by Aoife Walsh
Nita looked at him, and then at the girls, wearily. ‘Yes. We will figure it out. Aisling, if you don’t want to go back to that school you don’t have to. Ever. Tomorrow we’ll figure out a plan so you can do some work here, till term ends. I’ll have to jig my hours a bit so you’re not on your own too much, and we can worry about next year later. OK?’
‘OK.’
‘Come and help me lay the table – they’ll be back with the dinner soon. I bet you’re starving.’
Des leaned back and rubbed his hands together. ‘Great. We’ll get this sorted, Minny, you’ll see. Now I almost hope the school does push it and try to take us on, so I can really bring them down.’
‘Great,’ said Minny. ‘Thanks very much.’
‘Oh yeah, I forgot you’ll still be there.’
‘So what’s the plan now?’ Minny heard Babi ask as she was taking the cardboard lids off the containers and Nita was tying the baby’s bib on.
‘There isn’t one yet. We’ll have to think, but we’ve got time before September. Tutoring maybe, if I can find the right—’
‘Who’s going to pay for it?’
‘Well, Des is talking about—’
Babi snorted.
NINE
Going into school the next day was intense. Minny kept telling herself it was pathetic to feel nervous, because nervous of what? None of the teachers were going to get in her face after the pasting they’d been promised by her father, and she wasn’t going to get bullied. She wasn’t Aisling. Still, on top of the oddness of things with Penny, who’d been ignoring her even more vigorously since the afternoon they’d had to leave early to go on the boat, the strange feeling of pride about yesterday and the contempt for almost everyone in Aisling’s year – she was adrenalised.
Franklin was hanging around outside her form room. ‘Is Aisling all right?’ he said, straightening up when he saw her.
‘Yeah, I think she will be. She was really upset all yesterday, but my parents calmed her down. My dad put a rocket up Mr Boyne about it.’
‘Good.’
‘Yeah. So. But I don’t know what it will actually achieve, like if anyone’s going to get punished.’
‘I heard they might get suspended.’
‘Really?’
‘Yeah, if only they can sort out exactly who it was. But for a bit yesterday I thought Aisling was going to be in trouble for hitting that girl, she’s not, right?’
‘No.’ Minny leaned on the door. ‘That was partly what Dad was screaming about on the phone to Mr Boyne.’
‘Screaming? Was he really?’
‘Yeah, it was loud. But anyway it wouldn’t have mattered, probably, because Ash isn’t coming back.’
‘What do you mean, she’s not coming back?’
‘Mum’s going to try and make other arrangements – I suppose like a college or internet tutoring or whatever. Home-schooling. For next year.’
‘You mean she’s finished here?’
‘Yep.’
‘God. Well, that’s good. For her, I mean. Isn’t it?’
‘Yeah, it is,’ Minny said. ‘I mean, no one can say we didn’t give it a good go.’
People in Minny’s class asked her about it, but she tried not to say too much because her parents had advised her it wouldn’t be helpful. She saw Penny looking at her in biology, not that she said anything.
Then, at break, when she was walking across the courtyard on her way back from the science block, Maria Hoyle came stalking up to her. Minny stopped.
‘Where’s your sister?’ she demanded.
‘She’s not here.’
‘She’s trying to get me expelled.’
‘I really don’t think she is,’ Minny said, looking to see who was around them.
‘It wasn’t even me, you know. I had hardly anything to do with it.’
‘Well then,’ Minny said cheerfully, ‘be sure to tell Mr Boyne who did do it, and I’m sure you’ll be fine. Pip pip.’
Veronica Sedgwick, Franklin’s pal, was standing near the outside door, watching. She had patchwork shorts on that showed the bird tattoo on her thigh and a smock top that literally had paint on it. ‘Are you all right?’ she asked as Minny went past.
‘I’m fine.’
‘She wasn’t trying …? Minny, how’s Aisling?’
Minny stopped to look at her. She didn’t know her very well. ‘She’s traumatised.’
