by Kate Bulpitt
‘We’ve got my boring sister to look after,’ said Simon, as Duncan came through the door.
‘Hiya, Eve,’ said Duncan.
‘Hi,’ said Eve, looking up from a book.
‘I don’t know why you didn’t go to that potting thing with Mum,’ said Simon.
‘I’m always going to those things with her. And I wanted to read my book.’
‘So our style is cramped for the day, big time,’ said Simon.
‘When do you ever have style?’ Eve asked. ‘The only thing you have is a knack for trouble, everyone knows that.’
‘I’m just going to leave you here,’ said Simon.
‘Mum will be so cross if you do.’
‘What do I care? She’s always cross about something.’
‘Well, if you actually ever behaved—’
‘What did you want to do today?’ Duncan asked them. ‘I thought we could go to the swimming pool. Or down to the river?’
‘Yeah, let’s go to the river,’ said Simon.
‘Eve?’
‘Sure. Mum made us some sandwiches, we can take those.’
‘Let’s take the football, we can have a bit of a kick about,’ said Simon.
They fetched their jackets.
*
‘I’ll have a pack of those,’ said Simon, pointing to a packet of cigarettes behind the counter.
‘Will you now?’ the shopkeeper said. ‘And how old are you?’
‘Sixteen.’
‘No, you’re not,’ said Eve.
‘Shut up,’ said Simon.
‘You shouldn’t smoke. Mum says it’s bad for you, everyone says it’s bad for you.’
‘What does Mum know about anything?’
‘That’s a sensible sister you’ve got there,’ said the shopkeeper.
‘She ruins everything,’ said Simon, before storming out of the shop.
‘I don’t like him, but I don’t want him to die of tobacco poisoning,’ said Eve, thinking of the video they’d been shown at school, about the dangers of nicotine.
‘Let’s pay for these,’ said Duncan, putting some bags of crisps on the counter.
‘And I think your friend had some chocolate that he forgot to pay for…’ said the shopkeeper, indicating towards a circular security mirror on the wall, reflecting a view of the aisles.
‘I said I’d pay for it,’ said Duncan, counting out the remaining coins from his pocket.
When they got outside, Simon was still in a temper, staring sulkily across the road towards The Shifty Fox.
‘They won’t sell you any,’ said Duncan.
‘I know that,’ said Simon.
‘Shall we go?’ said Duncan. ‘How about a bit of ball practice on the way?’ He took the football from Simon and began to bounce it along the pavement.
Simon thawed a little and kicked the ball. Eve trailed behind, nose in her book, trying not to walk into any lamp-posts.
*
Eve had been lying beside the river, wriggling away from a patch of dry, itchy grass, when the older boys appeared. There were three of them, from the year above Simon, striding along. Two of them held long sticks, which they occasionally prodded at things in the water. Their eyes narrowed when they caught sight of Simon and Duncan, and as they approached Eve felt a small shudder of foreboding. Pretending this was due to a wasp, she swatted her arm.
‘What are you doing here, Baxter?’ one of them said.
‘What does it look like?’
‘And you’ve got your little friend with you?’ This referred to Duncan; they hadn’t seen Eve.
Simon looked at Duncan, who was as tall as he was. ‘Nothing small about him, from what I can see,’ he said.
‘Can’t he speak for himself?’
Simon stepped forward. ‘Funny, I thought you were talking to me.’
‘Leave it, Si,’ said Duncan.
‘Yeah, leave it,’ the boy mocked. ‘After all, you don’t want to get into a fight or anything, do you?’
‘Bugger off, why don’t you,’ said Simon.
‘Too scared to fight?’
‘Nope. Just not sure you’re worth the hassle.’
‘What about your friend?’
‘Just leave him.’
‘It’s alright, I can look after myself,’ said Duncan, warily.
The older boy smirked. He came forward and raised an arm, as if preparing to punch Duncan, who ducked. The older boy missed. Like lightning, Simon responded with a swift smack that sent the boy stumbling backwards, shocked, his nose bleeding.
