Girl 38

by Eva Jozefkowicz

  ‘But I wouldn’t let him finish. I suddenly flung my arms around his neck and I cried and cried from happiness. Mila was there and she was alive. That was all that mattered to me in that moment.’

  I waited for Ania to continue, but it looked like she needed a rest from talking. I breathed in deeply and listened to the wonderful silence of the front garden, interrupted only by the occasional flutter of a bird’s wings in a tree, and the hum of traffic in the distance.

  I glanced over at Ania. She had her arms folded in her lap and was looking calmly into the street.

  I sat cross-legged in front of the picture of Sommer and stared at it. Then I took off the plastic cover to have a closer look. It was almost finished. There was only a little bit of work left to be done on adding texture to the hair and beard. He was half in shadow, as if he was standing to the side of a street-lamp beam. His hat was firmly on his head, and his army uniform was buttoned up under his neck, making him seem incredibly serious, but then I looked at his eyes and couldn’t help but smile, because it was as though he was smiling right back at me.

  In the corner of the canvas, Ania had written, ‘The Good Soldier’.

  Her words came flooding back. The world around us was filled with darkness, but within him there was more light than dark.

  I peered at him again, and suddenly I knew exactly what I had to do. I was pretty certain that I remembered Julius’s address – 7, Jupiter Close. It was near to the swimming pool, so I knew how to get there. It was a gamble, because I had no idea whether he would be home, but it was worth a try.

  ‘I need to go and do something important,’ I told Ania. ‘I’ll be back soon.’

  SEVENTEEN

  Within minutes, I was walking out through Ania’s front gate. I took the bus that Gem and I would normally get to the pool if Mum or Dad weren’t there to drive. I was there much quicker than I’d imagined.

  It was a quiet street, filled with old houses. I had to walk up a set of stairs to get to the front door and when I saw the huge brass knocker, I began to doubt whether I’d remembered the address correctly.

  There was nothing else for it – I would have to knock. I rapped the knocker three times and waited. Nothing happened. I stepped away, deflated. And then, suddenly, there was a cough and the door swung open. A tall lady with long, pale-blonde hair appeared in the doorway. She was wearing a bright red jumper and had a pair of tortoiseshell glasses perched on top of her head.

  ‘Hi,’ I said, and my voice was shaking. ‘Is this Julius’s house? Or do I have the wrong place?’

  ‘It certainly is,’ she said. ‘I’m his mum. He’s at the pool, but he should be back soon. Would you like to come in and wait for him?’

  Julius’s mum was smiling at me, motioning for me to come in. ‘I’m sure he’d love to see you,’ she said.

  Before I could change my mind, I found myself stepping into the hall.

  She led me into a lounge which reminded me a little of Ania’s house. But if her house was like a library, this one was a junkyard. There were piles of books and magazines in every available space. Oddly, most of them weren’t propped against the walls. They stood in half-toppling towers all over the room and I had to navigate my way around them, being extremely careful not to bump into anything. To the left of me, an old-fashioned telephone balanced on top of a tall stash of nature magazines. Next to it, a tower formed of TV guides supported a pretty pink vase with a single wooden flower in it. One step in the wrong direction would cause the whole thing to come crashing down.

  ‘We haven’t had a chance to tidy up properly yet. We moved in a couple of weeks ago, you see, and there’s been so much to do. This place was my family home when I was your age, and now it is again. Julius’s grandmother needs us here now that his grandfather has passed away. She’s sleeping in the bedroom down the hallway, so we mustn’t be too loud. As you can see, my parents managed to gather heaps of stuff. I don’t even know where most of it came from, to be honest.’

  ‘It looks like they loved collecting things.’

  ‘You could say that. Julius is having a lot of fun discovering new things in here all the time. The other day he found a very old-looking shield with our family crest on it and he got excited. He loves anything historical. Anyway, we’re going to sort through gradually. But here I am blabbering on, and I didn’t introduce myself properly, did I? I’m Sally.’

  ‘I’m Kat.’

  ‘Ah, you’re Kat!’ Her eyes widened. ‘Julius told me about you.’