‘Yeah. Will you tell her I said hi?’
‘Sure.’
She did tell Ash. They went for a walk that evening because Nita said Aisling had to get out of the house, she’d been in all day. Franklin was there too, and with three of them, Minny felt quite safe taking Ash to the park, where people from school might be. ‘Veronica Sedgwick said to say hi.’
‘Oh.’
They walked past the huge weeping willow near the tennis courts, and Aisling pointed it out to Franklin.
‘That’s the church.’
‘What?’
‘When we were little,’ Minny explained, ‘we used to call that tree the church.’
‘Why?’
‘Well. Come in and see.’ She held back some of the drooping branches and ducked underneath. In summer you could hardly see out, or hear much from outside either, and the branches arched far over your head like a tiny cathedral. The light was all yellowy green in there, and the ground bare and dusty. Aisling sat down, as a matter of course, so the others did too. Franklin lit a cigarette.
‘I thought you were giving up,’ Minny said.
‘I am. First today.’
‘I like the smell,’ Ash said absently.
They didn’t stay long. They were giggling as they crawled out because they’d been talking about Gil. ‘Your gran’s pretty sexy in her way.’
‘EW.’
‘So what does she see in him, do you reckon?’
‘I don’t know. I said that to Mum once and she’d asked Babi – well, not in those words – and Babi just said something about him having been in the army. Which is really weird because she’s always telling horror stories about soldiers – you know, back in the day in Czechoslovakia, and she hates England anyway. But Babi just told her he was more interesting than he looked.’
Clear of the willow, she straightened up. Typically, Penny was just walking past with Emma and Andrew. She stopped and stared, really more than was necessary; Minny muttered ‘hi’ and was prepared to walk past, but Penny said, ‘Minny, can I talk to you?’
‘OK.’
‘We’ll wait by the gate,’ Franklin said. ‘Come on, Aisling.’
They walked onto the tennis court, away from the curious eyes of Emma Daly. Penny turned with a loud scrunch of gravel. ‘What are you doing?’
‘What do you mean?’ Minny asked, nonplussed.
‘I mean you’re acting really weird. I’m quite worried about you.’
‘Oh. No need to be.’
‘It’s not just how you’ve been with me, although that does fit in, now that you’re all lying under trees smoking – stuff – with Franklin Conderer …’
Minny laughed. ‘I wasn’t smoking anything actually.’
‘And hanging around with Veronica Sedgwick.’
‘I haven’t been.’
‘Veronica “I’m so cool, with my nose ring and junkie-looking boyfriends” Sedgwick. I saw you with her at school.’
‘She said two words to me … Why are you being like this, Penny? It’s really strange, it’s like you’re trying to control me.’
‘I’m concerned.’
‘Well, you don’t have any need to be. You can’t possibly think that what you’re saying is rational, so I don’t know why you’re saying it and … leave me alone.’
‘Fine, I will then.’
‘Go back to Emma and Andrew and play croquet or something.’
‘Oh, get stuffed, Minny.’
Minny walked swiftly to the gate, smiling as she rejoined Franklin and Aisling.
‘OK?’
&nbs
p; ‘Yeah. She’s flipped out, but it doesn’t matter. Bit strange though.’
She had to find a new pattern for the mornings, leaving on her own instead of with Aisling or Penny – and her mother was usually frantic first thing because she was so busy with work and she had to worry about Ash being in the house on her own for too long; and also Babi wasn’t there half the time; she was spending more and more nights round at Gil’s house, which was only in the next street, but if she appeared at all in the mornings it was to lock herself in the bathroom for reparations to her face. It was too gross to think about and, while Minny appreciated a little time off from her, it meant there were fewer hands to do things like make breakfast, wash up and sort Raymond out. Aisling was normally still in her pyjamas when Minny left. She wasn’t exactly cheery, but it always took her a while to get used to new situations; anyway it was the holidays soon.
The other thing that made mornings even more fraught was that since their day on the boat, and more especially since he’d come over to sort out the school, her father had taken to ringing up. By the end of that week they all rolled their eyes when the phone went.