‘I’ll get you,’ he said, as the trio backed away.
‘I doubt it,’ said Simon, ambling nonchalantly back towards the river.
‘You alright?’ said Duncan.
Simon nodded and shook his smarting hand; he and Duncan shared a relieved laugh. After the older boys were out of earshot, Simon glanced towards Eve.
‘Don’t tell Mum.’
‘I won’t,’ she said.
‘You better not. And what are you smiling at?’
‘Nothing,’ said Eve, who couldn’t possibly tell him that she was impressed.
‘Are you laughing at me?’
Eve rolled her eyes. ‘No.’
‘I think that’s some sisterly pride,’ said Duncan.
‘Maybe,’ said Eve. ‘Don’t tell Mum.’
Duncan laughed, and after a nudge from him, even Simon managed a smile.
But oh, how the mood could change. Later, after they’d eaten their sandwiches, and Simon and Duncan had sat, chatting nonsense, then played about with the football, the boys had waded into the river.
Eve had reached the penultimate chapter in her book.
‘How deep is it?’ she asked, looking over.
‘Come in and see.’
‘No thanks.’
‘Too busy being boring, as usual.’
‘I’m reading.’
‘Exactly.’
‘Speaking of boring, don’t you ever get bored of being mean?’
‘Don’t you ever get bored of being annoying? Like in the shop earlier. You’re embarrassing.’
‘I’m embarrassing?’
And then, face clouding over, Simon sploshed towards Eve, reaching across, grabbing her hands and pulling her in.
‘What are you doing?’ Eve spluttered. She tried to resist, to stay upright, but tipped forward into the murky water.
‘Simon!’ Duncan shouted.
Eve was face down in the river, splashing with flapping arms. Though there was a quick current, it wasn’t too deep, and she managed to manoeuvre herself up, kneeling with her head and shoulders poking out of the water. She was too shocked and breathless to stand.
Duncan arrived beside her, and leant over, arm outstretched, to help her up.
‘Are you alright?’
Eve nodded.
‘The water’s cold. Better get out, and dry.’
Eve clambered onto the bank, Duncan behind her. He passed her his jacket.
‘Put this on. You might want to take your wet top off – there’s a tree over there you can change behind, we won’t look.’
Eve scurried away. As she did so, she heard Duncan say to Simon, ‘What was that about?’
‘She was being annoying.’
‘But Si… that was out of order. Could’ve been dangerous. If this was a different river… And you must have frightened her.’
‘I was just playing. She can take care of herself.’
‘No need to scare her though, is there? I know you two wind each other up but…’
‘Yeah, well… sorry.’
‘Don’t say it to me, Si, tell Eve.’
‘She won’t care.’
Behind the tree, where they couldn’t see, a shivering Eve had cried, hot tears mingling with running drips of cold river water.
*
‘Are you alright?’
Eve lifted her head, blinking, embarrassed.
‘We’ve got a stool if you want to sit down. Do you need
water? Or some sugar? There are some sweets behind the counter.’
‘I must have come over a bit faint, sorry.’
‘I thought so. Either that or you were reading the small print,’ the shop assistant smiled.
‘I’ll just pay for everything, and then go and get some air.’
‘Right you are,’ said the shop assistant, lifting Eve’s basket.
At the till, Eve glanced up to see if they still had the security mirrors in here. They didn’t – though of course, there were ISON cameras.
‘Those are heavy, sure you’ll be alright?’
‘Yes, thank you.’
Eve went outside. She needed to get back to Duncan, who would be wondering where she was. But she still felt light-headed, so took a seat on a bench outside. Eve glanced across at The Shifty Fox, considered going in for a quick, steadying drink. Instead she reached into her pocket for a packet of mints.
