The Last Taboo

Home > Young Adult > The Last Taboo > Page 7
The Last Taboo Page 7

by Bali Rai


  Tyrone shook his head and laughed. ‘Nah … it’s weird. And I’m just gonna take these away from you before you get any ideas.’

  He reached across and picked up the spoon on my saucer and the plastic fork that I’d used to eat the ‘half-fat but still not good for you’ muffin Tyrone had bought me.

  ‘Oh, stop being such a baby about it. I’m not gonna practise on you, am I?’ I told him.

  ‘You can if you like –just pretend and that …’ he said with a sly grin.

  ‘Like doctors and nurses?’ I asked.

  ‘Huh?’

  ‘That game you play when you’re kids?’

  He shook his head. ‘Weren’t playin’ no doctors and nurses game when I was a yout’.’

  ‘So what did you play?’ I asked.

  ‘Cops and robbers – good stuff like that …’

  ‘You boys – I mean lads – you’re all the same.’

  ‘No we’re not – some of us is far more sophisticated than others …’

  ‘Ooh – check you out,’ I teased.

  He sighed. ‘Come on – finish that coffee before it turns into fossil fuel.’

  I raised an eyebrow. ‘Why – we goin’ somewhere?’ I asked.

  ‘Yep.’

  ‘Where?’

  He shook his head again. ‘When we get there,’ he said, before putting down his own drink.

  Tyrone’s surprise venue was a pool hall on the other side of town, just behind The Shires shopping centre. We walked there and a couple of times Tyrone tried to take hold of my hand. But each time I pushed his hand away. I wasn’t ready to be seen walking through town, even when it was half empty, hand-in-hand with a boy who wasn’t actually my boyfriend. If we ended up seeing each other then it was cool, but until then …

  “We walked through the doors of the pool hall and over to the round bar, set in the middle of the room. The lighting wasn’t exactly subtle. Each table was covered in a blue, red or orange cloth and the lights around the sides of the room were bright white or neon. Each bit of space on the walls was covered with American memorabilia – you know the sort of thing: posters of movies, Jack Daniels, Coca-Cola and Budweiser beer signs. It was kind of tacky, if I’m honest, but I didn’t mind at all. I’d played pool a few times with my dad and David, and secretly I quite liked it. I was quite good too. Not that I was going to tell Tyrone that.

  After he’d paid for a session we took our cues, chalk and balls over to a bright orange table and set them down. Tyrone looked at me and grinned.

  ‘So this is where you bring your first dates?’ I asked. ‘Nice …’

  His face fell because he thought I was mocking him. ‘Don’t you like it here?’ he asked. ‘We can go and do something else if you want …’

  I shook my head. ‘I’m only teasing,’ I admitted. ‘I like pool.’

  ‘So there’s no problem then, sister,’ he replied, smiling again.

  ‘You come here much?’ I asked.

  ‘Yeah, loads – me and my mates hang out in here … one of them works here …’

  ‘Oh, right,’ I said, catching a glimpse of myself in a mirrored sign for something called Dr Nuts soda. My hair looked a mess from what I could see and I decided to go to the loo and sort myself out.

  ‘Just poppin’ to the ladies,’ I told Tyrone.

  ‘You want me to get you a drink?’ he asked.

  ‘Yeah,’ I smiled. ‘Why not?’

  ‘Anythin’ in particular?’

  ‘Surprise me …’ I told him.

  I followed the signs back out into the main part of the complex, which was a bowling alley, and found the ladies. There were two girls at the mirror, both Asian, and as I squeezed alongside them, careful not to nudge anyone, they gave me funny looks. I ignored them and sorted my hair out, before pulling some perfume out of my handbag – Dolce e Gabbana; expensive stuff that I’d got for Christmas from a boy at school called Hardeep. I hadn’t even been going out with him at the time but I didn’t worry about it. His dad was one of the richest men in our city and, as Lisa pointed out more than once, he could afford it. I sprayed just a touch of the sweet-smelling perfume onto my neck and put it away again.

  ‘Best be some fine boy,’ said one of the girls to the other. Her tone was sneering.

  I didn’t reply because they looked like rough girls and I didn’t want to get into any trouble with them.

  ‘Yeah – that’s some expensive shit, innit? I could do with some myself …’

  The one that spoke first gave me an evil look. I looked back for a second, before turning on my heels and walking out. I could hear them laughing and slagging me off behind my back.