‘How’s it going at school?’
‘Yeah, fine.’
‘What have you got today?’
‘Er, French, history, maths, drama.’
‘Sounds OK. Go on, tell me about them.’
Minny tried to talk to him, but honestly, at that time of the morning she had very little to say to anyone and she had to get out. So she’d pass the phone to Aisling, who might manage one sentence before giving it to Selena, who would jabber for thirty seconds before realising she’d be late if she didn’t get ready right now, so he’d end up talking to their mother, who was trying to dress the baby at the same time. ‘No, Des, they’re not being unfriendly or sulky, they’re just in a hurry. Honestly, if they spoke to me that nicely I’d be overjoyed. Des, I’ve got to go I’m afraid, it’s mad here –’ and then, the third time, when he clearly hadn’t said goodbye or stopped talking, she’d asked in exasperation, ‘Why are you calling now, Des? How come you’ve got the time?’ And it turned out he was just walking up Westbourne Grove on his way to work and had absolutely nothing else to do. So it looked as if he’d be calling every day.
Franklin came round a lot after school. Minny hadn’t mentioned that Aisling might be feeling a bit lost and isolated, but perhaps he’d thought of it by himself. She would have been mortified if she thought her granny was making him. Granny had been absolutely incandescent when Nita summoned up the courage to ring her – she was all for finding out the names of the bullies and crushing them in individual and violent ways. ‘And are they at least going to be expelled?’
‘I don’t think so, Judy, but the school has suspended two of them.’
‘Suspended them? What good will that do?’
‘I don’t know.’
‘Sure, they suspended Minny that time for nothing.’
‘Well, Ash is out of there now.’
‘Thank God for that anyway. That school was never the right place for her, the poor child.’
Nita came off the phone exhausted. ‘You would think,’ she said to Minny, ‘from the way some people are reacting to this, that I have been nothing but selfish, neglectful and irresponsible where Aisling is concerned. All for sending her to school. What was I supposed to do?’ She drifted off into the kitchen, muttering.
‘Your poor mum,’ Franklin said. He was sitting on the patio, strumming. Minny handed him an ice lolly and sat down beside him to peel another open for the baby. ‘No one treats her right.’
‘We do,’ Minny protested. Raymond lunged for the guitar and she distracted him just in time with the green lolly.
‘I don’t mean you lot. I mean your dad, and Judy, and her mother and everyone. And whoever the baby’s dad is – I mean, he’s not around much, is he?’
Minny didn’t want to talk about that.
‘Women like her always get stuck with tools.’ He waved his lolly. It was unusual for him to make gestures. ‘I mean, women who just do things for everyone and no one admits it, no one says thank you. That’s the kind of person she is, isn’t she?’
‘I suppose she is.’ Minny had supposed that was just what mothers were like, although of course his wasn’t. And frankly, when she thought about it, she wasn’t sure she could ever see herself being like that.
‘My aunt was, a bit,’ Franklin said. Minny held Raymond’s lolly vertical for him and listened. ‘She threw me a birthday party one time in a church hall and made all the lunch herself, and it was sort of a disaster. But only because all the kids were so stuck-up.’
‘I was there,’ Minny said, startled. She remembered it as if it was last week: the big light empty church hall and all the kids standing around looking unsure; none of them much liked Franklin anyway – he was the weird aggressive boy who hadn’t been around long. And then the food was polystyrene cups full of tomato soup, and sandwiches made out of cheese spread and the kind of pâté that comes in a fat tube you have to cut the end off. The kids all ran around making sick noises and hid in gangs outside. Someone dropped their soup and it made a hideous mess on the paving. All Minny’s friends were calling to her to come out. She’d gone to stand beside Franklin at the table, and eaten her way through an entire plate of pâté sandwiches. She’d stayed there even when everyone else was reluctantly dancing and playing Port and Starboard. And then she’d gone home and puked.
‘I know,’ he said.
