Schemer (12 page)

‘Is Mr Jones there, please?’ she asked a male teacher she had never seen before.

‘He’s having his break at the moment. You’ll have to come back after lunch,’ the teacher told her.

‘I can’t come back after lunch and it’s very important,’ Angela replied, obstinately.

‘Wait there,’ the teacher said, shutting the door again.

Mr Jones was a rather tall man with a booming voice and a Basil Fawlty-esque walk and physique about him. ‘Yes. Make it quick,’ he snapped, as he closed the staff-room door behind him.

‘Hello sir. My name is Angela Crouch and my sister Stephanie is in form 4P. Because I’m so worried about her, I didn’t know who else to speak to apart from you, as I know you’re her head of year,’ Angela said, in a butter-wouldn’t-melt voice.

‘I know Stephanie. What is wrong with her?’

‘There’s a new boy in her class. His name is Barry Franklin and Steph has been bunking off school to spend time with him. I know how important these last two years at school are for her, and I would hate to see her mess her exams up because she has fallen for some stupid boy.’

Chloe wanted to burst out laughing, but instead joined in the fun. ‘Angela loves her sister dearly, Mr Jones, so she was wondering if you could speak to her mum. Ange don’t wanna be seen to be a snitch, do you, Ange?’

‘No, sir,’ Angela replied, desperately trying to keep a straight face.

‘OK, I will contact your mother this afternoon. And yes, you are right. Your sister is a bright girl, and she would be silly to throw all that away over some lad.’

‘Thank you, Mr Jones, and can you keep my name out of it, please?’

Nodding his head, Mr Jones excused himself and went back inside the staff room.

Roaring with uncontrollable laughter, Angela and Chloe ran down the corridor and out through the school gates.

After her earlier reluctance to set foot inside Barry’s house, Stephanie Crouch was now completely at ease and thoroughly enjoying herself.

‘You look so pretty today, babe,’ Barry stated, as he lit them both a cigarette and topped Steph’s drink up.

Stephanie grinned. She had worn the red off-the-shoulder sweatshirt that Barry had bought her at Roman Road Market. Teamed with tight faded jeans, big hoop earrings and the make-up she’d applied in the alleyway earlier, Steph was quite happy with the finished result.

‘Weren’t it funny climbing over them fences earlier? What about when you got your foot caught?’ she said, giggling.

Barry raised his eyebrows. He’d felt a right wilf when he had taken a tumble in front of his girlfriend, but could now see the funny side.

‘So, why don’t you like cider? Have you just never liked the taste?’ Steph asked, when Barry cracked open another can of lager.

‘I used to like it, but got pissed on it at a mate’s party when I first started drinking. Ill for days, I was, and the taste of it now just makes me feel sick,’ Barry admitted.

‘You big girl’s blouse,’ Steph said, chuckling.

‘What did you call me?’ Barry joked, clambering on top of Steph and pinning her arms to the dirt-stained carpet.

‘Get off me,’ Steph snapped, pretending to be angry.

Barry silenced her by snogging her passionately. This was the first time they had ever kissed where he had been lying on top of her, and he immediately felt himself becoming aroused.

Stephanie responded to the sweet taste of his gentle mouth but, as soon as she felt the hardness of his penis poking into her thigh, she froze. Stephanie had been quite a late starter with boys compared to her sister and some of the other girls in her year at school. Apart from Barry, she had only ever kissed two others properly, and she had never gone any further than that.

‘You OK?’ Barry asked.

‘Yeah. Can I put some more music on now? The record’s stopped,’ Steph replied, desperate to get away from the feel of her boyfriend’s rock-hard penis. Part of her wanted to see it and touch it, but she would be far too nervous to do so in case she did something wrong.

‘I’m just going a toilet,’ Barry said, as he bolted out of the room like a racehorse. His hard-on was sticking out like a flagpole in his loose-fitting tracksuit bottoms and he was embarrassed to let Stephanie see it in all its glory. He could tell how edgy and inexperienced she was, and even though he had been sexually active for the past year or so himself, he didn’t want to put his new girlfriend under any pressure, or make her feel uncomfortable in any way.

Stephanie sorted through Barry’s record collection. She had noticed the big bulge in his tracksuit bottoms when he had darted out of the room and was relieved to see it had disappeared on his return.

‘Can I put some Spandau Ballet on?’ she asked him.