  ‘Lucky we didn’t mash her up, you get me?’ I heard one of them say just before the toilet doors closed behind me.

  I walked slowly back towards the pool hall, angry but not frightened. I hated girls like that. Back by the table, Tyrone was waiting. He nodded at a small table by some low stools and grinned.

  ‘Drinks for the lady,’ he said.

  I looked down and saw two bottles of Bacardi Breezer. ‘I didn’t – you didn’t have to spend all that money … Coke would have been fine,’ I said, even though I liked a drink now and then.

  Tyrone shrugged. ‘It’s a date – gotta have a few drinks …’ He lifted his own bottle of Holsten Pils to his mouth and took a swig.

  ‘Don’t be thinking about getting me drunk,’ I told him. ‘I’ll still whip your ass at pool.’

  He grinned some more. ‘Can’t wait …’ he said.

  I lay back on my bed and waited for Lisa to reply.

  ‘He did what?’ she asked.

  ‘Kissed me on the cheek,’ I repeated.

  ‘The cheek?’

  ‘Yeah – and then he said that he’d call me and walked off.’

  ‘The cheek – not the lips?’

  ‘It was only our first date,’ I pointed out.

  I knew that she was shaking her head on the other end of the line.

  ‘No tongue action?’

  ‘Lisa!’

  ‘Oh come on! You could at least have had a grope. He’s got that fine body on him too – like an athlete,’ she continued.

  ‘I can’t believe you …’ I said.

  ‘Did he smell nice?’ she asked.

  ‘Yeah … all clean and fresh and he was wearing some really nice aftershave.’

  ‘What did it smell like?’

  I thought about it for a moment. ‘Like cloves and spices and stuff. A bit woody …’

  ‘And did he have one?’ she added.

  ‘What?’

  ‘A woody.’ She giggled.

  ‘Huh?’

  ‘Doh! An erection …’

  ‘Right, that’s it! I’m not talking to you if you’re going to be all dirty, girl,’ I told her, feeling myself blush.

  ‘Oh, don’t be like that – I was only being …’

  ‘Dirty?’ I repeated.

  ‘Chatty,’ she corrected. ‘Us girls have got to talk – it’s what we do.’

  ‘Tomorrow,’ I told her.

  ‘OK then, but you better not leave anything out – especially with all the “cousin of your other friend and possible family friend” confusion,’ she insisted.

  ‘There isn’t anything to leave out,’ I protested for the tenth time since I’d called her. ‘You know everything I do.’

  ‘You say that now, but I know you,’ Lisa replied. ‘You’re probably hiding stuff from me just like you’re hiding it from your brother.’

  ‘I’m not telling him! He never tells me anything, and anyway, he’ll just take the piss. I’ll wait until I’m sure there’s something there with Tyrone and me …’

  ‘Yeah – I bet …You should tell David, Simmy. It’s mean not to.’

  ‘You just fancy my brother, you saucy cow—’

  ‘Don’t!’

  ‘You so do!’ I told her. ‘It’s soooo obvious.’

  ‘Oh, get stuffed, you minger,’ she said, like a spoiled child.
/>
  ‘Oh, go and poke your own eyes out, you hag,’ I responded, matching her childishness pound for pound.

  ‘Charming …’

  I didn’t reply to that. Instead I said goodbye and turned off my phone, settling back in bed to dream about Tyrone and his beautiful smile.

  SIMRAN

  Four weeks later …

  TYRONE GAVE ME a big smile and told me that he’d see me later.

  I shrugged. ‘I’m going straight home tonight,’ I told him.

  ‘Nah! And there I was – ready to take you out …’ ‘Can’t,’ I replied. ‘I’ve got too much homework to do.’ ‘Forget about it,’ he said. ‘It’ll still be there tomorrow.’ ‘Yeah, and I’ll be in big trouble because that’s when it’s due in.’

  Tyrone shrugged. ‘Oh, right,’ he said. ‘In that case you best do it.’

  I looked at him with a raised eyebrow. ‘Don’t you ever get homework?’

  ‘Yeah – all the time,’ he replied.

  ‘I never hear you talking about it,’ I said.

