Music and Lies (George and Finn Book 1) (11 page)

Chapter Twenty

GEORGE

‘George? Hey, George! Marcus wants to see you. Now!’

‘Er, what?’ Half awake, I pushed my head out of the tent flaps to see who was shouting.

It was Cami. ‘He wants to see you
now
, over in the office.’

‘Why?’

‘How do I know? You must have done something serious though. He’s furious.’ Cami looked bleary-eyed, bruised, and a bit cagey.

I didn’t like the sound of this. Marcus made me nervous at the best of times. I couldn’t think of anything I’d done to annoy him, so why did he want to see me? I peered back at Becky, wondering if she’d come and support me, but she was still asleep, lying on her back and snoring softly. I thought she had probably taken another sleeping pill, in which case I wouldn’t get much sense out of her for a while.

‘I’ll just get dressed,’ I said to Cami. When I emerged into the cool morning air he had gone.

Hardly anyone else was up yet. There were bits of mist swirling around in the trees and over the river, quite pretty actually, but I hunched my shoulders inside my jacket and felt sorry for myself. I hadn’t even had time to put on make-up and felt sure I looked pale and freckly. My bruises would be showing and my hair sticking out all over. Maybe I should buy a beanie like Finn’s to keep it under control.

Marcus was sitting behind a long desk, looking thunderous. I glanced around quickly but the only other person in the room was a big quiet man who was rarely far from Marcus. I thought his name was Davy. I quite liked him, he was certainly a lot better than Marcus’s other sidekick Chester, the fat guy with the ponytail, but just now he was pretending not to notice me.

‘Er, you wanted to see me?’

‘That’s right.’

He glowered at me in silence.

He was starting to freak me out. I hadn’t done anything wrong, unlike just about everybody else at this bloody festival. ‘What was it about?’ I said eventually. Had he wanted Becky to leave, too, last night? Was he furious with me about that?

‘This!’ He pointed at two greyish-white tablets on the desk in front of him. At first I thought they were paracetamol, but then I looked closer. There was a faint indent of a smiling face on each tablet. Not paracetamol, then.

‘Er, what’s that?’ I said, confused.

‘Pretending you don’t know, hey? I thought you were going to be a good influence on Beck. But you’re not, are you?’ He leaned across the desk like he wanted to hit me. I backed off, but he just raised his voice. ‘Using your oh-so-helpful little school girl image as a front. I’ve told Dex I’m not having any kids dealing here and I mean it. Get it? I want you off the site. Now!’

I could feel my throat choking up. I wasn’t used to people shouting at me. ‘What? I don’t understand.’

‘What’s this, hey? Hey?’ He touched the tablets with the end of his pen. ‘Who supplied these to a bunch of English kids? Beatrice, one of them was called. Said she knew you.’

‘It wasn’t me,’ I said, my voice sounding high-pitched and panicky. ‘Like I said, I don’t even know what it is.’ Although I had a suspicion now. Hadn’t Beatrice been going on and on about getting hold of some ecstasy, like it was her biggest ambition ever? ‘It’s nothing to do with me.’

‘That’s not what they say.’

‘But …’ I wished I’d woken up properly before all this happened. Someone – Beatrice? – was saying I had supplied them with ecstasy? I knew Beatrice wasn’t that bright but surely even she must realise she couldn’t make up something like this. ‘Look, I didn’t. Honestly, I don’t know what you’re talking about. I wouldn’t know how to get hold of any of that – stuff. Let alone sell it.’

‘So how do you explain this?’ Marcus was a tall man, dark and intimidating. ‘That Graham girl, she says you gave her this to try. And she was so excited she blabbed to everyone, which was how my guys found it so easily. I’ve had enough of badly behaved kids at this festival. Don’t you get it?’

I wanted to say the only badly behaved kid I knew was his own brother. And Cami had certainly been supplying us underage girls with alcohol with no thought for the consequences … And then I remembered. Cami had never actually given
anything
to Beatrice and her friend. He had always asked me to go up to the bar with him and carry drinks to them. And not just drinks. Crisps, and then that screwed up bit of paper ... I remember now how Beatrice had glanced at it and given an extra-high-pitched giggle and looked gleefully at her friend.