Barry nodded and lit up another two cigarettes. ‘Tell me more about your family, Steph. I’ve heard you mention your aunt lives with you, but I haven’t seen her yet. Is she your mum’s sister?’

Stephanie sat on the sofa next to Barry and felt contented as she snuggled up against his chest. She told him all about Linda and made him laugh over her love for alcohol and some of the hilarious stunts she had pulled. ‘I think my mum worries about our Lin more than she does about me and me sister. No wonder she’s started to find grey hairs on her head.’

Barry chuckled. ‘She sounds a right case, your aunt. I’ll have to meet her one day – you know, when me and you are out in the open.’

‘I reckon my mum will still be wanting me to be single when I’m twenty-one. Does my head in, she does,’ Steph joked.

‘You shouldn’t be too hard on your mum. She only worries because she cares about you and she loves you. My mum has never worried about me or my sister. She just tends to think about herself.’

‘So, what’s this new boyfriend of your mum’s like, then? Whereabouts they gone on holiday?’

‘His name’s Jake and he’s short, old and loaded. He’s taken her to Spain, but I dunno whereabouts, she didn’t say.’

‘So, has she gone for a week? Or two?’ Steph asked.

‘Supposedly a week, but you never know with my muvver. About two years back she was seeing this geezer called Quiet John. They called him that ’cause he was a right loudmouth bastard. He took her to Spain an’ all. She left me and me sister indoors in our old house on our own. She only left us a score for food and then didn’t come back for a month. She fell in love with a waiter while she was out there, dumped Quiet John and stayed out there on her own for three weeks.’

‘Oh my God! What did you and your sister do? Did you go and live with your dad, or what?’ Steph asked, appalled. All of a sudden her own mother seemed like the best in the world.

‘Me dad was in nick at the time, but me and Chantelle got by. We both had to go out thieving just to make ends meet and a few of our old neighbours cooked us dinners and stuff. We couldn’t tell ’em where mum actually was, though. Me and Chantelle were worried that they’d tell the Old Bill and we’d get put in care. Mum weren’t that popular in Bethnal Green either, you see. The neighbours would have loved to have seen her banged up for abandoning us. They all liked me and me sister, though. I think they felt sorry for the pair of us.’

‘Poor you,’ Stephanie said, wrapping her arms around her boyfriend’s neck.

As Spandau Ballet’s ‘True’ started to play, Barry stood up, grabbed Steph’s hands and pulled her off the sofa. ‘Let’s have our first dance together, shall we?’ he said, laughing.

Stephanie grinned when Barry began singing the words to her. ‘You’ve got a great voice and I really love this record,’ she whispered in his ear.

Barry stared intently into his girlfriend’s eyes. ‘And I really love you, Steph. One day, me and you will get married and, when we are, we’ll dance to this as the first song at our wedding. Deal?’

Feeling a happiness inside her heart that she had never felt in her life before, Stephanie was stunned. Unable to answer Barry’s question because her voice seemed to have deserted her, she smiled and nodded at the same time. For the first time in her young life, Stephanie Crouch was completely and hopelessly in love.

Pamela Crouch’s right hand shook like she had a bad case of the DTs as she put the phone back on its receiver. ‘Oh, Cath. I’m at my wits’ end, I really am,’ she shouted, as her friend let herself in the house.

‘Whatever’s the matter? Is it Lin? Have they taken her back into the hospital again?’ Cath asked, alarmed.

‘No, Lin’s upstairs asleep. It’s my Stephanie. She’s been bunking off school to spend time with that old slapper’s son. I’ve just had her head of year on the phone. She ain’t been in today or yesterday. I’m gonna kill her, Cath. I will march her into that school of a morning and wait outside and walk home with her if I have to. Say she’s in his house now? They could be up to anything. I’m going over there. I’ll murder that little bastard if he’s laid one finger on my baby, I swear I will.’

Cathy had never seen her best friend in such a distressed state. ‘Calm down, and whatever you do, don’t do nothing rash. Good job I treated us to a bottle of Liebfraumilch from the offie. I thought you might fancy a glass because of the performance you had with Lin last night. You go and sit in the lounge and keep an eye on the house while I pour us a glass. We can have a drink and discuss things properly.’

Pam walked over to the window and stared at Marlene’s house. Marlene had recently replaced the sheets she’d had up at the windows with what looked like cheap heavy curtains, but they were always closed as she had no nets up. ‘What am I gonna do, Cath?’ she asked her friend.