  It was true. I’d been seeing Tyrone for just over a month and he hadn’t mentioned schoolwork once. And he always seemed to be out doing something. If he wasn’t with me, he was with his mates or playing football.

  ‘I just do it when I get it,’ he said. ‘I’m kind of irritating like that – I don’t find any of it that hard.’

  ‘None of it – not even maths?’ I asked, amazed.

  ‘Nah – especially not maths. It’s easy,’ he told me, without a hint of bravado.

  ‘So can you help me with mine then?’

  ‘Anytime you like, Simmy. Just invite me round …’

  I looked away. Some younger kids from my school walked past; one or two of them were staring.

  ‘I can’t do that,’ I said. ‘I told you that I’m not sure whether my parents will be happy about me seeing someone …’

  ‘Well then, you’ll have to come over to mine one day,’ he suggested.

  ‘Would your parents be OK with that?’ I asked.

  ‘Yeah … don’t see why not,’ he replied.

  ‘So you don’t know …’ I said.

  ‘Why would they mind?’ he asked me. ‘Ain’t like you’re some ugly monster from outer space – my dad would probably chat you up.’

  I smiled.

  ‘So when we goin’ out then?’

  ‘Maybe at the weekend,’ I said. ‘We could go into town or watch a film or something …’

  ‘What – I gotta wait three whole days?’ He gave me his ‘little boy lost’ look.

  ‘Don’t pout,’ I told him. ‘You look stupid …’

  He grinned. Then something in his face changed and he told me that he had to go.

  ‘You said that a few minutes ago,’ I reminded him.

  He looked past me down the road, and when I turned to find out what he was looking at, I saw a couple of Punjabi lads from my school.

  ‘Something wrong?’ I asked Tyrone.

  ‘Nah – I just don’t wanna be late,’ he said.

  I looked back at the lads and knew that Tyrone was lying. But I didn’t say anything. I didn’t want them to see me with Tyrone anyway. They were part of the Desi Posse and I knew they would give me grief for being with Tyrone – especially as he had been one of the lads involved in the big fight outside our school. The problem was I hadn’t spoken to Tyrone about the fight or the fact that I’d seen him there. For some reason I just hadn’t brought the subject up –just like I hadn’t talked about my family too much or told him about the warnings that Priti and Ruby had given me. The way I looked at it, all of that stuff was nonsense anyway. We’d deal with it if it became a problem, not make it one in the first place.

  Tyrone shrugged and told me that he’d call me later. Then he walked off, not even kissing me goodbye. I didn’t mind. The two Punjabi lads were getting closer and I didn’t want to attract their attention. Not that I had a choice. The older one, Pally – the one who’d had the fight in the dinner hall – walked up to me and said hello.

  ‘Hi,’ I said, not stopping.

  ‘You ever go to gigs?’ he asked me, matching my stride step for step.

  ‘What gigs?’ I asked, looking at his stick legs and ridiculously big trainers. He had to be having a laugh, dressed like that.

  ‘You know – bhangra and that.’

  He said ‘bhangra’ with a Punjabi accent and for some reason that wound me up. I don’t even know why.

  ‘Not really,’ I said. ‘I prefer urban …’

  ‘They play all that too, sister,’ he told me.

  ‘Who does?’

  Pally went into his bag and pulled out a flyer for a club night. ‘Desi Connection, man. The baddest crew in the area.’ He offered me the flyer but I shook my head.

  ‘Like I told you – not my thing …’

  Pally grinned. ‘Take it anyway, sister – I’ll take you if you like …’

  I looked at him and then shook my head. ‘Not interested,’ I said.

  ‘Not yet, maybe,’ he replied. ‘But I’ll give you my number anyways.’

  He pulled out a pen and wrote a number on the flyer. Then he thrust it into my hand. ‘All free too,’ he said. ‘My cousin is the promoter – got Jazzy B comin’ down and everything.’

  ‘Who?’

  ‘What do you mean who?’ he asked, looking shocked.

  ‘I don’t know who that is,’ I admitted.

  ‘Now you definitely gotta come to the gig,’ he told me.

  I shook my head. ‘Don’t think so.’

  ‘Well, you got my number if you change your mind,’ he said. ‘Fit girl like you should be out and about, you get me?’

  I lied and said that I would think about it before walking away, feeling slightly uncomfortable. I knew they were watching me and it didn’t feel good, so I walked faster.