On the side of a nearby bus shelter was a tobacco advert featuring an attractive couple exchanging flirtatious glances, each holding a cigarette. Along the top it read: ‘Let the good times roll’. An elderly lady with a blue rinse tucked under a hairnet, and a string bag bulging with vegetables, sat down in the shelter, obscuring the smoking couple. Eve thought of Adio, setting off the fire alarm, and of home – New York home. What was she doing here, really? Aside from seeing her dad – and hadn’t that been mostly out of a sense of duty? – what did she expect to achieve? Trying to solve a ridiculous riddle, a head-scratcher that had so far proved uninteresting or unravel-able to reporters who were smarter and more experienced than her. Would she manage to help Duncan, or Jason, by following an improbable trail involving a tanning product?
Outside one of the shops was a pay phone. Eve gathered up the groceries and walked towards it. She dialled the Say Fantastique! number, and Adio answered.
‘Hi, it’s me again.’
‘Hello, you. What’s happening?’
‘I don’t know… weirdness.’
‘Weirdness other than your mum and dad being re-entangled and people being turned Purple?’
‘Mm.’
‘Do you want to come home?’
‘Yes. But no. I can’t, yet.’ Eve wanted to cry. She wanted to help Duncan. She wanted to keep scratching away at this until she’d unearthed the secrets of the Purpleness. But somehow, here, surrounded by her family and her failures, any achievement felt almost impossible. Why did these homeland mountains feel so much more difficult to climb?
‘I miss you,’ she said.
‘I miss you too, doll.’
‘I miss normal life, I think. Remind me why I’m here?’
‘Now your dad’s on the mend, to report on the Purpleness and potentially crack the uncrackable story behind it, transforming both our humble, hilarity-fuelled company and the fate of the nation.’
‘Small ambitions, then.’
The phone beeped, hungry for more coins.
‘I have to go,’ said Eve. ‘Thanks for the sanity – or insanity – check.’
‘Can I do anything?’
‘No, I—’
There were more beeps and the line went silent.
‘Just wanted to hear you,’ she said.
Eve picked up the shopping and headed back to Duncan’s.
*
The kettle whistled as they finished unpacking the groceries. Eve poured hot water into two cups, removing the lid of the newly acquired milk. She handed a mug to Duncan, who let out a contented sigh.
They returned to the living room and sat on the sofa. Eve turned to one side, legs tucked under her, facing Duncan.
‘So,’ she said, ‘tell me what happened.’
Duncan swallowed, hesitating.
‘I was on my way home from the pub—’
‘Were you on your own?’
‘No, with some people, some friends—’
‘Anyone I know?’
Duncan paused, fished a speck of something out of his mug. ‘No, I don’t think so.’
‘Sorry, I’ll stop interrupting. Go on.’
‘We’d only left the pub a few minutes before, weren’t far away, and some other blokes were approaching, not anyone I knew, and one of the guys I was with made a remark to one of them. I didn’t even hear what he said – something stupid, derogatory, to deliberately wind him up. Which then became one of those “what did you say?”, “you heard”, posturing things. The other couple of guys I was with, there were four of us, were saying, come on, let’s get home, but one of the other blokes took a punch at my friend. I stepped between them to try and stop it, and then another of the blokes from the other group punched me, and it just escalated. Stupid. A scrap in the street. I’d been trying to calm everything down, but then you go to defend yourself and…’ He stared into his mug, eventually taking a gulp of tea. ‘Someone shouted out of a window that they’d called the police, and we pretty much stopped, I suppose thinking you couldn’t be too careful these days.’ He gave a wry laugh. ‘And we went home. No one looked badly bashed, apart from a couple of scrapes and bruises. I’d only had a few pints so wasn’t drunk. Got in, had some toast, watched a bit of telly, went to bed. I woke up the next morning to come and meet you – went to brush my teeth, looked in the mirror, noticed the – ’ he cleared his throat – ‘subtle change to my appearance, threw up, have spent the last two days wondering what the hell happened, and here we are.’