Oh no. What on earth had I passed on?

I felt sick.

‘Not got so much to say for yourself now, have you?’ said Marcus, bringing me back to the present. ‘You know I could report you to the police for this? But I won’t, ’cos Christ knows we’ve had enough problems with them already. So just clear off and we’ll forget it. Okay? You can pack your stuff now and go.’

I wanted to shout
But it wasn’t me!
Yet if I did that he’d ask for an explanation, which would involve Cami, and I wasn’t at all sure mentioning his little brother would make things any better for me.

‘I think there must have been an, er, a mistake,’ I said, sounding pathetic.

‘Aye! And you’re the one who made it!’ Marcus was standing up now, towering across the desk at me, not bothering to keep his voice down. ‘Get out!’

At that moment the door banged open and Becky appeared, looking flushed and breathless. ‘Hey, what’s going on here?’

‘Becky! Thank God …’ If anyone could make it all right with Marcus, she could.

‘What’s happened?’ She was asking Marcus, not me, and once again she was back to the switched-on, wide-awake Becky.

Marcus sat back down. He nodded towards me and said, his tone quieter, ‘She was dealing. That’s not on.’

‘Georgina?’ I could have done without quite that amount of disbelief in Becky’s voice. ‘No way. She doesn’t know anything about that kind of stuff.’

‘That’s what I thought. But we found some other youngsters with E last night and they say they got it from her.’ Marcus was watching Becky carefully, like he was willing to listen to her.

‘And did they?’ Becky asked me bluntly.

‘Well … we were all in the pub tent. And someone asked me to pass stuff on and so I did. But I’d no idea what it was. Honestly.’

‘Shame,’ said the man Davy sympathetically, entering the conversation for the first time. He looked happier now Marcus wasn’t shouting. ‘You need to learn never to pass stuff on for people. Never.’

‘What an idiot,’ Becky said, shaking her head like she had never done anything stupid in her life. ‘Did you really do that?’

‘Well, I didn’t know, did I?’ I was starting to feel annoyed, which was a whole lot better than terrified. ‘I don’t normally hang around with people who hand out drugs.’

‘You need to be careful here,’ said Becky, as though this should have been as obvious to me as it was to her and Davy. She turned back to Marcus. ‘So, it wasn’t really George. She was just naïve, like I said. Sounds as though you should be looking somewhere else for the source of the problem.’

He drummed his fingers on the desk, watching her with a much more friendly expression than he’d ever shown me. ‘Who?’

I held my breath. I didn’t want to say Cami’s name.

‘Who do you think?’ said Becky.

There was a silence then Marcus said, ‘The little bastard. This has got to stop.’ He and Becky looked at each other, he furious, she shrugging ever so slightly.

I waited, on tenterhooks. When neither of them said anything I cleared my throat. ‘So you realise it wasn’t me? And, er, I can stay?’ I didn’t care what Marcus decided about Cami, I just didn’t want to get thrown out of the festival.

‘I suppose so. If Beck wants you to.’

Becky nodded. I grinned.

Marcus said, ‘But can we try to keep things clean from now on? Huh?’

‘But it wasn’t me …’ I started to say, but Becky was already hurrying me out of the door. Marcus said something to her I didn’t catch and she shrugged and carried on walking.

As soon as we were out of earshot she demanded, ‘What did you get involved in that for? Jesus!’

‘It wasn’t my fault. How was I supposed to know?’

‘We should never have brought you.’ Becky was chewing one of her dark locks, looking gloomy. ‘Your dad will have a fit if he finds out about this. Not to mention your mum.’

That was true of course but what was the point of worrying about it now? They’d have a fit about absolutely everything to do with the festival. ‘Look, I’m here, I’m fine. I won’t have anything to do with Cami again.’

She made a vague, all-encompassing gesture with her hands. ‘It’s not just Cami. Everyone is involved in something. You don’t fit in here.’

‘I’m fine,’ I snapped. ‘Not everyone is involved, some people happen to just come here for the music. And what about Finn? Don’t tell me he’s dealing.’