  ‘Really?’ I felt the heat in my face, and my heart sped up.

  ‘He said you were lovely. I’m glad that he likes your school. I was worried for a while, you know. It’s so different from his school in Yell. I’m pleased he’s got a friend like you.’

  ‘Yes,’ I said. I was certain that my face was pink.

  She brought a plate of biscuits from the kitchen and some juice.

  ‘Help yourself while you wait,’ she said, sitting next to me. ‘Hey, do you know if anything might have happened to him yesterday?’

  ‘Sorry?’

  ‘I wondered whether he got a bad grade or something. He didn’t say that anything was wrong, ’course, it’s not like him, but I could tell.’

  ‘I’m not sure,’ I lied, and then, keen to get the attention away from myself and talk about something cheerful, I asked, ‘Are you pleased about him getting into the swimming championships?’

  ‘Oh, yes. He was always so brilliant at it. Kit taught him to swim in the sea up in Scotland when he was four, and he’s loved it ever since.’

  We both heard the front door slam.

  ‘In here!’ Julius’s mum shouted, walking over to the door.

  Julius was standing in the doorway, holding a bunch of roses, his hair still wet and standing on end. I realised he couldn’t see me hiding behind the magazine tower.

  ‘Those are beautiful,’ said Sally. ‘Where did you get them?’

  ‘There was a flower market on and they were selling loads of bunches for a pound. I thought you’d like them,’ he said.

  ‘Well, they’re gorgeous, but you may want to give one or two to your friend, Julius.’

  That’s when he saw me. His expression was a mix of shock and annoyance. This had been a bad idea after all, a very bad idea.

  I was about to think of an excuse to make myself scarce, when Sally said, ‘I’m going to go to see if Grandma’s OK. Do you want to show Kat round?’

  I followed him upstairs, neither of us saying anything. The floorboards creaked beneath us, and I studied the walls lined with black and white photos. They were of people in action – soldiers marching, a couple on a swing laughing, children mid-run in a playground. I loved them. They were so much better at catching the emotion of the moment than the posed pictures that we had at home.

  ‘In here,’ said Julius, pushing open a door.

  We went into a big room with a huge bay window and chandelier-like lamp hanging from the ceiling. The whole place was such a perfect mix of old and new. The four-poster bed with its carved wooden frame was covered in a Lord of the Rings duvet, the chandelier had a solar system hanging from it which looked like it was made from a tennis ball, golf ball and different sizes of marbles, and figurines of Star Wars characters lined the bookcase. Unlike downstairs, everything was immaculately tidy. Julius looked at me and his mouth twitched.

  I sat down on the edge of the bed and stared at my feet. I could no longer bear to pretend that there was nothing wrong.

  ‘So…?’

  ‘I’m sorry,’ I whispered, before I could change my mind again. ‘I’m sorry for the messages.’

  For ages he said nothing. He sat cross-legged on the floor and looked up at me. I couldn’t meet his eyes.

  ‘You know, when you sent the first one, I thought you meant it. I was stupid enough to actually believe that somebody liked me. It made me feel better when I was beginning to think that the whole class was treating me as a joke. But then when I got the second on
e, I realised that… that you thought I was a right idiot.’

  ‘No. It’s not like that – I didn’t send them,’ I said. I realised how unbelievable it sounded and saw Julius raise an eyebrow.

  ‘I know that they came from my phone, but it was Gem who wrote them and sent them.’ There. I had said it now and there was no turning back. ‘That doesn’t mean I’m not to blame. I went along with her plan. Well, some of it.’

  ‘What plan?’

  I told him exactly what the gang had in store for him and explained that it was us who’d put the maggots in his bag and arranged the whole dressing-up day thing.

  ‘You did that? I thought it was the lads – a sort of joke initiation.’

  So I was wrong. That day, he hadn’t been looking at me because he suspected that I was to blame for what happened. He was probably hoping that I might be his friend and trying to suss out whether I felt the same.

  ‘No, I think most of the boys in our class are pretty decent.’

  ‘Unlike you?’