‘Bugger,’ said Eve.
Duncan’s nose twitched. He let out a sigh.
‘I just…’ He paused. ‘I don’t look for trouble. I don’t get into trouble. I mean, I’ll climb up a tree to protect a forest, but that’s trying to look after something, isn’t it? And you know, I suppose I was trying to look after my friends.’
Eve thought of the questions the Humane rep had been asking the Purple lad at the demo.
‘Did the police arrive after the person shouted out of the window?’
‘No.’
‘Did you see any police around before then?’
‘No, not that I noticed. But in the middle of the scrap, I can’t say I was paying attention.’
‘Was there anyone else around?’
‘I don’t know. A couple of people had left the pub before us, they were further up the road. A bloke came out of the fish and chip shop – his dog was barking outside – and I think there were other people in there. A woman walked past us–’ Duncan looked embarrassed – ‘and one of the guys said something to her, drunkenly… not meaning any harm, but being an idiot. So there was her. I don’t remember anyone else.’
‘That’s quite a memory, I’d say.’
‘I dunno.’ Duncan, sleeves pulled over his hands, brushed at something on his chest.
Eve looked at him, at his mauveness. Flummoxed, she resorted to her usual questions, hoping eventually a clue would peek through, like a whiskery mouse from a crack in the skirting board.
‘So no one bumped into you or, I don’t know, you weren’t drinking anything that could have been spiked?’
‘I was drinking in the pub, but after that, no. And I had quite a few blokes bumping into me when the fight was in full swing, so…’
‘When you realised what had happened, did you see any marks on your skin, anything that could have been a cut, or an injection mark or something?’
‘I didn’t look. I couldn’t bear to see it, the…’ Duncan’s volume seemed to have been turned off as he mouthed the word. ‘Purple.’
‘Of course.’ Eve rubbed her forehead, gently, trying not to betray the extent of her frustration. ‘I just don’t understand how it happens. You said the group you got into the fight with were people one of your lot knew?’
Duncan nodded.
‘What about the others you were with? Are any of them Purple?’
‘I don’t know. I couldn’t bring myself to ask them. I thought if I did, I’d have to say why I was asking, and I wouldn’t be able to lie. I didn’t want them to know.’
‘But they might be Purple
too. Wouldn’t that make you feel – awful as it is – a bit better? Not so alone in dealing with it?’
Duncan’s face contorted. ‘I don’t want to be like this. I’m not…’ He shook his head. ‘This isn’t who I am.’
Eve believed him but, regardless of the circumstances, he had been in a fight. Just like the kid at the rally had been stealing a bike. This system didn’t recognise degrees of misbehaviour, or context. Although, when it went wrong with the cabbie he’d been Re-Turned, so surely it was possible?
‘Maybe if you go to the police and explain… You must be able to appeal.’
‘I don’t know.’ Duncan put his hand across his face, rubbing his temples. ‘I’m not sure why I thought it’d be a good idea to drag you into this, sorry,’ he said. ‘I shouldn’t have told you. I just wanted to explain. And I thought if I told you over the phone, you wouldn’t come.’
‘I would’ve come. Of course I would.’
‘I’m sorry I missed the march.’
Eve gave him a supportive glance which said, as if there’s anything to apologise for.
‘I would’ve fitted right in.’
‘Don’t say that.’
‘It’s true.’
Duncan glanced down at his fingertips, which were peeping out from beneath his sweatshirt sleeves. He closed his eyes again.
Eve took a sip of tea, watching him across the rim of her mug.
‘I’m going to stay for a while, if that’s okay, so whatever else you want to say, you can take your time. I’m here.’ She rested the side of her head against the back of the sofa.
‘Why stay?’ Duncan asked.
‘Why not?’
There was silence, the only noise the kids playing outside.
‘This may not be the time to ask,’ said Eve, thinking, though, that it might be a distraction, ‘but – why were you friends with Simon?’