She sighed. ‘Who knows what Finn is up to?’ Her expression softened at the mention of him. At least it got her off my back. I still didn’t see how it could be my fault that I’d got caught handing on a few tablets. It was the sort of mistake anyone could make.

Probably time to change the subject. While we were in the bothy I’d noticed they had something I really needed – an electric socket! I said, ‘Do you think Marcus would let me charge my phone in there? My battery’s really low.’

‘What? Oh, probably. But not right now. Give him a chance to calm down.’

So that might at least be one good thing to come out of this mess.

When we got back to the camping area, I looked around for bloody Cami, keen to have a few words with him, but surprise, surprise he seemed to have vanished.

Chapter Twenty-One

FINN

I’d done this before, for Mum once. And I’d seen her do it, and her other loser friends. Dex would probably have been able to tell me exactly where to go, but there was no way I was going to ask him.

I hung around the back of the supermarket, near the railway station, just watching people. You get to know the kind of people to look for. The loud, wild-eyed ones are the addicts, too spaced or desperate to keep a low profile. It’s the quiet guys in the dark hoodies who are the dealers, drifting from one corner to another, like they’ve all the time in the world.

They watched me, too. One of them came up to me before I’d plucked up courage to say anything. ‘What you hanging around here for?’ he said, narrow chin stuck out aggressively.

I tried to sound relaxed, like I knew what I was talking about. ‘I was hoping to score some Buppy.’ Silence. He looked at me, his unshaven face blank. ‘Or Subs?’ Still nothing. Shit. This really hadn’t been a good idea.

Then I had a brain wave. ‘I don’t live round here. You might have guessed. But I’m at the festival in the Forest, with my mum, and she’s trying to go cold turkey. And it’s not working. And I thought if I could get some Buppy for her ...’ I realised he believed me now, because it was so near the truth and I was so desperate.

‘One tab, okay? Then beat it.’ He named a price and I paid without haggling. I was shaking so much I could hardly hand the money over. And it wasn’t just because the guy was seriously scary. Or because I was petrified Beck was going the way Mum had. It was because it was all so bloody easy. Where were the police? Why didn’t they do something?

GEORGE

During the day, stalls selling everything from army surplus clothing to crystals and incense sticks began setting up. It gave the site a totally different feel, busier and brighter.

I’d have liked to walk around with Becky, but she said she wanted to lie down for a bit. Actually, once she’d got over being bright and confident when she spoke to Marcus, she did look a bit ill. Restless and sweaty. I wondered if there was something I could do for her, but she just told me to leave her in peace.

I splashed out on a stripy crocheted hat in pink and yellow and orange. If I couldn’t hide my stupid hair I thought I might as well accentuate it, and at least this stopped it sticking out. Then I bought a venison burger. It was nice to eat something that didn’t come out of a packet or tin.

I saw Beatrice Graham in the distance. Stupid git. Did she really think the ecstasy had come from me? She must have given someone money for it and the funds certainly hadn’t come my way. But I couldn’t be bothered to try and explain. If she had got in trouble from Marcus’s men she didn’t seem to mind. She waved cheerily and made to come over and speak but I managed to avoid her.

I charged my phone for a while in the office. Only Davy was there so it was fine. And then I made my duty calls. Mum was still satisfied with texts, thank goodness, but Dad was being really annoyingly nosey and wanted to know why I kept using my mobile and when was the house phone going to be fixed. He made noises about contacting BT himself but I thought I managed to head him off. I did not need more complications!

I tried to enjoy myself. Having so nearly been made to leave the site – three bloody times! – it seemed more important than ever to have fun. I’d got to know a few of the other volunteers so I had people to chat to, and it was interesting to take my turn manning the gates (keeping away from Dex) but it all seemed somehow a bit dull. Like I had expected something better. Maybe once the proper bands started tonight it would change.

I wondered where Finn had gone to. He had been furious last night about Becky staying. I really hoped he didn’t get to hear about me ‘dealing’ drugs. He’d think I was more of an idiot than ever. Not that it was anything to do with him.

And then suddenly, late afternoon, he was there. And – miracles do happen – he was in a good mood.

