff,’ James said. ‘When she had chicken pox she got every CD and video case in our flat and used it to make a pyramid.’
Lauren sat down on her bed.
‘So what are you up to?’ James asked.
‘I go round with the kids down the balcony a lot. Ron gives their mum money and she gets me from school and makes my dinner.’
‘So you’re doing OK?’
‘Could be worse,’ Lauren said. ‘You been in any more trouble?’
‘No,’ James said.
Kyle and Bruce both grinned.
‘Pants on fire,’ Kyle muttered under his breath.
‘So you want to go out or something?’ James asked. ‘Can you sneak out?’
‘Easy,’ Lauren said. ‘Dad doesn’t like me waking him up. I’ll do a note to say I’m round a mate’s house.’
*
James took Lauren shopping and got her some jeans she wanted in Gap Kids. They ate pizza and went ten pin bowling. James and Lauren versus Bruce and Kyle. It started getting dark, but they still had an hour to kill before they headed up to Edgware for the mission.
They ended up in the little swing park near James’ flat. James hadn’t been back there since he’d hidden in the tunnel the afternoon before his mum died. Kyle and Bruce mucked about trying to make each other dizzy on a roundabout. Lauren and James sat next to each other on the swings, swaying gently and dragging their trainers in the gravel. They both felt a bit sad, knowing that their day together was running out.
‘Mum used to take us here when we were little,’ James said.
Lauren nodded, ‘She was good fun when she wasn’t in a mood.’
‘Remember when you used to climb up the slide, but you could never work out how to sit your bum down and push yourself off the top. I always had to climb up and rescue you.’
/>
‘No,’ Lauren said. ‘How old was I?’
‘Only two or three,’ James said. ‘You know, I can’t come back to London till after Christmas?’
‘Oh,’ Lauren said.
They tried not to make eye contact in case they made each other upset.
‘That doesn’t get you out of buying me a present,’ Lauren said.
James smiled. ‘Are you getting me one?’
‘You can have a box of cigarettes if you want.’
‘Well, well, well,’ someone said. ‘Haven’t seen you round here much lately, James. Been hiding from me?’
It was Greg Jennings and two of his mates.
‘I’ve been looking everywhere for you,’ Greg said. ‘I knew you couldn’t hide that nasty little face for ever.’
The three boys squared up to James, all of them about twice his size. Greg put the toe of his trainer on the swing between James’ legs.
‘My sister has a scar on her face thanks to you. The only thing that cheered her up was finding out that your pig mother dropped dead.’
‘Leave her out of this,’ James said angrily, bunching up his fist.
‘Oh no,’ Greg said, putting on a high pitched voice. ‘The little faggot’s gonna hit me. I’m so scared!’
A small rock bounced off Greg’s head.
‘Hey turd,’ Bruce shouted. ‘Why don’t you pick on someone your own size, like me.’
Greg turned round and couldn’t believe such a skinny little kid was being so brave.
‘Get out of here,’ Greg said, pointing at Bruce. ‘Unless you want your legs smashed.’
Bruce tossed another rock at Greg’s head. James laughed. Greg gave James a slap then spoke to his two sidekicks.
‘Snap that little idiot in half.’
James knew Bruce was a good fighter, but he was only eleven and the two guys sizing up to him were massive. Kyle was nowhere to be seen.
Bruce backed into the roundabout, holding his hands out meekly, acting scared. He grabbed the rails on the roundabout and sprung his whole body behind a two footed kick. One of the thugs crumpled up. Kyle jumped out from behind the roundabout and barged the thug over, then smashed him with an elbow that burst his nose and left him unconscious.