Cathy handed her pal her drink, then sat down on the sofa and sipped her own. ‘Do you want my honest opinion?’

Pam nodded.

‘The more you try and stop Steph seeing that boy, the more she’s gonna want to see him. If you hadn’t forbade her to have contact with him, and grounded her, she wouldn’t be bunking off school, would she?’

‘So, what you trying to say? That it’s my fault?’ Pam asked, in a narky tone.

‘I’m only being truthful with you, Pam, so don’t get your knickers in a twist with me for trying to bleedin’ help you. I know you don’t want your Steph seeing that boy and I don’t blame you, but they’re only kids and it will soon fizzle out if you just let ’em get on with it.’

‘What’s going on? Can I have a glass of that wine?’ Linda asked, walking into the lounge still half asleep, with her dressing gown on.

‘No you bleedin’ well can’t! If you’re thirsty go and make yourself a brew. You’ve only just woken up, for Christ’s sake,’ Pam said.

‘I’ll make one in a minute. What’s up?’ Lin enquired, raising her eyebrows at Cathy.

Cathy explained all that had happened and her opinion on the matter.

Linda listened intently, then turned to Pam. ‘I think Cath’s spot on. By stopping Steph from seeing this boy, you’re just pushing her away. You need to just let it run its course. I bet you any money you like, if you allow them to see one another, it’ll all be over within six weeks.’

‘But how can I? I mean, didn’t you say Lairy Mary said he was a right cocky little bastard?’ Pam asked Cathy.

Cathy laughed. ‘How can Mary call anyone cocky when her own nickname’s Lairy? Means the same thing, don’t it? Actually, Mary popped in the café again yesterday, and ’cause I knew you were worried about Steph, I asked her some more questions. She was actually quite complimentary about the boy. Said he was a rough diamond, but had a heart of gold. She said he was streets above that mother and sister of his. She reckons the sister is a complete wrong ’un, just like her mother.’

‘What should I do then? I mean, I can’t let Steph carry on seeing him if I haven’t met him. I need to see and speak to the lad before I agree to anything.’

‘Invite him over for tea or something?’ Lin suggested.

‘I’ll make sure I’m here with you if you feel awkward. I mean, if the mother’s pissed off on holiday and left the boy alone, you’ve got the perfect chance to get to know him without involving that old slapper, ain’t you?’ Cathy said.

Pam sighed. ‘I suppose I’m just gonna have to take your advice, mate. I’ll let Steph see the boy and hope and pray it’s all over before it started. If it don’t work, we’ll have to think of a Plan B, ’cause as God’s my judge I would rather commit murder than watch my daughter end up with Marlene as a mother-in-law. My life I would.’

CHAPTER NINE

Angela Crouch skipped home from school as happy as a dog with two tails. Getting revenge on her bitch of a sister felt like the best feeling in the world and she couldn’t wait to experience first hand the repercussions of her little chat with Mr Jones. Another reason why Angela was feeling so ecstatic was because she had just had her first snog with Jason O’Brien. He was a much better kisser than Jacko had been, and she had felt Jason’s rock-hard penis rubbing against her thigh. Having now experienced sex in the raw, Angela decided she was rather partial to it and she couldn’t wait to have her wicked way with her new boyfriend. Wayne Jackman was history now, but he had been a learning curve in Angela’s life and she was determined to use the skills he had taught her to keep Jason interested in her.

Angela let herself in with her key and was surprised to see her mum, aunt and neighbour Cathy, sitting in the lounge sipping wine. ‘Bit early, ain’t it? Turning into right alkies, yous lot are,’ she said, giggling.

‘Cheeky little mare,’ Cathy mumbled under her breath. She was no big fan of Pam’s youngest daughter.

‘After the day I’ve had, I deserve a crate of bleedin’ wine, I dunno about a glass,’ Pam said, defending herself. Up until recently, she and Cath had only had a bottle of wine between them on a Saturday evening; now it seemed to be at least two or three nights a week because their lives seemed so bloody stressful at the moment. Cathy’s son had moved in with his wayward girlfriend and Pam had never been so worried about her girls in all her life.

Angela smirked. If her mother had had a bad day, it obviously meant she had already spoken to Mr Jones. ‘Where’s Steph? She not home from school yet?’ she asked, innocently.

‘Your guess is as good as mine. Now go upstairs and get washed and changed. We’re all eating dinner at the table this evening. Me, you and your sister need to have a nice little chat,’ Pam replied in a stern tone.