‘Come on, time for some food before the evening really gets going,’ he said. ‘You’ve done your shifts, haven’t you? I’m doing pork ribs – boil-in-the-bag – peas and mash. My turn to cook, isn’t it?’

‘Sounds good to me,’ I said happily. The venison burger seemed a long time ago. Plus he didn’t seem to have heard about my brush with Marcus.

‘Great. Beck is meeting us at my tent.’

My spirits sank. I should have realised Becky would be included.

I fell into step beside him as we headed back to the camping area. ‘What have you been up to today?’ I asked. I hadn’t seen him around at all.

‘This and that. Got a lift into town which is why I’m up on provisions.’

‘That’s good.’ I wished he’d told me and I could have asked him to get some stuff for me. Or maybe not. I was running low on make-up (it went so quickly when you used such a lot) and I couldn’t really ask him to pick that up.

He dropped his voice as we approached his tent. Becky was already waiting, twirling one of her dark locks. ‘Beck been okay, has she? I wish she’d gone with Michelle.’

I shot him a wary look. Was he blaming me?

He said, ‘Still, if you’re keeping an eye on her …’

I nodded, to show willing, although I was pretty sure I wouldn’t be able to stop Becky doing anything she really wanted to do. She was totally unpredictable. ‘I’m trying,’ I said doubtfully, but he seemed pleased.

‘Okay, so who’s playing tonight?’ asked Finn a while later, as we sat around on our precarious stools and dug into the food he had prepared.

‘Not sure,’ said Becky through a full mouth. She was looking better, thank goodness. Maybe all she’d needed was sleep and food. ‘The Tea Leaves? Murdo Mensah? Some country stuff in the pub tent.’

‘Murdo Mensah’s not on yet,’ I said. How could she not know that?

‘I remember now,’ said Finn. ‘There’s an Irish band head-lining on the main stage, and isn’t the Real World Tent having a drum fest? Might be worth taking a look.’

‘For a minute or two,’ said Becky dismissively. But at least she was sitting with us, talking like a normal human being. It was good to see her like this. We just had to keep her away from Dex and his crowd, they seemed to be the source of her problems.

Once the music started in earnest Becky headed for the dance tent. The steady beat of the music seemed to make her almost as spaced out as the drugs – unless she was slipping some drugs I hadn’t noticed.

‘She’ll be here for ages now,’ I said to Finn as we stood to one side, watching her. She looked fine. I decided Finn had been exaggerating, there was no need for me to be so worried about her. I was keen to look around, see some proper live bands. Even more so if Finn came too.

‘I’ll stay here for a while,’ he said.

Great.

While we stood there, me resenting Beck and then feeling guilty to be resenting her, the music changed from the usual electronic rubbish. The new song was some kind of Latin American thing, a definite improvement as far as I was concerned.

Becky listened to it for a moment then headed over to us. I hoped she wasn’t going to ask me to dance, I couldn’t do any of those fancy steps. She said, ‘Come on Finn, dance with me. You can do this one. Remember you used to show me how?’

The way she said that, smiling up at him, made me feel totally excluded. The two of them had a shared past, things I knew nothing about.

Finn hesitated but Becky wasn’t going to take no for an answer. She grabbed his hand and pulled him onto the dancing area. At first he just stood there, listening, and then he began to move.

I watched, and although I was still annoyed, I couldn’t help also being amazed.

Becky was right, Finn
could
dance to this kind of music. In fact, both of them could. I didn’t think they were doing a proper tango or a salsa or whatever it was, but they were certainly moving in a way that made it impossible to ignore them. Quite a few other people had given up their own attempts so they could watch the display. I wondered where on earth they had learnt this, Finn taking Becky’s hand and swinging her around, doing the cha cha steps, leaning her back on his arm. It was quite something.

Becky was bright and giggly, but it was Finn I couldn’t take my eyes off. Even in a plain black tee-shirt, black combats and outdoor boots he looked more like a professional dancer than anything else.

It made me feel stupid, an outsider. Obviously I was totally in the way. When they started on the third song I’d had enough and took myself outside.