  ‘Don’t forget to call me!’ Pally shouted after me.

  ‘In yer dreams, dickhead,’ I muttered to myself.

  Ruby was waiting for me when I got back into school for afternoon lessons. I hadn’t told her I was going out with Tyrone so she still thought that I was thinking about it. And she was doing my head in, referring to it over and over again. I took my seat in English and waited for her to start. I was in a bad mood and I couldn’t work out why. The kind of mood that might make me say something I would regret. Luckily for me, Lisa was there too and Ruby didn’t mention Tyrone once. Instead she started telling me about the same gig that Pally had been on about.

  ‘Sounds wicked,’ she said to us, as Priti walked in and sat down next to her, looking like her twin. They were as skinny as each other.

  ‘What does?’ Priti asked, pushing back her long curly hair.

  ‘Some bhangra gig,’ Lisa told her.

  ‘Yeah – when’s that on?’ asked Priti, getting excited.

  ‘Week on Saturday …’

  As she said it, a light went on in my head and I had a brainwave. One that I decided to keep to myself until I got Lisa on her own.

  ‘Whose gig?’ Priti asked.

  ‘That Desi Connection crew,’ Ruby told her. ‘Jazzy B’s playin’ …’

  ‘Wow!’ replied Priti. ‘You going?’

  Ruby looked at me and went red. There was no way she was going. Not with her strict parents and her stupid brothers.

  ‘Er … I’m not sure,’ she lied. ‘Might have a family party on the same night …’

  ‘You’ve always got family parties on,’ said Lisa.

  ‘Yeah – so what?’ snapped Ruby defensively.

  ‘She was only saying,’ I snapped back. ‘There’s no need to be catty about it.’

  ‘I wasn’t,’ Ruby replied. ‘It’s just that I think family is important, that’s all.’

  ‘Well, I’m going,’ said Priti. ‘What about you two?’ She looked from me to Lisa.

  ‘Not me,’ Lisa replied. ‘Not my thing really.’

  ‘Oh go on, it’ll be fun,’ said Priti.

  ‘Not for me,�
� Lisa told her. ‘I can’t do the dance moves and I don’t like the music – and I’ll be one of about three white girls in the place.’

  ‘You’ll be fine,’ said Priti.

  ‘Yeah, I know I will,’ replied Lisa. ‘Because I won’t be there.’

  ‘Suit yourself,’ answered Priti.

  ‘I will,’ whispered Lisa.

  Mrs Davis, our English teacher, asked us to be quiet and started the lesson. I looked at Lisa and then out of the window, as the teacher began to drone on about the book we were looking at. I didn’t pay any attention. Instead, I thought about Tyrone and asking him about the fight, and I wondered when to tell Ruby that I was seeing him. We’d always been close as kids but I could feel us drifting apart, especially as I couldn’t tell her half the things that I could tell Lisa. And her attitude towards black lads was making me question whether I even liked her at all. But it was calm before the storm time. Things were going to get much worse …

  DAVID

  I WATCHED DEAN as he tried to get away from Leanne. I’d turned up at the community centre after he called me, telling me that he had some big news for me. Ten minutes later and he was still attached to the girl like some kind of limpet. Not that Leanne minded. She was all over Dean like a rash and I was tempted to tell them to go somewhere private. In the end Dean snogged her again and then walked over to me looking sheepish.

  ‘I can’t believe you’re kissing up that girl in public – like some twelve-year-old,’ I told him.

  ‘Can’t help it if the girl loses her cool when I’m around,’ he said with a smile.

  ‘You wanna go somewhere private, bro. That Leanne looked like she was trying to eat you.’

  Dean grinned. ‘I wish …’ he said.

  ‘So what – you checkin’ her now?’ I asked.

  ‘Nah – she’s just one of many in my little harem,’ he bragged.

  ‘You wanna watch that,’ I told him. ‘You’ll get caught out and you know who used to look after harems, don’t you?’

  ‘Who?’ he asked, looking puzzled.

  ‘Eunuchs.’

  ‘Huh?’

  ‘Men with them balls chopped off – which is what’s gonna happen to you if you get catch—’

  ‘Move with that!’ he shouted, pulling a disgusted face.

  ‘Just tellin’ you,’ I joked.

 

‹ Prev