  The question was like a punch in the stomach, but he was right.

  ‘Unlike me,’ I agreed.

  We sat in silence as I had no idea what to say.

  ‘Why did you come here?’ Julius asked suddenly.

  I stared at him. Wasn’t it obvious?

  ‘Because what we’re doing is terrible,’ I said. ‘Because I don’t want to be part of it any more. I didn’t want to be part of it from the moment that we started, but I couldn’t stop myself getting involved. I’ve known Gem since we were three, and she’s always been the one who’s decided what we do. If I ever wanted to do something different, she would get mad and I was scared of her. I wanted to tell you the truth for weeks, but I was too much of a coward.’

  As I spoke, his eyebrows disappeared higher and higher under his blond fringe.

  ‘I liked you. I still do,’ he said. ‘I thought you were somebody who could be a mate.’

  ‘I like you too.’ I imagined it would sound weird saying it aloud, but it didn’t.

  ‘What made you suddenly decide to tell me? Why today?’

  ‘It’s not what, but who. A man called Sommer. And a woman called Ania. I’m actually not sure whether that’s his first name or his surname, but I’m planning to find out more about him.’

  Julius grinned.

  ‘Can I meet him? This Sommer? And Ania?’

  ‘Not Sommer… I wish you could, but it’s a bit of a strange situation. He isn’t around any more – at least, I don’t think he is. But I can introduce you to Ania who knew him very well. I think you’d like her a lot. But there’s still much more I need to tell you before you meet her.’

  ‘I don’t have major plans,’ he said casually.

  I got up to leave, when a message pinged on his phone. He read it out to me:

  ‘I can’t wait to hear your reply. Will you meet me on Wednesday? Please don’t keep me waiting too long xxx.

  What should I respond? I reckon I’ll just ignore it.’

  I don’t know what got into me, but I suddenly felt bold. Gem would already be furious when she found out what I’d done, so if I went a step further, it would make no difference.

  ‘I think we need to play her at her own game. Do you mind if I reply for you?’

  He passed me his phone.

  ‘I’ll be there. I’m looking forward to it. Is there anything I should bring? Xxx.’

  As expected, a few minutes later we got another message.

  ‘Bring a rose and sing me your favourite song when you arrive. Don’t forget to wear the blindfold. Otherwise it will spoil the surprise xxx.’

  ‘You want me to go?’ Julius asked after reading the messages.

  ‘I want them to think that you’ll go. Then we’ll leave her a little surprise of her own.’

  EIGHTEEN

  Julius spent Sunday afternoon at mine as I told him Ania’s story. Mum offered him her homemade chocolate brownies, and I could tell that Dad immediately warmed to him, because he kept asking him about Yell.

  Julius sat on my bed with Chester on his lap, listening to the story so intently that at times I thought he’d stopped breathing. He’d rung his mum twice to ask if he could stay for longer. It was almost eight o’clock when I got to the part about Sommer coming to the bakery to tell Ania the amazing news about Mila, and he sat there, waiting for me to continue.

  ‘That’s it,’ I told him. ‘That’s how much I know.’

  ‘No way. You didn’t find out if they rescued her?’

  ‘Not yet.’

  ‘Well, when can we hear the rest?’

  ‘Let’s try Tuesday. Why don’t you come home with me after school and we’ll see if we can go next door?’

  I thought it would give me a chance to see Ania tomorrow myself and ask her whether it would be all right for me to bring Julius, and then I got nervous about whether I’d done the right thing by sharing her story with him without asking permission.

  But my worries disappeared when I saw her.

  ‘I would love to meet Julius,’ she said. ‘Make sure you bring him over tomorrow.’

  Next day, we left school separately so that Gem didn’t get suspicious. I had my phone back and she hadn’t said anything about Saturday. We didn’t want to give the game away before the big ‘date’. Besides, Julius wanted to go via the flower shop on the way home. He met me outside my house just after four o’clock with a bunch of beautiful orange chrysanthemums for Ania, to match the ones in her garden. I saw that he’d straightened his tie and brushed down his blazer, as if preparing for a meeting with a VIP.