I stood at the entrance, letting my eyes accustom themselves to the darkness. I tried not to feel cold and lonely. There was stuff going on in the other marquees. I didn’t have to hang around and wait for Finn, who clearly preferred being with Becky. I could walk around on my own.

I had just made this momentous decision, when Finn appeared at my side.

‘Why did you disappear?’ he said, swinging his jacket over his shoulder. ‘Shall we have a look round together.’

‘You seemed – busy.’

‘You should have come and danced with us.’

I wanted to say, you didn’t ask me. Instead I said, ‘I can’t dance like that.’

He shrugged, as though he didn’t care one way or the other. But he did say, ‘Suzanne is looking after Beck just now. So where do you want to go?’

‘Are you sure you don’t want to stay and dance?’ Stay with Becky, I meant.

‘I’m sure.’ Although his dancing had been amazing, he didn’t actually look that happy about it. Not proud like I would have been. More uneasy, like he wanted to get away.

I wanted to ask questions, like where he’d learnt to do that, but didn’t. For the moment he’d chosen to be with me, not Becky. This was my chance to spend time with him. ‘Let’s start with the main stage.’

The main stage was where all the big acts were supposed to be. Even if I hadn’t actually heard of half of them, I still wanted to know what they sounded like. And to be able to tell everyone back at school I’d seen them.

As we set off across the uneven grass, I could feel myself cheering up a tiny bit. It had been disconcerting to see Finn dancing like that, with Becky, but he was with
me
now.

It had started to drizzle and the ground underfoot was spongy. There was no shelter for the audience of the main stage. The bands stayed dry under that flying-saucer style awning, but we were left out in the elements. Not that people seemed to mind. Most were dancing, almost as crazily as those we’d left behind, bangles and dreadlocks nodding and waving.

‘Who’s the band?’ I asked as we inched our way towards the front.

‘An Irish group who were big in the eighties. Can’t remember their name.’

We were close enough to see now. There were seven or eight guys on the stage, all holding fiddles or flutes or guitars except for the one at the front who flung a tambourine around when he wasn’t singing. They were pretty old and it wasn’t normally my kind of music, sort of up-tempo folk, but they weren’t bad. Watching some of the guys on the fiddles was mesmerising, I couldn’t believe their fingers could move so fast.

‘Wish I could play like that,’ I said during a pause between songs.

‘Do you play?’

‘I did violin for a couple of years until I persuaded Mum to let me give it up. I think she was quite relieved. I never really got past the screeching stage.’

He grinned and I was going to ask what instrument he played, I remembered someone had mentioned him performing, but the music started again.

This was brilliant. I was here, at the Forest Festival. Despite everything, I’d managed to stay! And even better, I was with Finn. I was happier when he was around. It wasn’t just that he made me feel safe. Actually, he could be pretty annoying about all that
taking care
stuff, plus his obsession with Becky, and his way of making me feel guilty. Nevertheless, everything seemed more interesting when he was there.

He had put on his jacket but left it open over the dark tee shirt and he looked amazing. I thought so, at least. A lot of people didn’t seem to notice him, but once you did, you didn’t want to stop. I kept glancing at him every now and then, not wanting to stare, but fascinated by his pale eyes, laughing at the music, and the high, sharp cheek bones. It was just a pity he didn’t seem so interested in me.

I must have sighed a bit too heavily when I thought this because he said, ‘You had enough here? Shall we move on?’

I couldn’t exactly say I’d had enough of not being crazy and beautiful like my step-sister, so I let him lead us over to the Real World tent.

The evening passed in a blur. Finn didn’t buy any alcoholic drinks for us, which I thought was a bit of a shame. But neither did he ask me to pass things to people. We drank Irn Bru and Coke and moved from one stage to the next, easy with each other. It was a bit of a pain that Finn seemed to think he needed to check up on Becky every so often, but once he was sure she was still safely occupied he continued the tour of the various stages with me.

The last band we saw was in the pub tent. The rain was coming down harder now and there were quite a few people crowded in here, adding the smell of hot bodies to the trampled grass and mud. I saw Cami at the far side, but he was still avoiding me, the git. And then the music started and I forgot all about him.