She had a strange conversation with Babi that week. Her stay in Ladbroke Grove was coming up and she’d been on the phone to her father making arrangements for where he should meet her – he’d wanted to come and pick her up, but she’d dissuaded him. Then she had to give Raymond a bath, because her mother was out at a rehearsal again. Babi came and helped, which meant watched.
‘So, you’re going to stay with your father.’
‘Mmm.’ Minny splashed water around the baby’s shoulders. He threw an orange boat at her.
‘I can’t help remembering what you said about that idea at first. Not long ago.’
Minny frowned. ‘Yeah, well, so what? It’s what everyone wants, so I’m doing it.’
‘That’s not why you’re doing it, little liar,’ Babi said with a laugh. ‘You’re going because you want to; that’s the only thing that’s changed. He has charmed you again. It’s fascinating to watch.’
‘He hasn’t charmed me.’ Minny was crouched on the floor with her head turned backwards to have this conversation, and it was painful. Besides, the baby was splashing up a fountain around her.
‘Of course he has. It’s what he does.’
‘So you’re saying I shouldn’t go? Why don’t you tell Mum that?’ She tried to stop the baby from hugging her head, since she’d just blowdried her hair.
‘I’m not saying that. God knows it’s time he started to put some hours in. I’m just saying that I still have my doubts, for what it’s worth, and I think that you forgive too easily. You get that from your mother. You forget too easily too. Your father is a man who, when he thinks he can get away with something …’
‘Yeah? What?’
‘Then he will do that thing.’ She dropped a green towel on the floor beside Minny. Raymond had just poured a jug of water over the side of the bath. ‘But I hope you have a nice time. He certainly owes everyone a nice time.’
She spent ages thinking about what to take; she needed books because she didn’t know what they’d be doing and there might be a lot of nothing time when it would be awkward not to have a book. And her homework. Which didn’t leave much room for clothes anyway.
Selena was gutted that Minny was going and she wasn’t. She didn’t make any fuss about it; her mother had explained it all to her, how it was just the first step and next time she could go too, but she looked like an abandoned dog when Minny said goodbye. Ash just looked a bit sad. Minny herself almost got choked up hugging Raymond, which was ridiculous because she’d only be away for tw
o nights.
‘Now, you do know where to change.’ Nita stood in the hall watching her put her shoes on.
‘Yes, Mum.’
‘And you’ve got your phone.’
‘Yes.’
‘Although it doesn’t work on the Underground.’
She rolled her eyes. ‘I’ve been on the Tube before, Mum.’
‘I know. But don’t talk to any men, all right, and make sure you don’t sit too far from other people.’ Nita grabbed her into a hug. ‘Are you nervous?’
‘Yes,’ she admitted.
‘There’s no need to be.’
‘I just don’t know … how it’s going to be.’
‘Don’t think about it. Pretend it’s happening to someone else.’
Minny loved being on the Tube on her own. She loved London, she loved walking around the stations on a swelling tide of people. There were so many interesting and devastatingly boring people to look at, talking impenetrable languages or having the most personal conversations on their mobiles as if no one around could hear, with weird haircuts or outrageous clothes, like this Chinese girl at Shepherd’s Bush market who was with a flock of other Chinese girls in very traditional English-looking tartan school uniform, but in her case teamed with huge boot-shaped bubblegum-pink trainers. Her mother said they were lucky to be able to walk or take the bus to school, but Minny wouldn’t have minded getting the Tube every day – she would have liked the reinforcement of her identity as one of the great gang of London schoolchildren.
She’d never been to Ladbroke Grove tube station before, but she just went up the steps and looked for the WHSmith, because Des had said he would be in there standing by the girlie mags – actually he was by the free newspaper rack, getting in the way of everyone who wanted a free paper. She had no time to step away from the hug. He was talking like a brick wall. ‘It’s not far to the flat. I thought we’d drop your stuff off and you can have a look, then go out for a pizza or a Chinese or something. What kind of food do you like?’