  Ania opened the door to us wearing her peacock skirt and a stylish pink top that matched her lipstick.

  ‘This is Julius,’ I told her, although she already knew that. ‘Julius, meet Ania. Julius was very interested in your story, especially in Sommer, and I wanted to show him your painting.’

  ‘Welcome, Julius. If you are Katherine’s friend, I’m sure you must be a wonderful person. Please come in.’

  She took us both into the conservatory, where she’d already set the table with cakes and little sandwiches, like the high tea that you see people having in films. Sommer’s finished portrait stood on the easel in front of the window.

  ‘I have had nobody to talk to for so long and now it turns out that I have not one, but two fantastic young people,’ said Ania. She looked at Sommer and said, ‘You never stop bringing me good luck, do you?’

  ‘These are for you,’ said Julius, suddenly remembering the chrysanthemums. ‘Kat told me that you have the same ones in your garden at the front.’

  Ania’s cheeks flushed. ‘I do have them, but I’ve let them run wild. You can hardly see them now, which is a shame, but these are wonderful.’

  She put them in a vase and came to sit with us.

  ‘Please tell me a bit about yourself, young man.’

  ‘I’m in Kat’s class,’ Julius said. I could tell straightaway that he liked Ania. ‘I’ve moved from Scotland so this is all a bit new, but I’m getting used to it. Kat told me your story – as far as you’d got up to. Will you tell us what happened next?’

  ‘Of course,’ said Ania. ‘I think I remember where I got to. I’d just found out that Mila was alive, hadn’t I?’

  ‘Aye, Sommer came to tell you.’

  Her face took on a look of complete peace. ‘Yes, we were there in Roman’s kitchen. I don’t think that Sommer had had anyone hug him so tightly in a very long time, because he looked shocked. He sat at the table and looked at me hard. I realised that he was not at all excited.

  ‘“If you want, I could get a message to Mila from you,” he said to me. “But you should write it tonight, because soon it might be too late. I could find somebody to read it to her.”

  ‘“She can read. She did well at school. She was top…”

  ‘“That’s not what I mean, Ania,” he said. “I’m sure she can read, but at the moment she’s so weak that somebody would have to help.”

 
; ‘I could feel a cold dread at the base of my back. “I need to see her,” I insisted. “I don’t want to write anything if I could tell her myself.”

  ‘He sighed and put his head in his hands.

  ‘“I was afraid you’d say this. That is why I debated for a long time today whether to tell you the truth. It’s not possible, Ania. There is no way of getting her out, and even if there was, I’m afraid it’s too late. She’s much too sick. I don’t need to tell you that typhus is a terrible illness and almost impossible to cure.”

  ‘I screamed at him. It was awful for me to behave like that after everything that he had done for me, but in that moment, rage engulfed me. Roman tried to hold me until I calmed down, but I fought him off.

  ‘“I need to see her,” I said to Sommer. “Please let me see her. I know of a way. I’ve even tested it.”’

  ‘Come on. You’d done so much to find her! He must have let you see her?’ Julius burst out.

  ‘Well, he was horrified when I told him I had been down in the sewers. He wouldn’t stop reminding me that I could have slipped on my bad leg and ended up in trouble again, but deep down I could tell that he was impressed by how determined I was. He asked me the details of how I had found the sewer entrance, about the state of the tunnel and how far I had gone before I heard the voices from above ground. I knew he was fighting an internal battle.

  ‘You might not believe it, but he eventually came around to my plan, and Roman immediately offered to go into the sewers himself, as Sommer would not let me step down there again. I was so touched by what they were doing that I couldn’t stop crying. We planned the operation for the following night, as we realised how quickly we needed to act.’

  ‘But what about the other entrance to the sewers? Weren’t there always soldiers there? Wouldn’t they see what Sommer was trying to do?’ I asked, remembering the risks.

  ‘It’s a very good question, Katherine,’ she said. ‘There were always soldiers there, but they were managed by Sommer. He would organise it so for that one night, there would be no guard stationed in that area and would pass it off as an administrative mistake.